All this accords with the loving-kindness which God lavished upon us, accompanied by countless gifts of wisdom and discernment,

when he made known to us the secret of his will. This was according to his plan that he set forth in the Messiah

[He did this] to fulfill His plan at the proper time, by bringing together everything [in the universe] under Christ's headship --- things both in heaven and on earth.

In him, I say, for by our union with him we became God's Heritage, having from the first been destined for this in the intention of him who, in all that happens, is carrying out his own fixed purpose;

and this is the pledge of our inheritance, being given for the deliverance of his peculiar people, to the display of his glory.

This is why I myself, since I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and in all His people,

and what God's tremendous power [working] in us believers is. [This power is] the same as that utilized by God's mighty strength,

This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms

above all rule, power, and might, and domination, and above all names that are named, not in this world only, but also in the world to come.

And you being dead in trespasses and sins,??2 in which you formerly walked according to the life of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit which now operates in the children of disobedience,

in the which, in time past, ye walked, according to the course of this world, and after the governor that ruleth in the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of unbelief,

All of us [Jews] also once lived among such people, fulfilling the improper cravings of our physical being and doing what our bodies and minds desired. In this natural [unconverted] state we were deserving of [God's] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].

[and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption].

for by grace ye are having been saved, through faith, and this not of you -- of God the gift,

For we [Christians] are the product of God's workmanship, [re-] created in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus for [the purpose of] doing good deeds. God had previously determined that this should be our practice.

For this reason keep it in mind that in the past you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are looked on as being outside the circumcision by those who have circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;

remember, I say, that ye were at that time without Christ, and were reputed aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and were strangers from the testaments of promise, and had no hope, and were without God in this world.

when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace,

He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it.

who by his spirit has likewise made you a part of this divine mansion.

For this cause, I Paul the servant of Jesus Christ am in bonds for your sakes, which are heathen -

For by revelation showed he this mystery unto me, as I wrote above in few words,

By reading this you will be able to understand my insight into the secret about the Christ --

which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret:

[it is this:] that the Gentiles are now joint heirs [with the Jews] and members of the same body, and joint partakers [sharing] in the [same divine] promise in Christ Jesus through [their faith in] the good news [of salvation].

I have become a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.

Unto me, the least of all saints, is this grace given; that I should preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

and to make clear how is to be carried out the trusteeship of this secret which has for ages been hidden away in God, the Creator of all things,

He did this so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm

This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

In him we have this fearless confidence and boldness of access through our faith in him.

For this reason it is my prayer that you may not become feeble because of my troubles for you, which are your glory.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Be ye rooted and grounded in social virtue, that you may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of this mystery:

I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God's purpose has given you,

Now to each one of us was given this grace, according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Concerning this the Scripture says: "He led a host of captives, when He went up on high, and granted gifts to men."

Now what does this "he went up" mean except that he also had gone down into the lower parts of the earth?

And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

So that we may be no longer children, sent this way and that, turned about by every wind of teaching, by the twisting and tricks of men, by the deceits of error;

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other gentiles walk; in vanity of their mind,

for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart.

But this is not the way you have learned what Christ means,

if at least you have heard His voice and in Him have been taught--and this is true Christian teaching--

For this reason, laying aside falsehood, every one of you should speak the truth to his fellow man; for we are, as it were, parts of one another.

Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you.

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, either unclean person, or covetous person, which is the worshipper of images, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, and of God.

But when all [such] things are exposed by the light [i.e., the truth], they become [clearly] visible [i.e., their true nature is revealed], for everything so revealed becomes illuminated. [Note: Possibly this means "it is light that clearly reveals everything"].

For this reason he says, Be awake, you who are sleeping, and come up from among the dead, and Christ will be your light.

because of this become not fools, but -- understanding what is the will of the Lord,

and this the burthen of the song, "thanks be to God, even the father, for his son Jesus Christ our Lord."

because a husband is the Head of his wife as Christ also is the Head of the Church, being indeed the Saviour of this His Body.

He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

This is the way married men ought to love their wives, as they do their own bodies. The married man who loves his wife is really loving himself,

For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

This is a great secret, but I speak between Christ and the congregation.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right.

Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise attached),

And you fathers [Note: This word probably includes both parents], do not stir up your children to become angry, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Do not do this only while you're being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of the Messiah, who are determined to obey God's will.

having known that whatever good thing each one may do, this he shall receive from the Lord, whether servant or freeman.

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the despotisms, the empires, the rulers of this present darkness, the spirit-hosts of evil in the heavenly realm.

For this cause, take unto you the armour of God, that ye may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand perfect in all things.

and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

through all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit, and in regard to this same, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints --

For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may cheer your hearts.

[This letter is from] Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, [and is being sent] to all the saints [i.e., God's holy people] who are at Philippi [Note: This is a town in present-day northeastern Greece, and the first place in Europe where Paul established Christianity], along with the overseers [Note: These men were also called elders, shepherds or pastors] and deacons.

for what you have contributed to the gospel from the very first day down to this moment;

Of this I am fully persuaded, that He who has begun a good work in you will go on completing it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

And this I pray, that your love may increase more and more in knowledge, and in all feeling,

Now I want you to know, believers, that what has happened to me [this imprisonment that was meant to stop me] has actually served to advance [the spread of] the good news [regarding salvation].

in this way it has become well known throughout the Imperial Guard and to all the rest here that I am a prisoner in the service of Christ,

And besides this, most of our Brothers have gained confidence in the Lord through my chains, and now venture with far greater freedom to speak of God's Message fearlessly.

the former are preaching Christ from the motive of rivalry, not in sincerity, supposing that this is making it harder for me to bear my imprisonment.

what then? in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed -- and in this I rejoice, yea, and shall rejoice.

For I know that this shall chance to my salvation, through your prayer, and ministering of the spirit of Jesus Christ,

for I eagerly and confidently hope that I shall never disgrace myself but that this time as always hitherto, living or dying, I shall do Christ credit by my unfailing courage.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain: and if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor:

But now, if life in the flesh, if this be the fruit of my toil??hat to choose I do not know,

Indeed, I cannot decide between the two. I have the desire to leave this life and be with the Messiah, for that is far better.

and my inclination to abide in this life, as being more advantageous for YOU:

And because I am convinced of this, I know that I shall live, and go on working side by side with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

only conduct yourselves in a manner becoming the gospel of Christ, that whether I come to see you, or else am absent, I may have this account of you, that you are stedfastly of the same resolution, and unanimously contend for the faith of the gospel,

and that you are not intimidated by your opponents in any way. This is evidence that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved and all because of God.

For this favour on the part of Christ is granted you, not only that ye should believe on him, but also that ye should suffer for his sake;

fill my joy, that you may think the same thing, having the same divine love, being like-minded, thinking this one thing;

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it];

More than this, after he had shone himself in human form, he humbled himself in his obedience even to death; yes, and to death on a cross.

And for this God highly exalted him, and graciously bestowed upon him the name which is above every name;

[This was] so that, in [honor of] the name of Jesus, everyone's knee in heaven, on earth and under the earth [i.e., all rational creatures] should bow [i.e., before God],

for it is God who in his goodwill enables you to will this and to achieve it.

because of this do ye also rejoice and joy with me.

Indeed therefore I hope to send this man immediately, whenever I may focus on the things concerning me.

For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice when you see him again and I may be less anxious.

Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

and to be found in [fellowship with] Him, not having a righteousness of my own, acquired by observing the law of Moses, but one acquired through believing in Christ. This righteousness, which comes from God, is based on faith.

It's not that I have already reached this goal or have already become perfect. But I keep pursuing it, hoping somehow to embrace it just as I have been embraced by the Messiah Jesus.