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.

Brothers, I do not regard myself to have yet laid hold of it; but this one thing I do, forgetting what is behind me, but straining every nerve toward that which lies ahead,

with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let us all then, who are mature Christians, strive for this! God will make this clear to any of you who are striving for other goals;

but in what we have attained, in this let us walk.

Become fellow imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who walk in this way, just as you have us [as] an example.

who in the. end will be ruin'd, who place their religion in sensuality, their glory in that which is their shame, and fix their thoughts upon this earth.

By whom this poor body of ours will be changed into the image of the body of his glory, in the measure of the working by which he is able to put all things under himself.

Therefore, my dear brothers whom I long for, my joy and my victor's crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

Yes, and I am asking you also, [my] faithful partner [Note: This person is unknown, but may have been one of Paul's preacher companions], help those women, for they have worked hard with me in [spreading] the Gospel, along with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life. [See Rev. 3:5; Heb. 12:23].

You should let your gentleness be known to all people. The Lord is near. [Note: This "nearness" could refer to Christ's second coming or to His nearness to His people in a spiritual sense].

practise what I have taught, what you have learnt of me, what you have heard me preach, and seen me practise. this do, and the God of peace will then be with you.

Moreover, I greatly rejoiced in the Lord that now once more your care for me blossomed afresh; though indeed you did take thought in this matter, but you lacked the opportunity of expression.

I am not saying this because I am in any need, for I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in.

And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone.

I do not say this because I am seeking a gift. Rather, I seek the credit that abounds to your account.

[This letter is from] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and [from] our brother Timothy,

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Long ago you heard of this hope in the message which came to you of the truth of the gospel.

that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

You learned about this gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of the Messiah on your behalf.

For this reason from the day I heard of it I have never ceased to pray for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will with every kind of wisdom and spiritual insight;

and that through Him He might reconcile to Himself all things on earth or in heaven, making this peace through the blood He shed On His cross.

And this he will do if, indeed, you continue in the faith, firmly founded and stedfast, and never moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, and which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, that gospel of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and am filling up the measure of those remaining afflictions, which in my turn I am to suffer in this life, in the cause of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church:

It is of this I was made a minister, according to the stewardship entrusted to me by God for you, fully to declare God's message;

This secret was hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints,

to whom God would make known the glorious riches of this mystery among the gentiles, which riches is Christ in you, the hope of glory,

This is the Christ whom we proclaim, warning every one, and instructing every one, with all the wisdom that we possess, in the hope of bringing every one into God's presence perfected by union with Christ.

For this I am toiling and struggling by His active energy which is mightily working in me.

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you [Note: This probably refers to the great effort Paul was exerting in prayer, preaching, etc.], and for those at Laodicia [Note: This was a town ten miles west of Colosse], and for all those who have never met me in person.

that their hearts might be comforted, and that being firmly united in love, they might possess the highest and fullest persuasion of the truth of this doctrine, by entring into this mystery, even of God the father, and of Christ,

And this I say, lest any one should mislead you with enticing words.

Take care there is not some one who will carry you away by his 'philosophy'--a hollow sham!--following, as it does, mere human traditions, and dealing with puerile questions of this world, and not with Christ.

[This happened when you were] buried with Christ in [the act of] immersion, from which you were also raised up with Him through [your] faith in the accomplishment of God, who raised Him up from the dead.

And when you were [spiritually] dead because of your sins and your lack of being physically circumcised [Note: This refers to their having been unconverted Gentiles and therefore outside of a relationship with God], God made you alive [again] together with Christ, having forgiven us for all of our sins.

having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross.

[In doing this] Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities [i.e., evil forces] and made a public display of them, triumphing over them through the cross. [Note: This could possibly be rendered "God triumphed over them through Christ"].

For this reason let no man be your judge in any question of food or drink or feast days or new moons or Sabbaths:

Do not allow anyone, who delights in acting humble [i.e., living an ascetic life] and who worships angels, to rob you of your reward [in heaven]. [Note: This "angel worship" could mean holding angels in high regard because of their role as God's messengers, or the claim that God can be approached only through angelic intermediaries]. He places great importance on what he [claims to] see [i.e., visions], being inflated with pride by his fleshly mind for no [good] reason.

If you died with Christ to the world's rudimentary notions, why, as if you still lived in the world, do you submit yourselves to dogmatisms found on teachings and doctrines of men??21 such as "Do not handle this," "You must not taste that," "Do not touch this"??22 all things which are intended to perish in the using?

"Don't handle this! Don't taste or touch that!"

(these things all perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men.

For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.

You also lived your lives in this way at one time, when you used to live among them.

improv'd by knowledge into a resemblance of him, who made this change:

In this new relation there is no Greek and Jew, no circumcised and uncircumcised, no barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is everything and in us all.

to all this add love, which is the band of perfect union:

Let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts, for you were called to this state as members of one body. And practice being thankful.

You married women must continue to live in subordination to your husbands, for this is your Christian duty.