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.

All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you.

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.

So then, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand firm in Lord this way beloved.

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 don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

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 [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved and waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this hope in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation]

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 this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf,

For this reason, since the day we heard about it, we have not stopped praying for you, asking [specifically] that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [with insight into His purposes], and in understanding [of spiritual things],

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 He will do this] if you continue in the faith, well-grounded and steadfast, and not shifting away from the [confident] hope [that is a result] of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which [gospel] 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 message is] the secret which has been kept hidden throughout the ages and generations, but has now been revealed to God's saints [i.e., His holy people].

God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] 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 labor [often to the point of exhaustion], striving with His power and energy, which so greatly works within 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,

I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive [but thoroughly deceptive] arguments.

Beware lest any man make a prey of you through philosophy and empty deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of this world, and not after 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?

“Do not handle [this], do not taste [that], do not [even] touch!”?

(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:

a renewal in which there is no [distinction between] Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, [nor between nations whether] barbarian or Scythian, [nor in status whether] slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all [so believers are equal in Christ, without distinction].

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.

Children, obey your parents [as God’s representatives] in all things, for this [attitude of respect and obedience] is well-pleasing to the Lord [and will bring you God’s promised blessings].

You fathers [Note: By implication, this would include both parents] should not stir up your children [i.e., irritate or exasperate them], so that they do not become discouraged.

You must persevere in prayer and by this means stay wide awake when you give thanks.

Tychicus will tell you all about my affairs. [Note: This man probably delivered this letter as well as the one to the Ephesians. See Eph. 6:21]. He is our dearly loved brother and faithful minister and fellow-slave in [the service of] the Lord.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts;

[He is coming], together with Onesimus our faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. [Note: This could mean either "from your town" or, "a fellow-Christian"]. They will tell you about everything that is happening here.

When this letter has been read among you, see that it is read in the church of the Laodiceans; and also that you in turn read my letter [that is coming to you] from Laodicea.

that you read the epistle from Laodicea. give Archippus this instruction from me, take care to discharge the function, you

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. May grace (God’s unmerited favor and blessing) be with you.

[This letter is from] Paul, and Silvanus and Timothy, [and is being sent] to the church of the Thessalonians [Note: This was a town in present-day northeastern Greece] in [fellowship with] God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God's unearned favor and peace be upon you.

And [they tell how you are] waiting for His Son [to come] from heaven, the One He raised up from the dead --- this Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath [of God].

For we were never found using flattering words at any time, as you know, nor did we try to cover up any greedy desires. God can testify [to this].

Longing for you in this way, we determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you had become dear to us.

And we also thank God continually for this, that when you received the word of God [concerning salvation] which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its inherent, supernatural power in those of faith].

for they [even] try to prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles, so that they can be saved. [In doing this] they are always piling up one sin on another. But the wrath [of God] has come upon them at last [or, "completely"].

this I Paul have frequently attempted, but Satan has been my obstacle.

so that no one would be unsettled by these difficulties [to which I have referred]. For you know that we have been destined for this [as something unavoidable in our position].

For even when we were with you, we forewarned you, saying, "We are soon to suffer affliction;" and this actually happened, as you well know.

Because of this, I too, no longer covering over it, sent in order to know your faith, lest somehow he who tempts was tempting you, and our labor became in vain.

But, Timothy having just now come to us from you, and having brought us good tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us at all times, longing to see us, as we also to see you??7 for this reason, brethren, we were comforted over you, in all our tribulation and distress, through your faith;

because of this, brothers, we were encouraged toward you in all our affliction and necessity through your faith.

Now, brothers, we ask and beg you, in the face of our union with the Lord Jesus, as you once received from us how you ought to live so as to please God -- as indeed you are living -- to continue to live this life better and better.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification, for you to abstain from fornication,

not to gratify sensual passion like the Gentiles in their ignorance of God ??6 no one is to defraud or overreach his brother in this matter, for the Lord avenges all these sins, as we told you already in our solemn protest against them.

that no one should do wrong and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord takes vengeance for all such things, as we told you before and solemnly warned you.

So whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not man but God who continues to put His Spirit in you.

But about loving the brothers, there is no need for me to say anything to you in this letter: for you have the teaching of God that love for one another is right and necessary;

As indeed you do love all the brothers in Macedonia. But I exhort you, brothers, to abound in this yet more.

[We also urge you to] make it your aim to live a quiet life, and to attend to your own business matters, and to work with your hands, as we urged you. [Note: Possibly this exhortation was directed toward the tendency of some people there to neglect ordinary responsibilities in view of an imminent return of Christ].

In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need.

For this we say to you in the word of Lord, that we who are alive, who remain for the coming of the Lord, will no, not precede those who became asleep.

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

So continue encouraging one another with this truth.

But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief.

for all of you people belong to the light; you belong to the daytime. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. [Note: In this passage "light" and "daytime" refer to spiritual illumination, while "darkness" and "night" refer to spiritual ignorance].

But we make this request to you, my brothers: give attention to those who are working among you, who are over you in the Lord to keep order among you;

Make it a habit to give thanks for everything, for this is God's will for you through Christ Jesus.

He who calls you is trustworthy and He will do this.

I solemnly charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

[This letter is from] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, [and is being sent] to the church of the Thessalonians in [fellowship with] God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers, at all times we are obligated to thank God for you. It is right to do this because your faith is growing all the time and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

Therefore, we speak of you with pride among the churches of God for your steadfastness [your unflinching endurance, and patience] and your firm faith in the midst of all the persecution and [crushing] distress which you endure.

This is a proof of God's righteous judgment, His aim being to let you show yourselves worthy of His kingdom, for which you are suffering; since,

and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels,

On that day Jesus will return to be honored by His saints [i.e., God's holy people] and to be marveled at [i.e., in reverence] by all those who had believed [in Him]. [This will happen] because you have believed our testimony to you [about Christ].

With this in view we are always praying for you too, that our God may make you worthy of His call, and by His power fully satisfy your every desire for goodness, and complete every activity of your faith,

[We pray this] so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored by you, and that you will be honored by Him, according to the unearned favor of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not let anybody at all deceive you about this, because that cannot take place until the great revolt occurs and the representative of lawlessness is uncovered, the one who is doomed to destruction,

the adversary of every being that is called a god or an object of worship, and so overbearing toward them as to enter God's sanctuary and take his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God??5 do you not remember that when I was with you, I used to tell you this?

Do you not remember that while I was with you I used to tell you this?

And you know what restrains him now [from being revealed]; it is so that he will be revealed at his own [appointed] time.

For this mysterious lawlessness is already at work [or, "this lawlessness is already secretly at work"]; but the one who is holding it back [will continue to do so] until he is removed.