For if any Macedonians come with me and find you not ready, shame would come upon me (not to speak of you) in respect to this confidence.

Mark this; he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Because the ministry of this contribution not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also overflows in many a thanksgiving to God.

For this ministration proves you. On account of it men glorify God for your faithfulness to your professions of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your gifts to them and to all.

Yes, though I be unskilled in speech, at least I am not in knowledge; indeed I made this perfectly plain to you in all things and among all men.

As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine shall not be stopped within the boundaries of Greece!

I am doing and will continue to do this in order to cut away the ground from under those who wish some cause for slander; and that the ground of their boasting may appear as does mine.

What I am about to say I am not speaking by the Lord's command, but as it were in pure folly, in this boldness of boasting.

It was for this reason, lest I should be over-elated, that there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be over-elated.

Concerning this, three times over I supplicated the Lord that it might leave me;

In what respect, then, were you inferior to the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

But though it be granted that I was not a burden to you, yet, you say, this was my cunning with which I caught you by a trick.

Do you think that all this time I am defending myself to you? It is before the presence of God that I am speaking in Christ; and all, beloved, for your upbuilding.

This will be my third visit to you. Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be confirmed.

For I am always glad whenever I am weak, but you are strong. For this also I am praying, for your perfect reformation.

For this reason I am writing thus while absent, so that when I come, I may not have to deal sharply, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for pulling down.

who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age in accordance with the will of our God and Father,

(I went up at that time in obedience to a revelation). And I laid before them the gospel which I am wont to preach among the Gentiles. I did this privately before those in authority, lest by any means I should be running, or should already have run, in vain.

Answer me this one question. "When you received the Spirit, was it from doing what the Law commands or from believing the message heard?"

Now it was to Abraham that the promises were spoken, and to his offspring. God did not say, "offsprings" as if speaking of many, but "and to your offspring," as of one; and this is Christ.

What I mean is this. As long as the heir is a child, he differs in no respect from a slave, though he be the owner of the whole inheritance;

Now all this is an allegory, for these women are the two covenants; one from Mount Sinai, which is Hagar bearing children into bondage

For the whole Law has been fulfilled in this one precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

This is my meaning. Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

On all who will govern their lives by this rule and on the Israel of God may peace and mercy rest.

From this time forth let no one trouble me, for I bear branded in my body the marks of Jesus, my Master.

For this reason I also, from the time when I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and your love to all the saints,

far above all hierarchies and authorities and powers and dominions and every name that is named, not only in this age but in that which is to come.

in which you passed your lives after the way of this world, under the sway of the Prince of the Powers of the Air, the spirit who is now working among the sons of disobedience.

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles??2 for surely you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God entrusted to me for you?

It is of this gospel I became a minister according to the gift of the power of the grace of God, bestowed on me by the energy of his power.

To me, who am less than the least of all saints, has this grace been given, that I should proclaim among the Gentiles the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ;

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

For this cause I bend my knees before the Father,

Now surely this "he ascended" implies that he also descended into the lower part of the earth.

This then I tell you and implore you in the Master's name, to pass your lives no longer as the Gentiles do in the perverseness of their minds;

For this reason it is said, "Awake, thou sleeper! Arise from the dead; And Christ shall shine upon thee!"

For this reason do not be thoughtless, but learn to know what the Lord's will is.

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.

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),

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.

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

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.

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

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,

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

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;

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,

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;

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.

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.

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 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.

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;

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

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?

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is well pleasing in Christians.

I have sent him with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, one of your own number, for this very purpose, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts.

And when this letter has been read to you, see that it is read also in the church of Laodiceans, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

I, Paul, add this farewell in my own handwriting. Do not forget these chains of mine. Grace be with you.

For this reason also I am giving continual thanks to God, because when you heard from me the spoken word of God, you received it not as the word of men, but as the word of God (which in truth it is), who himself is effectually at work in you believe.

For this is God's will, even your sanctification; that you should abstain from sexual vice.

So that he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gave you his Holy Spirit.

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

For this I tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are living, who survive unto the coming of the Lord, will in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep.

Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

I adjure you, in the name of the Lord, to have this letter read to all the brothers.

To this end I am making my constant prayer for you, beseeching God to make you worthy of your calling, and to fulfil mightily every desire of goodness and effort of faith;

Do you not recall that I often told you this, when I was with you?

For this reason God is sending on them an energy of delusion, that they should put faith in a falsehood;

For this he called you through my gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If any man does not give heed to what I have said in this letter, mark that man; do not associate with him, so as to make him feel ashamed;

I, Paul, add this greeting in my own handwriting, which is my token in every letter. Thus I write??18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Yet for this very cause I obtained mercy, so that in me, the chief of sinners, Jesus Christ might display all his boundless patience as an illustration for those who should later believe in him, and so gain life eternal.

This charge then, I am laying upon you, Timothy, my son, according to the predictions formerly made concerning you. Fight the good fight in the spirit of these predictions,

For this is good and pleasing in the eyes of our Saviour God,

It was for this testimony that I myself was appointed a herald and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), to be a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

This is a faithful saying, "If any man is seeking the office of a minister he is aspiring to a noble task."

I am writing this to you in case I should be detained, to let you see how you ought to behave in the household of God??he Church of the everliving God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.

Give heed to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Those whose masters are Christian believers must not treat them with disrespect, because they are brothers; nay, rather slave for them the better because those who get the benefit of their services are believing and beloved. Continue to teach and preach this.

For in his own good time this will be brought about by that blessed and only potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords,

Charge the rich of this world not to be supercilious, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in God, who provides all things richly for our use.

For this reason let me remind you to keep ever blazing that gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

This has now been made manifest through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who has put an end to death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Nevertheless God's firm foundation stands unshaken, bearing this inscription, THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS, and this also, LET EVERY ONE WHO NAMES THE NAME OF THE LORD RENOUNCE WICKEDNESS.

But of this be sure. In the last days grievous times will come.

for Demas has deserted me for love of this present world, and is gone to Thessalonica; Crescens is gone to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia.

I left you in Crete for this reason, that you might set right the things left unfinished, and appoint presbyters in every city as I had instructed you;

This testimony is true. So rebuke them sharply,

And schooling us to renounce impiety and evil passions, And to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age;

This saying is trustworthy. On this I want you to firmly insist; that those who have faith in God must be careful to maintain honest occupations. Such counsels are good and profitable for men.

Perhaps for this reason you were separated from him for an hour, in order that you might have him back forever,

I Paul am writing this in my own handwriting, "I will repay you." But I will not mention that you owe me, over and over, your very soul.

For to what angel did God ever say, Thou art my son; this day have I become thy Father? and again, I will be a father to him, and he shall be to me a son?

For this reason we must pay the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, for fear we should drift away.

Thou hast put all things under his feet. For this putting all things under man means leaving nothing not subject to him. But we do not yet see all things subject to him.

For this reason I was sore displeased with that generation, And said, "They are always wandering in their hearts; They have never learned my ways";