However, we should live up to what we have achieved so far.

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.

Keep on rejoicing in the Lord at all times. I will say it again: Keep on rejoicing!

Then God's peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus.

It is not that I am looking for a gift. No, I want to see that you receive the fruit that increases to your benefit.

All the saints, especially those of the emperor's household, greet you.

that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and spreading all over the world, so it has been doing among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth.

For this reason, since the day we heard about this, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God's will with respect to all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

so that you might live in a manner worthy of the Lord and be fully pleasing to him as you bear fruit while doing all kinds of good things and growing in the full knowledge of God.

You are being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, so that you might patiently endure everything with joy

He is also the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself might have first place in everything.

he has now reconciled by the death of his physical body, so that he may present you holy, blameless, and without fault before him.

Now I am rejoicing while suffering for you as I complete in my flesh whatever remains of the Messiah's sufferings on behalf of his body, which is the church.

I became its servant as God commissioned me to work for you, so that I may complete my ministry of the word of God.

It is he whom we proclaim as we admonish and wisely teach everyone, so that we may present everyone mature in the Messiah.

I say this so that no one will mislead you with nice-sounding rhetoric.

For although I am physically absent, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how stable you are and how firm your faith in the Messiah is.

So then, just as you have received the Messiah Jesus the Lord, continue to live dependent on him.

See to it that no one enslaves you through philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to the Messiah,

So put to death your worldly impulses: sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).

Therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

At the same time also pray for us that God would open before us a door for the word so that we may tell the secret about the Messiah, for which I have been imprisoned.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

I am sending him to you for this very reason, so that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of the Messiah Jesus, sends you his greetings. He is always wrestling in his prayers for you, so that you may stand mature, completely convinced of the entire will of God.

Tell Archippus, "See that you complete the ministry you have received from the Lord."

From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.

We cared so deeply for you that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives. That is how dear you were to us.

Brothers, you remember our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not become a burden to any of you while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you.

Here is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God's word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

Brothers, although we have been separated from you for a little while in person but not in heart we eagerly desire to see you again face to face.

so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined.

But Timothy has just now returned from visiting you and has told us the good news about your faith and love. He also told us that you always have fond memories of us and want to see us, just as we want to see you.

That's why, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you by your faith.

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in God's presence because of you?

We pray very hard night and day that we may see you again face to face, so that we may equip you with whatever is lacking in your faith.

Now then, brothers, you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, as in fact you are doing. We ask and encourage you in the Lord to do so even more.

For it is God's will that you be sanctified: You must abstain from sexual immorality.

so that you may win the respect of outsiders, and have need of nothing.

But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve like other people who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus God will bring those who have died with him.

For we declare to you what the Lord has told us to say: We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died.

With a shout of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of God's trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

So then, encourage one another with these words.

When people say, "There is peace and security," destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.

Therefore, let's not fall asleep like others do, but let's stay awake and be sober.

But since we belong to the day, let's be sober. We must put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing.

In everything be thankful, because this is God's will for you in the Messiah Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit's fire.

As a result, we rejoice about you among God's churches about your endurance and faith through all the persecutions and afflictions you are experiencing.

This is evidence of God's righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God's kingdom, for which you are suffering.

Such people will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction by being separated from the Lord's presence and from his glorious power

not to be so quickly upset or alarmed when someone claims that we said, either by some spirit, conversation, or letter that the Day of the Lord has already come.

He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship. As a result, he seats himself in the sanctuary of God and himself declares that he is God.

You know what it is that is now holding him back, so that he will be revealed when his time comes.

For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

With this purpose in mind, he called you through our proclamation of the gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

So then, brothers, stand firm, and cling to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

We did not eat anyone's food without paying for it. Instead, with toil and labor we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you.

We hear that some of you are living in idleness. You are not busy working you are busy interfering in other people's lives!

If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of him. Have nothing to do with him so that he will feel ashamed.

When I was on my way to Macedonia, I urged you to stay in Ephesus so that you could instruct certain people to stop teaching false doctrine

and occupying themselves with myths and endless genealogies. These things promote controversies rather than God's ongoing purpose, which involves faith.

They want to be teachers of the Law, yet they do not understand either what they are talking about or the things about which they speak so confidently.

I am the worst of them. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the worst sinner, the Messiah Jesus might demonstrate all of his patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life.

Timothy, my child, I am instructing you in keeping with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may continue to fight the good fight

These include Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

for kings, and for everyone who has authority, so that we might lead a quiet and peaceful life with all godliness and dignity.

For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?

He must not be a recent convert, so that he won't become arrogant and fall into the Devil's condemnation.

He must be well thought of by outsiders, so he doesn't fall into disgrace and the trap set for him by the Devil.

in case I am delayed, so that you may know how to behave in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

By common confession, the secret of our godly worship is great: In flesh was he revealed to sight, kept righteous by the Spirit's might, adored by angels singing. To nations was he manifest, believing souls found peace and rest, our Lord in heaven reigning!

Think on these things. Devote your life to them so that everyone can see your progress.

Pay close attention to your life and your teaching. Persevere in these things, because if you do so, you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to respect their own family by repaying their parents, for this is pleasing in God's sight.

Continue to give these instructions, so that they may be blameless.

At the same time, they also learn how to be lazy while going from house to house. Not only this, but they even become gossips and keep busy by interfering in other people's lives, saying things they should not say.

If any woman is a believer and has relatives who are widows, she should help them. The church should not be burdened, so it can help those widows who have no other family members to care for them.

As for those who keep on sinning, rebuke them in front of everyone so that the rest will also be afraid.

All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their own masters as deserving of the highest respect, so that the name of God and our teaching may not be discredited.

He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him! Amen.

By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future, so that they can keep their hold on the life that is real.

From: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by God's will in keeping with the promise of life that is in the Messiah Jesus.

recalling your tears and longing to see you so that I can be filled with joy.

Therefore, never be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner. Instead, by God's power, join me in suffering for the sake of the gospel.

Because of it I am experiencing trouble, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. However, God's word is not chained.

For that reason, I endure everything for the sake of those who have been chosen so that they, too, may receive the salvation that is in the Messiah Jesus, along with eternal glory.

Our faith may fail, his never wanes That's who he is, he cannot change!

and what they say will spread everywhere like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are like that.

They have abandoned the truth by claiming that the resurrection has already taken place, and so they destroy the faith of others.

However, God's solid foundation still stands. It has this inscription on it: "The Lord knows those who belong to him," and "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from evil."

Therefore, if anyone stops associating with these people, he will become a special utensil, set apart for the owner's use, prepared for every good action.

so that they might escape from the Devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will.

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and their faith is a counterfeit.

so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good action.

For the time will come when people will not tolerate healthy doctrine, but with itching ears will surround themselves with teachers who cater to their people's own desires.

The victor's crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing.