And beyond all these things, clothe yourselves with love, which binds these things together in complete [unity].

And may the Lord cause your love for one another, and for everyone, to increase and overflow, just as ours does for you also.

Therefore, I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using worldly wealth, so that when it fails [i.e., when you run out of money] they [i.e., the friends you made with its wise and benevolent use] may welcome you into the eternal [i.e., heavenly] dwelling places. [Note: The idea here seems to be that by your shrewd use of material possessions for the benefit of others, you are actually storing up treasures for yourself in heaven].

Above everything else, have a warm love for one another, for such a love keeps many sins from occurring [between you].

But [instead], we should speak [and practice] truth in a loving way, so that we can, in all respects, grow up [spiritually] into [union with] Christ, who is the head [i.e., of His body, the church].

[Then] make me completely happy by being like-minded, having the same love [for one another], being united in spirit and having the same purpose.

And not only is this true, but we also rejoice in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have been restored to fellowship with God.

In your love for your brothers, show tender affection toward one another. Try to outdo one another in showing respect [for each other].

If we claim to share a relationship with God and yet live in darkness [i.e., in a sinful way], we are lying and are not living a truthful life.

You should think about things the way Christ Jesus did.

Here is the way God's love for us was demonstrated; He sent His one and only Son into the world so that we could have [spiritual] life through Him.

However, each of you men individually should also love his own wife the way he loves himself. And the wife should respect her husband.

The secret [truth] of this is great, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

so that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. [I pray] that you will be rooted and grounded in [your] love,

[This is being written by] the elder to the lady chosen [by God], and to her children [Note: The terms "lady" and "children" here refer to a congregation and the Christians who belong to it. See I Peter 5:13; II John 13], whom I love in the truth. [Note: Perhaps this phrase means "whom I truly love"]. And I am not the only one [to love you], but all those [other congregations] who know the truth [of God], also love you.

Loved ones, we should have love for one another, because love comes from [the very nature of] God, and every person who [continually] loves [others] has been [spiritually] conceived by God [See 2:29; 3:9], and knows [he is in fellowship with] God.

For all of you are children of God through your faith in Christ Jesus [as God's only Son].

For the husband is the [spiritual] head over his wife, just as Christ is also the [spiritual] head over the church, since He is the Savior of the body.

[This is being written by] Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James [Note: This "Jude" was probably not the apostle. See verses 17-18], to those who have been called [by God], who are also loved in [fellowship with] God the Father, and who are kept [safe] in [fellowship with] Jesus Christ.

But [eating certain] foods will not improve our relationship to God; we are neither any worse off if we do not eat [certain things], nor are we any better off if we do eat them.

This is [the way it will be with] the person who stores up treasures for himself, and [yet] is not rich toward God [i.e., does place enough importance on spiritual things]."

No one has ever seen God [i.e., His full splendor], but God, the only conceived [and eventually born Son], who is at the Father's side, has shown us who He is.

And we should consider how we can stir up one another to love [more] and to perform good deeds.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

All [these] things are from God, who restored us to fellowship with Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of restoring [other] people to [such] fellowship.

For this reason God allowed [or, abandoned] them to [practice] degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function [i.e., of sex] for what is against nature [i.e., lesbianism].

Jesus replied, "If God were [truly] your Father you would love me, because I came from God to be here. For I did not come on my own authority, but God sent me.

But the person who is married is [also] concerned about the affairs of the world [and] how to please his wife,

For if while we were [God's] enemies, we were restored to fellowship with Him through the death of His Son, now that we have been restored, how much more [certainly] will we be saved [from condemnation] by His life!

This is the reason that I am sending Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful [spiritual] son in [the service of] the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways [i.e., my teaching and conduct] which are in [the service of] Christ. I teach these things in every congregation wherever [I go].

and the two of them will [then] become one flesh [i.e., united in such a close relationship as to constitute one body], so that [upon becoming husband and wife] they no longer function as two persons but as one body.

Do not team up with unbelievers [i.e., in close relationships, such as marriage, etc.]. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or, what fellowship can light have with darkness?

For the whole law of Moses can be fulfilled by [obeying this] one requirement [Lev. 19:18]: "You should love your neighbor the way you love yourself."

We declare to you what we have seen and heard [concerning Christ], so that you also may share a relationship with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Husbands, you should love your wives just as Christ also loved the church, and gave up His life for her,