Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia;

²for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

³For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means,

⁴begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints —

⁵and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us,

⁶so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you.

⁷Now as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you — so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

⁸I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.

⁹For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

¹⁰And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something —

¹¹now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.

¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has — not according to what one does not have.

¹³I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between

¹⁴your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.

¹⁵As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”

¹⁶But thanks be to God who put in the heart of Titus the same eagerness for you that I myself have.

¹⁷For he not only accepted our appeal, but since he is more eager than ever, he is going to you of his own accord.

¹⁸With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his proclaiming the good news;

¹⁹and not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us while we are administering this generous undertaking for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our goodwill.

²⁰We intend that no one should blame us about this generous gift that we are administering,

²¹for we intend to do what is right not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of others.

²²And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found eager in many matters, but who is now more eager than ever because of his great confidence in you.

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker in your service; as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

²⁴Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.

¹Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints,

²for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

³But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;

⁴otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated — to say nothing of you — in this undertaking.

⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion.

⁶The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

⁷Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

⁹As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

¹¹You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us;

¹²for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.

¹³Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others,

¹⁴while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

¹I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ — I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away! —

²I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards.

³Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards;

⁴for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments

⁵and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

⁶We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

⁷Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we.

⁸Now, even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

⁹I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters.

¹⁰For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”

¹¹Let such people understand that what we say by letter when absent, we will also do when present.

¹²We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another, and compare themselves with one another, they do not show good sense.

¹³We, however, will not boast beyond limits, but will keep within the field that God has assigned to us, to reach out even as far as you.

¹⁴For we were not overstepping our limits when we reached you; we were the first to come all the way to you with the good news of Christ.

¹⁵We do not boast beyond limits, that is, in the labors of others; but our hope is that, as your faith increases, our sphere of action among you may be greatly enlarged,

¹⁶so that we may proclaim the good news in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in someone else’s sphere of action.

¹⁷“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

¹⁸For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.

¹I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!

²I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

³But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

⁴For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.

⁵I think that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.

⁶I may be untrained in speech, but not in knowledge; certainly in every way and in all things we have made this evident to you.

⁷Did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed God’s good news to you free of charge?

⁸I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.

⁹And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for my needs were supplied by the friends who came from Macedonia. So I refrained and will continue to refrain from burdening you in any way.

¹⁰As the truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

¹¹And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

¹²And what I do I will also continue to do, in order to deny an opportunity to those who want an opportunity to be recognized as our equals in what they boast about.

¹³For such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

¹⁵So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their deeds.

¹⁶I repeat, let no one think that I am a fool; but if you do, then accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

¹⁷What I am saying in regard to this boastful confidence, I am saying not with the Lord’s authority, but as a fool;

¹⁸since many boast according to human standards, I will also boast.

¹⁹For you gladly put up with fools, being wise yourselves!

²⁰For you put up with it when someone makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or gives you a slap in the face.

²¹To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone dares to boast of — I am speaking as a fool — I also dare to boast of that.

²²Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

²³Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman — I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death.

²⁴Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

²⁶on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters;

²⁷in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked.

²⁸And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant?

³⁰If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

³¹The God and Father of the Lord Jesus (blessed be he forever!) knows that I do not lie.

³²In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to seize me,

³³but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.

¹It is necessary to boast; nothing is to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

²I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows.

³And I know that such a person — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows —

⁴was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.

⁵On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.

⁶But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me,

⁷even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.

⁸Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,

⁹but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

¹⁰Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have been a fool! You forced me to it. Indeed you should have been the ones commending me, for I am not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing.

¹²The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, signs and wonders and mighty works.

¹³How have you been worse off than the other churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴Here I am, ready to come to you this third time. And I will not be a burden, because I do not want what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁵I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

¹⁶Let it be assumed that I did not burden you. Nevertheless (you say) since I was crafty, I took you in by deceit.

¹⁷Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you?

¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves with the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves before you? We are speaking in Christ before God. Everything we do, beloved, is for the sake of building you up.

²⁰For I fear that when I come, I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish; I fear that there may perhaps be quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

²¹I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. “Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

²I warned those who sinned previously and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again, I will not be lenient —

³since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you.

⁴For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

⁵Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!

⁶I hope you will find out that we have not failed.

⁷But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong — not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

⁹For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. This is what we pray for, that you may become perfect.

¹⁰So I write these things while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be severe in using the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

¹Paul an apostle — sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead —

²and all the members of God’s family who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

⁵to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel —

⁷not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed!

⁹As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

¹⁰Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

¹¹For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin;

¹²for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it.

¹⁴I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

¹⁵But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased

¹⁶to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being,

¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days;

¹⁹but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord’s brother.

²⁰In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!

²¹Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia,

²²and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ;

²³they only heard it said, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴And they glorified God because of me.

¹Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.

²I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain.

³But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

⁴But because of false believers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us —

⁵we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.

⁶And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders (what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) — those leaders contributed nothing to me.

⁷On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised

⁸(for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles),

⁹and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

¹⁰They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.

¹¹But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned;

¹²for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction.

¹³And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

¹⁴But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

¹⁵We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;

¹⁶yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

¹⁷But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!

¹⁸But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor.

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ;

²⁰and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

²¹I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

¹You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified!

²The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?

³Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?

⁴Did you experience so much for nothing? — if it really was for nothing.

⁵Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

⁶Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”

⁷so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham.

⁸And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.”

⁹For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.

¹⁰For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.”

¹¹Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

¹²But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.”

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” —

¹⁴in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

¹⁵Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it.

¹⁶Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ.

¹⁷My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

¹⁸For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

¹⁹Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator.

²⁰Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

²¹Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law.

²²But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed.

²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.

²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,

²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.

²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

¹My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property;

²but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father.

³So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world.

⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.

⁶And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

⁸Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods.

⁹Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again?

¹⁰You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years.

¹¹I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.

¹²Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong.

¹³You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you;

¹⁴though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.

¹⁵What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

¹⁶Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

¹⁷They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them.

¹⁸It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you.

¹⁹My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

²⁰I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

²¹Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law?

²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman.

²³One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise.

²⁴Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery.

²⁵Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

²⁶But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother.

²⁷For it is written, “Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children, burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the one who is married.”

²⁸Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac.

²⁹But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.

³⁰But what does the scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.”

³¹So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.

¹For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

²Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

³Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law.

⁴You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

⁵For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

⁷You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?

⁸Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

⁹A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.

¹⁰I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.

¹¹But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

¹²I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!

¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.

¹⁴For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁵If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.

¹⁷For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.

¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.

¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,

²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,

²¹envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,

²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

²⁶Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

¹My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.

²Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

³For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.

⁴All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride.

⁵For all must carry their own loads.

⁶Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.

⁷Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.

⁸If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

⁹So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.

¹⁰So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

¹¹See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!

¹²It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised — only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

¹³Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh.

¹⁴May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹⁵For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!

¹⁶As for those who will follow this rule — peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

¹⁷From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.

¹⁸May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

⁴just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

⁵He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,

⁶to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

⁸that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight

⁹he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,

¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

¹¹In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,

¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

¹³In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;

¹⁴this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

¹⁵I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason

¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,

¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,

¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

²⁰God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

²²And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,

²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.