Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹And you were dead in your offenses and sins,

²in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

³Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.

⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

⁵even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

⁶and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

⁷so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

¹¹Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—

¹²remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the hostility, which is the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace;

¹⁶and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.

¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;

¹⁸for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,

²¹in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,

²²in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

²if indeed you have heard of the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you;

³that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before briefly.

⁴By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

⁵which in other generations was not made known to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

⁶to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

⁷of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

⁸To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

⁹and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things;

¹⁰so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

¹¹This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

¹²in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

¹³Therefore I ask you not to become discouraged about my tribulations in your behalf, since they are your glory.

¹⁴For this reason I bend my knees before the Father,

¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

¹⁶that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self,

¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁸may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,

¹⁹and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.

²⁰Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

²¹to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

¹Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

³being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling;

⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

⁶one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

⁸Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE the captives, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO PEOPLE.”

⁹(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?

¹⁰He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

¹¹And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers,

¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ;

¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

¹⁵but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ,

¹⁶from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

¹⁷So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds,

¹⁸being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;

¹⁹and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

²⁰But you did not learn Christ in this way,

²¹if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,

²²that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,

²³and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

²⁴and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

²⁵Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you with his neighbor, because we are parts of one another.

²⁶BE ANGRY, AND yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

²⁷and do not give the devil an opportunity.

²⁸The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather he must labor, producing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need.

²⁹Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

³⁰Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

³¹All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.

³²Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

¹Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

²and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

³But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints;

⁴and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

⁵For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

⁶See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

⁷Therefore do not become partners with them;

⁸for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

¹⁰as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

¹¹Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

¹³But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

¹⁴For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise,

¹⁶making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord;

²⁰always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father;

²¹and subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.

²²Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

²³For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

²⁶so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

²⁷that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

²⁸So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

³⁰because we are parts of His body.

³¹FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.

³²This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

²HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise),

³SO THAT IT MAY TURN OUT WELL FOR YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.

⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

⁵Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;

⁶not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

⁷With goodwill render service, as to the Lord, and not to people,

⁸knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

⁹And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

¹³Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

¹⁴Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints,

¹⁹and pray in my behalf, that speech may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

²¹Now, so that you also may know about my circumstances as to what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.

²³Peace be to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

¹Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

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

³I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

⁴always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

⁵in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

⁶For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

⁸For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

¹⁰so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;

¹¹having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,

¹³so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else,

¹⁴and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

¹⁵Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill;

¹⁶the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

¹⁷the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.

¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But not only that, I also will rejoice,

¹⁹for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

²⁰according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

²²But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

²³But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;

²⁴yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.

²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

²⁶so that your pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

²⁷Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

²⁸and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God.

²⁹For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,

³⁰experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

¹Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

²make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

³Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;

⁴do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

⁵Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.

⁹For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

¹³for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without complaining or arguments;

¹⁵so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

¹⁶holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

¹⁷But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

¹⁸You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

¹⁹But I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

²⁰For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

²¹For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

²²But you know of his proven character, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.

²³Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me;

²⁴and I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly.

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need,

²⁶because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

²⁷For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.

²⁹Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold people like him in high regard,

³⁰because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to compensate for your absence in your service to me.

¹Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble for me, and it is a safeguard for you.

²Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;

³for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and take pride in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh,

⁴although I myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason:

⁵circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;

⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

⁷But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ.

⁸More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ,

⁹and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

¹⁰that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

¹¹if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

¹³Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well;

¹⁶however, let’s keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

¹⁷Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

¹⁸For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ,

¹⁹whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things.

²⁰For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

²¹who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

¹Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

²I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.

³Indeed, true companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement as well as the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

⁵Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

⁹As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act.

¹¹Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

¹²I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

¹³I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

¹⁴Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty.

¹⁵You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone;

¹⁶for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

¹⁷Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your account.

¹⁸But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

¹⁹And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

²⁰Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²¹Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.

²²All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

²To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

⁴since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;

⁵because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel

⁶which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth;

⁷just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,

⁸and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

¹⁰so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

¹¹strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously

¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

¹³For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:

¹⁶for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

¹⁷He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

¹⁸He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

¹⁹For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

²⁰and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds,

²²yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—

²³if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am supplementing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions in behalf of His body, which is the church.

²⁵I was made a minister of this church according to the commission from God granted to me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,

²⁶that is, the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints,

²⁷to whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸We proclaim Him, admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ.

²⁹For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power which works mightily within me.

¹For I want you to know how great a struggle I have in your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face,

²that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and that they would attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments.

⁵For even though I am absent in body, I am nevertheless with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your orderly manner and the stability of your faith in Christ.

⁶Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

⁷having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

⁸See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.

⁹For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

¹⁰and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority;

¹¹and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ,

¹²having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

¹³And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings,

¹⁴having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

¹⁵When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

¹⁶Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day—

¹⁷things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

¹⁸Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,

¹⁹and not holding firmly to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

²⁰If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

²¹“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

²²(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of man?

²³These are matters which do have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

¹Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

²Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.

³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

⁵Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

⁶For it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

⁷and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.

⁸But now you also, rid yourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth.

⁹Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices,

¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it—

¹¹a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.

¹²So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;

¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.

¹⁴In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

¹⁷Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

¹⁸Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not become bitter against them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

²¹Fathers, do not antagonize your children, so that they will not become discouraged.

²²Slaves, obey those who are your human masters in everything, not with eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

²³Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people,

²⁴knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

²⁵For the one who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

¹Masters, grant your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

²Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

³praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;

⁴that I may make it clear in the way that I ought to proclaim it.

⁵Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

⁶Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

⁷As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information.

⁸For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts;

⁹and with him is Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your own. They will inform you about the whole situation here.

¹⁰Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’ cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him);

¹¹and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.

¹²Epaphras, who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

¹³For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁴Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and Demas does also.

¹⁵Greet the brothers and sisters who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.

¹⁶When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part, read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.

¹⁷Tell Archippus, “See to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, so that you may fulfill it.”

¹⁸I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.