Bible in 90 Days

²⁶ It is your faith in the Anointed Jesus that makes all of you children of God ²⁷ because all of you who have been initiated into the Anointed One through the ceremonial washing of baptism^[a] have put Him on. ²⁸ It makes no difference whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a freeman, a man or a woman, because in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, you are all one. ²⁹ Since you belong to Him and are now subject to His power, you are the descendant of Abraham and the heir of God’s glory according to the promise.

4 Listen. I am going to explain how this all works: When a minor inherits an estate from his parents, although he is the owner of everything, he is the same as a slave. ² Until the day set by his father, the minor is subject to the authorities or guardians whom his father put in charge. ³ It is like that with us; there was a time when we were like children held under the elemental powers of this world. ⁴ When the right time arrived, God sent His Son into this world (born of a woman, subject to the law) ⁵ to free those who, just like Him, were subject to the law. Ultimately He wanted us all to be adopted as sons and daughters. ⁶ Because you are now part of God’s family, He sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts; and the Spirit calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ You no longer have to live as a slave because you are a child of God. And since you are His child, God guarantees an inheritance is waiting for you.

⁸ During the time before you knew God, you were slaves to powers that are not gods at all. ⁹ But now, when you are just beginning to know the one True God—actually, He is showing how completely He knows you—how can you turn back to weak and worthless idols made by men, icons of these spiritual powers? Haven’t you endured enough bondage to these breathless idols? ¹⁰ You are observing particular days, months, festival seasons, and years; ¹¹ you have me worried that I may have wasted my time laboring among you.

¹² Brothers and sisters, I have become one of you. Now it’s your turn—become as I am. You have never wronged me. ¹³ Do you remember the first time I preached the good news to you? I was sick, and ¹⁴ I know my illness was a hardship to you, but you never drew back from me or scorned me. You cared for me as if I were a heavenly messenger of God, possibly as well as if I were the Anointed Jesus Himself! Don’t you remember? ¹⁵ What has happened to your joy and blessing? I tell you, the place was so thick with love that if it were possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and handed them to me. ¹⁶ And now, do I stand as your enemy because I tried to bless you with the truth? ¹⁷ I’ll tell you what these false brothers and sisters are counting on: your attention. They are ravenous for it. They are not acting honorably or in your best interests. They want to keep you away from the good news we proclaim so they can have you all to themselves. ¹⁸ Listen, there’s nothing wrong with zeal when you’re zealous for God’s good purpose. And what’s more, you don’t have to wait for me to be with you to seek the good. ¹⁹ My dear children, I feel the pains of birth upon me again, and I will continue in labor for you until the Anointed One is formed completely in you. ²⁰ I wish I were there. This letter is really harsh, yet I am really perplexed by you.

²¹ Now it’s your turn to instruct me. All of you who want to live by the rules of the law, are you really listening to and heeding what the law teaches? Listen to this: ²² it’s recorded in the Scripture that Abraham was the father of two sons. One son was born to a slave woman, Hagar, and the other son was born to a free woman, Abraham’s wife, Sarah. ²³ The slave woman’s son was born through only natural means, but the free woman’s son was born through a promise from God. ²⁴ I’m using an allegory. Here’s the picture: these two women stand for two covenants. The first represents the covenant God made on Mount Sinai—this is Hagar, who gives birth to children of slavery. ²⁵ Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she stands for the Jerusalem we know now. She has lived in slavery along with her children. ²⁶ But there is a Jerusalem we know above. She is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ Isaiah wrote,

²⁸ So you see now, brothers and sisters, you are children of the promise like Isaac. ²⁹ The slave’s son, born through only what flesh could conceive, resented and persecuted the one born into the freedom of the Spirit. The slave’s son picked at Isaac, just as you are being picked at now. ³⁰ So what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the slave and her son, for the slave’s son will never have a share of the inheritance coming to the son of the free woman.”^{[c] 31} So, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but sons and daughters of the free.

5 So stand strong for our freedom! The Anointed One freed us so we wouldn’t spend one more day under the yoke of slavery, trapped under the law.

² Listen because I, Paul, am going to make this message very clear so it cannot be misunderstood: if you undergo the rite of circumcision, then all that the Anointed accomplished will be lost on you. ³ And understand this: if you choose to be circumcised, then you will oblige yourself to do every single rule of the law for the rest of your life. ⁴ You, and anyone else who seeks to be on the right side of God through the law, have effectively been cut off from the Anointed, circumcised from grace, and cast off from the favor of God. ⁵ We, on the other hand, continue to live through the Spirit’s power and wait confidently in the hope that things will be put right through faith. ⁶ Here’s the thing: in Jesus the Anointed whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference. What makes a difference is faith energized by love.

⁷ Who has impeded your progress and kept you from obeying the truth? You were off to such a good start. ⁸ I know for certain the pressure isn’t coming from God. He keeps calling you to the truth. ⁹ You know what they say, “Just a little yeast causes all the dough to rise,” so even the slightest detour from the truth will take you to a destination you do not desire. ¹⁰ Despite this, I’m confident because the Lord reassures me that you will truly hear and take my message to heart. Besides, I also know that these troublemakers, whoever they are, will answer to God and be judged accordingly. ¹¹ As for me, brothers and sisters, if I continue to preach circumcision—as these agitators claim—then why do I still face persecution? If I were to preach a compromised version of the good news, then the scandal of the cross would come to an end. ¹² I really wish that these people who weigh you down with corrupt counsel would mutilate themselves!

¹³ Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil this gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love. ¹⁴ For the whole law comes down to this one instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself,”^[d] so ¹⁵ why all this vicious gnawing on each other? If you are not careful, you will find you’ve eaten each other alive!

¹⁶ Here’s my instruction: walk in the Spirit, and let the Spirit bring order to your life. If you do, you will never give in to your selfish and sinful cravings. ¹⁷ For everything the flesh desires goes against the Spirit, and everything the Spirit desires goes against the flesh. There is a constant battle raging between them that prevents you from doing the good you want to do. ¹⁸ But when you are led by the Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.

¹⁹ It’s clear that our flesh entices us into practicing some of its most heinous acts: participating in corrupt sexual relationships, impurity, unbridled lust, ²⁰ idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, arguing, jealousy, anger, selfishness, contentiousness, division, ²¹ envy of others’ good fortune, drunkenness, drunken revelry, and other shameful vices that plague humankind. I told you this clearly before, and I only tell you again so there is no room for confusion: those who give in to these ways will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² The Holy Spirit produces a different kind of fruit: unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. You won’t find any law opposed to fruit like this. ²⁴ Those of us who belong to the Anointed One have crucified our old lives and put to death the flesh and all the lusts and desires that plague us.

²⁵ Now since we have chosen to walk with the Spirit, let’s keep each step in perfect sync with God’s Spirit. ²⁶ This will happen when we set aside our self-interests and work together to create true community instead of a culture consumed by provocation, pride, and envy.

6 My spiritual brothers and sisters, if one of our faithful has fallen into a trap and is snared by sin, don’t stand idle and watch his demise. Gently restore him, being careful not to step into your own snare. ² Shoulder each other’s burdens, and then you will live as the law of the Anointed teaches us. ³ Don’t take this opportunity to think you are better than those who slip because you aren’t; then you become the fool and deceive even yourself. ⁴ Examine your own works so that if you are proud, it will be because of your own accomplishments and not someone else’s. ⁵ Each person has his or her own burden to bear and story to write.

⁶ Remember to share what you have with your mentor in the Word.

⁷ Make no mistake: God can’t be mocked. What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest. ⁸ Those who sow seeds into their flesh will only harvest destruction from their sinful nature. But those who sow seeds into the Spirit shall harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. ⁹ May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist. ¹⁰ So seize any opportunity the Lord gives you to do good things and be a blessing to everyone, especially those within our faithful family.

¹¹ Look at how giant these letters are now that I am writing with my own hand!

¹² The troublemakers who are putting pressure on you to be circumcised are trying to impress the flesh. They want to avoid the persecution that comes from preaching the cross of the Anointed One, the Liberating King. ¹³ But even those who receive circumcision can’t keep the law—although they think they can—and they hope to influence which way you go with your own skin so they can have bragging rights over your flesh.

¹⁴ May I never put anything above the cross of our Lord Jesus the Anointed. Through Him, the world has been crucified to me and I to this world. ¹⁵ Let me be clear: circumcision won’t save you—uncircumcision won’t either for that matter—for both amount to nothing. God’s new creation is what counts, and it counts for everything. ¹⁶ May peace and mercy come to all of you who live by this rule and to the Israel of God.

¹⁷ In the future, don’t let anyone cause trouble for me because I bear in my body the marks that wounded Jesus.

¹⁸ May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, infuse your spirit with His, brothers and sisters. Amen.

1 Paul, an emissary^[e] of Jesus the Anointed, directly commissioned as His representative by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus]^[f] faithful in Jesus the Anointed.

² May God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed surround you with grace and peace.

³ Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who grants us every spiritual blessing in these heavenly realms where we live in the Anointed—not because of anything we have done, but because of what He has done for us. ⁴ God chose us to be in a relationship with Him even before He laid out plans for this world; He wanted us to live holy lives characterized by love, free from sin, and blameless before Him. ⁵ He destined us to be adopted as His children through the covenant Jesus the Anointed inaugurated in His sacrificial life. This was His pleasure and His will for us. ⁶ Ultimately God is the one worthy of praise for showing us His grace; He is merciful and marvelous, freely giving us these gifts in His Beloved. ⁷ Visualize this: His blood freely flowing down the cross, setting us free! We are forgiven for our sinful ways by the richness of His grace, ⁸ which He has poured all over us. With all wisdom and insight, ⁹ He has enlightened us to the great mystery at the center of His will. With immense pleasure, He laid out His intentions through Jesus, ¹⁰ a plan that will climax when the time is right as He returns to create order and unity—both in heaven and on earth—when all things are brought together under the Anointed’s royal rule. In Him ¹¹ we stand to inherit even more. As His heirs, we are predestined to play a key role in His unfolding purpose that is energizing everything to conform to His will. ¹² As a result, we—the first to place our hope in the Anointed One—will live in a way to bring Him glory and praise. ¹³ Because you, too, have heard the word of truth—the good news of your salvation—and because you believed in the One who is truth, your lives are marked with His seal. This is none other than the Holy Spirit who was promised ¹⁴ as the guarantee toward the inheritance we are to receive when He frees and rescues all who belong to Him. To God be all praise and glory!

¹⁵ This is why, when I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that is present in your community and of your great love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I haven’t stopped thanking Him for you. I am continually speaking to Him on your behalf in my prayers. Here’s what I say:

Friends, it is this same might and resurrection power that ²⁰ He used in the Anointed One to raise Him from the dead and to position Him at His right hand in heaven. There is nothing over Him. ²¹ He’s above all rule, authority, power, and dominion; over every name invoked, over every title bestowed in this age and the next. ²² God has placed all things beneath His feet and anointed Him as the head over all things for His church. ²³ This church is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

2 As for you, don’t you remember how you used to just exist? Corpses, dead in life, buried by transgressions, ² wandering the course of this perverse world. You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air—oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience. I’m not talking about the outsiders alone; ³ we were all guilty of falling headlong for the persuasive passions of this world; we all have had our fill of indulging the flesh and mind, obeying impulses to follow perverse thoughts motivated by dark powers. As a result, our natural inclinations led us to be children of wrath, just like the rest of humankind.

⁴ But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, ⁵ united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life—even though we were buried under mountains of sin—and saved us by His grace. ⁶ He raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavenly realms with our beloved Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. ⁷ He did this for a reason: so that for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed. ^8-9 For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing. ¹⁰ For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago.

¹¹ So never forget how you used to be. Those of you born as outsiders to Israel were outcasts, branded “the uncircumcised” by those who bore the sign of the covenant in their flesh, a sign made with human hands. ¹² You had absolutely no connection to the Anointed; you were strangers, separated from God’s people. You were aliens to the covenant they had with God; you were hopelessly stranded without God in a fractured world. ¹³ But now, because of Jesus the Anointed and His sacrifice, all of that has changed. God gathered you who were so far away and brought you near to Him by the royal blood of the Anointed, our Liberating King.

¹⁴ He is the embodiment of our peace, sent once and for all to take down the great barrier of hatred and hostility that has divided us so that we can be one. ¹⁵ He offered His body on the sacrificial altar to bring an end to the law’s ordinances and dictations that separated Jews from the outside nations. His desire was to create in His body one new humanity from the two opposing groups, thus creating peace. ¹⁶ Effectively the cross becomes God’s means to kill off the hostility once and for all so that He is able to reconcile them both to God in this one new body.

¹⁷ The Great Preacher of peace and love came for you, and His voice found those of you who were near and those who were far away. ¹⁸ By Him both have access to the Father in one Spirit. ¹⁹ And so you are no longer called outcasts and wanderers but citizens with God’s people, members of God’s holy family, and residents of His household. ²⁰ You are being built on a solid foundation: the message of the prophets and the voices of God’s chosen emissaries^[g] with Jesus, the Anointed Himself, the precious cornerstone. ²¹ The building is joined together stone by stone—all of us chosen and sealed in Him, rising up to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In Him you are being built together, creating a sacred dwelling place among you where God can live in the Spirit.

3 All this is exactly why I, Paul, am a prisoner of Jesus the Anointed, His representative to the outsider nations. ² You have heard, haven’t you, how God appointed me to bring you His message of grace? ³ And how the mystery was made known to me in a revelation? I briefly wrote about it earlier. ⁴ When you read what I have written, you will be better able to understand the depth of my insight into the mystery of the Anointed One, ⁵ a mystery that has never before been shown to past generations. Only now are these secrets being revealed to God’s chosen emissaries^[h] and prophets through the Holy Spirit. ⁶ Specifically, the mystery is this: by trusting in the good news, the Gentile outsiders are becoming fully enfranchised members of the same body, heirs alongside Israel, and beneficiaries of the promise that has been fulfilled through Jesus the Anointed.

⁷ I became a servant and preacher of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace as He exercised His amazing power over me. ⁸ I cannot think of anyone more unworthy to this cause than I, the least of the least of the saints. But here I am, a grace-made man, privileged to be an echo of His voice and a preacher to all the nations of the riches of the Anointed One, riches that no one ever imagined. ⁹ I am privileged to enlighten all of Adam’s descendants to the mystery concealed from previous ages by God, the Creator of all, through Jesus the Anointed. ¹⁰ Here’s His objective: through the church, He intends now to make known His infinite and boundless wisdom to all rulers and authorities in heavenly realms. ¹¹ This has been His plan from the beginning, one that He has now accomplished through the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord. ¹² His faithfulness^[i] to God has made it possible for us to have the courage we need and the ability to approach the Father confidently. ¹³ So I ask you not to become discouraged because I am jailed for speaking out on your behalf. In fact, my suffering is something that brings you glory.

¹⁴ It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ after whom all families in heaven above and on earth below receive their names, and pray:

²⁰ Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, ²¹ to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen.

4 As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you. ² Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Tolerate one another in an atmosphere thick with love. ³ Make every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit has already created, with peace binding you together.

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all called to pursue one hope. ⁵ There is one Lord Jesus, one living faith, one ceremonial washing through baptism,^[j] and ⁶ one God—the Father over all who is above all, through all, and in all. ⁷ This God has given to each of us grace in full measure according to the Anointed’s gift ⁸ as the Scripture says,

⁹ (Well, when it says “He ascended,” then that must mean that He had descended earlier to the lower levels, that is, to the earth. ¹⁰ The One who descended is the same One who rose from the dead to ascend far above all the heavens so that He could fill all things.)

¹¹ It was the risen One who handed down to us such gifted leaders—some emissaries,^[l] some prophets, some evangelists, as well as some pastor-teachers— ¹² so that God’s people would be thoroughly equipped to minister and build up the body of the Anointed One. ¹³ These ministries will continue until we are unified in faith and filled with the knowledge of the Son of God, until we stand mature in His teachings and fully formed in the likeness of the Anointed, our Liberating King. ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be like children, tossed around here and there upon ocean waves, picked up by every gust of religious teaching spoken by liars or swindlers or deceivers. ¹⁵ Instead, by truth spoken in love, we are to grow in every way into Him—the Anointed One, the head. ¹⁶ He joins and holds together the whole body with its ligaments providing the support needed so each part works to its proper design to form a healthy, growing, and mature body that builds itself up in love.

¹⁷ Therefore, as a witness of the Lord, I insist on this: that you no longer walk in the outsiders’ ways—with minds devoted to worthless pursuits. ¹⁸ They are blind to true understanding. They are strangers and aliens to the kind of life God has for them because they live in ignorance and immorality and because their hearts are cold, hard stones. ¹⁹ And now, since they’ve lost all natural feelings, they have given themselves over to sensual, greedy, and reckless living. They stop at nothing to satisfy their impure appetites.

²⁰ But this is not the path of the Anointed One, which you have learned. ²¹ If you have heard Jesus and have been taught by Him according to the truth that is in Him, ²² then you know to take off your former way of life, your crumpled old self—that dark blot of a soul corrupted by deceitful desire and lust— ²³ to take a fresh breath and to let God renew your attitude and spirit. ²⁴ Then you are ready to put on your new self, modeled after the very likeness of God: truthful, righteous, and holy.

²⁵ So put away your lies and speak the truth to one another because we are all part of one another. ²⁶ When you are angry, don’t let it carry you into sin.^[m] Don’t let the sun set with anger in your heart or ²⁷ give the devil room to work. ²⁸ If you have been stealing, stop. Thieves must go to work like everyone else and work honestly with their hands so that they can share with anyone who has a need. ²⁹ Don’t let even one rotten word seep out of your mouths. Instead, offer only fresh words that build others up when they need it most. That way your good words will communicate grace to those who hear them. ³⁰ It’s time to stop bringing grief to God’s Holy Spirit; you have been sealed with the Spirit, marked as His own for the day of rescue. ³¹ Banish bitterness, rage and anger, shouting and slander, and any and all malicious thoughts—these are poison. ³² Instead, be kind and compassionate. Graciously forgive one another just as God has forgiven you through the Anointed, our Liberating King.

5 So imitate God. Follow Him like adored children, ² and live in love as the Anointed One loved you—so much that He gave Himself as a fragrant sacrifice, pleasing God.

³ Listen, don’t let any kind of immorality be breathed among you. Any demoralizing behaviors (perverse sexual acts, uncleanliness, greediness, and the like) are inappropriate topics of conversation for those set apart as God’s people. ⁴ Don’t swear or spurt nonsense. Don’t make harsh jokes or clown around. Make proper use of your words, and offer them thankfully in praise. ⁵ This is what we know for certain: no one who engages in loose sex, impure actions, and greed—which is just a form of idolatry—has any inheritance in the kingdom of God and His Anointed.

⁶ Don’t be fooled by people whose sentences are compounded with useless words, empty words—they just show they are empty souls. For, in His wrath, God will judge all the children of disobedience for these kinds of sins. ⁷ So don’t be persuaded into their ignorance; and don’t cast your lot with them ⁸ because, although you were once the personification of darkness, you are now light in the Lord. So act like children of the light. ⁹ For the fruit of the light is all that is good, right, and true. ¹⁰ Make it your aim to learn what pleases our Lord. ¹¹ Don’t get involved with the fruitless works of darkness; instead, expose them to the light of God. ¹² You see, it’s a disgrace to speak of their secrets (so don’t even talk about what they do when no one is looking). ^13-14 When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing,

¹⁵ So be careful how you live; be mindful of your steps. Don’t run around like idiots as the rest of the world does. Instead, walk as the wise! ¹⁶ Make the most of every living and breathing moment because these are evil times. ¹⁷ So understand and be confident in God’s will, and don’t live thoughtlessly. ¹⁸ Don’t drink wine excessively. The drunken path is a reckless path. It leads nowhere. Instead, let God fill you with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ When you are filled with the Spirit, you are empowered to speak to each other in the soulful words of pious songs, hymns, and spiritual songs; to sing and make music with your hearts attuned to God; ²⁰ and to give thanks to God the Father every day through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed for all He has done.

²¹ And the Spirit makes it possible to submit humbly to one another out of respect for the Anointed. ²² Wives, it should be no different with your husbands. Submit to them as you do to the Lord, ²³ for God has given husbands a sacred duty to lead as the Anointed leads the church and serves as the head. (The church is His body; He is her Savior.) ²⁴ So wives should submit to their husbands, respectfully, in all things, just as the church yields to the Anointed One.

^25-26 Husbands, you must love your wives so deeply, purely, and sacrificially that we can understand it only when we compare it to the love the Anointed One has for His bride, the church. We know He gave Himself up completely to make her His own, washing her clean of all her impurity with water and the powerful presence of His word. ²⁷ He has given Himself so that He can present the church as His radiant bride, unstained, unwrinkled, and unblemished—completely free from all impurity—holy and innocent before Him. ²⁸ So husbands should care for their wives as if their lives depended on it, the same way they care for their own bodies. As you love her, you ultimately are loving part of yourself (remember, you are one flesh). ²⁹ No one really hates his own body; he takes care to feed and love it, just as the Anointed takes care of His church, ³⁰ because we are living members of His body. ³¹ “And this is the reason a man leaves his father and his mother and is united with his wife; the two come together as one flesh.”^{[n] 32} There is a great mystery reflected in this Scripture, and I say that it has to do with the marriage of the Anointed One and the church. ³³ Nevertheless, each husband is to love and protect his own wife as if she were his very heart, and each wife is to respect her own husband.

6 Now to you, children, obey your parents in the Lord because this is right in God’s eyes. ² This is the first commandment onto which He added a promise: “Honor your father and your mother, and ³ if you do, you will live long and well in this land.”^[o]

⁴ And, fathers, do not drive your children mad, but nurture them in the discipline and teaching that come from the Lord.

⁵ Slaves, respect and fear your earthly masters. Obey and serve them with the same sincerity of heart as you serve the Anointed One. ⁶ Don’t put on a show just because they are looking (as if you were a people pleaser); but as a slave of the Anointed, do the will of God from your heart. ⁷ Serve them in good faith as if you were serving the Lord, not men, ⁸ because all good deeds are gifted back from the Lord, and they are yours whether you are a slave or not.

⁹ Masters, hear this: act in kind to your slaves. Stop terrorizing and threatening them. Don’t forget that you have a Master in heaven who does not take sides or pick favorites.

¹⁰ Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. ¹² We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.

¹³ And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. ¹⁴ Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, ¹⁵ and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. ¹⁶ Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. ¹⁷ Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed. ¹⁹ And please pray for me. Pray that truth will be with me before I even open my mouth. Ask the Spirit to guide me while I boldly defend the mystery that is the good news— ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains—so pray that I can bravely pronounce the truth, as I should do.

²¹ I am sending to you Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful minister in the Lord. He will tell you everything that has been going on here with me ²² so you will know how I am and what I am doing. He’s coming with news that will hopefully comfort your hearts. ²³ Brothers and sisters, let me leave you with a blessing:

1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus the Anointed One, greet you, our friends in Philippi—those set apart by Jesus the Anointed—and we greet the elders and deacons who serve with you. ² Grace and peace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed.

³ Whenever you cross my mind, I thank my God for you and for the gift of knowing you. ⁴ My spirit is lightened with joy whenever I pray for you (and I do constantly) ⁵ because you have partnered with me to spread the gospel since the first day I preached to you.

⁶ I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world. ⁷ It is only right that I should feel such admiration for you all—you hold me close to your hearts. And, since we are partners in this great work of grace, you have never failed to stand with me as I have defended and stood firm for the gospel—even from this prison cell. ⁸ Before God I want you to know how much I long to see you and love you with the affection of the Anointed One, Jesus.

⁹ Here’s what I pray for you:

All this I pray, with a view to God’s ultimate praise and glory.

¹² I have good news, brothers and sisters; and I want to share it. Believe it or not, my imprisonment has actually helped spread the good news to new places and populations. ¹³ Word has spread through the ranks of the imperial guard and to everyone else around me that I am in prison because of my faith in the Anointed One. ¹⁴ My imprisonment has instilled courage in most of our brothers and sisters, so they are trusting God more and have been even more daring as they speak the good news without fear.

^15-17 I am well aware that some people out there are preaching the message of the Anointed One because of jealousies and rivalries. Their motives aren’t pure. They’re driven by selfish ambitions and personal agendas, hoping somehow to add to my pain here in prison. And I also know there are others who are preaching the Anointed from true goodness, motivated by love. They wish me the best because they know I’m here in prison in defense of the gospel.

¹⁸ So what do we do then? Listen. What matters is that in every way, regardless of the motives—whether pure or shady—the great story of the Anointed is a cause for joy. I will continue to rejoice ¹⁹ because I know that through your encouragement and prayers and through the help of the Spirit of Jesus the Anointed, I will soon be released from this dark place. ²⁰ I don’t expect that dishonor and shame will plague me in any way, but I do hope that I will continue to be able to speak freely and courageously about Jesus, and that now and forever the Anointed One will be glorified and placed above all else through this body of mine—whether I live or die. ²¹ For my life is about the Anointed and Him alone. And my death, when that comes, will mean great gain for me. ²² So, if it’s His will that I go on serving here, my work will be fruitful for the message. I honestly wouldn’t know how or what to choose; ²³ I would be hard-pressed to decide. I lean toward leaving this world to be with the Anointed One because I can only think that would be much better. ²⁴ To stay in this body of flesh—even with all its pains and weaknesses—would best serve your needs. ²⁵ Now that I think of it, I am sure of this: I would prefer to remain to share in the progress and joy of your growing belief. ²⁶ When I return to you, we will celebrate Jesus the Anointed even more.

²⁷ So here is what I want you to do: conduct yourselves as true and worthy citizens of the Anointed’s gospel, so that whether I make it or don’t make it to see you, I will at least hear that you continue to stand, united in one spirit, single-minded in purpose as you struggle together for the faith in the gospel. ²⁸ Don’t be paralyzed in any way by what your opponents are doing. Your steadfast faith in the face of opposition is a sign that they are doomed and that you have been graced with God’s salvation. ²⁹ And now, you have been given the privilege of not only believing in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, but being chosen to suffer for Him as well. ³⁰ You have seen me suffer for Him. Since I’ve been away, you’ve heard of the other agonizing conflicts I’ve had to face. Now you know firsthand the pains of this battle.

2 If you find any comfort from being in the Anointed, if His love brings you some encouragement, if you experience true companionship with the Spirit, if His tenderness and mercy fill your heart; then, brothers and sisters, ² here is one thing that would complete my joy—come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love. ³ Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. ⁴ Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first.

⁵ In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember:

¹² So now, my beloved, obey as you have always done, not only when I am with you, but even more so when I can’t be. Continue to work out your salvation, with great fear and trembling, ¹³ because God is energizing you so that you will desire and do what always pleases Him.

¹⁴ Do all things without complaining or bickering with each other, ¹⁵ so you will be found innocent and blameless; you are God’s children called to live without a single stain on your reputations among this perverted and crooked generation. Shine like stars across the land. ¹⁶ Cling to the word of life so that on the day of judgment when the Anointed One returns I may have reason to rejoice, because it will be plain that I didn’t turn from His mission nor did I work in vain. ¹⁷ Even if my lifeblood is to be poured out like wine as a sacrifice of your faith, I have great reason to celebrate with all of you. ¹⁸ And for the same reason, you can be glad and celebrate with me.

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy your way. He will visit soon so that he may report to me how you are doing. To hear all that is going on with you will truly encourage my heart. ²⁰ There is no one like Timothy. What sets him apart from others is his deep concern for you and your spiritual journey. This is rare, my friends, ²¹ for most people only care about themselves, not about what is dear to the heart of Jesus the Anointed. ²² You know Timothy is genuine in the Lord’s ways. He has been a faithful partner to me as we express the good news, as much as my own flesh and blood would have been. ²³ I expect to send him soon, and I will as soon as I see how things turn out here. ²⁴ I trust in the Lord that it won’t be very long before I can come and be with you in person.

²⁵ But for now, I think it is best to send Epaphroditus home to you. He has become my dear brother in the Lord. We have worked well together and fought great battles together, and he was an encouraging minister to me in my time of need. ²⁶ He could not wait to see you all. He was concerned for you when he found out you knew how sick he really was. ²⁷ In fact, he nearly died. But once again, God was exceedingly kind and covered him with His mercy. And I, too, by His mercy, have been spared sorrow on top of sorrow.

²⁸ I am so excited to be sending him back to you! I can picture the joy on your faces when he arrives; I can feel my worries falling away. ²⁹ Welcome him joyfully in the Lord. Esteem all spiritual leaders like Epaphroditus ³⁰ because he placed his life in grave danger for the work of the Anointed; he risked his life to serve me when you couldn’t.

3 It is time that I wrap up these thoughts to you, my brothers and sisters. Rejoice in the Lord! (I don’t mind writing these things over and over to you, as I know it keeps you safe.)

² Watch out for the dogs—wicked workers who run in packs looking for someone to maul with their false circumcision.

³ We are the true circumcision—those who worship God in Spirit and make our boast in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King—so we do not rely on what we have accomplished in the flesh.

⁴ If any try to throw around their pedigrees to you, remember my résumé—which is more impressive than theirs. ⁵ I was circumcised on the eighth day—as the law prescribes—born of the nation of Israel, descended from the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew born of Hebrews; I have observed the law according to the strict piety of the Pharisees, separate from those embracing a less rigorous kind of Judaism. ⁶ Zealous? Yes. I ruthlessly pursued and persecuted the church. And when it comes to the righteousness required by the law, my record is spotless.

⁷ But whatever I used to count as my greatest accomplishments, I’ve written them off as a loss because of the Anointed One. ⁸ And more so, I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing the Anointed Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him. ⁹ When it counts, I want to be found belonging to Him, not clinging to my own righteousness based on law, but actively relying on the faithfulness of the Anointed One. This is true righteousness, supplied by God, acquired by faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Him inside and out. I want to experience the power of His resurrection and join in His suffering, shaped by His death, ¹¹ so that I may arrive safely at the resurrection from the dead.

¹² I’m not there yet, nor have I become perfect; but I am charging on to gain anything and everything the Anointed One, Jesus, has in store for me—and nothing will stand in my way because He has grabbed me and won’t let me go. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, as I said, I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission. ¹⁴ I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed. ¹⁵ All of us who are mature ought to think the same way about these matters. If you have a different attitude, then God will reveal this to you as well. ¹⁶ For now, let’s hold on to what we have been shown and keep in step with these teachings.

¹⁷ Imitate me, brothers and sisters, and look around to those already following the example we have set. ¹⁸ I have warned you before (and now say again through my tears) that we have many enemies—people who reject the cross of the Anointed. ¹⁹ They are ruled by their bellies, their glory comes by shame, and their minds are fixed on the things of this world. They are doomed. ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, exiles on earth waiting eagerly for a Liberator, our Lord Jesus the Anointed, to come and ²¹ transform these humble, earthly bodies into the form of His glorious body by the same power that brings all things under His control.

4 For this reason, brothers and sisters, my joy and crown whom I dearly love, I cannot wait to see you again. Continue to stand firm in the Lord, and follow my instructions in this letter, beloved. ² Euodia and Syntyche, I urge you to put aside your differences, agree, and work together in the Lord. ³ Yes, Syzygus, loyal friend, I enlist you to please help these women. They, along with brother Clement and many others, have worked by my side to spread the good news of the gospel. They have their names recorded in the book of life.

⁴ Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice! ⁵ Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. ⁶ Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. ⁷ And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. ⁹ Keep to the script: whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me—do it—and the God of peace will walk with you.

¹⁰ I could hardly contain my joy in the Lord when I realized you have started to show your care for me once again. Since you have not had the opportunity to show how much you cared until now, I want you to know how it touched me. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need. I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances. ¹² I know how to survive in tight situations, and I know how to enjoy having plenty. In fact, I have learned how to face any circumstances: fed or hungry, with or without. ¹³ I can be content in any and every situation through the Anointed One who is my power and strength. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, it was admirable of you to participate in my affliction.

¹⁵ You remember, Philippians, at the beginning of my gospel journey after I left Macedonia, no church offered me the financial assistance I needed to do the Lord’s work, except you alone. ¹⁶ Even when I took the message to Thessalonica, you sent provisions to me. Twice even! ¹⁷ Not that I am looking for a gift—I am just looking toward your reward that comes from your gift. ¹⁸ With what Epaphroditus delivered to me from your generous pockets, I have even been blessed in excess. I am fully satisfied. I know God is pleased with your dedication and accepts this gift as a fragrant offering, a holy sacrifice, on His behalf. ¹⁹ Know this: my God will also fill every need you have according to His glorious riches in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. ²⁰ So may our God and Father be glorified forever and ever. Amen.

²¹ Greet every saint there in Jesus the Anointed One, for my brothers and sisters and I send our greetings to you. ²² All of the saints, especially those serving in Caesar’s household, also send salutations to you. ²³ May you all continue the journey with your spirits strengthened by the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. [Amen.]^[r]

1 Paul, an emissary^[s] of Jesus the Anointed serving at God’s pleasure, along with our brother Timothy ² to you, dear holy and faithful brothers and sisters in the family of the Anointed who live in Colossae. May grace and peace from God our Father [and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One]^[t] envelop you.

³ As always, we’ve been praying for you, thanking God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, ⁴ ever since we heard of your faith in Jesus the Anointed and your love for His holy ones— ⁵ a faith and love that emerge from the hope you have heard about in the word of truth—the gospel—the very hope that awaits you in heaven. ^6-7 The same gospel that was brought to you is growing and bearing fruit all over the world, just as it has been growing among you since the day you heard and took in the truth of God’s grace from our beloved fellow servant Epaphras. (He is a faithful minister of the Anointed on our^[u] behalf.) ⁸ He was the one who told us how you demonstrate your love in the power of the Spirit. ⁹ Since the day we got this good news about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We ask:

¹⁵ He is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal. ¹⁶ It was by Him that everything was created: the heavens, the earth, all things within and upon them, all things seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities. Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes. ¹⁷ He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together. ¹⁸ He is the head of this body, the church. He is the beginning, the first of those to be reborn from the dead, so that in every aspect, at every view, in everything—He is first. ¹⁹ God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son ²⁰ who, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—all things in heaven and all things on earth.

²¹ You were once at odds with God, wicked in your ways and evil in your minds; ²² but now He has reconciled you in His body—in His flesh through His death—so that He can present you to God holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection ²³ as long as you stay planted in the faith. So don’t venture away from what you have heard and taken to heart: the living hope of the good news that has been announced to all creation under heaven and has captured me, Paul, as its servant.

²⁴ Now I rejoice in what I’ve suffered on your behalf, but even more suffering is ahead for me as I take on and complete what remains of the Anointed’s suffering for the sake of His body, the church. ²⁵ I am a servant appointed by God to preach the Word of God until it is known to you and all over—what I am talking about is nothing less than ²⁶ the mystery of the ages! What was hidden for ages, generations and generations, is now being revealed to His holy ones. ²⁷ He decided to make known to them His blessing to the nations; the glorious riches of this mystery is the indwelling of the Anointed in you! The very hope of glory.

²⁸ We are preaching Him—spreading the Word to all with equal amounts of wise warning and instruction—so that, at the final judgment, we will be able to present everyone to the Creator fully mature because of what Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, has done. ²⁹ This is why I continue to toil and struggle—because His amazing power and energy surge within me.

2 This battle I am facing is huge. And I want you to know I do it for you, for all those at Laodicea, and for everyone else (even those who have never seen my face). ² I’m working hard to comfort and encourage them so that they will be knit together—that many hearts would become one through His love. I do it so they will be rich in understanding and have full knowledge of God’s mystery, which is the Anointed One Himself— ³ in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are concealed. ⁴ I only tell you this to warn you about those who would try and deceive you with their arguments. They seem plausible enough; but in the end, they are false. ⁵ Even though I cannot be there in the body, my spirit is with you; and I’m happy to know of your good order and your solid commitment to the Anointed One, our Liberating King.

⁶ Now that you have welcomed the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, into your lives, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. ⁷ Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. ⁸ Make sure no predator makes you his prey through some misleading philosophy and empty deception based on traditions fabricated by mere mortals. These are sourced in the elementary principles originating in this world and not in the Anointed One (so don’t let their talks capture you). ⁹ You see, all that is God, all His fullness, resides in His body. ¹⁰ You, too, are being completed in Him, the One who has dominion over all rule, all authority. ¹¹ In Him you were also circumcised, set apart by a spiritual act performed without hands. The Anointed One’s circumcision cut you off from the sinfulness of your flesh. ¹² You were buried with Him beneath the waters of the ceremonial washing called baptism^[x] and then were raised up with Him by faith in the resurrection power of God, who brought Him back from the dead. ¹³ And when your flesh was still uncircumcised—dead in transgression and swathed in its sinful nature—it was God who brought us^[y] to life with Him, forgave all our sins, and ¹⁴ eliminated the massive debt we incurred by the law that stood against us. He took it all away; He nailed it to the cross. But that’s not all. ¹⁵ He disarmed those who once ruled over us—those who had overpowered us. Like captives of war, He put them on display to the world to show His victory over them by means of the cross.

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone stand in judgment over you and dictate what you should eat or drink, what festivals you should celebrate, or how you should observe a new moon or Sabbath days— ¹⁷ all these are only a shadow of what shall come. The reality, the core, the import, is found in the Anointed One. ¹⁸ Don’t be cheated out of the prize by others who are peddling the worship of heavenly beings and false humility. People like this run about telling whoever will listen what they claim to have seen; but in reality they testify only to an inflated mind, saturated in conceit—not in the Spirit. ¹⁹ They are detached from the very head that nourishes and connects the whole body with all of its nerves and ligaments, a body that grows by the kind of growth that can only come from God.

²⁰ Listen, if you have died with the Anointed One to the elemental spirits of the cosmos, then why are you submitting yourselves to its rules as if you still belonged to this world? ²¹ You hear, “Don’t handle this! Don’t taste that! Don’t even touch it!” ²² but everything they are obsessed about will eventually decay with use. These rules are just human commands and teachings. ²³ Here’s what they are promoting: fabricated religion, self-humiliation, and bodily abuse. No matter which way they try to tether their bodies, they cannot harness their desires.

3 So it comes down to this: since you have been raised with the Anointed One, the Liberating King, set your mind on heaven above. The Anointed is there, seated at God’s right hand. ² Stay focused on what’s above, not on earthly things, ³ because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God. ⁴ On that day when the Anointed One—who is our^[z] very life—is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory! ⁵ So kill your earthly impulses: loose sex, impure actions, unbridled sensuality, wicked thoughts, and greed (which is essentially idolatry). ⁶ It’s because of these that God’s wrath is coming [upon the sons and daughters of disobedience],^[aa] so avoid them at all costs. ⁷ These are the same things you once pursued, and together you spawned a life of evil. ⁸ But now make sure you shed such things: anger, rage, spite, slander, and abusive language. ⁹ And don’t go on lying to each other since you have sloughed away your old skin along with its evil practices ¹⁰ for a fresh new you, which is continually renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created you. ¹¹ In this re-creation there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and conqueror,^[ab] or slave and free because the Anointed is the whole and dwells in us all.

¹² Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind. ¹⁴ But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. ¹⁵ Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Anointed’s peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful.

¹⁶ Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing—sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness. ¹⁷ Surely, no matter what you are doing (speaking, writing, or working), do it all in the name of Jesus our Master, sending thanks through Him to God our Father.

¹⁸ Wives: be submitted to your husbands as is appropriate in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands: love your wives, and don’t treat them harshly or respond with bitterness toward them.

²⁰ Children: obey your parents in every way. The Lord is well pleased by it. ²¹ Fathers: don’t infuriate your children, so their hearts won’t harbor resentment and become discouraged. ²² Slaves: obey your earthly masters in all things. Don’t just act earnest in your service only when they are watching. Serve with a sincere heart (even when others aren’t watching), fearing the Lord who is always watching! ²³ So no matter what your task is, work hard. Always do your best as the Lord’s servant, not as man’s, ²⁴ because you know your reward is the Lord’s inheritance. You serve the Lord, the Anointed One, and ²⁵ anyone who does wrong will be paid his due because He doesn’t play favorites.

4 And to you masters: treat your slaves fairly and do what is right, knowing that you, too, have a Master in heaven.

² Pray, and keep praying. Be alert and thankful when you pray. ³ And while you are at it, add us to your prayers. Pray that God would open doors and windows and minds and eyes and hearts for the word so we can go on telling the mystery of the Anointed, for this is exactly why I am currently imprisoned. ⁴ Pray that I will proclaim this message clearly and fearlessly as I should.

⁵ Be wise when you engage with those outside the faith community; make the most of every moment and every encounter. ⁶ When you speak the word, speak it gracefully (as if seasoned with salt), so you will know how to respond to everyone rightly.

^7-9 I am sending this letter by Tychicus and Onesimus, both dear brothers. Tychicus has been a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. He will update you on me and my^[ac] situation here, and he will no doubt be an encouragement to you. Onesimus is one of you; and he, too, has been faithful. You will get the whole story from them.

¹⁰ My cellmate Aristarchus sends his love, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. (You’ve been sent instructions about him, so if he comes to you, welcome him.) ¹¹ Jesus, also called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only workers in God’s kingdom here who are of the circumcision, and they are a great comfort to me.

¹² Epaphras, another one of your hometown fellows and a servant of Jesus the Anointed sends his regards and wants you to know how passionately and sincerely he speaks to the Lord about you. He prays for your spiritual journey, that you will continue to mature and stand tall in the kind of confidence that comes from knowing God’s will. ¹³ I can testify to his zeal for you and those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁴ Luke, the beloved doctor, says hello; and so does Demas. ¹⁵ Send my well wishes to the brothers and sisters of Laodicea, especially Nympha and the church that meets in her house. ¹⁶ After this letter has been read among you, see that it is also read to the church of Laodicea, and make sure you publicly share the letter I am sending to them. ¹⁷ Tell Archippus, “Take care that you complete the service you received in the Lord.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, am signing this letter in my own hand. Remember that I am chained. Grace be with you all.