^4 (A)I thank ^[a]my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,

¹⁵ For this reason I too, ^(A)having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and ^[a]your love for ^(B)all the ^[b]saints, ^16 (C)do not cease giving thanks for you, ^(D)while making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷ that the ^(E)God of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(F)the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of ^(G)wisdom and of ^(H)revelation in the ^[c]knowledge of Him. ¹⁸ I pray that ^(I)the eyes of your heart ^[d]may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the ^(J)hope of His ^(K)calling, what are ^(L)the riches of the glory of ^(M)His inheritance in ^(N)the ^[e]saints, ¹⁹ and what is the ^[f]boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. ^(O)These are in accordance with the working of the ^(P)strength of His might ²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He ^(Q)raised Him from the dead and ^(R)seated Him at His right hand in ^(S)the heavenly places, ²¹ far above ^(T)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every ^(U)name that is named, not only in ^(V)this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He ^(W)put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him ^(X)head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His ^(Y)body, the ^(Z)fullness of Him who ^(AA)fills ^(AB)all in all.

^3 (A)I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always offering prayer with joy in ^(B)my every prayer for you all, ⁵ in view of your ^[a](C)participation in the ^(D)gospel ^(E)from the first day until now. ⁶ For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work ^[b]among you will complete it ^[c]by ^(F)the day of Christ Jesus. ^7 [d]For ^(G)it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I ^(H)have you in my heart, since both in my ^[e](I)imprisonment and in the ^(J)defense and confirmation of the ^(K)gospel, you all are ^[f]partakers of grace with me. ⁸ For ^(L)God is my witness, how I long for you all with the ^[g]affection of ^(M)Christ Jesus. ⁹ And this I pray, that ^(N)your love may overflow still more and more in ^(O)real knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may ^[h](P)discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for ^(Q)the day of Christ; ¹¹ having been filled with the ^(R)fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.

The Gospel Is Preached

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances ^(S)have turned out for the greater progress of the ^(T)gospel, ¹³ so that my ^[i](U)imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the ^[j]praetorian guard and to ^(V)everyone else, ¹⁴ and that most of the brothers and sisters, ^[k]trusting in the Lord because of my ^[l](W)imprisonment, have ^(X)far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. ^15 (Y)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even ^[m]from envy and strife, but some also ^[n]from goodwill; ¹⁶ the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the ^(Z)gospel; ¹⁷ the former proclaim Christ ^(AA)out of selfish ambition ^[o]rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my ^[p](AB)imprisonment. ¹⁸ What 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, ¹⁹ for I know that this will turn out for my ^[q]deliverance ^(AC)through your ^[r]prayers and the provision of ^(AD)the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my ^(AE)eager expectation and ^(AF)hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with ^(AG)all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be ^(AH)exalted in my body, ^(AI)whether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

²¹ For to me, ^(AJ)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ^22 [s]But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean ^(AK)fruitful labor for me; and I do not know ^[t]which to choose. ²³ But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the ^(AL)desire to depart and ^(AM)be with Christ, for that is very much better; ²⁴ yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. ^25 (AN)Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy ^[u]in the faith, ²⁶ so that your ^(AO)pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only conduct yourselves in a manner ^(AP)worthy of the ^(AQ)gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are ^(AR)standing firm in ^(AS)one spirit, with one ^[v]mind ^(AT)striving together for the faith of the gospel; ²⁸ and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a ^(AU)sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. ²⁹ For to you ^(AV)it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to ^(AW)suffer on His behalf, ³⁰ experiencing the same ^(AX)conflict which ^(AY)you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

^3 (A)We ^[a]give thanks to God, ^(B)the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4 (C)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the ^(D)love which you have ^[b]for ^(E)all the ^[c]saints; ⁵ because of the ^(F)hope ^(G)reserved for you in ^[d]heaven, of which you previously ^(H)heard in the word of truth, ^[e]the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as ^[f](I)in all the world also it is bearing ^(J)fruit and ^[g]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you ^(K)heard it and ^[h]understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(L)Epaphras, our ^(M)beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and he also informed us of your ^(N)love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason we also, ^(O)since the day we heard about it, ^(P)have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the ^[i](Q)knowledge of His will in all spiritual ^(R)wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will ^(S)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^[j](T)to please Him in all respects, ^(U)bearing fruit in every good work and ^[k]increasing in the ^[l]knowledge of God; ^11 (V)strengthened with all power, according to ^[m]His glorious might, ^[n]for the attaining of all perseverance and ^[o]patience; ^(W)joyously ¹² giving thanks to ^(X)the Father, who has qualified us ^[p]to share in ^(Y)the inheritance of the ^[q]saints in ^(Z)light.

The Incomparable Christ

^13 [r]For He rescued us from the ^[s](AA)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^[t](AB)His beloved Son, ^14 (AC)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

^15 [u]He is the ^(AD)image of the ^(AE)invisible God, the ^(AF)firstborn of all creation: ¹⁶ for ^[v](AG)by Him all things were created, ^(AH)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(AI)thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—^(AJ)all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He ^[w](AK)is before all things, and in Him all things ^[x]hold together. ¹⁸ He is also the ^(AL)head of ^(AM)the body, the church; and He is ^(AN)the beginning, ^(AO)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For ^[y]it was ^(AP)the Father’s good pleasure for all ^(AQ)the ^[z]fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to ^(AR)reconcile all things to Himself, ^(AS)whether things on earth or things in ^[aa]heaven, having made ^(AT)peace through ^(AU)the blood of His cross.

²¹ And although you were ^(AV)previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, ²² yet He has now ^(AW)reconciled you in His ^(AX)body of flesh through death, in order to ^(AY)present you before Him ^(AZ)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³ if indeed you continue in ^[ab]the faith firmly ^(BA)established and steadfast, and not shifting from the ^(BB)hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed ^(BC)in all creation under heaven, ^(BD)and of which I, Paul, ^[ac]was made a ^[ad](BE)minister.

^24 (BF)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^(BG)I am supplementing what is lacking ^[ae]in Christ’s afflictions in behalf of ^(BH)His body, which is the church. ^25 (BI)I ^[af]was made a minister of this church according to the ^(BJ)commission from God granted to me for your benefit, so that I might ^[ag]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, ²⁶ that is, ^(BK)the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His ^[ah]saints, ²⁷ to whom ^(BL)God willed to make known what ^(BM)the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is ^(BN)Christ in you, the ^(BO)hope of glory. ²⁸ We proclaim Him, ^(BP)admonishing every person and teaching every person ^[ai]with all ^(BQ)wisdom, so that we may ^(BR)present every person ^[aj](BS)complete in Christ. ²⁹ For this purpose I also ^(BT)labor, ^(BU)striving ^(BV)according to His ^[ak]power which ^[al]works mightily within me.