I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,

to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands –

The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.

I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience.

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ,

and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith,

But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need.

since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.

My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death,

And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel

In him you also were circumcised – not, however, with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal of the fleshly body, that is, through the circumcision done by Christ.

And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions.

Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind.