But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman,<n id="1" /> and God is the head of Christ.

<t /><p class="bodytext">From Paul,<n id="1" /> an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth,<n id="2" /> with all the saints who are in all Achaia.<n id="3" />

revealing<n id="1" /> that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us,<n id="2" /> written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not <i>on stone tabletsi><n id="3" /> but on tablets of human hearts.p>

among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe<n id="1" /> so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel<n id="2" /> of Christ,<n id="3" /> who is the image of God.

For God, who said &#8220;<i>Let light shine out of darknessi>,&#8221;<n id="1" /> is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge<n id="2" /> of God in the face of Christ.<n id="3" />p>

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,<n id="1" /> so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.<n id="2" />p>

Through the evidence<n id="1" /> of this service<n id="2" /> they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing<n id="3" /> with them and with everyone.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now I, Paul, appeal to you<n id="1" /> personally<n id="2" /> by the meekness and gentleness<n id="3" /> of Christ (I who am meek<n id="4" /> when present among<n id="5" /> you, but am full of courage<n id="6" /> toward you when away!) &#8211;

But<n id="1" /> he said to me, &#8220;My grace is enough<n id="2" /> for you, for my<n id="3" /> power is made perfect<n id="4" /> in weakness.&#8221; So then, I will boast most gladly<n id="5" /> about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in<n id="6" /> me.

that you were at that time without the Messiah,<n id="1" /> alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,<n id="2" /> having no hope and without God in the world.

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God &#8211; a mature person, attaining to<n id="1" /> the measure of Christ&#8217;s full stature.<n id="2" />

For you can be confident of this one thing:<n id="1" /> that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.p>

<p class="bodytext">Only conduct yourselves<n id="1" /> in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that &#8211; whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent &#8211; I should hear that<n id="2" /> you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,<n id="3" />

More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things &#8211; indeed, I regard them as dung!<n id="1" /> &#8211; that I may gain Christ,

<p class="bodytext">Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body &#8211; for the sake of his body, the church &#8211; what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

Let the word of Christ<n id="1" /> dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace<n id="2" /> in your hearts to God.

Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave<n id="1" /> of Christ,<n id="2" /> greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured<n id="3" /> in all the will of God.

because we recall<n id="1" /> in the presence of our God and Father<n id="2" /> your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope<n id="3" /> in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We<n id="1" /> sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God<n id="2" /> in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith,

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.