I assure you ¹  that, before God, I am not lying about what I am writing to you! ² 

They court you eagerly, ¹  but for no good purpose; ²  they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly. ³ 

My children – I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you! ¹ 

But I say, live ¹  by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. ² 

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. ¹  For a person ²  will reap what he sows,

to reveal his Son in ¹  me so that I could preach him ²  among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from ³  any human being, ⁴ 

envying, ¹  murder, ²  drunkenness, carousing, ³  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which ¹  the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

yet we know ¹  that no one ²  is justified by the works of the law ³  but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. ⁴  And ⁵  we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ ⁶  and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one ⁷  will be justified.

But from those who were influential ¹  (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people ² ) – those influential leaders ³  added ⁴  nothing to my message. ⁵ 

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. ¹  Scripture ²  does not say, “and to the descendants,” ³  referring to many, but “and to your descendant,” ⁴  referring to one, who is Christ.

For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; ¹  break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than those of the woman who has a husband.” ² 

But what does the scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son” ¹  of the free woman.