Put On the New Self

3 ^bIf then you have been raised with Christ, seek ^cthe things that are above, where Christ is, ^dseated at the right hand of God. 2 ^eSet your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For ^fyou have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ ^gwho is your¹ life ^happears, then you also will appear with him ⁱin glory.

5 ^jPut to death therefore ^kwhat is earthly in you:^{2 l}sexual immorality, impurity, ^mpassion, evil desire, and covetousness, ⁿwhich is idolatry. 6 ^oOn account of these the wrath of God is coming.³ 7 ^pIn these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now ^qyou must put them all away: ^ranger, wrath, malice, ^sslander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 ^tDo not lie to one another, seeing that ^uyou have put off ^vthe old self⁴ with its practices 10 and ^whave put on ^xthe new self, ^ywhich is being renewed in knowledge ^zafter the image of ^aits creator. 11 ^bHere there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,⁵ free; but Christ is ^call, and in all.

12 ^dPut on then, as ^eGod’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, ^fcompassionate hearts, ^gkindness, ^hhumility, meekness, and patience, 13 ^hbearing with one another and, ⁱif one has a complaint against another, ^gforgiving each other; ^gas the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on ^jlove, which ^kbinds everything together in ^lperfect harmony. 15 And let ^mthe peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called ⁿin one body. And ^obe thankful. 16 Let ^pthe word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, ^qsinging psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ^rwith thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And ^swhatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, ^tgiving thanks to God the Father through him.

Rules for Christian Households

18 ^uWives, submit to your husbands, as ^vis fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and ^wdo not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents ^xin everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey ^xin everything those who are your earthly masters,⁶ not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 ^yWhatever you do, work heartily, ^zas for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord ^ayou will receive the inheritance as your reward. ^bYou are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

4 Masters, treat your bondservants¹ justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

2 ^cContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it ^dwith thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may ^eopen to us a door for the word, ^fto declare the mystery of Christ, ^gon account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 ^hWalk in wisdom toward ⁱoutsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always ^jbe gracious, ^kseasoned with salt, ^lso that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

7 Tychicus will tell you ^mall about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant² in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him ⁿOnesimus, our faithful and ^obeloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

10 ^pAristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark ^qthe cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—^rif he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called ^sJustus. ^tThese are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and ^uthey have been a comfort to me. 12 ^vEpaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always ^wstruggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand ^xmature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 ^yLuke the beloved physician greets you, as does ^zDemas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers³ at Laodicea, and to Nympha and ^athe church in her house. 16 And when ^bthis letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to ^cArchippus, “See that you fulfill ^dthe ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

18 I, Paul, ^ewrite this greeting with my own hand. ^fRemember ^gmy chains. ^hGrace be with you.

1 Thessalonians

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aSilvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the ^bThessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

^cGrace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

2 ^dWe give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly^{1 e}mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before ^four God and Father ^gyour work of faith and labor of ^hlove and ⁱsteadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, ^jbrothers² loved by God, ^kthat he has chosen you, 5 because ^lour gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and ^min the Holy Spirit and with full ⁿconviction. You know ^owhat kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And ^pyou became imitators of us ^qand of the Lord, for ^ryou received the word in much affliction, ^swith the ^tjoy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord ^usounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth ^veverywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of ^wreception we had among you, and how ^xyou turned to God ^yfrom idols to serve the living and ^ztrue God, 10 and ^ato wait for his Son ^bfrom heaven, ^cwhom he raised from the dead, Jesus ^dwho delivers us from ^ethe wrath to come.

Paul’s Ministry to the Thessalonians

2 For you yourselves know, brothers,¹ that our ^fcoming to you ^gwas not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated ^hat Philippi, as you know, ⁱwe had boldness in our God ^jto declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much ^kconflict. 3 For ^lour appeal does not spring from ^merror or ⁿimpurity or ^oany attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God ^pto be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not ^qto please man, but to please God ^rwho tests our hearts. 5 ^sFor we never came with words of flattery,² as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—^tGod is witness. 6 ^uNor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, ^vthough we could have made ^wdemands as ^xapostles of Christ. 7 But we were ^ygentle³ among you, ^zlike a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God ^abut also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

9 For you remember, brothers, ^bour labor and toil: we ^cworked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and ^dGod also, ^ehow holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, ^flike a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and ^gcharged ^hyou to walk in a manner worthy of God, ⁱwho calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

13 And ^jwe also thank God constantly⁴ for this, that when you received ^kthe word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it ^lnot as the word of men⁵ but as what it really is, the word of God, ^mwhich is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, ⁿbecame imitators of ^othe churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For ^pyou suffered the same things from your own countrymen ^qas they did from the Jews,⁶ 15 ^rwho killed both the Lord Jesus and ^sthe prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and ^toppose all mankind 16 ^uby hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always ^vto fill up the measure of their sins. But ^wwrath has come upon them at last!⁷

Paul’s Longing to See Them Again

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, ^xin person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire ^yto see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan ^zhindered us. 19 For what is our hope or ^ajoy or crown of boasting ^bbefore our Lord Jesus at his ^ccoming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

3 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing ^dto be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we ^esent Timothy, ^four brother and God’s coworker¹ in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that ^gwe are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, ^hjust as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, ⁱwhen I could bear it no longer, ⁱI sent to learn about your faith, ^jfor fear that somehow ^kthe tempter had tempted you and ^lour labor would be in vain.

Timothy’s Encouraging Report

6 But ^mnow that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of ⁿyour faith and love and reported ^othat you always remember us kindly and ^plong to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers,² in all our distress and affliction ^qwe have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you ^rare standing fast in the Lord. 9 For ^swhat thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly ^tnight and day ^uthat we may see you face to face and ^vsupply what is lacking in your faith?

11 Now may ^wour God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, ^xdirect our way to you, 12 and may the Lord ^ymake you increase and abound in love ^zfor one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may ^aestablish your hearts blameless in holiness before ^wour God and Father, at ^bthe coming of our Lord Jesus ^cwith all his saints.