Study Desk

has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.

We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.

His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.

I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light.

God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son,

He is the head of his body, which is the church. He is the very beginning, the first to be raised from death, so that he would be above all others.

God himself was pleased to live fully in his Son.

And God was pleased for him to make peace by sacrificing his blood on the cross, so that all beings in heaven and on earth would be brought back to God.

You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things.

But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent.

I am glad that I can suffer for you. I am pleased also that in my own body I can continue the suffering of Christ for his body, the church.

God's plan was to make me a servant of his church and to send me to preach his complete message to you.

God did this because he wanted you Gentiles to understand his wonderful and glorious mystery. And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God's glory.

There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.

God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.

A husband must love his wife and not abuse her.

Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this.

Jesus, who is known as Justus, sends his greetings. These three men are the only Jewish followers who have worked with me for the kingdom of God. They have given me much comfort.

Your own Epaphras, who serves Christ Jesus, sends his greetings. He always prays hard that you may fully know what the Lord wants you to do and that you may do it completely.

Our dear doctor Luke sends you his greetings, and so does Demas.