Study Desk

Greetings from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. Greetings also from Timothy our brother in Christ. To God's church in Corinth and to all of God's holy people throughout Achaia.

You have heard about my past life in the Jewish religion. I persecuted the church of God very much. I tried to destroy his people.

God put everything under Christ's power and made him head over everything for the church.

The church is Christ's body. It is filled with him. He makes everything complete in every way.

His purpose was that all the rulers and powers in the heavenly places will now know the many different ways he shows his wisdom. They will know this because of the church.

To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.

A husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the Savior of the church, which is his body.

The church serves under Christ, so it is the same with you wives. You should be willing to serve your husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.

He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water.

Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be holy and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other thing wrong in it.

because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church

That secret truth is very important—I am talking about Christ and the church.

I was so eager to defend my religion that I persecuted the church. And no one could find fault with the way I obeyed the Law of Moses.

You people in Philippi remember when I first told the Good News there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help.

He is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning of everything else. And he is the first among all who will be raised from death. So in everything he is most important.

I am happy in my sufferings for you. There is much that Christ must still suffer. And I gladly accept my part of those sufferings in my body for the good of his body, the church.

I became a servant of the church because God gave me a special work to do. This work helps you. My work is to tell the complete message of God.

Give our greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea. Greetings also to Nympha and to the church that meets in her house.

After this letter is read to you, be sure it is also read to the church in Laodicea. And you read the letter that I wrote to them.