Study Desk

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord.

Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters,

For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality.

Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison,

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts;

And Jesus who is called Justus greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly

For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you,

because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,

For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.

For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,

and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery,

As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed;

though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.

So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.