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Chapter 5
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.
4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.Or kingdom of the Christ and God
6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
7Therefore do not be partners with them.
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
10and find out what pleases the Lord.
11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise,
16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives and Husbands
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26to make her holy, cleansingOr having cleansed her by the washing with water through the word,
27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church–
30for we are members of his body.
31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”Gen. 2:24
32This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church.
33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Chapter 6
Children and Parents
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2“Honor your father and mother”–which is the first commandment with a promise–
3“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”Deut. 5:16
4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,
8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Final Greetings
21Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.
22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
23Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Philippians
Chapter 1
1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseersTraditionally bishops and deacons:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3I thank my God every time I remember you.
4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.
8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.
Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel
12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guardOr whole palace and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.
14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.
16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.Some late manuscripts have verses 16 and 17 in reverse order.
18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
19for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.Or salvation
20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!
23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
26so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
27Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved–and that by God.
29For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,
30since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

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