⁵ You live like that because you hope to receive good things from God.^[a] You know that God has prepared those good things for you. He is keeping them safe in heaven. You learned that when people first told you God's true message, his good news.

⁶ You have heard this good news, like people all over the world have heard it. It has caused good results among you since the time when you heard it first. At that time, you understood the true message about how kind God really is. As a result, God is blessing you more and more, like he blesses his people everywhere. ⁷ It was our good friend Epaphras who first told you this good news. Like us, he is Christ's servant. He serves Christ on our behalf.