³ concerning His Son, who was born ^(A)of a ^[a]descendant of David ^(B)according to the flesh,

⁴ But when ^(A)the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, ^(B)born of a woman, born ^(C)under ^[a]the Law,

⁷ but ^[a](A)emptied Himself by taking the form of a ^(B)bond-servant and ^[b](C)being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, ^(D)He humbled Himself by becoming ^(E)obedient to the point of death: ^(F)death ^[c]on a cross. ^9 (G)For this reason also God ^(H)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^(I)the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(J)every knee will bow, of ^(K)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^(L)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² So then, my beloved, ^(M)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own ^(N)salvation with ^(O)fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is ^(P)God who is at work in you, both to ^[d]desire and to work ^(Q)for His good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without ^(R)complaining or arguments; ¹⁵ so that you will ^[e]prove yourselves to be ^(S)blameless and innocent, ^(T)children of God above reproach in the midst of a ^(U)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^[f](V)appear as ^[g]lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding firmly the word of life, so that on ^(W)the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not ^(X)run in vain nor ^(Y)labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being ^(Z)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(AA)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. ¹⁸ You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ But I hope, ^[h]in the Lord Jesus, to ^(AB)send ^(AC)Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. ²⁰ For I have no one else ^(AD)of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(AE)seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know ^(AF)of his proven character, that ^(AG)he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^(AH)like a child serving his father. ^23 (AI)Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; ²⁴ and ^(AJ)I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly. ²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you ^(AK)Epaphroditus, my brother and ^(AL)fellow worker and ^(AM)fellow soldier, who is also your ^[i](AN)messenger and ^(AO)minister to my need, ²⁶ because he was longing ^[j]for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. ^29 (AP)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^(AQ)hold people like him in high regard, ³⁰ because he came close to death ^[k](AR)for the work of Christ, risking his life to ^(AS)compensate ^[l]for your absence in your service to me.

¹⁶ Beyond question, great is ^(A)the mystery of godliness:

¹⁴ Therefore, since the children share in ^[a](A)flesh and blood, ^(B)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that ^(C)through death He might destroy ^(D)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

The Incarnate Word

1 What was ^(A)from the beginning, what we have ^(B)heard, what we have ^(C)seen with our eyes, what we ^(D)have looked at and ^(E)touched with our hands, concerning the ^(F)Word of Life— ² and ^(G)the life was revealed, and we have ^(H)seen and ^(I)testify and proclaim to you ^(J)the eternal life, which was ^(K)with the Father and was ^(L)revealed to us— ³ what we have ^(M)seen and ^(N)heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our ^(O)fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ^4 (P)These things we write, so that our ^(Q)joy may be made complete.

God Is Light

^5 (R)This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that ^(S)God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ^6 (T)If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^(U)lie and ^(V)do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we ^(W)walk in the Light as ^(X)He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(Y)the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ^8 (Z)If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the ^(AA)truth is not in us. ^9 (AB)If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and ^(AC)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^10 (AD)If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(AE)make Him a liar and ^(AF)His word is not in us.

² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(A)every spirit that ^(B)confesses that ^(C)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

⁷ For ^(A)many deceivers have ^(B)gone out into the world, those who ^(C)do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is ^(D)the deceiver and the ^(E)antichrist.