2I want you to know how hard I am working for you. I’m concerned for those who are in Laodicea. I’m also concerned for everyone who has not met me in person. ²I want their hearts to be made cheerful and strong. I want them to be joined together in love. Then their understanding will be rich and complete. They will know the mystery of God. That mystery is Christ.

³All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him.

⁴But I don’t want anyone to fool you with fast talk that only sounds good. ⁵So even though I am away from you in body, I am with you in spirit. I am glad to see that you are doing everything in good order. And I am happy that your faith in Christ is so strong.

Freedom From Human Rules

⁶You received Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep on living in him. ⁷Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.

⁸Make sure no one captures you. They will try to capture you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic things the people of this world believe. They don’t depend on Christ.

⁹God’s whole nature is living in Christ in human form. ¹⁰Because you belong to Christ, you have everything you need. He is the ruler over every power and authority.

¹¹When you received Christ, you were also circumcised by putting away your sinful nature. Human hands didn’t circumcise you. Christ did.

¹²When you were baptized, you were buried together with him. You were raised to life together with him by believing in God’s power. God raised Jesus from the dead.

¹³At one time you were dead in your sins. Your sinful nature was not circumcised. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all of our sins.

¹⁴He wiped out the written Law with its rules. The Law was against us. It opposed us. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵He took away the weapons of the powers and authorities. He made a public show of them. He won the battle over them by dying on the cross.

¹⁶So don’t let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anyone judge you about holy days. I’m talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days. ¹⁷They are only a shadow of the things that were going to come. But what is real is found in Christ.

¹⁸Some people enjoy pretending they aren’t proud. They worship angels. But don’t let people like that hold you back from winning the prize. They tell you every little thing about what they have seen. Their minds are not guided by the Holy Spirit. So they are proud of their useless ideas.

¹⁹They aren’t connected to the Head. But the whole body grows from the Head. The muscles and tendons hold the body together. And God causes it to grow.

²⁰The people of the world believe certain basic things. You died with Christ as far as things like that are concerned. So why do you act as if you still belong to the world? Here are the rules you follow. ²¹“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” ²²Rules like that are all going to die out as time goes by. They are only based on human rules and teachings.

²³It is true that those rules seem wise. Because of them, people give themselves over to their own kind of worship. They pretend they aren’t proud. They treat their bodies very badly. But rules like that don’t help. They don’t stop people from chasing after sinful pleasures.

Rules for Holy Living

3You have been raised up with Christ. So think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God’s right hand. ²Think about things that are in heaven. Don’t think about things that are on earth.

³You died. Now your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴Christ is your life. When he appears again, you also will appear with him in heaven’s glory.

⁵So put to death anything that belongs to your earthly nature. Get rid of your sexual sins and unclean acts. Don’t let your feelings get out of control. Remove from your life all evil longings. Stop always wanting more and more. You might as well be worshiping statues of gods. ⁶God’s anger is going to come because of those things. ⁷That’s the way you lived at one time in your life.

⁸But now here are the kinds of things you must get rid of. You must put away anger, rage, hate and lies. Let no dirty words come out of your mouths. ⁹Don’t lie to each other.

You have gotten rid of your old way of life and its habits. ¹⁰You have started living a new life. It is being made new so that what you know has the Creator’s likeness.

¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew. There is no difference between those who are circumcised and those who are not. There is no rude outsider, or even a Scythian. There is no slave or free person. But Christ is everything. And he is in everything.

¹²You are God’s chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don’t be proud. Be gentle and patient. ¹³Put up with each other. Forgive the things you are holding against one another. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you.

¹⁴And over all of those good things put on love. Love holds them all together perfectly as if they were one.

¹⁵Let the peace that Christ gives rule in your hearts. As parts of one body, you were appointed to live in peace. And be thankful.

¹⁶Let Christ’s word live in you like a rich treasure. Teach and correct each other wisely. Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing with thanks in your hearts to God. ¹⁷Do everything you say or do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Always give thanks to God the Father through Christ.

Rules for Christian Families

¹⁸Wives, follow the lead of your husbands. That’s what the Lord wants you to do.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives. Don’t be mean to them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything. That pleases the Lord.

²¹Fathers, don’t make your children bitter. If you do, they will lose hope.

²²Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything. Don’t do it just to please them when they are watching you. Obey them with an honest heart. Do it out of respect for the Lord.

²³Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for human masters. ²⁴Work because you know that you will finally receive as a reward what the Lord wants you to have. You are serving the Lord Christ.

²⁵Anyone who does wrong will be paid back for what he does. God treats everyone the same.

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