Ephesians 5

Wake Up from Your Sleep

1 Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.2 Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

3 Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed.4 Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

5 You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them-the usual variations on idolatry-will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.

6 Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him.7 Don't even hang around people like that.

8 You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it!9 The good, the right, the true-these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours.10 Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

11 Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are.12 It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see.13 Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.14 Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light!15 So watch your step. Use your head.16 Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

17 Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.

18 Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him.19 Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ.20 Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.

Relationships

21 Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.

22 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ.23 The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing.24 So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

25 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church-a love marked by giving, not getting.26 Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her,27 dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.28 And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor-since they're already "one" in marriage.

29 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church,30 since we are part of his body.31 And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh."32 This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church.33 And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

Ephesians 6

1 Children, do what your parents tell you. This is only right.2 "Honor your father and mother" is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely,3 "so you will live well and have a long life."

4 Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.

5 Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ.6 Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do.7 And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God.8 Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.

9 Masters, it's the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats. You and your servants are both under the same Master in heaven. He makes no distinction between you and them.

A Fight to the Finish

10 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong.11 So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.12 This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13 Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet.14 Truth, righteousness,15 peace,16 faith,17 and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon.18 In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

19 And don't forget to pray for me. Pray that I'll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I,20 jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.

21 Tychicus, my good friend here, will tell you what I'm doing and how things are going with me. He is certainly a dependable servant of the Master!22 I've sent him not only to tell you about us but to cheer you on in your faith.

23 Good-bye, friends. Love mixed with faith be yours from God the Father and from the Master, Jesus Christ.24 Pure grace and nothing but grace be with all who love our Master, Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1

1 Paul and Timothy, both of us committed servants of Christ Jesus, write this letter to all the Christians in Philippi, pastors and ministers included.2 We greet you with the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.

A Love That Will Grow

3 Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God.4 Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.5 I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present.6 There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

7 It's not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God.8 He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!

9 So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings10 so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of:11 bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

They Can't Imprison the Message

12 I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered.13 All the soldiers here, and everyone else too, found out that I'm in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they've learned all about him.14 Not only that, but most of the Christians here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.

15 It's true that some here preach Christ because with me out of the way, they think they'll step right into the spotlight. But the others do it with the best heart in the world.16 One group is motivated by pure love, knowing that I am here defending the Message, wanting to help.17 The others, now that I'm out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better-they think-for them.

18 So how am I to respond? I've decided that I really don't care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!19 because I know how it's going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done.20 I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don't expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit!21 Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.

22 As long as I'm alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I'd choose.23 Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better24 . But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it's better for me to stick it out here.25 So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues.26 You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We'll be praising Christ, enjoying each other.

27 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, the good news,28 not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you-and both because of God.29 There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting.30 You're involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.