Paul's Letter to Laodicea |
Chapter 1 [1.1] Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, through the Will of God, and the Grace of God and Timothy our Brother. [1.2] The holy assembly of Laodicea and all the faithful brothers in it, and the wise in the Spirit of God: Grace be with you and the true peace from God, our Father, in the Lord Jesus Christ. [1.3] We thank, extol, and praise God at all times, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and bear much concern for you; and we pray at all times for you to God. [1.4] We have come into the knowledge through the Spirit of the Lord, and through our Brother Epaphras and through Nymphas, that you have been backsliding in several things. [1.5] And that you have elected a bishop and a clergy, and that you want to make an idol out of Christ; and that you have selected a house, a day, and magnificent raiments. [1.6] Consequently, how it was the custom to some extent among the heathens and among the Jews, when the circumcision of the flesh was still valid before God, which He ordered under father Abraham as a foretoken of the living circumcision of the Spirit through Jesus Christ within you. [1.7] This I let you know now, so that you learn to know what kind of a battle I have to suffer for your sake; you have seen, and yet you have not seen, the flesh of my person, [1.8] And that you are being severely admonished in your heart and that you may gather your love, wherein is contained all the wealth of the conscientious reason in order to recognize the great secret of God, the Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, [1.9] Where within are concealed all the treasures of wisdom and the living cognition in the Spirit. [1.10] I caution you for this reason: That no one may entice you through reasonable and flowery speeches, and through the philosophy of the heathens. [1.11] Even the animals call common sense their own, just as it is with the philosophy of the heathens who offer sacrifices to dead idols. [1.12] You, however, have been redeemed through the death of the “ONE” to eternal life in God the Father. How can you, since your heart has become the dwelling for the Holy Spirit, devote it again to the spirit of the dead? [1.13] Even though I am not with you in the flesh, I am at all times with you in the Spirit, through the might of Christ within me, and I see your belief and your works, [1.14] And I want to earnestly caution you and show you, since so many of you, dear brothers, fell into great foolishness; their pretexts I recognize and know, and what they wish to accomplish. [1.15] But it should be, that you follow Jesus Christ, as I handed over His Legacy to you and as you accepted it from me; and you should also live in accordance with the Gospel, which I preached to you faithfully, [1.16] In this you should grow firm roots and be firm in your belief, as I have taught you in the Spirit of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, Who rules at the right hand of the Father of Eternity, [1.17] But, as you want to be and as you wish to be now, you are adversaries of Christ and His Word. [1.18] What do you want? Do you want to become again slaves and servants in bondage to the law, sin, and death, from everything we have been delivered from through Jesus Christ? [1.19] Listen to me. I am telling you: Be careful, that you will not be bewitched and robbed through your world-wisdom, and through the loose teachings of those among you, who fear the Romans and the blind Jews more than they do the Lord of Glory Who delivered us, and through whom we, heaven and earth and all things were created. [1.20] When I was among you, your world-wise asked me what the differences were between God and His Son, Christ. That is when I took the word and said: [1.21] “Hear me brothers. God is One, and Christ is One; since there is only one God, therefore, there is only one Christ. What differences should there be between God and Christ? God is Love, and Christ is the Wisdom in God, or the Light, the Truth, the Path, and the Eternal Life. [1.22] “In Christ dwells personified the whole fullness of the Deity, and we are perfect in Him; because He is the reason and the Head of all Glory, all Might and Power, of all the Authority of the World, and He is the Sovereign of all the Principalities on Earth.” |
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