to the saints, the faithful ¹  brothers and sisters ²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ³  from God our Father! ⁴ 

You learned the gospel ¹  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ²  – a ³  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁴  behalf –

Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ¹  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ² 

I sent him ¹  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ²  They will tell ³  you about everything here.

But the Lord is faithful, and he ¹  will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

An elder must be blameless, ¹  the husband of one wife, ²  with faithful children ³  who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion.

Now Moses was faithful in all God’s ¹  house ²  as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken.

So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good. ¹ 

And the king ¹  said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful ²  in a very small matter, you will have authority ³  over ten cities.’

The ¹  circumcised believers ²  who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished ³  that ⁴  the gift of the Holy Spirit ⁵  had been poured out ⁶  even on the Gentiles,

But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus ¹  from the dead, never ²  again to be ³  in a state of decay, God ⁴  has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you ⁵  the holy and trustworthy promises ⁶  made to David.’ ⁷ 

He also came to Derbe ¹  and to Lystra. ²  A disciple ³  named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, ⁴  but whose father was a Greek. ⁵ 

With regard to the question about people who have never married, ¹  I have no command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one shown mercy by the Lord to be trustworthy.

From Paul, ¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], ²  the faithful ³  in Christ Jesus.

Tychicus, my ¹  dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, ²  how I am doing.

I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry,

This saying ¹  is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” – and I am the worst of them! ² 

They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

In fact this is why ¹  we work hard and struggle, ²  because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, ³  especially of believers.

Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, ¹  and purity.