The word of God is alive and active. It’s even sharper than any sword that has two edges. It penetrates deep inside us, to where the bones meet the joints and where the soul meets the spirit, until it reveals the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
But I recognize that there’s another law at work inside of me. It’s fighting the law of my mind and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that’s at work within me.
Then the man of sin will be revealed. But the Lord Jesus will overthrow him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him with the glorious brightness of his coming.
He’ll oppose everything that’s called God or is worshiped, and he’ll give himself power over everything. He’ll set himself up in God’s temple and announce that he’s God himself.
You will have shown that you’re dependable by what you’ve given. Other people will praise God because you’ve obeyed him and shown that you really do believe the good news about Christ. They’ll also praise God because you’ve shared so freely with them and with everyone else.
But now it has been made known to all the Gentiles through the writings of the prophets, as the eternal God has commanded. Through the revelation of this mystery, the Gentiles are starting to obey God by trusting in him.
Through him we received grace to become apostles to the Gentiles and through that grace to bring them to obedience to God by trusting in Jesus. We do this to bring glory to him.
God the Father knew you ahead of time, and he chose to make you pure and holy through the Spirit’s work. Then you would obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood to make you holy. May more and more grace and peace be given to you.
In fact, you even put up with anyone who makes you a slave or uses you or takes advantage of you. You put up with those who claim to be better than you, and even with those who slap you in the face.