to serve Christ Jesus among the Gentiles. I’m like a priest of the good news, and I want the Gentiles to be an offering that pleases God because it has been made holy by the Holy Spirit.
But even if my life is going to be poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I’ll be glad and joyful with all of you.
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I’ve chosen this man to do a special work for me. He will announce my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
I don’t dare to speak about anything except what Christ has done through me. He has been leading the Gentiles to obey God through what I have said and done,
But I’m not going to try to save my own life. My only goal is to finish the race and complete the work that the Lord Jesus has given me, to tell others the good news about God’s grace.
I was appointed to be a messenger and an apostle to preach the good news. (I’m telling the truth; I’m not lying.) God appointed me to be a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.
You’re also like living stones. As you come to Christ, you’re being built into a house for worship. There you will be holy priests and offer spiritual sacrifices that God will accept because of what Jesus Christ has done.
The prophets were shown that they weren’t serving themselves. Instead, they were serving you when they spoke about the things that you’ve now heard from those who preached the good news to you with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
May God himself, the God of peace, make you holy and complete. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes.
Brothers and sisters, I’m sure you remember how hard we worked. We labored night and day while we preached God’s good news to you so that we wouldn’t cause you any expense.
Earlier, in the city of Philippi, we suffered and the people treated us very badly, as you also know. But God still gave us the boldness to tell you his good news, even when people strongly opposed us.
I’ve already received my full pay, and I have more than enough. I have everything I need, now that Epaphroditus has brought me the gifts you sent. They’re a sweet-smelling offering, a sacrifice that God accepts and that makes him happy.
Let me ask again: Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the law says? Or is it because you believe what you’ve heard?
Are they serving Christ? I’m serving him even more. (I’m out of my mind to talk like this!) I’ve worked much harder. I’ve been in prison more often. I’ve suffered terrible beatings. Again and again I’ve almost died.
Don’t you know that together you are a body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you? You have received the Spirit from God. You don’t belong to yourselves;
through the power of signs and wonders, and through the power of the Spirit of God. I have now preached the good news about Christ to everyone from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.