My greetings to Tryphæna and Tryphosa, who have worked for the Lord so well; and dear Persis, too; she has been long in the Lord’s service.
If a slave is called to enter Christ’s service, he is Christ’s freedman; just as the free man, when he is called, becomes the slave of Christ.✻
(Not that, in the Lord’s service, man has his place apart from woman, or woman hers apart from man;
just as there are different kinds of service, though it is the same Lord we serve,
Stand firm, then, my beloved brethren, immovable in your resolve, doing your full share continually in the task the Lord has given you, since you know that your labour in the Lord’s service cannot be spent in vain.
I went to Troas, then, to preach Christ’s gospel there, and found a great opportunity open to me in the Lord’s service;✻
The administration, remember, of this public service does more than supply the needs of the saints; it yields, besides, a rich harvest of thanksgiving in the name of the Lord.
every barrier of pride which sets itself up against the true knowledge of God; we make every mind surrender to Christ’s service,
Why, I impoverished other churches, taking pay from them so as to be at your service.
Here, then, is one who wears chains in the Lord’s service, pleading with you to live as befits men called to such a vocation as yours.
not with that show of service which tries to win human favour, but in the character of Christ’s slaves, who do what is God’s will with all their heart.
But that means that you must be true to your faith, grounded in it, firmly established in it; nothing must shift you away from the hope you found in the gospel you once listened to. It is a gospel which has been preached to all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have been brought into its service.
When I entered its service I received a commission from God for the benefit of you Gentiles, to complete the preaching of his word among you.✻
Wives must be submissive to their husbands, as the service of the Lord demands;
You who are slaves, give your human masters full obedience, not with that show of service which tries to win human favour, but single-mindedly, in fear of the Lord.
Give this message to Archippus; Be careful to fulfil the duty which has been committed to thee in the Lord’s service.
And those whose masters belong to the faith must not think the less of them, for being their brethren; they should render all the better service, when those who benefit by their good will are believers, worthy of their love. Teach them, and encourage them, so to act.
Thou art God’s soldier, and the soldier on service, if he would please the captain who enlisted him, will refuse to be entangled in the business of daily life;
and in its service I suffer hardship like a criminal, yes, even imprisonment; but there is no imprisoning the word of God.
Remind them that they have a duty of submissive loyalty to governments and to those in authority, of readiness to undertake any kind of honourable service.