1Anuanom, asɛm a mede rewie ne sɛ, momma mo ani nnye wɔ Awurade mu. Ɛnhaw me sɛ meti nsɛm a makyerɛw dedaw no mu. Ɛma mo akwankyerɛ.
Monhwɛ Atoro Akyerɛkyerɛfo Yiye
2Monhwɛ nnebɔneyɛfo no a wɔte sɛ akraman a wɔka se twa na ɛsɛ sɛ onipa twa twetia ansa na wanya nkwagye no yiye. 3Ɛyɛ yɛn, na ɛnyɛ wɔn na agye nokware twetiatwa ato mu. Efisɛ ɛyɛ Onyankopɔn Honhom na ɔma yɛn tumi ma yɛsom no, na hyɛ a yɛde yɛn ho ahyɛ Kristo Yesu mu no nti yenya ahosɛpɛw. Yɛmmfa yɛn ho nto ɔhonam so. 4Sɛ obi wɔ hɔ a osusuw sɛ, sɛ ɔde ne ho to amanne so na eye a anka ɛyɛ me. 5Bere a midii nnaawɔtwe pɛ na wotwaa me twetia. Meyɛ Israelni fi mʼawosu mu. Mifi Benyamin abusua a wɔyɛ Hebrifo kronkron no mu. Sɛ wɔka Yudafo mmara sodi ho asɛm nso a, meyɛ Farisini 6a na me ho pere me sɛ mɛtaa Kristo. Sɛ mmara no sodi nko na ɛma obi yɛ ɔtreneeni a, ɛno de, na me so nni mfomso biara.
7Nanso nneɛma a na mefa no sɛ ɛyɛ mfaso nyinaa no, esiane Kristo nti, ayɛ adehwere. 8Ɛnyɛ ɛno nko, na migye di nso sɛ biribiara nkyɛn sɛ wode wo ho bɛto Kristo Yesu a ɔyɛ mʼAwurade no so. Ne nti matow biribiara akyene. Mefa ne nyinaa sɛ nneɛma hunu bi, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a me nsa bɛka Kristo, 9na mahu sɛ me ne no ayɛ baako. Afei meremfa mʼahoɔden mpere sɛ mɛyɛ pɛ; pɛyɛ a efi mmara no mu no. Na mmom mehwehwɛ pɛyɛ a efi Kristo mu gyidi ne Onyankopɔn mu a gyidi na ɛyɛ ne fapem. 10Nea merehwehwɛ ara ne sɛ, mehu Kristo na menya ne wusɔre no mu osuahu, na mahu nʼamane no bi, na mayɛ sɛ ɔno wɔ ne wu no mu; 11na mewɔ anidaso sɛ, me nso me wu akyi no, wɔbɛma masɔre afi owu mu.
Botae No Ho Kɔ
12Ɛnyɛ sɛ manya eyinom nyinaa dedaw, anaasɛ madu me botae ho dedaw. Na mmom merepere akɔ mʼanim ara sɛ me nsa beso nea enti a Kristo Yesu nso soo me mu no mu. 13Anuanom, memfa no sɛ me nsa aso mu. Ade baako a ɛsɛ sɛ meyɛ ne sɛ, ɛsɛ sɛ me werɛ fi mʼakyi na meyere me ho, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a medu nea ɛwɔ mʼanim no ho. 14Eyi nti mitu mmirika kɔ mʼanim tee na madu ɔsoro botae no a Onyankopɔn nam Kristo Yesu so afrɛ me no ho.
15Ɛsɛ sɛ yɛn a yenyin wɔ Honhom mu no nyinaa dwene saa. Sɛ mo mu bi nso wɔ adwene foforo a, Onyankopɔn bɛda no adi akyerɛ mo. 16Nanso nea yɛn nsa aka dedaw no, momma yɛnkɔ so saa ara nkura mu.
17Anuanom, monkɔ so nsuasua me. Yɛama mo nhwɛso pa nti muntie wɔn a wɔwɔ saa nhwɛso pa no. 18Maka saa asɛm yi akyerɛ mo se, nnipa bebree wɔ hɔ a wɔn abrabɔ ma wɔyɛ Kristo wu a owui wɔ asennua no ho no atamfo. 19Saa nnipa no bɛkɔ ɔsɛe mu, efisɛ wɔn nyame ara ne wɔn honam mu nneɛma. Wɔma wɔn ho so wɔ nneɛma a ɛsɛ sɛ wɔn ani wu wɔ ho no ho, na wodwen wiase nneɛma nko ara ho. 20Yɛn de, yɛyɛ ɔsoro mma na yɛde ahosɛpɛw twɛn yɛn Agyenkwa a ɔyɛ yɛn Awurade Yesu Kristo a ofi ɔsoro bɛba no. 21Ɔnam tumi a etumi ma biribiara hyɛ nʼase no so bɛsakra yɛn nipadua a ɛyɛ mmerɛw na ewu no, na wayɛ no sɛ ne de a ɛwɔ anuonyam no.
No confidence in the flesh
1Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh – 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in3:9 Or through the faithfulness of Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, 14I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
Following Paul’s example
15All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
