3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
4 I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers.
5 That's because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus. I hear about your love for all of God's people.
6 I pray that you will be active in sharing what you believe. Then you will completely understand every good thing we have in Christ.
7 Your love has given me great joy. It has cheered me up. My brother, you have renewed the hearts of God's people.
8 Because of the authority Christ has given me, I could be bold. I could order you to do what you should do anyway.
9 But I make my appeal to you on the basis of our love for each other. I, Paul, am an old man. I am now also a prisoner because of Christ Jesus.