Colossians Cross References - Common

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ² to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: grace to you and peace from God our Father. ³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as in all the world it is bearing fruit and growing, even as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. ⁹ For this reason also, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will live a life worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the first place in everything. ¹⁹ For all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him ²⁰ and through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. ²¹ And although you were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a minister. ²⁴ Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share for the sake of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. ²⁵ Of this church I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. ²⁷ To them God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸ We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. ²⁹ For this end I labor, striving with all his energy, which so mightily works within me.

¹ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God

¹ Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus:

¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

¹ Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace and peace to you.

² and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

¹ Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

¹ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker,

⁷ To all in Rome who are beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

¹⁷ For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

³ grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith.

²¹ Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.

² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling with his blood: may grace and peace be yours in abundance.

² grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

² may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

⁴ John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers,

⁴ I thank my God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always making my prayer with joy in every prayer of mine for you all, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

⁹ And this is my prayer, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ; ¹¹ having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

⁹ For this reason also, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,

² We give thanks to God always for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers;

¹⁰ as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? ¹¹ Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you; ¹² and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, ¹³ so that he may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, ¹⁷ comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

³ I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.

⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.

⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.

³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁶ But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, just as we long to see you

⁹ Now concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; ¹⁰ and indeed you do love all the brethren throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to do so more and more.

³ We ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints,

¹⁰ For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love which you have shown for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.

²¹ Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. ²² Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

²³ And this is his commandment: that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

¹⁶ So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

³ For I greatly rejoiced when some of the brethren arrived and testified to the truth of your life, and how you are walking in truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

¹⁹ "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

³³ Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves purses that do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

³⁶ You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).

²⁶ "Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.

⁶ But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead I am on trial."

¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there will certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

⁶ And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; ⁷ the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews.

⁸ But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach);

¹³ So now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

¹⁹ If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.

¹⁹ that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

⁷ in truthful speech, and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;

⁵ For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness.

¹³ In him, you also have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having also believed, you were sealed in him with the promised Holy Spirit,

¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might

²³ if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a minister.

²⁷ To them God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

¹³ And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,

¹⁵ It is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinnersof whom I am the foremost.

⁸ In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect); and on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

³ Blessed be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, kept in heaven for you,

² Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

¹⁵ but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect;

³ And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

⁸ But other seed fell on good soil and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced thirtyfold, sixty, and a hundred."

²⁶ And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the earth produces grainfirst the blade, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

¹⁵ And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

¹⁸ When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "So then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance unto life."

²⁴ But the word of God continued to grow and to be multiplied.

¹⁴ A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, who was a worshiper of God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have some harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

²⁸ When therefore I have completed this, and have delivered to them this fruit, I shall go on by way of you to Spain.

²⁶ but is now revealed and made known to all nations through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of themyet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

¹ Working together with him, then, we urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

¹⁴ For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you; we were the first to come even as far as you with the gospel of Christ.

² assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you,

²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.

²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

¹¹ having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

¹⁰ so that you will live a life worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

⁵ for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

¹³ But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this present age,

² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling with his blood: may grace and peace be yours in abundance. ³ Blessed be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

¹² With the help of Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

⁴⁵ "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?

²¹ His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'

² Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.

²⁵ Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.

²³ Are they servants of Christ? I am a better oneI am talking like a madmanin far more labors, in far more imprisonments, with more beatings, and often in danger of death.

²¹ Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news of you. ²⁰ I have no one else like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know that he has proved his worth, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need;

⁷ Tychicus will tell you all about my affairs. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

¹² Epaphras, who is one of your number, a servant of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

⁶ If you point out these things to the brethren, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed.

² And the things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

²³ Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,

¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

² He was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.

⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

³⁰ Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints,

⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and self-discipline.

²² Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart.

¹⁷ If anyone is willing to do his will, he shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own authority.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last find the way to come to you.

² Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge

⁸ which he lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. ¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might ²⁰ which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

¹⁰ and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

⁶ not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

⁴ always making my prayer with joy in every prayer of mine for you all,

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints,

⁶ which has come to you, just as in all the world it is bearing fruit and growing, even as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth;

⁵ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

¹⁷ pray without ceasing,

¹¹ To this end we always pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power,

³ I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. ⁴ As I recall your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.

⁴ I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers,

³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

²¹ equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or hypocrisy.

¹⁵ For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

² so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human lusts, but for the will of God.

¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

³ And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

¹² And he is also the father of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

⁴ We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

⁶ For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may have an abundance for every good work.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them.

¹ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to become mature, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

² and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

¹⁵ Be careful, then, how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise,

²⁷ Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,

¹⁸ I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

⁶ Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him,

¹⁹ and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

¹² to live a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹ Finally, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more.

⁴ No soldier in active service gets entangled in civilian affairs, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

¹ Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,

¹⁴ Our people must also learn to devote themselves to good deeds, so that they may help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. For before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God.

¹⁶ Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

² grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. ³ His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.

⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

²² and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth."

⁴¹ Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

⁷ to those who by patience in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life;

³ And not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

⁴ But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, distresses, ⁵ in beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness, hunger, ⁶ in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love,

⁹ But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ's sake, I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man,

² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

³ so that no one would be unsettled by these afflictions. You yourselves know that we have been destined for this. ⁴ For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know.

¹ You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ Share in hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

³⁴ For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. ³⁵ Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. ³⁷ "For yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. ³⁸ But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."

³⁴ quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, who became mighty in war, and put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ And others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rains. ⁸ You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

⁶ and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness,

²⁵ to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

¹² Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

⁶ Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

¹⁷ Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

³² And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

¹⁷ and if children, then heirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him.

²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined, he also called; those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory,

¹⁷ And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the rest to share the root of the olive tree,

²⁷ They were pleased to do it, and indeed they are in debt to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

⁶ yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist.

²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

⁵ Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

¹¹ also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will,

¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

⁶ that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁴ And there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather let there be thanksgiving.

²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

² that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself,

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.

¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, zealous for good deeds.

¹ Therefore, holy brethren, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.

¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ if we hold our first confidence firm to the end,

²³ and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,

⁹ With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.

² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling with his blood: may grace and peace be yours in abundance. ³ Blessed be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who are protected by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

¹ So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed,

³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

¹ See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God! And so we are! The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

²³ And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

⁵ And there will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light; and they will reign for ever and ever.

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

¹⁷ And behold, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

²⁹ Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. ³⁰ He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

²⁴ "Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

⁵³ When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

³⁵ The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.

²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."

²⁴ Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.

¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and, having been set free from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms, because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for holiness. ²⁰ When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ But then what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is holiness and its end, eternal life.

¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit;

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

²³ But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then, at his coming, those who belong to him. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

¹⁷ Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. ¹⁸ And I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

³ Among them we all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them.

¹⁸ they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardness of their heart;

⁸ for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but because of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹¹ so there will be an entrance richly provided for you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

⁸ Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

⁸ He who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

²⁰ When he saw their faith he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." ⁴⁸ And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." ⁴⁹ Then those who reclined at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" ⁵⁰ He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

³⁸ And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

⁴³ Of him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and through him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with the blood of his Own.

²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as an atoning sacrifice by his blood, to be received through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over sins committed beforehand;

⁶ So also David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: ⁷ "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; ⁸ blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin."

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usfor it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

³² Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our sins,

¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord forgave you, so you also must forgive.

⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for allthe testimony given at the proper time.

¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the holy place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

²² Indeed, under the law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

¹² But when he had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ waiting from that time until his enemies be made a stool for his feet. ¹⁴ For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

¹⁸ For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit;

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

² And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

¹² I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

⁹ And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals; for you were slain, and with your blood purchased men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

⁴ These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

⁹ Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,

¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

¹⁶ who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

³ He is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his being, and upholds all things by the word of his power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

⁶ And again, when God brings the first-born into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king; for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

¹⁴ "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation:

³ All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made.

³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,

³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of the times, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. In him

²⁰ which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; ¹⁰ so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

²⁰ and through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

¹⁰ and you have been made complete in him, who is the head over all rule and authority.

¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through him.

² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the world.

¹⁰ And, "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; ¹¹ they will perish, but you remain; they will all grow old like a garment, ¹² you will roll them up like a mantle; and like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

³ Yet Jesus has been counted worthy of as much more glory than Moses as the builder of a house has more honor than the house. ⁴ For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.

¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" ¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshipped.

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made.

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working still, and I am working." ¹⁸ Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made.

²⁸ 'For in him we live and move and have our being,' as even some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

⁸ "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

¹¹ saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

¹⁷ And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

⁸ "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'These are the words of the First and the Last, who died, and came to life:

⁸ But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master, and you are all brethren.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

¹⁶ And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace.

²⁷ It is he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."

²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now full. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease. ³¹ "He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks. He who comes from heaven is above all.

³⁴ For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.

²⁵ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live; ²⁶ and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

²³ that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles."

³ But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since by a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then, at his coming, those who belong to him.

²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him, who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each part, causes the growth of the body and builds itself up in love.

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is himself the Savior.

²⁴ Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share for the sake of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

¹⁰ and you have been made complete in him, who is the head over all rule and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the certificate of debt, which stood against us with its decrees. He took what was hostile away from us, nailing it to the cross.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son, today I have begotten you"? And again, "I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me"? ⁶ And again, when God brings the first-born into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have touched, concerning the Word of life,

¹⁸ and the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore! And I have the keys of death and Hades.

⁹ And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals; for you were slain, and with your blood purchased men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. ¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth." ¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" ¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."

⁶ Then he said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life without cost.

²³ And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

²⁵ At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. ²⁷ "All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²¹ At that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for so it was your good pleasure.

³⁴ For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without measure.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

⁵ he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,

²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

¹⁰ He who descended is also he who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)

³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁹ For in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

¹¹ Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all, and in all.

¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

³⁰ Cornelius said, "Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments,

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by abolishing in his flesh the hostility, which is the Law of commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, by which he put to death the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;

²¹ And although you were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach

²⁰ Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹ equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved through him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so; ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

¹ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are members of God's household,

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are corrupted and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds; they are detestable and disobedient, unfit for any good deed.

³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but because of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

⁴ You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

⁴ Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit to God.

² I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.

⁴ just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him. In love

¹⁵ by abolishing in his flesh the hostility, which is the Law of commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, by which he put to death the hostility.

²⁷ that he might present the church to himself in all her glory, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and blameless.

⁷ For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.

¹⁰ And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

²⁰ by a new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh,

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless.

²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with great joy,

²⁴ "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

¹³ But he who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it was well built.

¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴ And the ones that fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ But the ones that fell on the good soil are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

³² But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren."

³⁰ As he spoke these words, many believed in him. ³¹ Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

⁶ If anyone does not abide in me, he is like a branch that is cast away and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.

⁹ As the Father has loved me, I also have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

¹⁷ For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry."

²⁵ to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place."

⁵ Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

¹² And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

²³ When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts;

²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."

²⁴ But I do not consider my life of any account nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness to the things which you have seen of me, and also to the things in which I will appear to you;

¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord assigned to each one.

¹ This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by any human court; I do not even judge myself.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

⁶ who has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

¹ Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.

¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

¹¹ I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

⁷ You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?

⁹ Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

²¹ in whom the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord;

⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each part, causes the growth of the body and builds itself up in love.

⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as in all the world it is bearing fruit and growing, even as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth;

²⁵ Of this church I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

⁷ rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving.

³ so that no one would be unsettled by these afflictions. You yourselves know that we have been destined for this.

⁵ For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.

⁸ But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.

⁷ For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

¹¹ For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² For this reason I also suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

⁵ But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. ⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

⁷ so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

⁶ but Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold fast to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

¹⁹ We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

³⁸ But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."

³ Blessed be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁵ who are protected by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

¹⁸ For speaking out arrogant words of vanity, they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. ²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A dog turns back to its own vomit," and, "A sow, after having washed, returns to wallowing in the mire."

²⁷ But the anointing which you have received from him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him.

¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful even until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

³ And not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;

⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. ⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then death is at work in us, but life in you.

⁴ I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. With all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

²³ Are they servants of Christ? I am a better oneI am talking like a madmanin far more labors, in far more imprisonments, with more beatings, and often in danger of death. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the open sea. ²⁶ I have been on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brethren; ²⁷ I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

¹ For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles

¹³ Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations for you, which are your glory.

¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

¹⁰ that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death;

¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the first place in everything.

⁸ So do not be ashamed to testify of our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,

⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of wearing chains like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

¹⁵ But I have written very boldly to you on some points, so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. ¹⁸ For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

¹⁷ For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if it is not of my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.

⁷ but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised ⁸ (for he who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles),

² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴ and will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

¹¹ And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

¹¹ And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those outside everything is in parables;

¹⁰ he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others it is given in parables, so that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'

²⁵ Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages ²⁶ but is now revealed and made known to all nations through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith

⁷ But we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and which God destined for our glory before the ages.

³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ When you read this, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; ⁶ that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

¹⁰ but has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

²¹ nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

⁵⁶ He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; but you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

²³ Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

² Every branch in me that bears no fruit he takes away; and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.

²² And the glory which you gave me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: ²³ I in them, and you in me; that they may become perfectly one, and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁶ I have made known to them your name, and will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them."

² through whom we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of the glory of God.

¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although your body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

¹⁸ I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God.

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out!

¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand the things freely given to us by God. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

¹⁷ For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

¹⁵ But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

¹⁹ My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. ¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

²² in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁹ And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁴⁸ You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

³⁴ When Jesus went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

²⁰ and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

⁴² And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

⁵ Philip went down to a city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them.

³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news of Jesus.

²⁰ And immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."

²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

³ explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."

¹⁸ And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some said, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities,"because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

²⁷ For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. ²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with the blood of his Own.

³¹ Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night and day to admonish each one with tears.

²⁵ Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages

²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,

³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

⁶ Yet we do speak a wisdom among the mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away.

¹⁵ But the spiritual man judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

¹⁴ I do not write this to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

⁸ To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

¹² Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

¹¹ And he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to become mature, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel; ¹⁷ the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

²² yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach

⁶ and that no man transgress and wrong his brother in this matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.

¹² But we ask you, brethren, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

² Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

¹⁶ By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: he was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

²⁴ And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, patient when wronged, ²⁵ with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God will grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

¹⁴ For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

¹⁵ And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you.

²⁰ And so I have made it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man's foundation,

²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as a man beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

⁶ There are varieties of working, but the same God who works all of them in all men.

¹¹ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills.

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of themyet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

⁵ in beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness, hunger,

³ since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you.

¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might

⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

³⁰ having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁶ holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

¹ For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen my face in the flesh,

⁹ For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God.

⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

³ I know you have persevered and have endured for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.