20.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21.God made him who had no sin to be sin5:21 Or be a sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1.In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2.Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3.And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”4.At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.5.“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”6.Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7.With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”8.Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
11.As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”10:11 Isaiah 28:16 (see Septuagint) 12.For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13.for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”10:13 Joel 2:3214.How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15.And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”10:15 Isaiah 52:7
13.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.14.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
9.But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10.Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.11.Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12.Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
12.Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13.for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.14.Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15.so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”2:15 Deut. 32:5 Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16.as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
14.Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15.The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16.For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been 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 and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
23.This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,24.but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.
3.Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
20.Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
7.But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8.What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9.and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in3:9 Or through the faithfulness of Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10.I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11.You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
2.I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.3.Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.4.I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.5.I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
25.Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.26.My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.27.Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.28.But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
7.everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
20.Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21.to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
18.For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.19.Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20.built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21.In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22.And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
1.As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2.Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3.Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4.There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5.one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6.one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.7.But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8.This is why it4:8 Or God says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”4:8 Psalm 68:189.(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions4:9 Or the depths of the earth? 10.He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11.So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12.to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13.until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
25.Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26.to make her holy, cleansing5:26 Or having cleansed her by the washing with water through the word, 27.and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
23.Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24.And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25.not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
41.Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.42.They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43.Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44.All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45.They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46.Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47.praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
34.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35.By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
20.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21.that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22.I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23.I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.24.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.25.
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26.I have made you17:26 Greek your name known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
The Church and Its Leaders
1.Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2.I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3.You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4.For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?
5.What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6.I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7.So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8.The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9.For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10.By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11.For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12.If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13.their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14.If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15.If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
16.Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17.If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
18.Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19.For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”3:19 Job 5:13; 20.and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”3:20 Psalm 94:11 21.So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, 22.whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas3:22 That is, Peter or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23.and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
3.Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
12.Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,13.keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.14.Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
1.How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
12.Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13.Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14.And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.15.Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16.Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17.And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
17.But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18.Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
Psalm 6767 In Hebrew texts 67:1-7 is numbered 67:2-8.
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1.May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—67:1 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 4.
2.so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3.May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4.May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5.May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6.The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7.May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
9.All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
18.All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19.that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21.God made him who had no sin to be sin5:21 Or be a sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
6.he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
9.And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.10.You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign5:10 Some manuscripts they reign on the earth.”11.Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12.In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”13.Then 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 praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”14.The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
18.Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20.and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
8.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
27.Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
8.Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.9.Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
17.Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
