Colossians 1:23

Prayer For Maturity Based On Christ's Preeminence

²² yet now God has reconciled [you] to Himself through the death of Christ's physical body in order to present you holy, without fault and free from just blame before Him [on judgment day]. ²³ [This will happen] if you continue in the faith [Note: This means either "continue to observe God's teaching" or, "continue to believe"], firmly grounded and established, and not moved away from the hope offered by the Gospel message, which you have heard and which was preached to people throughout the entire created world under heaven. I, Paul, was made a minister of this Gospel. ²⁴ Now I rejoice in [spite of] my sufferings for your sake, and I am filling up [i.e., completing] in my physical body what was lacking in the afflictions Christ endured for His body's sake, the church.

Continue in the Faith

Good News

Hope of the Gospel

In Christ

In the Faith

Paul

Ephesians 3:17

so that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. [I pray] that you will be rooted and grounded in [your] love,

Mark 16:15

Then He said to them, "You [men] go into the entire world and preach the good news to every person.

Acts 2:5

Now some devoted Jews from every nation of the world were visiting Jerusalem [for the Pentecost festival].

Colossians 1:5-6

[You have these qualities] because of the hope stored up for you in heaven, which [hope] you previously heard about through the message of truth when the Gospel

Colossians 2:7

rooted and built up in [your relationship to] Him, established by your faith [or, "in the faith"], just as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving.

Romans 10:18

But I ask, "Did not they [i.e., the Jews] hear [the message]?" Certainly they did! [Psa. 19:4 says], "The sound [of their preaching] went out into all the world, and their message reached to the ends of the earth."

2 Corinthians 3:6

He has also made us competent as ministers of a New Agreement [i.e., between Himself and mankind]. It is not [an agreement] based [merely] on a written document [i.e., such as the law of Moses], but on the Holy Spirit, for the written document brings [spiritual] death [See Rom. 8:2], but the Holy Spirit brings [never ending] life.

Colossians 1:25

I was made a minister of the church according to the task given to me by God to fully present His message to you.

Matthew 7:24-25

"Every person therefore, who hears these words of mine and obeys them will be like the sensible person who built his house on a [foundation of] rock.

Matthew 24:13-14

But the person who holds out [i.e., remains faithful to God] until the end [i.e., of this time of severe persecution] will be saved [from destruction].

Luke 6:48

He is like a man building a house, who dug deep to lay the foundation on rock. And when a flood came the river pounded against that house, but could not shake it because it had been well built.

Luke 8:13-15

And those people [represented by the seed falling] on rocky ground are those who, upon hearing the word [of God], accept it gladly, but since they have no root [system], they believe it for [only] awhile, and [then] in times of trial fall away [from God].

Luke 22:32

But I prayed earnestly for you, that your faith would not fail [to be strong]. And when you have turned back [i.e., from going astray briefly], provide [spiritual] support to your brothers."

John 8:30-32

When He said these things, many people believed in Him.

John 15:6

If a person does not remain united to me, he will be thrown out as a [fruitless] branch and dried up. People gather up such branches and throw them into the fire to be burned [as fuel ?].

John 15:9-10

"Just as the Father has loved me, [so] I have also loved you. You should continue to receive [or, respond to] my love. [Note: The next verse tells how this can be done].

Acts 1:17

For he was one of our number and shared with us [in the responsibility of] this ministry."

Acts 1:25

to replace Judas in this ministry and this group of apostles, from which he fell away to go to where he belonged" [i.e., to the place of punishment for unrepentant sinners].

Acts 4:12

And there is salvation in no other One [than Jesus] for there is no other Name in the whole world, proclaimed by men, by which [a person] can be saved."

Acts 11:23

When he got there and saw how God was favoring the people [with salvation] he was very happy and [stayed on and] encouraged everyone to remain close to the Lord with a heartfelt purpose.

Acts 14:22

[Along the way] they strengthened the hearts of the disciples, urging them to continue [to believe and practice] the faith and [explaining] that entering God's [heavenly] kingdom [See II Tim. 4:18] requires enduring many trials.

Acts 20:24

But I do not consider my life to be of value, as precious to me, [when compared to the importance of] accomplishing my task and the mission I received from the Lord Jesus to declare the good news of God's unearned favor [through Christ].

Acts 26:16

But, get up onto your feet, for the reason I have appeared to you is to appoint you a minister and witness of both the things you have [already] seen of me and the things I will [reveal when] appearing to you.

Romans 2:7

To the ones who continue doing what is good and who look for glory, honor and immortal life [God will give] never ending life.

Romans 5:5

And [having such] hope keeps us from being disappointed, because God's love [for us] has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us [by God].

Romans 15:16

in appointing me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I am serving like a priest in preaching God's good news, so that the Gentiles might be like an acceptable sacrifice [to God], dedicated by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:5

After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? They are [only] servants through whom you believed [in Christ], with each one doing what the Lord gave him to do.

1 Corinthians 4:1-3

So, a person should look at us as servants of Christ and property managers entrusted with the secret truths of God.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my dearly loved brothers, stand firm [in the faith]; do not be moved [from your commitment]. Always do your best to work for the Lord, since you know that your labor in the Lord's [service] is not for nothing.

2 Corinthians 4:1

So, having obtained this ministry through [God's] mercy, we do not become discouraged.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20

All [these] things are from God, who restored us to fellowship with Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of restoring [other] people to [such] fellowship.

2 Corinthians 6:1

As workers together with God we urge you also, who have received God's unearned favor, do not allow it to be for nothing,

2 Corinthians 11:23

Are they servants of Christ? (I am really talking like a crazy person now). I am more [of a servant, than they are]. I have worked much harder. I have been in prison more often. I have been flogged more severely. I have been in danger of death more frequently.

Galatians 4:11

I am afraid for you, [i.e., for your spiritual safety], that possibly I may have spent a lot of effort on your behalf for nothing.

Galatians 5:5

For we are waiting for the hope [to be fulfilled] of being made right with God by [the power of] the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:7

You [Christians] were running [the race of life] well; who hindered you [from making further progress] so that [now] you are no longer obeying the truth?

Galatians 6:9

And we should not become tired of doing good things, for eventually we will receive [never ending life] if we do not give up.

Ephesians 1:18

I pray that your minds will be enlightened so that you will know what the hope is, to which God has called you, and what the glorious abundance is, of God's inheritance in the saints [Note: Paul wanted them to appreciate the value God placed on them],

Ephesians 2:21

In [harmony with] Him the entire building [i.e., the church] is properly assembled, rising into a dedicated temple for the Lord. [See I Cor. 3:16-17].

Ephesians 3:7-8

I was made a minister [of the Gospel] according to the gift of God's unearned favor, which was given to me according to the working of His power.

Ephesians 4:16

From Him all [members of] the body are properly joined together by every supporting ligament, as each part contributes to the growth of the body and builds itself up through [mutual] love.

1 Thessalonians 3:3

so that no one would be shaken by [having to experience] these difficult times. [See 2:14]. For you yourselves know that we are destined to have such experiences.

1 Thessalonians 3:5

[So], for this reason, when I could not stand it any longer, I also sent [Timothy] to find out about your faith. I was afraid that somehow the tempter [i.e., Satan] had tempted you [to give up] and that our work [on your behalf] will have become useless.

1 Thessalonians 5:8

But, since we belong to the daytime [i.e., are enlightened], we should be sober. We should put on the "flack jacket" of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of being saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:16

Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us never ending encouragement and good hope through [His] unearned favor,

1 Timothy 1:12

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, appointing me to the ministry [i.e., to His service], because He considered me trustworthy,

1 Timothy 2:7

I was appointed to be a preacher [of this testimony] and an apostle and teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles. (I am telling the truth and not lying).

2 Timothy 1:11-12

of which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

2 Timothy 4:5-6

But you should be sober-minded about everything, [willing to] endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Titus 3:7

[This was] so that, being made right with God by His unearned favor, we could have the hope of [possessing our] inheritance of never ending life [in heaven].

Hebrews 3:6

but Christ [was faithful] as a Son over God's household. And we [Christians] are that household, if we hold on to our confidence [in Christ], and to the boasting [i.e., joy] of our hope [in God], firmly to the end [of our lives].

Hebrews 3:14

For we have become sharers with Christ, if we hold firmly onto the confidence [we had in Him] from the beginning until the end [of our lives].

Hebrews 4:14

Since then we [Christians] have [such] a great Head Priest, who has passed through the skies [i.e., ascended to heaven. See Acts 1:9], Jesus, the Son of God, we should remain true to our profession [of faith in Him].

Hebrews 6:19

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, [a hope] that is safe and secure, and one that enters the curtain [i.e., figuratively, of the heavenly sanctuary],

Hebrews 10:38

And my [i.e., God's] righteous person will [obtain] life by [his] faith [in God]. But if he turns back [from me], my soul is not pleased with him."

1 Peter 1:3

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to be praised for being so merciful as to have given us a new birth, which provides for us a hope of never ending life through the means of Jesus Christ's return from the dead.

1 Peter 1:5

Through God's power you are protected by [your] faith, so that you can expect to be saved in the end.

2 Peter 2:18-22

[Although] their talk is big, what they say is worthless, and by [offering people] fleshly desires [i.e., sexual gratification], they lead people astray, who are barely escaping from the error of the world.

1 John 2:27

And this is important to you: The "special gift," which you received from God [See verse 20], continues to live in your hearts, [so that] you do not need anyone to teach you [anything different]. But, since this same "special gift" teaches you concerning everything that is true, and [what it teaches] is not false, you should continue to live in [fellowship with] Christ.

1 John 3:1-3

Look at how much love the Father has shown to us [Christians], that we should be called His children! But, that is what we [really] are! The reason the people of the world do not know who we are is because they do not know who God [really] is.

Revelation 2:10

Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. [For] look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. [But], you should be faithful [to God] even to the point of dying [for Him], and I will give you the crown of [never ending] life.