And I declare to you that you are Peter, and that upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the might of Hades shall not triumph over it.

If he refuses to hear them, appeal to the Church; and if he refuses to hear even the Church, regard him just as you regard a Gentile or a tax-gatherer.

I solemnly tell you that whatever you as a Church bind on earth will in Heaven be held as bound, and whatever you loose on earth will in Heaven be held to be loosed.

This incident struck terror into the whole Church, and into the hearts of all who heard of it.

And Saul fully approved of his murder. At this time a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judaea and Samaria.

But Saul cruelly harassed the Church. He went into house after house, and, dragging off both men and women, threw them into prison.

The Church, however, throughout the whole of Judaea, Galilee and Samaria, had peace and was spiritually built up; and grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and receiving encouragement from the Holy Spirit.

When tidings of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch.

He succeeded, and brought him to Antioch; and for a whole year they attended the meetings of the Church, and taught a large number of people. And it was in Antioch that the disciples first received the name of 'Christians.'

Now, about that time, King Herod arrested certain members of the Church, in order to ill-treat them;

So Peter was kept in prison; but long and fervent prayer was offered to God by the Church on his behalf.

Now there were in Antioch, in the Church there--as Prophets and teachers--barnabas, Symeon surnamed 'the black,' Lucius the Cyrenaean, Manaen (who was Herod the Tetrarch's foster-brother)

And in every Church, after prayer and fasting, they selected Elders by show of hands, and commended them to the Lord on whom their faith rested.

Upon their arrival they called the Church together and proceeded to report in detail all that God, working with them, had done, and how He had opened for the Gentiles the door of faith.

So they set out, being accompanied for a short distance by some other members of the Church; and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told the whole story of the conversion of the Gentiles and inspired all the brethren with great joy.

Upon their arrival in Jerusalem they were cordially received by the Church, the Apostles, and the Elders; and they reported in detail all that God, working with them, had done.

Thereupon it was decided by the Apostles and Elders, with the approval of the whole Church, to choose suitable persons from among themselves and send them to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas. Judas, called Bar-sabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, were selected,

Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and inquired after the welfare of the Church, and then went down to Antioch.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the Elders of the Church to come to him.

"Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.

On the following day we went with Paul to call on James, and all the Elders of the Church came also.

asking that I may escape unhurt from those in Judaea who are disobedient, and that the service which I am going to Jerusalem to render may be well received by the Church there,

Herewith I introduce our sister Phoebe to you, who is a servant of the Church at Cenchreae,

Greetings, too, to the Church that meets at their house. Greetings to my dear Epaenetus, who was the earliest convert to Christ in the province of Asia;

Gaius, my host, who is also the host of the whole Church, greets you. So do Erastus, the treasurer of the city, and Quartus our brother.

To the Church of God in Corinth, men and women consecrated in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-- their Lord as well as ours.

For this reason I have sent Timothy to you. Spiritually he is my dearly-loved and faithful child. He will remind you of my habits as a Christian teacher--the manner in which I teach everywhere in every Church.

For what business of mine is it to judge outsiders? Is it not for you to judge those who are within the Church

If therefore you have things belonging to this life which need to be decided, is it men who are absolutely nothing in the Church--is it *they* whom you make your judges?

If to other men I am not an Apostle, yet at any rate I am one to you; for your very existence as a Christian Church is the seal of my Apostleship.

Do not be causes of stumbling either to Jews or to Gentiles, nor to the Church of God.

for, in the first place, when you meet as a Church, there are divisions among you. This is what I am told, and I believe that there is some truth in it.

Why, have you no homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you wish to show your contempt for the Church of God and make those who have no homes feel ashamed? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I certainly do not praise you.

For just as the human body is one and yet has many parts, and all its parts, many as they are, constitute but one body, so it is with the Church of Christ.

And by God's appointment there are in the Church--first Apostles, secondly Prophets, thirdly teachers. Then come miraculous powers, and then ability to cure diseases or render loving service, or powers of organization, or varieties of the gift of 'tongues.'

He who speaks in an unknown tongue does good to himself, but he who prophesies does good to the Church.

I should be right glad were you all to speak in 'tongues,' but yet more glad were you all to prophesy. And, in fact, the man who prophesies is superior to him who speaks in 'tongues,' except when the latter can interpret in order that the Church may get a blessing.

Therefore, seeing that you are ambitious for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in them so as to benefit the Church.

but in the Church I would rather speak five words with my understanding--so as to instruct others also--than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Accordingly if the whole Church has assembled and all are speaking in 'tongues,' and there come in ungifted men, or unbelievers, will they not say that you are all mad?

or if there is no interpreter, let the man with the gift be silent in the Church, speaking to himself and to God.

and if they wish to ask questions, they should ask their own husbands at home. For it is disgraceful for a married woman to speak at a Church assembly.

For I am the least of the Apostles, and am not fit to be called an Apostle--because I persecuted the Church of God.

The Churches in the province of Asia send you greetings; and Aquila and Prisca, in hearty Christian love, do the same, together with the Church which meets at their house.

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God--and our brother Timothy: To the Church of God in Corinth, with all God's people throughout Greece.

while we hold ourselves in readiness to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as ever you as a Church have fully shown your obedience.

For you have heard of my early career in Judaism--how I furiously persecuted the Church of God, and made havoc of it;

I went up in obedience to a revelation of God's will; and I explained to them the Good News which I proclaim among the Gentiles. To the leaders of the Church this explanation was made in private, lest by any means I should be running, or should already have run, in vain.

Yet there was danger of this through the false brethren secretly introduced into the Church, who had stolen in to spy out the freedom which is ours in Christ Jesus, in order to rob us of it.

and when they perceived the mission which was graciously entrusted to me, they (that is to say, James, Peter, and John, who were considered to be the pillars of the Church)

God has put all things under His feet, and has appointed Him universal and supreme Head of the Church, which is His Body,

concealed in order that the Church might now be used to display to the powers and authorities in the heavenly realms the innumerable aspects of God's wisdom.

to Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, world without end! Amen.

because a husband is the Head of his wife as Christ also is the Head of the Church, being indeed the Saviour of this His Body.

And just as the Church submits to Christ, so also married women should be entirely submissive to their husbands.

Married men, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up to death for her;

that He might present the Church to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle or any other defect, but to be holy and unblemished.

For never yet has a man hated his own body. On the contrary he feeds and cherishes it, just as Christ feeds and cherishes the Church;

That is a great truth hitherto kept secret: I mean the truth concerning Christ and the Church.

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus: To all God's people in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ministers of the Church and their assistants.

as to zeal, a persecutor of the Church; as to the righteousness which comes through Law, blameless.

And you men and women of Philippi also know that at the first preaching of the Good News, when I had left Macedonia, no other Church except yourselves held communication with me about giving and receiving;

Moreover He is the Head of His Body, the Church. He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, in order that He Himself may in all things occupy the foremost place.

Now I can find joy amid my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my own person whatever is lacking in Christ's afflictions on behalf of His Body, the Church.

I have been appointed to serve the Church in the position of responsibility entrusted to me by God for your benefit, so that I may fully deliver God's Message--

Christian greetings to the brethren at Laodicea, especially to Nymphas, and to the Church that meets at their house.

And when this Letter has been read among you, let it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans, and you in turn must read the one I am sending to Laodicea.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy: To the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be granted to you.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy: To the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is the saying, "If any one is eager to have the oversight of a Church, he desires a noble work."

(If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he have the Church of God given into his care?)

It is needful also that he bear a good character with people outside the Church, lest he fall into reproach or a snare of the Devil.

But, for fear I may be hindered, I now write, so that you may have rules to guide you in dealing with God's household. For this is what the Church of the ever-living God is, and it is the pillar and foundation-stone of the truth.

If a believing woman has widows dependent on her, she should relieve their wants, and save the Church from being burdened--so that the Church may relieve the widows who are really in need.

and to our sister Apphia and our comrade Archippus--as well as to the Church in your house.

to the great festal gathering and Church of the first-born, whose names are recorded in Heaven, and to a Judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,

Is any one ill? Let him send for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

The Church in Babylon, chosen like yourselves by God, sends greetings, and so does Mark my son.

They have testified, in the presence of the Church, to your love; and you will do well to help them on their journey in a manner worthy of your fellowship with God.

I wrote to the Church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the first place among them, refuses to listen to us.

For this reason, if I come, I shall not forget his conduct, nor his idle and mischievous talk against us. And he does not stop there: he not only will not receive the brethren, but those who desire to do this he hinders, and excludes them from the Church.

"To the minister of the Church in Ephesus write as follows: "'This is what He who holds the seven stars in the grasp of His right hand says--He who walks to and fro among the seven lampstands of gold.

"To the minister of the Church at Smyrna write as follows: "'This is what the First and the Last says--He who died and has returned to life.

"To the minister of the Church at Pergamum write as follows: "'This is what He who has the sharp, two-edged sword says. I know where you dwell.

"To the minister of the Church at Thyateira write as follows: "'This is what the Son of God says--He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet resembling silver-bronze.

"To the minister of the Church at Sardis write as follows: "'This is what He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says. I know your doings--you are supposed to be alive, but in reality you are dead.

"To the minister of the Church at Philadelphia write as follows: "'This is what the holy One and the true says--He who has the key of David--He who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open.

"And to the minister of the Church at Laodicea write as follows: "'This is what the Amen says--the true and faithful witness, the Beginning and Lord of God's Creation.

the secret meaning of the seven stars which you have seen in My right hand, and of the seven lampstands of gold. The seven stars are the ministers of the seven Churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven Churches.

"I Jesus have sent My angel for him solemnly to declare these things to you among the Churches. I am the Root and the offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.

and he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches.

So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing in numbers from day to day.

friends who have endangered their own lives for mine. I am grateful to them, and not I alone, but all the Gentile Churches also.

Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the Churches of Christ send greetings to you.

This is what I command in all the Churches. Was any one already circumcised when called? Let him not have recourse to the surgeons. Was any one uncircumcised when called? Let him remain uncircumcised.

But if any one is inclined to be contentious on the point, we have no such custom, nor have the Churches of God.

For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace, as He is in all the Churches of His people.

Let married women be silent in the Churches, for they are not permitted to speak. They must be content with a subordinate place, as the Law also says;

As to the collection for God's people, what I have directed the Churches of Galatia to do, you must do also.

But we desire to let you know, brethren, of the grace of God which has been bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia;