Among the members of the Church at Antioch there were several Prophets and Teachers--Barnabas, Simeon who was known by the name of 'Black', Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, foster-brother of Prince Herod, and Saul.

Brothers, descendants of Abraham, and all those among you who reverence God, it was to us that the Message of this Salvation was sent.

Every voice in the assembly was hushed, as they listened to Barnabas and Paul, while they gave an account of all the signs and wonders which God had shown among the Gentiles through them.

Simon has described the manner in which God first visited the Gentiles, in order to take from among them a people to bear his Name.

It was then decided by the Apostles and the Officers, with the assent of the whole Church, to choose some of their number, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Those chosen were Judas (called Barsabas) and Silas, who were leading men among the Brethren.

Among other places Paul went to Derbe and Lystra. At the latter place they found a disciple, named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess who had become a believer in Christ, while his father was a Greek,

Among them was a woman, named Lydia, belonging to Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth, who was accustomed to join in the worship of God. The Lord touched this woman's heart, so that she gave attention to the Message delivered by Paul,

Among others, some Epicurean and Stoic Philosophers joined issue with him. Some would ask "What is this prater wanting to make out?", while others would say "He seems to be a Preacher of foreign Deities." (This was because he was telling the Good News about Jesus and the Resurrection).

There were, however, some men who joined him, and became believers in Christ. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and several others.

So he settled there for a year and a half, and taught God's Message among the people.

And, when they came, he spoke to them as follows: "You know well the life that I always led among you from the very first day that I set foot in Roman Asia,

And now, I tell you, I know that none of you will ever see my face again--you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the Kingdom.

I know that, after my departure, merciless wolves will get in among you, who will not spare the flock;

And from among yourselves, too, men will arise, who will teach perversions of truth, so as to draw away the disciples after them.

And now I commend you to the Lord and to the Message of his Love--a Message which has the power to build up your characters, and to give you your place among all those who have become Christ's People.

After greeting them, Paul related in detail all that God had done among the Gentiles through his efforts;

But, just as the seven days were drawing to a close, the Jews from Roman Asia caught sight of Paul in the Temple, and caused great excitement among all the people present, by seizing Paul and shouting:

As soon as he said this, a dispute arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and there was a sharp division of opinion among those present.

We have found this man a public pest; he is one who stirs up disputes among the Jews all the world over, and is a ringleader of the Nazarene heretics.

Except as to the one sentence that I shouted out as I stood among them--'It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on my trial before you to-day'."

There the Chief Priests and the leading men among the Jews laid an information before him against Paul,

"So let the influential men among you," he said, "go down with me, and if there is anything amiss in the man, charge him formally with it."

After staying among them some eight or ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he took his seat on the Bench, and ordered Paul to be brought before him.

My life, then, from youth upwards, was passed, from the very first, among my own nation, and in Jerusalem, and is within the knowledge of all Jews;

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; so that they may receive pardon for their sins, and a place among those who have become God's People, by faith in me.'

And, after retiring, discussed the case among themselves. "There is nothing," they said, "deserving death or imprisonment in this man's conduct";

Yet, even as things are, I urge you not to lose courage, for there will not be a single life lost among you--only the ship.

So, as they disagreed among themselves, they began to disperse, Paul adding only--"True, indeed, was the declaration made by the Holy Spirit, through the Prophet Isaiah to your ancestors--

Through him we received the gift of the Apostolic office, to win submission to the Faith among all nations for the glory of his Name.

And among these nations are you-you who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

I want you to know, Brothers, that I have many times intended coming to see you-but until now I have been prevented-that I might find among you some fruit of my labors, as I have already among the other nations.

That, I say, is why God abandoned them to degrading passions. Even the women among them perverted the natural use of their bodies to the unnatural;

For, as Scripture says-'The name of God is reviled among the Gentiles because of you'!

For those whom God chose from the first he also destined from the first to be transformed into likeness to his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest among many Brothers.

And whom he called-even us-Not only from among the Jews but from among the Gentiles also!

Some, however, of the branches were broken off, and you, who were only a wild olive, were grafted in among them, and came to share with them the root which is the source of the richness of the cultivated olive.

And that the Gentiles also may praise God for his mercy. As Scripture says--'Therefore will I make acknowledgment to thee among the Gentiles and sing in honor of thy Name.'

For Macedonia and Greece have been glad to make a collection for the poor among Christ's People at Jerusalem.

So that, God willing, I may be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and enjoy some rest among you.

Who risked their own lives to save mine. It is not I alone who thank them, but all the Churches among the Gentiles thank them also.

To Andronicus and Junias, my countrymen and once my fellow- prisoners, who are men of note among the Apostles, and who became Christians before I did;

But I appeal to you, Brothers, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree in what you profess, and not to allow divisions to exist among you, but to be united-of one mind and of one opinion.

For I have been informed, my Brothers, by the members of Chloe's household, that party feeling exists among you.

Look at the facts of your Call, Brothers. There are not many among you who are wise, as men reckon wisdom, not many who are influential, not many who are high-born;

Indeed, when I came among you, I was weak, and full of fears, and in great anxiety.

While there exist among you jealousy and party feeling, is it not true that you are worldly, and are acting merely as other men do?

Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you imagines that, as regards this world, he is a wise man, let him become a 'fool,' that he may become wise.

There is a wide-spread report respecting a case of immorality among you, and that, too, of a kind that does not occur even among the Gentiles-a man, I hear, is living with his father's wife!

While God judges those who are outside? 'Put away the wicked man from among you.'

Can it be that there is not one man among you wise enough to decide between two of his Brothers?

Indeed, there must be actual parties among you, for so only will the men of real worth become known.

That is why so many among you are weak and ill, and why some are sleeping.

The secrets of his heart are revealed, and then, throwing himself on his face, he will worship God, and declare 'God is indeed among you!'

The Son of God, Christ Jesus, whom we--Silas, Timothy, and I- -proclaimed among you, never wavered between 'Yes' and 'No.' With him it has always been 'Yes.'

For we are the fragrance of Christ ascending to God--both among those who are in the path of Salvation and among those who are in the path to Ruin.

What agreement can thee be between a temple of God and idols? And we are a temple of the Living God. That is what God meant when he said--'I will dwell among them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Therefore "Come out from among the nations, and separate yourselves from them," says the Lord, "and touch nothing impure; And I will welcome you;

Our boasting, therefore, is not unlimited, nor does it extend to the labors of others; but our hope is that, as your faith grows, our influence among you may be very greatly increased-- though still confined to our sphere--

My journeys have been many. I have been through dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in towns, dangers in the country, dangers on the sea, dangers among false Brothers.

The marks of the true Apostle were exhibited among you in constant endurance, as well as by signs, by marvels, and by miracles.

And that will be the proof, which you are looking for, that the Christ speaks through me. There is no weakness in his dealings with you. No, he shows his power among you.

And how, in my devotion to Judaism, I surpassed many of my contemporaries among my own people in my intense earnestness in upholding the traditions of my ancestors.

Saw fit to reveal his Son in me, so that I might tell the Good News of him among the Gentiles, then at once, instead of consulting any human being,

It was in obedience to a revelation that I went; and I laid before the Apostles the Good News that I am proclaiming among the Gentiles. I did this privately before those who are thought highly of, for fear that I might possibly be taking, or might have already taken, a course which would prove useless.

And therefore I, ever since I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and of your confidence in all Christ's People,

That your minds may be so enlightened that you may realize the hope given by God's Call, the wealth of the glory of his heritage among Christ's People,

For at one time you lived in sin, following the ways of the world, in subjection to the Ruler of the Powers of the air--the Spirit who is still at work among the disobedient.

And it was among them that we all once lived our lives, indulging the cravings of our earthly nature, and carrying out the desires prompted by that earthly nature and by our own thoughts. Our very nature exposed us to the Divine Wrath, like the rest of mankind.

In former generations it was not made known to mankind, as fully as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to the Apostles and Prophets among Christ's People--

With their powers of discernment darkened, cut off from the Life of God, owing to the ignorance that prevails among them and to the hardness of their hearts.

Let all bitterness, passion, anger, brawling, and abusive language be banished from among you, as well as all malice.

As for unchastity and every kind of impurity, or greed, do not let them even be mentioned among you, as befits Christ's People,

Nor shameful conduct, nor foolish talk or jesting, for they are wholly out of place among you; but rather thanksgiving.

So that, when you once more have me among you, you, in your union with Christ Jesus, may find in me fresh cause for exultation.

He appeared among us as a man, and still further humbled himself by submitting even to death--to death on a cross!

Bearing fruit and growing, as it does, through all the world, just as it did among you, from the very day that you heard of God's loving-kindness, and understood what that loving-kindness really is.

If only you remain true to your Faith, firm and immovable, never abandoning the hope held out in the Good News to which you listened, which has been proclaimed among all created things under Heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

To whom it was his pleasure to make known the surpassing glory of that hidden Truth when proclaimed among the Gentiles--'Christ among you! Your Hope of glory!'

Because the Good News that we brought came home to you, not merely as so many words, but with a power and a fulness of conviction due to the Holy Spirit. For you know the life that we lived among you for your good.

But we lived among you with the simplicity of a child; we were like a woman nursing her own children.

We beg you, Brothers, to value those who toil among you, and are your leaders in the Lord's service, and give you counsel.

In conclusion, Brothers, pray for us--pray that the Lord's Message may spread rapidly, and be received everywhere with honour, as it was among you;

We hear that there are among you people who are living ill- ordered lives, and who, instead of attending to their own business, are mere busy-bodies.

Yes, and confessedly wonderful are the deep truths of our religion; for-- 'He was revealed in our nature, pronounced righteous in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up into glory.'

You know, of course, that all our friends in Roman Asia turned their backs on me, and among them Phygellus and Hermogenes.

For among them are to be found those who creep into homes and captivate weak women--women who, loaded with sins, and slaves to all kinds of passions,

If a man is causing divisions among you, after warning him once or twice, have nothing more to say to him.

Rather encourage one another daily--while there is a 'To-day'--to prevent any one among you from being hardened by the deceitfulness of Sin.

Every High Priest, taken from among men, is appointed as a representative of his fellow-men in their relations with God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices in expiation of sins.

Is not that to make distinctions among yourselves, and show yourselves prejudiced judges?

And the tongue is like a spark. Among the members of our body it proves itself a very world of mischief; it contaminates the whole body; it sets the wheels of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by the flames of the Pit.

Who among you claims to be wise and intelligent? Let him show that his actions are the outcome of a good life lived in the humility of true wisdom.

What is the cause of the fighting and quarreling that goes on among you? Is not it to be found in the desires which are always at war within you?

Now that, by your obedience to the Truth, you have purified your lives, so that there is growing up among you a genuine brotherly affection, love one another earnestly with all your hearts;

Let your daily life among the Gentiles be so upright, that, whenever they malign you as evil-doers, they may learn, as they watch, from the uprightness of your conduct, to praise God 'at the time when he shall visit them.'

Surely in the past you have spent time enough living as the Gentiles delight to live. For your path has lain among scenes of debauchery, licentiousness, drunkenness, revelry, hard-drinking, and profane idolatry.

I need hardly say that no one among you must suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a criminal, or for interfering in matters which do not concern Christians.

As for the older men among you, who bear office in the Church, I, their fellow-Officer, and a witness to the sufferings of the Christ, who shall also share in the glory that is to be revealed--

I urge you to be true shepherds of the flock of God among you, not because you are compelled, but of your own free will; not from a base love of gain, but with a ready spirit;

But there were false prophets also in the nation, just as there will be false teachers among you, men who will secretly introduce ruinous divisions, disowning even the Lord who bought them, and bringing speedy Ruin upon themselves.