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

So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated "son of encouragement"),

Yet they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become!

Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means Dorcas). She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.

who will speak a message to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.'

While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

and by this one everyone who believes is justified from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you.

and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for some days.

because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead."

Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.

But I confess this to you, that I worship the God of our ancestors according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law and that is written in the prophets.

which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, without a crowd or a disturbance.

But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you.

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed --

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

Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice -- alive, holy, and pleasing to God -- which is your reasonable service.

For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ.

If someone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, which is what you are.

Let each one remain in that situation in life in which he was called.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,

and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand,

and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain.

Every day I am in danger of death! This is as sure as my boasting in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For our reason for confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives and sincerity which are from God -- not by human wisdom but by the grace of God -- we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more toward you.

But if the ministry that produced death -- carved in letters on stone tablets -- came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective),

And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,

But we will not boast beyond certain limits, but will confine our boasting according to the limits of the work to which God has appointed us, that reaches even as far as you.

But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

in which you formerly lived according to this world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience,

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,

and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed.

For this reason I ask you not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,

Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting -- all of which are out of character -- but rather thanksgiving.

And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit,

"Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, namely,

and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don't know which I prefer:

I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,

and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation -- a sign which is from God.

so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world

Not that I have already attained this -- that is, I have not already been perfected -- but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.

who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.

Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel

God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.

And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond.

At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God's message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God's message, which is at work among you who believe.

This is evidence of God's righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering.

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter.

To do this you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.

Command those who are rich in this world's goods not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain, but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment.

for which I suffer hardship to the point of imprisonment as a criminal, but God's message is not imprisoned!

and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son! Today I have fathered you"? And in another place he says, "I will be his father and he will be my son."

But to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

For he did not put the world to come, about which we are speaking, under the control of angels.

For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses' leadership?

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,

for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

For a tent was prepared, the outer one, which contained the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves; this is called the holy place.

When he says above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them" (which are offered according to the law),

Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, which have never benefited those who participated in them.

So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.

Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold -- gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away -- and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God's sight.

And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you -- not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written you, in which I am trying to stir up your pure mind by way of reminder:

But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.

Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have already heard.

On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must happen very soon. He made it clear by sending his angel to his servant John,

From the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne

Then I saw standing in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground before the Lamb. Each of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints).

And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, "Woe, Woe, O great city -- in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth -- because in a single hour she has been destroyed!"

Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf -- signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.

The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall.

He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits according to human measurement, which is also the angel's.