Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.



All of this comes from God, who has reconciled us to himself through the Messiah and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them. He has committed his message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are the Messiah's representatives, as though God were pleading through us. We plead on the Messiah's behalf: "Be reconciled to God!" read more.
God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that God's righteousness would be produced in us.



When Peter saw this, he told the people: "Fellow Israelis, why are you wondering about this, and why are you staring at us as if by our own power or godliness we made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you betrayed and rejected in the presence of Pilate, even though he had decided to let him go. You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer released to you, read more.
and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that. It is his name that is, by faith in his name that has healed this man whom you see and know. Yes, the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance like your leaders. This is how God fulfilled what he had predicted through the voice of all the prophets that his Messiah would suffer. Therefore, repent and turn to him to have your sins blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and so that he may send you Jesus, whom he appointed long ago to be the Messiah. He must remain in heaven until the time of universal restitution, which God announced long ago through the voice of his holy prophets. In fact, Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. Any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.' "Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who followed him, also announced these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he told Abraham, "Through your descendant all the families of the earth will be blessed.' When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways."

If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. He is "the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.' read more.
There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Now when the Jewish leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus.

But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, for we cannot stop talking about what we've seen and heard."

After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in.

But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."


Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them, read more.
"Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have." After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in. When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them. Then someone came and told them, "Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!" So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council, and the high priest began to question them. He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn't we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man's blood on us!" But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him." When the Council heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. Then he told them, "Fellow Israelis, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered. "I'm telling you to keep away from these men for now. Leave them alone, because if this plan or movement is of human origin, it will fail. However, if it's from God, you won't be able to stop them, and you may even discover that you are fighting against God!" So they were convinced by him. After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go. They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name. Every day in the Temple and from house to house they kept teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah.



But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."


After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in.

But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."


But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."

So they called Peter and John back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, for we cannot stop talking about what we've seen and heard."

The priests and prophets told the officials and all the people, "A death sentence for this man, because he prophesied against this city, as you heard with your own ears!" Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people: "The LORD has sent me to prophesy all the things you heard against this house and against this city. Now, change your habits and your deeds and obey the LORD your God, and the LORD will change his mind about the disaster that he told you about. read more.
Look, I'm in your hands, so do with me what you think is good and right. But know for certain that if you kill me, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and its residents because the LORD really did send me to you to say all these things for you to hear." The officials and all the people told the priests and the prophets, "No death sentence for this man because he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God."

The high priests kept accusing him of many things. So Pilate asked him again, "Don't you have any answer? Look how many accusations they're bringing against you!" But since Jesus no longer answered, Pilate was astonished.

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. read more.
He is "the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.' There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved."

Then the high priest asked, "Is this true?" Stephen replied: "Listen, brothers and fathers! "The glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, "Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land I'll show you.' read more.
So he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. Then after the death of his father, God had him move to this country where you now live. God gave him no property here, not even a foot of land, yet he promised to give it to him and to his descendants after him as a permanent possession, even though he had no child. "This is what God promised: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and its people would enslave them and oppress them for 400 years. "But I will punish the nation they serve,' said God, "and afterwards they will leave and worship me in this place.' Later, God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. Later, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Then Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered the twelve patriarchs. "Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler of Egypt and of his whole household. "But a famine spread throughout Egypt and Canaan, and with it great suffering, and our ancestors couldn't find any food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors on their first trip. On their second trip, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph introduced his family to Pharaoh. Then Joseph invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him in Egypt 75 persons in all. So Jacob went down to Egypt. Then he and our ancestors died. They were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought at a high price from Hamor's descendants in Shechem. "Now as the time approached for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people's population increased a great deal in Egypt. Eventually, a different king who had not known Joseph became ruler of Egypt. By shrewdly scheming against our people, he oppressed our ancestors and forced them to abandon their infants to the elements, so that they wouldn't live. "At this time Moses was born. He was beautiful in the sight of God, and for three months he was cared for in his father's house. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. So Moses learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man, both in words and in deeds. "When he was 40 years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the descendants of Israel. When he saw one of them being mistreated, he defended him and avenged the man who was being mistreated by killing the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was using him to rescue them, but they didn't understand. The next day, he presented himself to some of them while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them. He said, "Men, you are brothers. Why should you be hurting another?' "But the man who was harming his neighbor pushed Moses away and said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? You don't want to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?' Because of this, Moses fled and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There he had two sons. "After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached the bush to look at it, the voice of the Lord said, "I am the God of your ancestors the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses became terrified and didn't dare to look. Then the Lord told him, "Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the oppression of my people in Egypt, I've heard their groans, and I've come down to rescue them. Now come, I'll send you to Egypt.' "This same Moses whom they rejected by saying, "Who made you ruler and judge?' was the man whom God sent to be both their ruler and deliverer with the help of the angel who had appeared to him in the bush. It was he who led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for 40 years. It was this Moses who told the Israelis, "God will raise up a prophet for you from among your own brothers, just as he did me.' This Moses is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and to our ancestors. He received living truths to give to us, but our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and wished to return to Egypt. They told Aaron, "Make gods for us who will lead us. This Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt we don't know what happened to him!' "At that time they even made a calf to be their idol, offered a sacrifice to it, and delighted in what they had made with their hands. So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the heavenly bodies. As it is written in the book of the Prophets: "O house of Israel, you didn't offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices those 40 years in the wilderness, did you? You even took along the tent of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made in order to worship them. So I will take you into exile as far as Babylon.' "Our ancestors had the Tent of Testimony in the wilderness constructed, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. Our ancestors brought it here with Joshua when they replaced the nations that God drove out in front of our ancestors, and it was here until the time of David. He found favor with God and asked to design a dwelling for the house of Jacob, but it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says, ""Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me,' declares the Lord, "or what place is there in which I can rest? It was my hand that made all these things, wasn't it?'" "You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors fail to persecute? They killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet you haven't obeyed it!" While they were listening to these things, they became more and more furious and began to grind their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"

Paul looked straight at the Council and said, "Brothers, with a clear conscience I have done my duty before God up to this very day." Then the high priest Ananias ordered the men standing near him to strike him on the mouth. At this Paul told him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! How can you sit there and judge me according to the Law, and yet in violation of the Law order me to be struck?" read more.
The men standing near him asked, "Do you mean to insult God's high priest?" Paul answered, "I didn't realize, brothers, that he is the high priest. After all, it is written, "You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.'" When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the Council, "Brothers, I'm a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I'm on trial concerning the hope that the dead will be resurrected." After he said that, an angry quarrel broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided,


The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

Have the same attitude among yourselves that was also in the Messiah Jesus: In God's own form existed he, and shared with God equality, deemed nothing needed grasping. Instead, poured out in emptiness, a servant's form did he possess, a mortal man becoming. In human form he chose to be, read more.
and lived in all humility, death on a cross obeying. Now lifted up by God to heaven, a name above all others given, this matchless name possessing. And so, when Jesus' name is called, the knees of everyone should fall, wherever they're residing. Then every tongue in one accord, will say that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, while God the Father praising.


The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil. We are witnesses of everything Jesus did in the land of the Jews, including Jerusalem. read more.
"They hung him on a tree and killed him, but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He also ordered us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify to this: everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, just as he chose us in the Messiah before the creation of the universe to be holy and blameless in his presence. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus the Messiah, according to the pleasure of his will, read more.
so that we would praise his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One. In union with him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of God's grace

and might thank the Father, who has enabled us to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves, through whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.



"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. You are already clean because of what I've spoken to you. read more.
"Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned branch and dries up. People gather such branches, throw them into a fire, and they are burned up. "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you'll receive it. This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you'll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I've told you this, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. "This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I don't call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. But I've called you friends, because I've made known to you everything that I've heard from my Father. "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. I am giving you these commandments so that you may love one another." "If the world hates you, you should realize that it hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember what I told you: "A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. They will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have any sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. The person who hates me also hates my Father. If I hadn't done among them the actions that no one else did, they wouldn't have any sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But this happened so that what has been written in their Law might be fulfilled: "They hated me for no reason.' "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father the Spirit of Truth, who comes from the Father he will testify on my behalf. You will testify also, because you have been with me from the beginning.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that in town after town the Holy Spirit assures me that imprisonment and suffering are waiting for me.

For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of the Messiah Jesus for the sake of you gentiles. Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering God's grace that was given to me on your behalf, and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past. read more.
By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about the Messiah, which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret:

The Holy Spirit also assures us of this, for he said:

Who overcomes the world? Is it not the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This man, Jesus the Messiah, is the one who came by water and blood not with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three witnesses in heaven the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.


This man, Jesus the Messiah, is the one who came by water and blood not with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth.

Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him. The one who doesn't love me doesn't keep my words. The words that you're hearing me say are not mine, but come from the Father who sent me. "I have told you this while I am still with you. read more.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have told you.

"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father the Spirit of Truth, who comes from the Father he will testify on my behalf. You will testify also, because you have been with me from the beginning.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."

The Holy Spirit also assures us of this, for he said:



On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart." Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who were believing in him were to receive, because the Spirit was not yet present and Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."

So I say to you: Keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you, because everyone who keeps asking will receive, and the person who keeps searching will find, and the person who keeps knocking will have the door opened. What father among you, if his son asks for bread, would give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, would give him a snake instead of the fish? read more.
Or if he asks for an egg, would he give him a scorpion? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who keep asking him!"

So the apostles and the elders met to look into this claim. After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and told them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days, God chose me to be the one among you through whom the gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows everyone's heart, showed them he approved by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.


I am John, your brother and partner in the oppression, kingdom, and patience that comes because of Jesus. I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.

So they arrested them and placed them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. But many of those who heard their message believed, and the men grew to number about 5,000. The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes met in Jerusalem read more.
with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the rest of the high priest's family. They made Peter and John stand in front of them and began asking, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. He is "the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.' There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Now when the Jewish leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could not say anything against them. So they ordered them to leave the Council and began to discuss the matter among themselves. They said, "What should we do with these men? For it's obvious to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable sign has been done by them, and we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them never again to speak to anyone in this name." So they called Peter and John back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them, "Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have." read more.
After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in. When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them. Then someone came and told them, "Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!" So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council, and the high priest began to question them. He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn't we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man's blood on us!" But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him." When the Council heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. Then he told them, "Fellow Israelis, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered. "I'm telling you to keep away from these men for now. Leave them alone, because if this plan or movement is of human origin, it will fail. However, if it's from God, you won't be able to stop them, and you may even discover that you are fighting against God!" So they were convinced by him. After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go. They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name. Every day in the Temple and from house to house they kept teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah.

About that time, Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church and mistreated them. He even had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword. When he saw how this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter, too. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. read more.
When he arrested Peter, Herod put him in prison and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning to bring him out to the people after Passover season. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was being offered by the assembly. That very night, before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, and guards in front of the door were watching the prisoners. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on his side, woke him up, and said, "Get up quickly!" His chains fell from his wrists. Then the angel told him, "Tuck in your shirt and put on your sandals!" He did this. Then the angel told him, "Put on your coat and follow me!" So Peter went out and began to follow him, not realizing that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened by itself for them, and they went outside and proceeded one block when the angel suddenly left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I'm sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people were expecting!" When Peter realized what had happened, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where a large number of people had gathered and were praying. When he knocked at the outer gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. On recognizing Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that she didn't open the gate but ran back inside and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. The other people told her, "You're out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. Then they said, "It's his angel." Meanwhile, Peter kept on knocking and knocking. When they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet, and then he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He added, "Tell this to James and the brothers." Then he left and went somewhere else. When morning came, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. Herod searched for him but didn't find him, so he questioned the guards and ordered them to be executed. Then he left Judea, went down to Caesarea, and stayed there for a while.


Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them, read more.
"Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have." After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in. When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them. Then someone came and told them, "Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!" So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council, and the high priest began to question them. He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn't we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man's blood on us!" But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him." When the Council heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. Then he told them, "Fellow Israelis, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered. "I'm telling you to keep away from these men for now. Leave them alone, because if this plan or movement is of human origin, it will fail. However, if it's from God, you won't be able to stop them, and you may even discover that you are fighting against God!" So they were convinced by him. After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go. They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name. Every day in the Temple and from house to house they kept teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah.


with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the rest of the high priest's family. They made Peter and John stand in front of them and began asking, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, "Rulers and elders of the people! read more.
If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. He is "the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.' There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Now when the Jewish leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could not say anything against them. So they ordered them to leave the Council and began to discuss the matter among themselves. They said, "What should we do with these men? For it's obvious to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable sign has been done by them, and we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them never again to speak to anyone in this name." So they called Peter and John back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, for we cannot stop talking about what we've seen and heard." So they threatened Peter and John even more and then let them go. They couldn't find any way to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened,

Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them, read more.
"Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have." After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in. When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them. Then someone came and told them, "Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!" So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council, and the high priest began to question them. He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn't we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man's blood on us!" But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him." When the Council heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. Then he told them, "Fellow Israelis, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered. "I'm telling you to keep away from these men for now. Leave them alone, because if this plan or movement is of human origin, it will fail. However, if it's from God, you won't be able to stop them, and you may even discover that you are fighting against God!" So they were convinced by him. After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go. They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name.


Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them, read more.
"Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have." After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in. When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them. Then someone came and told them, "Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!" So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council, and the high priest began to question them. He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn't we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man's blood on us!" But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him." When the Council heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. Then he told them, "Fellow Israelis, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered. "I'm telling you to keep away from these men for now. Leave them alone, because if this plan or movement is of human origin, it will fail. However, if it's from God, you won't be able to stop them, and you may even discover that you are fighting against God!" So they were convinced by him. After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go. They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name. Every day in the Temple and from house to house they kept teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah.


The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he said, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do. Go and learn what this means: "I want mercy and not sacrifice,' because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."

When the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."

The Pharisees and their scribes started complaining to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" But Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do. I have not come to call righteous people, but sinners, to repentance."


While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the Temple guards, and the Sadducees came to them. They were greatly disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people and announcing that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. So they arrested them and placed them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening.

Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them, read more.
"Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have." After the apostles heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word to the prison to have the men brought in. When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them. Then someone came and told them, "Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!" So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council, and the high priest began to question them. He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn't we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man's blood on us!" But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him." When the Council heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them.


What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands this is the Word of life! This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.

But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."

You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil. We are witnesses of everything Jesus did in the land of the Jews, including Jerusalem. read more.
"They hung him on a tree and killed him, but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He also ordered us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify to this: everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe because of him. John was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. read more.
This was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own creation, yet his own people did not receive him. However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God's children, who were born, not merely in a genetic sense, nor from lust, nor from man's desire, but from the will of God. The Word became flesh and lived among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father's unique Son, who is full of grace and truth. John told the truth about him when he cried out, "This is the person about whom I said, "The one who comes after me ranks higher than me, because he existed before me.'"

so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. "Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, whoever hears what I say and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has passed from death to life. Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the time approaches, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. read more.
Just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. Don't be amazed at this, because the time is approaching when everyone in their graves will hear the Son of Man's voice and will come out those who have done what is good to the resurrection that leads to life, and those who have practiced what is evil to the resurrection that ends in condemnation. I can do nothing on my own accord. I judge according to what I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me." "If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not trustworthy. There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true. You have sent messengers to John, and he has testified to the truth. I myself do not accept human testimony, but I am saying these things so that you may be saved. That man John was a lamp that burns and brightly shines, and for a while you were willing to rejoice in his light. "But I have a greater testimony than John's, because the actions that the Father has given me to complete the very actions that I am doing testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen what he looks like, nor do you have his word at work in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he sent. You examine the Scriptures carefully because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. Yet they testify about me. But you are not willing to come to me to have life. "I do not accept human praise. I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me. Yet if another man comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept each other's praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God? Do not suppose that I will be the one to accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope, because if you believed Moses, you would believe me, since he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?"

"I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Redeemer And I've given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and the people of Seba in exchange for you. Since you're precious in my sight and honored, and because I love you, I'm giving up people in your place, and nations in exchange for your life." "Don't be afraid, for I am with you; I'll bring your children from the east, and gather you from the west. read more.
I'll say to the north, "Give them up'! and to the south, "Don't keep them back!' Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. "Bring out the people who are blind, yet still have eyes, who are deaf, yet still have ears! Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the nations be assembled. "Who is there among them who can declare this, or announce the former things? Let them produce their witnesses to prove them right, and let them proclaim so people will say, "It's true.' "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and trust me and understand that I am the One. Before me no God was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, yes I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I've revealed and saved and proclaimed, when there was no foreign god among you and you are my witnesses," declares the LORD.

"But now listen, Jacob my servant and Israel whom I have chosen: This what the LORD says, the one who made you, formed you from the womb, and who will help you: "Don't be afraid, Jacob my servant, and Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I'll pour water upon thirsty ground and streams on parched land. So will I pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants. read more.
They'll spring up as among the green grass, like willows by flowing streams. One will say, "I belong to the LORD,' and another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will have written on his hand, "the LORD's,' and will adopt the name of Israel." This is what the LORD says, the King of Israel and its Redeemer the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name "I am the first and I am the last, and apart from me there is no God. Who is like me? Let him proclaim and declare it, and lay it out for himself since he made an ancient people. And let him speak future events; let them tell him what will happen. Don't tremble, and don't be afraid. Didn't I tell you and announce it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? There is no other Rock I don't know of any."

Now those who had gathered together began to ask Jesus, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He answered them, "It isn't for you to know what times or periods the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." read more.
After saying this, Jesus was taken up while those who had gathered together were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, two men in white robes stood right beside them. They asked, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go up into heaven."

While he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people came running to them in what was called "Solomon's Colonnade". They were dumbfounded. When Peter saw this, he told the people: "Fellow Israelis, why are you wondering about this, and why are you staring at us as if by our own power or godliness we made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you betrayed and rejected in the presence of Pilate, even though he had decided to let him go. read more.
You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer released to you, and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that.

From: Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus, the Messiah. To: Those who have received faith that is as valuable as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah. May grace and peace be yours in abundance through full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord! His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the full knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. read more.
Through these he has given us his precious and wonderful promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, seeing that you have escaped the corruption that is in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, you must make every effort to supplement your faith with moral character, your moral character with knowledge, your knowledge with self-control, your self-control with endurance, your endurance with godliness, your godliness with brotherly kindness, and your brotherly kindness with love. For if you possess these qualities, and if they continue to increase among you, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. For the person who lacks these qualities is blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten the cleansing that he has received from his past sins. So then, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election certain, for if you keep on doing this you will never fail. For in this way you will be generously granted entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah. Therefore, I intend to keep on reminding you about these things, even though you already know them and are firmly established in the truth that you now have. Yet I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I am living in this bodily tent, because I know that the removal of my bodily tent will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, has shown me. And I will make every effort to see that you will always remember these things after I am gone. When we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, we did not follow any clever myths. Rather, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

This is the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He made it known by sending his messenger to his servant John, who testified about this message from God and the testimony about Jesus the Messiah.



"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. You are already clean because of what I've spoken to you. read more.
"Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned branch and dries up. People gather such branches, throw them into a fire, and they are burned up. "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you'll receive it. This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you'll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I've told you this, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. "This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I don't call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. But I've called you friends, because I've made known to you everything that I've heard from my Father. "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. I am giving you these commandments so that you may love one another." "If the world hates you, you should realize that it hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember what I told you: "A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. They will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have any sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. The person who hates me also hates my Father. If I hadn't done among them the actions that no one else did, they wouldn't have any sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But this happened so that what has been written in their Law might be fulfilled: "They hated me for no reason.' "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father the Spirit of Truth, who comes from the Father he will testify on my behalf. You will testify also, because you have been with me from the beginning.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him."

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that in town after town the Holy Spirit assures me that imprisonment and suffering are waiting for me.

For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of the Messiah Jesus for the sake of you gentiles. Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering God's grace that was given to me on your behalf, and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past. read more.
By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about the Messiah, which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret:

The Holy Spirit also assures us of this, for he said:

Who overcomes the world? Is it not the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This man, Jesus the Messiah, is the one who came by water and blood not with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three witnesses in heaven the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.