Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Gentiles/heathen » The apostle of the gentiles/heathen
and I was appointed a herald and apostle of it?? am telling the truth, I am not lying??o teach the heathen faith and truth.
Verse Concepts
The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called the Straight Street, and ask at the house of Judas for a man named Saul, from Tarsus, for he is there praying. He has had a vision and seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, to restore his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard many people tell of this man, and the harm he has done to your people in Jerusalem. read more.
He is here with authority to arrest everyone who calls upon your name." The Lord said to him, "Go! This man is the means I have chosen for carrying my name among the heathen and their kings, and among the descendants of Israel.
He is here with authority to arrest everyone who calls upon your name." The Lord said to him, "Go! This man is the means I have chosen for carrying my name among the heathen and their kings, and among the descendants of Israel.
I was once going to Damascus on this business, authorized and commissioned by the high priests, when on the road at noon, your Majesty, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun flash around me and my fellow-travelers. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me? You cannot kick against the goad!' read more.
'Who are you, sir?' said I. The Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for the express purpose of appointing you to serve me and to testify to what you have seen and to the visions you will have of me. I will save you from your people and from the heathen, to whom I will send you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's control to God, so that they may have their sins forgiven and have a place among those who are consecrated through faith in me.'
'Who are you, sir?' said I. The Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for the express purpose of appointing you to serve me and to testify to what you have seen and to the visions you will have of me. I will save you from your people and from the heathen, to whom I will send you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's control to God, so that they may have their sins forgiven and have a place among those who are consecrated through faith in me.'
But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry,
Verse Concepts
You have heard of my former conduct when I was attached to the Jewish religion??ow furiously I used to persecute the church of God and ravage it, and how I surpassed many of my own age among my people in my devotion to Judaism, I was so fanatically devoted to what my forefathers had handed down. And when God, who had set me apart from my birth and had called me in his mercy, saw fit read more.
to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the good news about him to the heathen, immediately, instead of consulting with any human being,
to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the good news about him to the heathen, immediately, instead of consulting with any human being,
This is why I, Paul, whom Jesus the Christ has made a prisoner for the sake of you heathen??2 if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you, and how the secret was made known to me by revelation, as I have just briefly written. As you read that, you will be able to understand the insight I have into the secret of the Christ read more.
(which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets) that through union with Christ Jesus the heathen are fellow-heirs with the Jews, belong to the same body and share the promise with them, through the good news for which I became a worker by virtue of the gift of God's mercy which by the exercise of his power he has given me. To me, the very least of all his people, this favor has been given, of preaching to the heathen the inexhaustible wealth of the Christ,
(which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets) that through union with Christ Jesus the heathen are fellow-heirs with the Jews, belong to the same body and share the promise with them, through the good news for which I became a worker by virtue of the gift of God's mercy which by the exercise of his power he has given me. To me, the very least of all his people, this favor has been given, of preaching to the heathen the inexhaustible wealth of the Christ,
Gentiles/heathen » Salvation coming to the gentiles
The apostles and elders had a meeting to look into this matter. After a long discussion, Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose that of you all I should be the one from whose lips the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it. And God who knows men's hearts testified for them by giving them the holy Spirit just as he had done to us, read more.
making no difference between us and them, but cleansing their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? Why, we believe that it is by the mercy of the Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are."
making no difference between us and them, but cleansing their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? Why, we believe that it is by the mercy of the Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are."
As they could not agree among themselves, they started to leave, when Paul added one last word. "The holy Spirit put it finely," he said, "when it said to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah, " 'Go to this Nation and say to them, "You will listen, and listen, and never understand, And you will look, and look, and never see! For this nation's mind has grown dull, And they hear faintly with their ears, And they have shut their eyes, So as never to see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their minds, and turn back, And let me cure them!" ' read more.
"Understand then that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen. They will listen to it!"
"Understand then that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen. They will listen to it!"
Then what do we conclude? That heathen who were not striving for uprightness attained it, that is, an uprightness which was produced by faith; while Israel, straining after a law that should bring uprightness, did not come up to it. And why? Because they did not seek it through faith, but through doing certain things. They stumbled over that stone that makes people stumble, read more.
as the Scripture says, "See, I will put a stone on Zion to make people stumble, and a rock to trip over, But no one who has faith in it will be disappointed."
as the Scripture says, "See, I will put a stone on Zion to make people stumble, and a rock to trip over, But no one who has faith in it will be disappointed."
I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, I am the only one left and they are trying to take my life." read more.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.
Just as Abraham had faith in God and it was credited to him as uprightness. So you see, the real descendants of Abraham are the men of faith. The Scripture foresaw that God would accept the heathen as upright in consequence of their faith, and preached the good news in advance to Abraham in the words, "All the heathen will be blessed through you." read more.
So the men of faith share the blessing of Abraham and his faith. For there is a curse upon all who rely on obedience to the Law, for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who does not stand by everything that is written in the Book of the Law and obey it." That no one is accepted as upright by God for obeying the Law is evident because the upright will have life because of his faith, and the Law has nothing to do with faith; it teaches that it is the man who does these things that will find life by doing them. Christ ransomed us from the Law's curse by taking our curse upon himself (for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who is hung on a tree") in order that the blessing given to Abraham might through Jesus Christ reach the heathen, so that through faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
So the men of faith share the blessing of Abraham and his faith. For there is a curse upon all who rely on obedience to the Law, for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who does not stand by everything that is written in the Book of the Law and obey it." That no one is accepted as upright by God for obeying the Law is evident because the upright will have life because of his faith, and the Law has nothing to do with faith; it teaches that it is the man who does these things that will find life by doing them. Christ ransomed us from the Law's curse by taking our curse upon himself (for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who is hung on a tree") in order that the blessing given to Abraham might through Jesus Christ reach the heathen, so that through faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
Israel/jews » The salvation of israel
I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, I am the only one left and they are trying to take my life." read more.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.
Partaking » Who partakes with the lord
You must submit to it as discipline. God is dealing with you as his sons. For where is there a son whom his father does not discipline? But if you have none of that discipline which all sons undergo, you are illegitimate children, and not true sons. When our earthly fathers disciplined us we treated them with respect; should we not far more submit to the Father of our spirits, and so have life? read more.
For they disciplined us for a short time and as they thought proper, but he does it for our good, to make us share his holiness.
For they disciplined us for a short time and as they thought proper, but he does it for our good, to make us share his holiness.
This is why I, Paul, whom Jesus the Christ has made a prisoner for the sake of you heathen??2 if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you, and how the secret was made known to me by revelation, as I have just briefly written. As you read that, you will be able to understand the insight I have into the secret of the Christ read more.
(which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets) that through union with Christ Jesus the heathen are fellow-heirs with the Jews, belong to the same body and share the promise with them, through the good news
(which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets) that through union with Christ Jesus the heathen are fellow-heirs with the Jews, belong to the same body and share the promise with them, through the good news
I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, I am the only one left and they are trying to take my life." read more.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root,
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root,
Therefore, my dear brothers, have nothing to do with the worship of idols. I appeal to your good sense. Make up your minds about what I say. Does not the consecrated cup which we bless mean that in drinking it we share in the blood of Christ? Does not the bread that we break mean that in eating it we share in the body of Christ? read more.
Because there is one loaf, we, many as we are, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Think of the Israelites' practices. Do not those who eat what is sacrificed have divine fellowship at the sacrificial altar?
Because there is one loaf, we, many as we are, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Think of the Israelites' practices. Do not those who eat what is sacrificed have divine fellowship at the sacrificial altar?
That is why, from the day I first heard of it, I have never given up praying for you and asking God to fill you, through full spiritual wisdom and insight, with a clear knowledge of what his will is, so that the lives you live may be worthy of your Master and wholly pleasing to him, and you may be fruitful in all kinds of good deeds, and may grow into fuller knowledge of God. Then, so mighty is his majesty, he will nerve you perfectly with strength for the cheerful exercise of endurance and forbearance in every situation, read more.
and you will thank the Father who has entitled you to share the lot of God's people in the realm of light. He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the realm of his dear Son, by whom we have been ransomed from captivity through having our sins forgiven.
and you will thank the Father who has entitled you to share the lot of God's people in the realm of light. He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the realm of his dear Son, by whom we have been ransomed from captivity through having our sins forgiven.
All who are under the yoke of slavery must treat their masters with the greatest respect, so that the name of God and our teaching may not be abused. Those who have Christian masters must not think lightly of them because they are brothers; they must serve them all the more faithfully, because those who benefit by it are believers and hence dear to them. These are the things you must teach and preach.
Dear friends, do not be surprised that a test of fire is being applied to you, as though a strange thing were happening to you, but be glad that you are in a measure sharing the sufferings of the Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may be triumphantly happy. If you are being abused for the sake of Christ, you are blessed, because the glorious Spirit of God is resting upon you.
Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the uprightness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have been given a faith as privileged as ours; God bless you and give you perfect peace through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. For his divine power has given us every requisite for life and piety, through our coming to know him who through his glory and excellence called us to him. read more.
Thus he has given us his precious and splendid promises so that through them you may escape the corrupting influences that exist in the world through passion, and come to share in the divine nature.
Thus he has given us his precious and splendid promises so that through them you may escape the corrupting influences that exist in the world through passion, and come to share in the divine nature.
Paul » Sent to the gentiles
As they were engaged in worshiping the Lord and in fasting, the holy Spirit said, "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me, for the work to which I have called them." So after fasting and prayer, they laid their hands upon them and let them go.
in making me a minister of Christ Jesus among the heathen, to act as a priest of God's good news, to see that the heathen are an acceptable sacrifice, consecrated by the holy Spirit.
Verse Concepts
And when God, who had set me apart from my birth and had called me in his mercy, saw fit to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the good news about him to the heathen, immediately, instead of consulting with any human being, or going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apostles before me, I went off to Arabia, and on my return came back to Damascus. read more.
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him; but I did not see any other apostle, except James, the Lord's brother. (In writing you this, I call God to witness that I am telling the truth!) After that, I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia. I was still personally unknown to the Christian churches of Judea; they only heard people say, "The man who once persecuted us is now preaching the good news of the faith he tried to destroy," and they praised God for me.
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him; but I did not see any other apostle, except James, the Lord's brother. (In writing you this, I call God to witness that I am telling the truth!) After that, I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia. I was still personally unknown to the Christian churches of Judea; they only heard people say, "The man who once persecuted us is now preaching the good news of the faith he tried to destroy," and they praised God for me.
But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry,
Verse Concepts
For these are the orders the Lord has given us: " 'I have made you a light for the heathen, To be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth!' " When the heathen heard this they were delighted, and praised God's message, and all who were destined for eternal life believed,
After I had returned to Jerusalem, one day when I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance, and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and leave Jerusalem at once, for they will not accept your evidence about me.' And I said, 'Lord, they know that I used to go through one synagogue after another, and to imprison and flog those who believed in you, read more.
and when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood by and approved it, and took charge of the clothes of the men who killed him.' But he said to me, 'Go! I will send you far away to the heathen.' "
and when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood by and approved it, and took charge of the clothes of the men who killed him.' But he said to me, 'Go! I will send you far away to the heathen.' "
Salvation » Salvation coming to the gentiles
The apostles and elders had a meeting to look into this matter. After a long discussion, Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose that of you all I should be the one from whose lips the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it. And God who knows men's hearts testified for them by giving them the holy Spirit just as he had done to us, read more.
making no difference between us and them, but cleansing their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? Why, we believe that it is by the mercy of the Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are."
making no difference between us and them, but cleansing their hearts by faith. Then why do you now try to test God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? Why, we believe that it is by the mercy of the Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are."
As they could not agree among themselves, they started to leave, when Paul added one last word. "The holy Spirit put it finely," he said, "when it said to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah, " 'Go to this Nation and say to them, "You will listen, and listen, and never understand, And you will look, and look, and never see! For this nation's mind has grown dull, And they hear faintly with their ears, And they have shut their eyes, So as never to see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their minds, and turn back, And let me cure them!" ' read more.
"Understand then that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen. They will listen to it!"
"Understand then that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen. They will listen to it!"
Then what do we conclude? That heathen who were not striving for uprightness attained it, that is, an uprightness which was produced by faith; while Israel, straining after a law that should bring uprightness, did not come up to it. And why? Because they did not seek it through faith, but through doing certain things. They stumbled over that stone that makes people stumble, read more.
as the Scripture says, "See, I will put a stone on Zion to make people stumble, and a rock to trip over, But no one who has faith in it will be disappointed."
as the Scripture says, "See, I will put a stone on Zion to make people stumble, and a rock to trip over, But no one who has faith in it will be disappointed."
I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, I am the only one left and they are trying to take my life." read more.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.
Just as Abraham had faith in God and it was credited to him as uprightness. So you see, the real descendants of Abraham are the men of faith. The Scripture foresaw that God would accept the heathen as upright in consequence of their faith, and preached the good news in advance to Abraham in the words, "All the heathen will be blessed through you." read more.
So the men of faith share the blessing of Abraham and his faith. For there is a curse upon all who rely on obedience to the Law, for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who does not stand by everything that is written in the Book of the Law and obey it." That no one is accepted as upright by God for obeying the Law is evident because the upright will have life because of his faith, and the Law has nothing to do with faith; it teaches that it is the man who does these things that will find life by doing them. Christ ransomed us from the Law's curse by taking our curse upon himself (for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who is hung on a tree") in order that the blessing given to Abraham might through Jesus Christ reach the heathen, so that through faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
So the men of faith share the blessing of Abraham and his faith. For there is a curse upon all who rely on obedience to the Law, for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who does not stand by everything that is written in the Book of the Law and obey it." That no one is accepted as upright by God for obeying the Law is evident because the upright will have life because of his faith, and the Law has nothing to do with faith; it teaches that it is the man who does these things that will find life by doing them. Christ ransomed us from the Law's curse by taking our curse upon himself (for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who is hung on a tree") in order that the blessing given to Abraham might through Jesus Christ reach the heathen, so that through faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
Salvation » The salvation of israel
I ask then, has God repudiated his people? By no means. Why, I am an Israelite myself, I am descended from Abraham, and I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, I am the only one left and they are trying to take my life." read more.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.
But what is God's reply? "I have left myself seven thousand men who have never knelt to Baal!" So too at the present time there is a remnant selected by God's mercy. But if it is by his mercy, it is not for anything they have done. Otherwise, his mercy would not be mercy at all. What follows? Israel failed to get what it sought, but those whom God selected got it. The rest became callous; as the Scripture says, "God has thrown them into a state of spiritual insensibility, with eyes that cannot see and cars that cannot hear, that has lasted down to this day." And David said, "Let their feasting prove a snare and a trap to them, Their ruin and their retribution. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; Make their backs bend forever under their burden!" I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous. But if their false step has so enriched the world, and their defeat has so enriched the heathen, how much more good the addition of their full number will do! But it is to you who are of the heathen that I am speaking. So far then as I am an apostle to the heathen, I make the most of my ministry, in the hope of making my countrymen jealous, and thus saving some of them. For if their rejection has meant the reconciling of the world, what can the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you who were only a wild olive shoot have been grafted in, in place of them, and made to share the richness of the olive's root, you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you. "But," you will say, "branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in!" That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Observe then the goodness and the severity of God??everity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, provided you abide by his goodness, for otherwise, you in your turn will be pruned away. Those others too, if they do not cling to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive and unnaturally grafted upon a cultivated one, how much easier it will be to graft them upon the olive to which they properly belong! For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in, and then all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will drive all ungodliness away from Jacob, And this will be my agreement with them, When I take away their sins." From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers, for God does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessings or sends his call. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you. For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.