51 Bible Verses about Privileges

For who sees anything special in you? And what have you got that you have not been given? But if it has been given you, why do you boast as though it had not been?

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a maiden there who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The maiden's name was Mary. And the angel went into the town and said to her, "Good morning, favored woman! The Lord be with you!"read more.
But she was startled at what he said, and wondered what this greeting meant. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have gained God's approval. You are to become a mother and you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his forefather David, and he will reign over Jacob's house forever; his reign will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, when I have no husband?" The angel answered, "The holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason your child will be called holy, and the Son of God. And your relative, Elizabeth, although she is old, is going to give birth to a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was said to be barren. For nothing is ever impossible for God." And Mary said, "I am the Lord's slave. Let it be as you say." Then the angel left her.

For it is by his mercy that you have been saved through faith. It is not by your own action, it is the gift of God. It has not been earned, so that no one can boast of it.

though I at least am entitled to rely on them. If anyone thinks he can rely on his physical advantages, still more can I! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee; as to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church; and by the Law's standard of uprightness, no fault could be found with me.read more.
But for the sake of Christ I have come to count my former gains as loss. Why, I count everything as loss compared with the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have lost everything, and think it rubbish, in order to gain Christ and be known to be united to him, with any uprightness I may have not based on law but coming through faith in Christ??he uprightness that comes from God through faith.

For they are Israelites, and to them belong the rights of sonship, God's glorious presence, the divine agreements and legislation, the Temple service, the promises, and the patriarchs, and from them physically Christ came??od who is over all be blessed forever! Amen.

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!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. Through him he chose us out before the creation of the world, to be consecrated and above reproach in his sight in love. He foreordained us to become his sons through Jesus Christ, in fulfilment of his generous purpose,read more.
so that we might praise the splendid blessing which he has given us through his beloved Son. It is through union with him and through his blood that we have been delivered and our offenses forgiven, in the abundance of his mercy which he has lavished upon us.

So if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new being; the old state of things has passed away; there is a new state of things. All this comes from God, who through Christ has reconciled me to himself, and has commissioned me to proclaim this reconciliation??19 how God through Christ reconciled the world to himself, refusing to count men's offenses against them, and intrusted me with the message of reconciliation. It is for Christ, therefore, that I am an envoy, seeing that God makes his appeal through me. On Christ's behalf I beg you to be reconciled to God.read more.
He made him who knew nothing of sin to be sin, for our sake, so that through union with him we might become God's uprightness.

We all lived among them once, indulging our physical cravings and obeying the impulses of our lower nature and its thoughts, and by nature we were doomed to God's wrath like other men. But God is so rich in mercy that because of the great love he had for us, he made us, dead as we were through our offenses, live again with the Christ. It is by his mercy that you have been saved.read more.
And he raised us with Christ, and through our union with Christ Jesus made us sit down with him in heaven, to show the incomparable wealth of his mercy throughout the ages to come by his goodness to us through Christ Jesus. For it is by his mercy that you have been saved through faith. It is not by your own action, it is the gift of God. It has not been earned, so that no one can boast of it.

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.

for it is through him that we both with one Spirit are now able to approach the Father.

So as we have been made upright by faith, let us live in peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have been introduced through faith to the favor of God that we now enjoy, and let us glory in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

Since then, brothers, we have free access to the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by the new, living way which he has opened for us, through the curtain, that is, his physical nature, and since in him we have a great priest set over the house of God,read more.
let us draw near to God in sincerity of heart and with perfect faith, with our hearts cleansed from the sense of sin, and our bodies washed with clean water.

For it is no tangible blazing fire that you have come up to, no blackness and darkness and storm, no trumpet blast and voice whose words made those who heard them beg to be told no more, for they could not bear the order, "Even a wild animal, if it touches the mountain, must be stoned to death,"read more.
and so awful was the sight that Moses said, "I am aghast and appalled!" But you have come up to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to countless angels, to the solemn gathering of all God's elder sons, enrolled as citizens in heaven, to a judge who is the God of all, to the spirits of upright men now at last enjoying the fulfilment of their hopes, to Jesus the negotiator of a new agreement, and to sprinkled blood that speaks more powerfully than even Abel's.

And eternal life means knowing you as the only true God, and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ.

But Jesus cried loudly, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who has sent me; and whoever sees me, sees him who has sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me may have to remain in darkness.

Jesus said to him, "I am Way and Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you knew me, you would know my Father also. From now on you do know him and you have seen him."

but when the proper time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, and made subject to law, to ransom those who were subject to law, so that we might receive adoption. And because you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the spirit of his Son, with the cry, "Abba!" that is, Father.read more.
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir, made so by God.

For all who are guided by God's Spirit are God's sons. It is not a consciousness of servitude that has been imparted to you, to fill you with fear again, but the consciousness of adoption as sons, which makes us cry, "Abba!" that is, Father. The Spirit itself testifies with our spirits that we are God's children,read more.
and if children, heirs also; heirs of God, and fellow-heirs with Christ, if we really share his sufferings in order to share his glory too.

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through your faith. For all of you who have been baptized into union with Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no room for "Jew" and "Greek"; there is no room for "slave" and "freeman"; there is no room for "male" and "female"; for in union with Christ Jesus you are all one.read more.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are true descendants of Abraham and his heirs under the promise.

and you have forgotten the challenge addressed to you as God's sons, "My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline, Or give up when he corrects you. For it is those whom the Lord loves that he disciplines, And he chastises every son that he acknowledges." 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?read more.
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? 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. Discipline is never pleasant at the time; it is painful; but to those who are trained by it, it afterward yields the peace of character.

But you are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the consecrated nation, his own people, so that you may declare the virtues of him who has called you out of darkness into his wonderful light; you who were once "no people" but are now "God's people"; once "unpitied" but now "pitied indeed."

So you are no longer foreigners or strangers, but you are fellow-citizens of God's people and members of his family. You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Through him every part of the building is closely united and grows into a temple sacred through its relation to the Lord,read more.
and you are yourselves built up into a dwelling for God through the Spirit.

And he turned to his disciples when they were alone, and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you, many prophets and kings have wished to see what you see, and could not see it, and to hear what you hear, and could not hear it!"

His disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in figures?" He answered, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but they are not. For people who have will have more given to them, and will be plentifully supplied, and from people who have nothing even what they have will be taken away.read more.
This is why I speak to them in figures, because though they look they do not see, and though they listen they do not hear or understand. They are a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy, " '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!' But blessed are your eyes, for they do see, and your ears, for they do hear. For I tell you, many prophets and upright men have longed to see what you see, and could not see it, and to hear what you hear, and could not hear it.

When he was by himself, those who stayed about him with the Twelve asked him about the figures he had used. And he said to them, "To you has been intrusted the secret of the reign of God, but to those outsiders, everything is offered in figures, so that " 'They may look and look and yet not see, And listen and listen and yet not understand, Lest possibly they should turn and be forgiven.' ",

His disciples asked him what this figure meant. And he said, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but they are given to others in the form of figures, so that they may look and yet not see, and hear and yet not understand.

I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing, but now I call you friends, for I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father.

Yet there is a wisdom that we impart when we are with people who have a mature faith, but it is not what this world calls wisdom, nor what the authorities of this world, doomed as they are to pass away, would call so. But it is a mysterious divine wisdom that we impart, hitherto kept secret, and destined by God before the world began for our glory. It is a wisdom unknown to any of the authorities of this world, for otherwise they would never have crucified our glorious Lord.read more.
But, as the Scripture says, there are things "Which no eye ever saw and no ear ever heard, And never occurred to the human mind, Which God has provided for those who love him." For God revealed them to us through his Spirit, for the Spirit fathoms everything, even the depths of God himself. For what human being can understand a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one understands the thoughts of God but the spirit of God. But the Spirit we have received is not that of the world, but the Spirit that comes from God, which we have to make us realize the blessings God has given us.

About this salvation the prophets who prophesied of the blessing that was destined for you made the most careful investigation, trying to learn for what possible time the spirit of Christ within them in predicting the sufferings destined for Christ intended them and the glories that were to follow them. It was disclosed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in dealing with these things, which have now been told you by those who through the holy Spirit sent from heaven brought you the good news; things into which angels long to look!

I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing, but now I call you friends, for I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it is I that have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit??ruit that shall be lasting, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask him for as my followers.

and finally he was seen by me also, as though I were born at the wrong time. For I am the least important of the apostles, and am not fit to be called an apostle, because I once persecuted God's church. But by God's favor I have become what I am, and the favor he showed me has not gone for nothing, but I have worked harder than any of them, although it was not really I but the favor God showed me.

I have never coveted anyone's gold or silver or clothes. You know well enough that these hands of mine provided for my needs and my companions. I showed you in every way that by hard work like that we must help those who are weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said, 'It makes one happier to give than to be given to.' "

I must tell you, brothers, how the favor of God has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, for in spite of a severe ordeal of trouble, their extraordinary gladness, combined with their extreme poverty, has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. For they have given to the utmost of their ability, as I can bear them witness, and beyond it,read more.
and begged me most earnestly, of their own accord, to let them share in the support of their fellow-Christians. They did far more than I hoped, for first in obedience to God's will, they gave themselves to the Lord, and to me. This has led me to urge Titus to complete the arrangements he had formerly begun among you for this gracious undertaking. Just as you excel in everything else??aith, expression, knowledge, perfect devotion, and the love we have awakened in you??ou must excel in this generous undertaking too. I do not mean this as a command. I only want to test the genuineness of your love by the devotion of others. You know how gracious the Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was rich, he became poor for your sake, in order that by his poverty you might become rich. But I will tell you what I think about it. For this is the best way to deal with you, for you were the first not only to do anything about this, but to want to do anything, and that was last year. Now finish doing it, so that your readiness to undertake it may be equaled by the way you finish it up, as well as your means permit. If a man is willing to give, the value of his gift is in its proportion to what he has, not to what he has not. I do not mean to be easy upon others and hard upon you, but to equalize the burden, and in the present situation to have your plenty make up for what they need, so that some day their plenty may make up for what you need, and so things may be made equal??15 as the Scripture says, "The man who got much did not have too much, and the man who got little did not have too little."

Remember this: The man who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and the man who sows generously will reap generously. Everyone must give what he has made up his mind to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion; God loves a man who is glad to give. God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance so that you will always have enough for every situation, and ample means for every good enterprise:read more.
as the Scripture says, "He scatters his gifts to the poor; His uprightness will never be forgotten." He who supplies the sower with seed and so with bread to eat will supply you with seed, and multiply it and enlarge the harvest of your uprightness. You will grow rich in every way, so that through me you can show perfect liberality that will make men thank God for it.

The right way for a man to think of us is as Christ's servants, and managers authorized to distribute the secret truths of God. Now further, what is always demanded of managers is that they can be depended on.

"Who then will be the faithful, thoughtful slave whom his master put in charge of his household, to give the members of it their supplies at the proper time? Blessed is that slave if his master when he returns finds him doing it. I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his property.read more.
But if he is a bad slave and says to himself, 'My master is going to stay a long time,' and begins to beat the other slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, that slave's master will come back some day when he does not expect him, and at some time of which he does not know and will cut him in two, and put him with the hypocrites, to weep and gnash his teeth.

And the Master said, "Who then will be the faithful, thoughtful manager, whom his master will put in charge of his household, to give the members of it their supplies at the proper time? Blessed is that slave if his master when he returns finds him doing it. I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his property.read more.
But if the slave says to himself, 'My master is not coming back for a long time,' and begins to beat the men and women slaves and to eat and drink and get drunk, that slave's master will come back some day when he does not expect him, and at some time of which he does not know, and will cut him in two, and put him with the unbelievers. The slave who knows his master's wishes, but does not get ready or act upon them, will be severely punished. But one who does wrong without knowing them will be lightly punished. From anyone who has been given much, much will be required, and of the man to whom people have intrusted much, they will demand even more.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit that is within you, which you have received from God? Besides, you are not your own; you have been bought and paid for. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.

Obey your leaders and give way to them, for they are keeping watch in defense of your souls, as men accountable for the trust. Make their work a joy and not a grief, for that would be the worse for you.

In the morning the magistrates sent policemen with instructions to let the men go. The jailer reported this message to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent orders that you are to be released. So you can take your leave and go unmolested." But Paul said to them, "They had us beaten in public without giving us a trial, and put us in jail, although we are Roman citizens! And now are they going to dismiss us secretly? By no means! Have them come here themselves and take us out!"read more.
The policemen delivered this message to the magistrates, and they were alarmed when they heard that they were Roman citizens, and came and conciliated them, and took them out of the jail, and begged them to leave the town.

Paul looked steadily at the council and said, "Brothers, I have done my duty to God with a perfectly clear conscience up to this very day." At this the high priest Ananias ordered the people who were standing nearest to him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you white-washed wall! Do you sit there to try me by the Law, and order them to strike me in violation of the Law?"

"Listen to another figure. There was a land owner who planted a vineyard and fenced it in, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a watch-tower, and leased it to tenants, and left the neighborhood. When the time for the vintage approached he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share. But the tenants took his slaves and beat one and killed another and stoned a third.read more.
Again he sent other slaves and more of them than he had sent at first, and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw his son, they said to one another. 'This is his heir! Come on, let us kill him, and get his inheritance!' So they took him and drove him out of the vineyard and killed him. When the owner of the vineyard comes back, therefore, what will he do to these tenants?" They said to him, "He will put the wretches to a miserable death, and let the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the vintage when it is due." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, " 'That stone which the builders rejected Has become the cornerstone; This came from the Lord, And seems marvelous to us'? "That, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people that will produce its proper fruit.

Then he began to speak to them in figures. "A man once planted a vineyard and fenced it in and hewed out a wine-vat and built a watch tower, and he leased it to tenants and left the neighborhood. At the proper time he sent a slave to the tenants to get from them a share of the vintage. And they took him and beat him and sent him back empty-handed.read more.
And again he sent another slave to them. And they beat him over the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another; and him they killed; and so with many others, some they beat and some they killed. He still had one left to send, a dearly loved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But the tenants said to one another, 'This is his heir! Come on, let us kill him, and the property will belong to us!' So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come back and put the tenants to death and give the vineyard to others.

Then he went on to give the people this illustration: "A man once planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went away for along absence. And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenants to have them give him a share of the vintage, but the tenants beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. And again he sent another slave, and they beat him also and mistreated him and sent him back empty-handed.read more.
And again he sent a third, but they wounded him too, and threw him outside. Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What can I do? I will send them my dear son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw him, they argued with one another, 'This is his heir! Let us kill him, so that the property will belong to us!' So they drove him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and put those tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this they said, "Heaven forbid!"

"For it is just like a man who was going on a journey, and called in his slaves, and put his property in their hands. He gave one five thousand dollars, and another two thousand, and another one thousand; to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The man who had received the five thousand dollars immediately went into business with the money, and made five thousand more.read more.
In the same way the man who had received the two thousand made two thousand more. But the man who had received the one thousand went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. Long afterward, their master came back and settled accounts with them. And the man who had received the five thousand dollars came up bringing him five thousand more, and said, 'Sir, you put five thousand dollars in my hands; here I have made five thousand more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my excellent, faithful slave! you have been faithful about a small amount; I will put a large one into your hands. Come, share your master's enjoyment!' And the man who had received the two thousand came up and said, 'Sir, you put two thousand dollars into my hands; here I have made two thousand more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my excellent, faithful slave! you have been faithful about a small amount; I will put a large one into your hands. Come! share your master's enjoyment.' And the man who had received the one thousand came up and said, 'Sir, I knew you were a hard man, who reaped where you had not sown, and gathered where you had not threshed, and I was frightened, and I went and hid your thousand dollars in the ground. Here is your money!' His master answered, 'You wicked, idle slave! You knew that I reaped where I had not sown and gathered where I had not threshed? Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and then when I came back I would have gotten my property with interest. So take the thousand dollars away from him, and give it to the man who has the ten thousand, for the man who has will have more given him, and will be plentifully supplied, and from the man who has nothing even what he has will be taken away. And put the good-for-nothing slave out into the darkness outside, to weep and grind his teeth there.'

So he said, "A nobleman once went to a distant country to secure his appointment to a kingdom and then return. And he called in ten of his slaves and gave them each twenty dollars and told them to trade with it while he was gone. But his countrymen hated him, and they sent a delegation after him to say, 'We do not want this man made king over us.'read more.
And when he had secured the appointment and returned, he ordered the slaves to whom he had given the money to be called in, so that he could find out how much they had made. The first one came in and said, 'Your twenty dollars has made two hundred, sir!' And he said to him, 'Well done, my excellent slave! You have proved trustworthy about a very small amount, you shall be governor of ten towns.' The second came in and said, 'Your twenty dollars has made a hundred, sir!' And he said to him, 'And you shall be governor of five towns!' And the other one came in and said, 'Here is your twenty dollars, sir. I have kept it put away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, for you are a stern man. You pick up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.' He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will convict you, you wretched slave! You knew, did you, that I was a stern man, and that I pick up what I did not lay down, and harvest what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money in the bank, so that when I came back I could have gotten it with interest?' And he said to the bystanders, 'Take the twenty dollars away from him, and give it to the man who has the two hundred!' They said to him, 'He has two hundred, sir!'??26 'I tell you, the man who has will have more given him, and from the man who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away! But bring those enemies of mine here who did not want me made king over them, and slaughter them in my presence!' "