3 VITAL TRUTHS ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
OUTLINE
1.PROOF
2.POWER
3.PURITY
THE MESSAGE
3 VITAL TRUTHS ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
1.PROOF
The Lord Jesus gave proof of his resurrection to his disciples by appearing before them. Jesus did not expect his disciples
to believe in his resurrection without proof. He appeared to Mary Magdalene and to his disciples and to more than 500
people. Therefore his disciples were absolutely certain that he was alive and boldly proclaimed the truth of his crucifixion
and resurrection. They were willing to face any persecution that came as a result of the message of the resurrection because
they knew that Jesus was alive and that they were witnessing to the truth and not a lie. We must believe that Jesus died for
our sins and rose again in order to receive the salvation of our souls.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JOHN 20:11-29
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put
him.”
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if
you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am
ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things
to her.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish
leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and
put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and
believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed.”
JOHN 21:1-14
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way:
Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples
were together.
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the
net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,”
he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred
yards.
When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many
the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
ACTS 1:1-14
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over
a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my
Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into
heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.
When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew;
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
ACTS 2:22-32
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,
which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to
death by nailing him to the cross.
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold
on him.
David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this
day.
But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.
Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor
did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
ACTS 13:26-39
“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the
prophets that are read every Sabbath.
Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.
When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our
people.
“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors
he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my son; today I
have become your father.’
God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “‘I will give you the holy and sure
blessings promised to David.’
So it is also stated elsewhere: “‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’
“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body
decayed.
But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of
Moses.
ACTS 10:34-43
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of
all.
You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were
under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a
cross,
but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he
rose from the dead.
He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the
dead.
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15: 1-23
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have
taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas,and then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still
living, though some have fallen asleep.
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet
not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the
dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from
the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
ACTS 5:27-32
The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.
“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are
determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.
God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
ACTS 17:1-4
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish
synagogue.
As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the
Messiah,” he said.
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few
prominent women.
ACTS 26:22-23
But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what
the prophets and Moses said would happen—
that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and
to the Gentiles.”
ROMANS 10:9-10
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are
saved.
2. POWER
The resurrection of Jesus was the greatest demonstration of the power of God. Satan used all his power to prevent the
resurrection of Christ. The resurrection of Christ clearly demonstrated that the power of God was vastly superior to the
power of satan. This resurrection power is available to every believer and thus we can overcome all the attacks of the devil.
The Lord Jesus has promised us that we also would be raised from the dead when he returns. The resurrection of Christ is
proof that there is a day of Judgement when every human being would have to stand before God. The disciples were filled with
the power of God and preached the gospel with signs , wonders and miracles . These miracles proved to the people of this
world that Jesus was alive indeed and multitudes believed on Jesus and became believers.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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EPHESIANS 1:15-23
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that you may know him better.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the
riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength
he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in
the one to come.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
ROMANS 1:1-6
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—
the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David,
and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ
our Lord.
Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s
sake.
And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
PHILIPPIANS 3:3-14
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence
in the flesh—
though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I
have more:
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law,
a Pharisee;
as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I
have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in
Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in
his death,
and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which
Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the
rest of mankind, who have no hope.
For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep
in him.
According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will
certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet
call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
ACTS 17:31
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to
everyone by raising him from the dead.”
ACTS 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
ACTS 3:12-16
When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own
power or godliness we had made this man walk?
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be
killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes
through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
ACTS 4:1-2
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the
people.
They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
ACTS 4:23-33
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had
said to them.
When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens
and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples
plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your
holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the
word of God boldly.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared
everything they had.
With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully
at work in them all
ACTS 5:12-16
The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s
Colonnade.
No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.
Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might
fall on some of them as he passed by.
Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of
them were healed.
ACTS 8:4-8
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.
For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
So there was great joy in that city.
ACTS 9:32-42
As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda.
There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.
“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up.
All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor.
About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.
Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please
come at once!”
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and
showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said,
“Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.
He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented
her to them alive.
This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.
ACTS 19:11-12
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the
evil spirits left them.
3. PURITY
The Lord Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. Therefore we who have received this great salvation
should die to sin and live unto righteousness . Our fleshly nature must be crucified and we must live unto God. We must live
in the power of Holy Spirit and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We must be filled with love , joy , peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we are in Christ , we become a new creation
and our old sinful way of living must pass away .
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ROMANS 4:24-25
but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
ROMANS 6:1-14
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like
his.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no
longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have
been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
ROMANS 7:4-6
So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him
who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit
for death.
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit,
and not in the old way of the written code.
ROMANS 8:9-14 , 33-34
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.
And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of
righteousness.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you
will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand
of God and is also interceding for us.
1 PETER 2: 21-24
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted
himself to him who judges justly.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds
you have been healed.”
GALATIANS 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
GALATIANS 5: 13-26
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one
another humbly in love.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with
each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
EPHESIANS 2:1-9
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who
is now at work in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in
Christ Jesus.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.
1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-20
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not
be mastered by anything.
You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for
sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a
prostitute? Never!
Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become
one flesh.”
But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against
their own body.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
COLOSSIANS 3:1-25
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of
God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed,
which is idolatry.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your
lips.
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is
in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns,
and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him.
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but
with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
1 PETER 1:1-25
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia and Bithynia,
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be
obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last
time.
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined
by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an
inexpressible and glorious joy,
for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the
greatest care,
trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the
sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told
you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these
things.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is
revealed at his coming.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life
handed down to you from your ancestors,
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another
deeply, from the heart.
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
For,“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
1 PETER 3:8-22
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called
so that you may inherit a blessing.
For,“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil.”
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason
for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their
slander.
For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the
body but made alive in the Spirit.
After being made alive,he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—
to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it
only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear
conscience toward God.It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
2 TIMOTHY 2:1-26
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified
to teach others.
Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,
for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with
eternal glory.
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only
ruins those who listen.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles
the word of truth.
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and,
“Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and
some for common use.
Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and
prepared to do any good work.
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of
a pure heart.
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the
truth,
and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-21
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not
built by human hands.
Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,
because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead
with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is
to come.
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done
while in the body, whether good or bad.
Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is
also plain to your conscience.
We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can
answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.
If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised
again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us
the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be
reconciled to God.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:1-18
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the
contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the
knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck
down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our
mortal body.
So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore
speak,
because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to
himself.
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to
the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is
eternal.
1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-10
Paul, Silas and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to
you.
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired
by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,
because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know
how we lived among you for your sake.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given
by the Holy Spirit.
And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.
Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living
and true God,
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
GALATIANS 1:1-5
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
and all the brothers and sisters with me,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
COLOSSIANS 2:1-23
I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.
My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete
understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how
firm your faith in Christ is.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the
elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put
off when you were circumcised by Christ,
having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who
raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all
our sins,
having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing
it to the cross.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon
celebration or a Sabbath day.
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great
detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.
They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews,
grows as God causes it to grow.
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world,
do you submit to its rules:
“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?
These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and
teachings.
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh
treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
ROMANS 14: 7-13
For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.
If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before
God’s judgment seat.
It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle
in the way of a brother or sister.
