| See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. | See what love the Father has bestowed on us, enabling us to be called the children of God, and that is what we are. If the world does not recognize us, that is because it did not know him. |
| For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. | He has rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. |
| This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. | This is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. |
| God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. | Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. |
| I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. | I press on toward the finishing line to win the heavenly prize to which God has called me in Christ Jesus. |
| Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. | Let us examine and test our ways and return to the Lord. |
| For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. | For all have sinned and thereby are deprived of the glory of God, and all are justified by the gift of his grace that is given freely through the redemption in Christ Jesus. |
| Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. | All those who keep his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And the proof that he abides in us is the Spirit that he has given us. |
| I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded. | To you, O God of my fathers, I offer thanks and praise because you have given me wisdom and power. Now you have made known to me what we asked of you; you have revealed to us the king’s dream. |
| So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. | Therefore, we fasted and prayed to God to grant us a safe journey, and he answered our prayer. |
| But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. | However, if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all wrongdoing. |
| And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. | And thus we can have confidence in him that if we ask anything that is in accordance with his will, he hears us. |
| Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. | In God alone be at rest, O my soul; it is from him that my hope comes. |
| For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. | For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness of sin. |
| God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. | God’s love was revealed to us in this way: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. |
| For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. | In other words, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and not holding people’s transgressions against them, and he committed to us the message of reconciliation. |
| For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. | For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus, himself a man. |
| O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. | O God, you are my God, for whom I have been searching earnestly. My soul yearns for you and my body thirsts for you, like the earth when it is parched, arid and without water. |
| So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. | Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace when we are in need of help. |
| God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. | For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you but from the gift of God. It does not come from works, so that no one can boast. |
| Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. | For the love of Christ urges us forward, once we conclude that one has died for all, and therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised to life. |
| For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. | Such godly sorrow results in repentance that leads to salvation and causes no regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death. |
| No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. | No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, who has made him known. |
| Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. | Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods that they should not be proud, nor should they trust in the uncertainty of riches but rather in God who richly provides us with everything we need for our enjoyment. |
| For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. | Indeed, creation itself eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. |
Related topics
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Sin
Don’t you realize that...
Love
Love is patient and...
Father
The LORD is like...
Salvation
There is salvation in...
Prayer
Always be joyful. Never...