He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. | He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. |
So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. | Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband. |
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Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. | Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. |
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. | In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. |
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. | And live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. |
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. | All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. |
Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. | Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. |
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). | Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. |
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. | That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. |
For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. | It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. |
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. | Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. |
The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. | The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still. |
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. | And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. |
Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. | How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! |
He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. | And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. |
The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. | A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water. |
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” | He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” |
Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. | Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. |
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” | Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” |
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. | So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. |
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. | He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. |
As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. | “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends. |
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. | Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. |
And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. | No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. |
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 God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. |