I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. | Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled; be not afraid. |
God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. | God chose those in the world who were lowly and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who were regarded as worthy, so that no one could boast in the presence of God. |
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Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. | Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. |
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” | Jesus addressed them once again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness. Rather, he will have the light of life.” |
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. | Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and undefiled is this: to come to the aid of orphans and widows in their hardships and to keep oneself untarnished by the world. |
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. |
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh. | I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. |
Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! | Father, allow those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may behold my glory, which you have bestowed on me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. |
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. |
Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. | Sing praise to the Lord for his mighty deeds; let this be known throughout the entire world. |
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. | Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. |
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. | Ever since the creation of the world the invisible attributes of God’s eternal power and divine nature have been clearly understood and perceived through the things he has made. Therefore, the conduct of these people is inexcusable. |
Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come. | Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. |
Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. | Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was made visible in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. |
Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him. | May God continue to bless us and be revered to the ends of the earth. |
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. | For we are not struggling against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, the powers, and the cosmic rulers of this present darkness, and against the spirits of evil in the heavens. |
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. | This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples: if you love one another. |
So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. | Now in regard to the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, we know that idols are nothing in the world and that there is only one God. |
In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. | My soul longs for you throughout the night, and my spirit within me seeks your presence. For when your judgments are revealed to the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn to practice justice. |
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life. | Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may show yourselves blameless and beyond reproach, children of God without spot in the midst of an evil and depraved generation, among which you shine like lights in the world as you hold fast tenaciously to the word of life. |
I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? | I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything impossible for me to accomplish? |
The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. | The end of all things is near. Therefore, lead disciplined lives and be watchful in prayer. |
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. | By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature. |
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. | Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples. |
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. | For since death came into the world through a man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man. |