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John 17
Jesus’ Prayer to the Father
1 After this
departing message to his disciples; Jesus looked up to heaven and uttered the
following prayer:
“Heavenly Father, the time for my sacrifice has
come, and I ask that you make me victorious through it, so that you also may be
exalted in my triumph. 2 You have already given me
jurisdiction over all humanity in order that I might impart eternal life to all
whom you have assigned to me. 3 And in having eternal life
they are able to grow in knowing you as the only true God and me as your
anointed representative. 4 I have now completed all the work you
gave me to do on earth, and through it I have shown the world your true character.
5 And
now Father I ask that you consummate my exaltation in your own presence, so
that I might resume the same divine position I had with you before the world
came into being.
6 “As for these whom you gave to
be my disciples, I have demonstrated to them your very own character. They were
your chosen men whom you gave to be my disciples that I might teach them your
word, and they have continued to keep it. 7 Now they know
that everything they heard and saw in me was really you speaking and working
through me. 8 For I faithfully communicated to them every matter you
gave me to share with them. And they accepted it as truth, because they firmly
believe that I came from you and was sent by you to do your work.
9 “Now I have something to
request of you concerning them. I am not asking it for the world at large, but
for these men whom you entrusted to me, because they are your chosen men. 10 Everything
I have has come from you, so what is yours is also mine. And my true character
has been made known through the allegiance and faithfulness of these men. 11 Now
that I will be leaving this world and returning to you, these men will be left
in the world without my physical presence. So I ask, Holy Father, that these
men you've given me will be kept true to the revelation of your name that you
gave to me, so that they will be of one heart and mind even as you and I are
one. 12 During the time I have been with them I kept them true
to the revelation of your name which you had given to me. And I have watched
over them to see that none of them were lost. The one exception is the one
destined for damnation, in order to fulfill the prophecy in scripture
concerning him.
13 “Now that I am coming home to
you, Father, I am speaking to you within the hearing of these who will remain
in this world, in order that they also may experience in themselves the same joy I have. 14 Since
I have given them your word they no longer think the way the world does, even
as I don't, and that’s why the world despises them. 15 I don’t ask
you to remove them from these difficulties of the world, but I do ask that you
will keep them from being overpowered by Satan's evil influence. 16 The
world has become a foreign place to them even as it is to me. 17 So
keep them separated to yourself by the truth of your word. 18 The
mission you gave me in the world is the same mission I have given them to carry
on. 19 And in order to equip them for that task I dedicate
myself completely to what is before me, so that they may have my power to truly
dedicate themselves.
20 “In addition to these men
whom you gave to me I ask that you will also work in the lives of those who
will believe in me through the witness of these men, 21 in order
that they may all be of one heart and mind just as you and I are. And just as
you are living in me and I derive my power and authority from you, help them
also to live and work in reliance upon us, so that the world may believe that I
have not acted on my own in sending them, but as one commissioned by you. 22 For
my part, the excellence of your character which you displayed in me I have also
imparted to them, in order that they may be of one heart and mind as you and I
are. 23 You in me and I in them, that they may arrive at a full
and complete unity. That will enable the world to recognize that you are the
One who initiated my mission into the world, and that as you have manifested
your love to me throughout my mission, that same love continues to be manifested
in them.
24 “And as for all those whom
you have given me, my desire, Father, is that they may always be in
companionship with me, in order that they might truly perceive my glory, the
glory which proceeds from your eternal love for me even before the world and
time began.
25 “O Righteous Father, it is
true that the world did not know you prior to my coming, but I knew you, and
now these who have become my disciples have recognized that you sent me to
represent you. 26 Consequently I have enabled them to
know your very nature and character. And I will continue to manifest your
character to them in the future, so that they too may experience the same love
you have shown to me, because I will be in them.”
Romans 1
Paul’s
Letter To
Christians in Rome
Greeting
1 Dearly Beloved of
God in Rome, As
God has called you to be his people, may he, as our Heavenly Father, together
with the Lord Jesus Christ, bestow upon you their blessings of peace and grace.
I am Paul, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, with an
appointment to disseminate God’s message of hope – 2 a hope that was first announced by his
prophets in their sacred writings. 3 This
is the hope offered through the coming of his own Son, who, on his human side,
was the promised royal descendant of King David ordained to rule forever. 4 But
on his spiritual side, he is the uniqueness of God himself, powerfully proven
such by his resurrection from the dead. This Son is none other than Jesus
Christ our Lord.
5 It is from him that we apostles
received the privilege and authority to call all nations on his behalf to
believe and obey this message of hope. 6 And
from among them you have answered that call to give your allegiance to Jesus
Christ.
Righteousness
from God
8 To begin with, I hear that your
faith is being talked about throughout the world. And I am thankful to God for
how Jesus Christ has used you in this way. 9,10 And
God is my witness that I pray for you constantly, as part of my commitment to
serving God with all my heart for the spreading of the message of hope
concerning his Son. And I also ask that he will grant me the opportunity to
visit you, 11 because I have an intense
desire to share some ministry of the Holy Spirit that would strengthen you more
in your faith. 12 This would be an
opportunity for both you and I to mutually encourage one another in our faith.
13 And I don’t want you to think,
Beloved, that only now have I considered this, because I have already been
prevented several times from fulfilling my plans to visit Rome in hopes of
gaining followers for Jesus among your countrymen as I have in other Gentile
communities. 14,15 So as far as it rests
upon me, I am committed to spreading this message of hope to all of your
countrymen in Rome, whether to the culturally elite or to the common peasant,
whether educated or illiterate. 16 And
I have never been disappointed in this message of hope, because I have seen
God’s power working through it to change people’s lives for righteousness,
regardless of who they are, Jews or Gentiles, as long as they accept it by
faith. 17 Because in this message of
hope God offers his righteousness for people on the condition of an enduring
faith. As it is written in scripture, “He
who is righteous by faith shall live.”
The
Human Condition
18 The reason for this, is that God’s
indignation is now being revealed from his judgment throne in heaven against
all the ungodliness and wickedness of people who possess a knowledge of the
truth yet live in wickedness. 19 And this is because
the knowledge about God is self-evident in what he has shown to them. 20 In
his creation of the world, the invisible nature of his supernatural power and
deity can be clearly perceived in everything he has made. So people, in their
pursuit of wickedness have no excuse for the way they live, 21 because
although they knew about God, they refused to acknowledge him, or thank him for
his benevolence. Instead, they became vain in their thinking, with no sense of
reality or feelings of morality. 22 Deluding
themselves as being on the cutting edge of knowledge they only became fools. 23 Instead
of admiring and honoring the true character of God, they turned their devotion
toward things resembling man and animals and birds and reptiles.
God’s
Judgment
24 So in his judgment God has allowed
them to be seduced by the filthy lusts of their own hearts, and the perversion
of their physical bodies with one another. 25 This
is the consequence they have reaped for rejecting God’s truth and embracing a
lie, and for devoting and enslaving themselves to things God made rather than
God himself, who alone is blessed forever, Amen. 26 So
this is why God did not interfere with their disgraceful passions in which
women rejected the natural sexual union with men and lusted instead for
unnatural sex with other women. 27 And
likewise men lost interest in the natural sexual union with women in preference
for an unnatural sexual union with other men. Men shamelessly perform perverted
sexual acts with other men, and thus find themselves enslaved in consequences
that naturally follow their perverted practices.
28 Since they did not consider it
worth their while to acknowledge God in the way they lived, God’s judgment was
to abandon them to the further consequences of their own degenerated minds and
outrageous conduct; 29 so that they became
occupied with all manner of wickedness, evil, greed, hate, envy, murder,
fighting, deception, malicious conduct, gossip, 30 slandering,
resentful of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, trying new ways of violating
goodness, and being disrespectful of parents. 31 In
a nutshell they became irrational, untrustworthy, cruel and uncaring. 32 They
are fully aware that God has decreed eternal death for all who live that way,
but they continue on in their belligerence and support others who do the same.
II Corinthians 1
Paul’s Second Letter to Christians in Corinth
Paul’s Second Letter to Christians in Corinth
Salutation
1,2 To the church of
God in Corinth and all God’s people in the Province of Achaia. From
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ as appointed by God, and from our brother
Timothy. May grace and peace be upon you from our God and heavenly Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Introduction
3 To begin with, I want to say what a
blessed God we have in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is
indeed the all compassionate Father, a God who lifts us up and gladdens our
hearts. 4 Whatever our troubles may
be, God is always there to encourage us, and this enables us in turn to be an
encouragement to others in their troubles in the same way God has encouraged
us. 5 In following Christ we indeed
experience many hardships, but it is also through knowing Christ that we
experience abundant reasons to accept these hardships and be joyful in them.
6 So in our own case, whatever
adversity we experienced in bringing the message of hope to you, we see its
purpose in providing you hope and eternal salvation. Likewise, whatever
encouragement we experienced through that adversity, it serves to encourage you
to patiently endure your own times of adversity similar to ours. 7 And
we have every reason to expect that as you share with us in these adversities
you will also share the same encouragement we have received.
8 We say this brothers and sisters,
because we want you to realize the terrible suffering we went through while we
were in Asia. It was actually beyond our ability to endure, so that we had
given up hope of ever making it through alive. 9 At
the time we felt like it was a death sentence upon us, so that our trust was no
longer in our ability to endure it, but in the power of God to raise us from
the dead. 10 And truly, he did deliver
us from certain death, which gives us hope that he will deliver us again from
any similar trial, 11 especially as you
join together in prayer on our behalf. And the prayers of many will certainly result
in many giving thanks to God for the blessing he will bestow on us in answer to
your prayers.
Paul’s
Apostolic Claim and Defense
12 We feel justified in requesting
your prayers for us, because we are satisfied in our own consciences that the
testimony of how we have conducted ourselves in all our affairs has not been
according to our own human wisdom, but in a godly manner of integrity as we
have looked to God for his help. And this is especially true in our
relationship with you. 13 Whatever we have written
to you in the past, or even now, does not contain any hidden implications; we
mean nothing more and nothing less than what you can read and easily
understand. And I am hoping that you will understand everything we intended, 14 even
as you understood parts of it, so that on the day when we all stand before the
Lord Jesus, the only thing we will take pride in is you being there, and that
the thing you will take pride in is your association with us.
15,16 With this assurance in our hearts
while we were still in Ephesus, my plan was to pay you a visit first on our way
north to Macedonia, and then after Macedonia stop by and see you again so you
could benefit from our ministry twice, after which you could send us on our way
to Jerusalem with your help and blessing for the church in Judea. 17 Obviously
I didn’t follow through with what I had planned, but does that mean my word
can’t be trusted, as some there in Corinth seem to think? Do some of you think
that I make my plans on the basis of selfish human wisdom, saying “Yes” with my
mouth, and at the same time “No” in my mind? 18 As
God himself is trustworthy, whatever we have declared to you is not “Yes” on
the one hand, and “No” on the other. 19 For
the reality of what we have proclaimed to you concerning Jesus Christ, God’s
own Son, has never been a “Yes, No, or Maybe so.” But whether from Silvanus, or
Timothy, or myself, Christ himself is the guarantee of what we proclaim. 20 For
all the promises God has declared are guaranteed in our relationship with
Christ, and it is therefore through our union with Christ that we as Christians
claim fulfillment of God’s promises and glorify him in saying “God’s will be
done.” 21 But the essential reminder
is that you and we have a relationship together through our union with Christ.
This is a reality that was brought about by God himself through the same
anointing that was upon Christ. 22 And
this anointing is his own mark of ownership upon us, and the Spirit anointed
assurance in our hearts that we are his eternal possession.
Revelation 18:1-24
The
Destruction of Babylon
1When the angel had
finished speaking I saw in my vision another angel coming down from heaven, and
his brightness was so strong that the earth was illuminated by his presence. He
also carried great authority, 2 because he was
proclaiming in a loud voice,
“Babylon
is destroyed! The great city is ruined. It has become the dwelling place of
demons, and the hideaway of every unclean spirit, and every loathsome bird and
animal feeding on dead bodies. 3 It is now punished
for intoxicating all the nations of the world and their rulers with its lust
for illicit pleasure. And the business people of earth have made themselves
rich through their trade with its lustful pleasures.”
4 And then I heard another voice from
heaven saying,
“Come
out of that system, my people, so you won’t be involved in its vices and caught
in the plagues that are coming upon it. 5 Because its sins have
so multiplied that they reach to the sky, and God has determined his judgment
for all its wickedness. 6 This
city of vice will receive retribution for all the wrongs it has committed
against others. In fact it will be repaid double; the bitterness of what
they’ll be given to drink will be double what they inflicted on others. 7 The
praise that has been heaped upon this system for all its luxury will be repaid
with an equal amount of torment and grief. With pride in their heart they had
said, ‘This city rules like a queen; it is not like a sorrowing widow, and it
will never know unhappiness.’ 8 But
because of this, the plagues coming upon it will all happen in a single day:
famine, death and grief, and it will be destroyed with fire, because the one
judging it is the Lord God who has the power to make all this happen.
9,10 ”And when the
rulers of earth who participated in the illicit practices of this city and
enjoyed its luxury see the smoke from its burning they will be afraid to be
associated with it lest they also be incriminated, but they will stand off
lamenting and wailing over its demise.
‘O
how terrible for this great city,’ they will say. ‘O mighty Babylon, how is it
that in one hour you have been brought to nothing?’
11 ”And the business
people of earth will also mourn and grieve over the demise of the system,
because there will no longer be anyone to buy their products 12 of
gold, silver, precious jewels, expensive fabrics, ornaments, furniture, lumber,
sculptures, 13 spices, perfumes, food
staples, farm animals, vehicles, and slaves.f
15 And these business people who had
become wealthy through their trade in the system will also be afraid to admit their
association with it lest they also be incriminated in its judgment. All they
can do is lament and grieve over their loss, saying,
16 ‘O how terrible
for this great city,’ they will say. ‘Its people were once clothed in fine
linen of royal colors that were decorated with gold and jewels and pearls. 17 And
now in one hour all this great wealth has become worthless.’
18 ”And all those
engaged in the shipping industry, its captains, marine workers, longshoremen,
and passengers, when they see the system going up in smoke, they will also
stand off horrified and cry out, ‘Was
there ever a city as great as this?’
19 In great distress they will throw
dirt upon themselves wailing and grieving, ‘O
how terrible for this great city,’ they will say. ‘It was the source of all our
shipping wealth, and now in one hour everything is lost.’
20 ”Now you who are
in heaven can celebrate, you people of God, you emissaries, and you prophets,
because God has punished this system of prostitution for all the judgments it
made against you.”
21 After that, a powerfully strong
angel came and picked up a huge grinding stone used for milling, and threw it
into the sea with these words:
“With
similar violence shall the great city of Babylon be thrown down never to rise
again.f 14 All
the things your soul desired, its luxury and splendor, have perished, never
again to be seen. 22 Your sounds of
gaiety with the music of harps and flutes and trumpets will never be heard from
you again. The creations of your craftsmen will never again come to be. The
sounds of your factories will be silent forever. 23 Your
homes and streets shall remain in continual darkness. And the sounds of wedding
celebrations shall be a thing of the past. All these things shall be gone,
because your businessmen have become wealthy tycoons by means of deceptive
practices and commercial manipulation of other nations. 24 In
addition to this, you have been found guilty for the death of prophets and
God’s people whom you slaughtered for their trust in God.”
