But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,

He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. Honor the widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers. . . .

Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. . . .

For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. . . .

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?

Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise),

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another. . . .

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. . . .

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.

He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.

By now Abraham was old and well along in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling, but will go to my country and my kindred to take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” . . .

to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.

But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children— to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.

For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” . . .

Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.

And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, . . .

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: