Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.
. . .
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,
or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.
For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.
Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
. . .
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—
for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
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.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
. . .
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,
or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.
For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
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.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
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.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
. . .
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,
or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.
For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.
Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.
. . .
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men,
because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,
to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.
This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
No servant 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.”
You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved.
. . .
Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.
But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.
Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
. . .
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.
. . .
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.
For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands,
just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.
Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?
Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable.
For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.
How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable.
For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.
How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
. . .
When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”
So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.
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.
. . .
Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
. . .
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,
who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
. . .
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,
and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
. . .
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.
So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded:
As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
. . .
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
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.