When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,

Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.

but said farewell to them and added, “I will come back to you again if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus,

And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,

“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God

God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something,

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God.

But in my opinion, she will be happier if she remains as she is – and I think that I too have the Spirit of God!

For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the man.

For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it.

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians.

It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath,

“Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’”

Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

– if so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment,