In the time of that good ‘sprout,’\par the people of Judah will be saved.\par And Israel will live in safety.\par This will be his name:\par The Lord is our Goodness. {\cf2\super [182]} \par
“When a person stands before other people and says he believes in me, then I will say that person belongs to me. I will say this before my Father in heaven.
But many people believed in Jesus. Even many of the Jewish leaders believed in Jesus. But they were afraid of the Pharisees. {\cf2\super [205]} So they did not say openly that they believed. They were afraid that they would be put out of the synagogue. {\cf2\super [206]}
Jesus answered, “If any person loves me, then he will obey my teaching. My Father will love that person. My Father and I will come to that person and live with him.
After Jesus said these things he looked toward heaven. Jesus prayed, “Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you.
God did this so that all people will respect the Son the same as they respect the Father. If a person does not respect the Son, then that person does not respect the Father. The Father is the One who sent the Son.
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders had already decided that they would punish any person that said Jesus was the Christ. {\cf2\super [158]} They would put those people out of the synagogue. {\cf2\super [159]}
God has spoken to the Jewish people. God sent them the Good News {\cf2\super [210]} that peace has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord (Ruler) of all people!
That is why Christ died and rose from death to live again. Christ did this so that he could be Lord (ruler) over people that have died and people that are living.
So I tell you that no person that is speaking with the help of God’s Spirit says, “Jesus be cursed.” And no person can say, “Jesus is Lord,” without the help of the Holy Spirit. {\cf2\super [82]}
But for us there is only one God. He is our Father. All things came from him and we live for him. And there is only one Lord. He is Jesus Christ. All things were made through Jesus, and we also have life through him.
This is how you can know God’s Spirit. {\cf2\super [15]} One spirit says, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ who came to earth and became a man.” That Spirit is from God.
Every person that wins the victory will be dressed in white clothes like these people. I will not take away that person’s name from the book of life. I will say that he belongs to me. I will say this before my Father and before his angels.