The mystery has now been made known through the writings of the prophets. The eternal God commanded that it be made known. God wanted all the Gentiles to obey him by trusting in him.
Don’t you know who made everything? Haven’t you heard about him? The Lord is the God who lives forever. He created everything on earth. He won’t become worn out or get tired. No one will ever know how great his understanding is.
A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace.
The Lord says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you might not be an important town in the nation of Judah. But out of you will come for me a ruler over Israel. His family line goes back to the early years of your nation. It goes all the way back to days of long ago.”
Ever since the world was created it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen. I’m talking about his eternal power and about the fact that he is God. Those things can be seen in what he has made. So people have no excuse for what they do.
We received grace because of what Jesus did. He made us apostles to the Gentiles. We must invite all of them to obey God by trusting in Jesus. We do this to bring glory to him.
I will speak about what Christ has done through me. I won’t try to speak about anything else. He has been leading the Gentiles to obey God. He has been doing this by what I have said and done.
Long ago, Scripture knew that God would make the Gentiles right with himself. He would do this by their faith in him. He announced the good news ahead of time to Abraham. God said, “All nations will be blessed because of you.” (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18)
You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building.
God lives forever! You can run to him for safety. His powerful arms are always there to carry you. He will drive out your enemies to make room for you. He’ll say to you, ‘Destroy them!’
There is no doubt that true godliness comes from this great mystery. Jesus came as a human being. The Holy Spirit proved that he was the Son of God. He was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations. People in the world believed in him. He was taken up to heaven in glory.
It has now been made known through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has broken the power of death. Because of the good news, he has brought life out into the light. That life never dies.
But Christ offered himself to God without any flaw. He did this through the power of the eternal Holy Spirit. So how much cleaner will the blood of Christ make us! It washes away our feelings of guilt for committing sin. Sin always leads to death. But now we can serve the living God.
We also know that the Son of God has come. He has given us understanding. So we can know the God who is true. And we belong to the true God by belonging to his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
When I heard this, I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I serve God, just as you do. I am God’s servant, just like believers who hold firmly to what Jesus has taught. Worship God! The Spirit of prophecy tells the truth about Jesus.”