They said the Messiah would suffer but then be the first to rise from the dead, and that he would bring the message of light to the Jews and to the Gentiles.”
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to rise from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. Jesus loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood.
and he is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning, the first to be raised from the dead. That happened so that he would be far above everything.
God, who made everything, wanted his many sons and daughters to share in his glory. He chose Jesus to be the one to lead them into their salvation, and he made him perfect through suffering so he could accomplish that.
No one takes it from me; I give it up myself. I have the authority to give it up, and I have the authority to take it back. This is the command I received from my Father.”
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. I want them to have their sins forgiven and find a place among God’s people by believing in me.’
God raised Jesus from the dead so he would never rot in the grave. As God has said, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings that were promised to David.’
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to the one who hands him over! It would have been better for him if he he’d never been born.”
The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they can’t see the light of the good news that makes Christ’s glory clear. He is the image of God.