I also pray that you may understand more clearly. That way you’ll know the hope that God has called you to, the glorious riches that God will give his holy people,
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 said, “Let light shine out of darkness.” And he made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light we needed to know God’s glory, which is shown in the face of Christ.
Keeping this in mind, we pray for you constantly. We pray that God will make you worthy of his calling and, by his power, make every good thing you want to do come true. We pray that he will make perfect everything you’ve done by faith.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you openly told others what you believed in front of many witnesses.
After you’ve suffered for a little while, the God of all grace will restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. He has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ.
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.
May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father encourage your hearts and make you strong in every good thing that you do and say. God loved us and by his grace he has given us good hope and encouragement that will last forever.
The hearts of these people have become stubborn. They can barely hear with their ears and they’ve closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts. Then they might turn to the Lord, and he would heal them.’
If someone does something wrong to you or insults you, don’t do the same thing to them. Instead, respond with kind words. This is what God wants you to do so that you can receive a blessing.
But you must keep your faith steady and firm and not move away from the hope that the good news is offering you. This is the good news that you heard. It has been preached to every creature under heaven and I, Paul, am its servant.
Remember that you used to be separated from Christ. You weren’t considered to be citizens of Israel, and so you didn’t have a share in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world.
May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be praised! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
One of the women who listened to us was named Lydia. She was from the city of Thyatira, and she had a business selling purple cloth. She already believed in God, and the Lord opened her heart to accept Paul’s message.
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and got down on his knees in front of him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
Aren’t you showing disrespect for God’s great kindness, favor, and patience? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is meant to turn you away from your sins?
God has chosen to make known to them the glorious riches of that mystery among the Gentiles. And here’s what it is: Christ is in you, the hope of glory.
My goal is that they will all be encouraged in their hearts and joined together in love. Then their understanding will be rich and complete, and they will know the mystery of God, which is Christ.