In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.

The cup we use in the Lord's Supper and for which we give thanks to God: when we drink from it, we are sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread we break: when we eat it, we are sharing in the body of Christ.

Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts.

All of you are Christ's body, and each one is a part of it.

Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable.

I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.

Righteousness gives life, but violence takes it away.

You grow rich from the sins of my people, and so you want them to sin more and more.

Then Jesus told them this parable: "There was once a man who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He went looking for figs on it but found none.

But the gardener answered, 'Leave it alone, sir, just one more year; I will dig around it and put in some fertilizer.

But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him, and the result is eternal life.

That is how it is with you, my friends. As far as the Law is concerned, you also have died because you are part of the body of Christ; and now you belong to him who was raised from death in order that we might be useful in the service of God.

And God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity.

But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.

I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.

It is not that I just want to receive gifts; rather, I want to see profit added to your account.

The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is.

Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.

Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning.

May grace and peace be yours in full measure through your knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

In this way he has given us the very great and precious gifts he promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may come to share the divine nature.

to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add endurance; to your endurance add godliness;

These are the qualities you need, and if you have them in abundance, they will make you active and effective in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, my friends, try even harder to make God's call and his choice of you a permanent experience; if you do so, you will never abandon your faith.

And so I will always remind you of these matters, even though you already know them and are firmly grounded in the truth you have received.

I know that I shall soon put off this mortal body, as our Lord Jesus Christ plainly told me.

We have not depended on made-up stories in making known to you the mighty coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With our own eyes we saw his greatness.

We ourselves heard this voice coming from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.

But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen.

Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us."

So Jesus answered them, "I tell you the truth: the Son can do nothing on his own; he does only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does.

Unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing."

For we cannot do a thing against the truth, but only for it.

I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.