By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God.

for we are members of his body.)

We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions.

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.

Because there is the one loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share the same loaf.

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

In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.

As it is, there are many parts but one body.

The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful.

It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.

In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.

Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them.

There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service.

The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge.

The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person he gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another he gives the ability to explain what is said.

For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!

I urge you, then---I who am a prisoner because I serve the Lord: live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you.

I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people,

You are Israel's only hope; you are the one who saves us from disaster. Why are you like a stranger in our land, like a traveler who stays for only one night?

"But I will bless the person who puts his trust in me.

No! We believe and are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are."

When the true message, the Good News, first came to you, you heard about the hope it offers. So your faith and love are based on what you hope for, which is kept safe for you in heaven.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope,

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by order of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope---

which is based on the hope for eternal life. God, who does not lie, promised us this life before the beginning of time,

as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear.

so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.

There are these two things, then, that cannot change and about which God cannot lie. So we who have found safety with him are greatly encouraged to hold firmly to the hope placed before us.

We have this hope as an anchor for our lives. It is safe and sure, and goes through the curtain of the heavenly temple into the inner sanctuary.

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope,

and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away.

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.

Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure.