For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.  Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.  There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.  But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.  And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”

 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”
Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’  Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.  And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.  Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.  But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.  And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”’” 

According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

NOTE: All Scriptural references, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version.  All parenthetical items  contained within those references are the author’s emphasis.

Hereby we know that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit…. and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 John 4:13, 16a KJV).

 And the Lord said to Noah, “ Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation” (Gen. 7:1, KJV).

‘…you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house’ (Gen. 24:40b).

“Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house” (Lev. 16:6).

‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house’ (Deut. 25:9b).

Joseph also went up from Galilee ... because he was of the house and lineage of David (Luke 2:4). 

   

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1).

Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me (2 Pet. 1:3-14).  

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually (1 Cor. 12:27).

Coming to Him as to a living stone…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house… (1 Pet. 2:4a, 5a)

but Christ, as a Son over His own house, whose house we are… (Heb. 3:6a)

 (Christ), although He existed in the form (essence) of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant…(coming) in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7, New American Standard).

“I and My father are one….If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:30, 37-38).

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak of My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John 14:10).

 At that day (the Holy Spirit having been sent) you will know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20).

“But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves….I do not pray that You should  take them out of the world…(but) that they also whom you gave Me may be with Me where I am…”  (John 17:13, 15a, 24a)

Note: Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptural references are from the New King James Version.  All parenthetical items contained within Scriptural references are the poet’s emphasis.

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven (1 Cor. 15:45).

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our own image, according to Our likeness”…And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life(s); and the man became a living being (Gen. 1:26a, 2:7).

([1 life] + [1 life] + [1 life] + 3 life(s) is how the Hebrew word used best translates.  Physical life [biological], soulish life [personality], and spirit life [Zoe].)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [‘THE TRIUNE ONE,’ see above.]” (Matt. 28:19)

Now may the God of peace sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23).

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you (Adam) shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17).
Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). 
So… she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate (Gen. 3:6b).

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth…(Gen 4:25a)
So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died (Gen. 5:5).

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).

And what communion has light with darkness (2 Cor. 6:14b)?

Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men…(Rom. 5:12a)

…the angel Gabriel was sent by God to…a virgin betrothed to a man…Then the angel said to her,”…you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.  …The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” (Luke 2:26-27, 30-32, 35)

…Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isa. 7:14).

So the Lord God said to the serpent: “…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Gen. 3:14a, 15)

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8b).

..that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14b)

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

All things were made through Him and without Him nothing…was made (John 1:3).

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth…All things were created through Him and for Him (Col. 1:16).

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).

Jesus answered and said to him, “If  anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him [make him Our home]” (John 14:21).

At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20).

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39).

 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son, has (the) life; and he who does not have the Son of God does not have (the) life (1 John 5:11-12).

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life (not just some life).  No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

…much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Rom. 5:10b).

To them God willed to make known…this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

When Christ who is our life appears… (Col. 3:4a)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me… (Gal. 2:20a)

"And I (Jesus) will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper [that He (the Father) may abide with you forever]--the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but know Him (Me), for He dwells with you (then as Jesus) and will be in you (as the Holy Spirit).  I will not leave you orphans; I will come (as, or in the Person of, the Holy Spirit) to you" (John 14:18).

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage (expedient) that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper with not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you…He will take what is Mine [Our eternal Life, among other things] and declare it to you [assign it to you or declare it yours].  All things that the Father has [His very Life, among other things] are Mine.  Therefore I said He [Holy Spirit] will take of Mine and declare it to you [put it in your column or declare it yours] (John 16:7, 14-15).

The Ten Commandments Reviewed

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”  But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”  And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”  Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”  And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.  Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”  And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”  So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”  Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.  And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.  Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.  Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.  And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.  Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.  But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”  And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.  On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.  And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”  Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.  And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.  Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”  And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.  This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.  He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.  He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.  And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”  Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”  Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”  And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”  Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.  And as for Ishmael, I have heard you.  Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly.  He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.  But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”  Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.  So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.  Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.  And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.  That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

"And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of many nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.  And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you."

Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him."

and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.  In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

"And I will put enmity Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shal bruise His heel."

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”  Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

“And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.  Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

¹⁷ Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.  Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
In that He says, “A new covenant, ” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

“And he (Elijah) said, ‘. . . the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’ Then the Lord said to him:  ‘Go (and anoint kings plus a) prophet in your place. . . . (for) I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all those whose knees have not bowed to Baal . . . ‘” (1 Kings 19:14-16, 18a).

Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptural references are from the New King James Version. All parenthetical items contained within the Scriptural references are my emphasis.

“The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Ezekiel 28:13b-15). 

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High’” (Isaiah 14:12-14).

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’” (Genesis 1:26a) . . . “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life(s); and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). 

([1 life] + [1 life] + [1 life] = 3 life(s) is how the Hebrew word used best translates.)

“Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place . . . to comfort him” (Job 2:11). “Then Job answered and said:  ‘How long will you (fellows) torment my soul, and break me to pieces with your words?’” (Job 19:1-2). “ . . . the Lord said to (Job’s friends), ‘My wrath is aroused against you . . . and My servant Job shall pray for you . . . lest I deal with you according to your folly . . .’” (Job 42:7b, 8b). “But they (Israel) rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them” (Isaiah 63:10). “But behold, I (God) will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel . . . and they will afflict you . . .” (Amos 6:14). “Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek’”

(Exodus 17:8-9a). “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear flanks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God” (Deuteronomy 25;17-18). “Thus says the Lord of hosts:  ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them’” (1 Samuel 15:2-3a).

1Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptural references are from the New King James Version. All parenthetical items within the Scriptural references are my emphasis.

“always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).

10“Servants be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully” (1 Peter 2: 18-19). “Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake” (Romans 13:5). “This being so, I myself (Paul) always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men” (Acts 24:16).

11“Surely the Lord does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). “So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, ‘There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people’” (1 Samuel 9:17).

“So Samuel said (to Saul), ‘. . . And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel (and dispatch you on a mission to utterly destroy the Amalekites, including all their livestock)? Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord (but took spoil)? For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. . . . Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king’” (1 Samuel 15:17b, 18, 19, 23).

12“Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. . . . (Then Nathan said to David):  ‘Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon’” 

(2 Samuel 12:1a, 9).

13“He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

14 (John 6:12)

15“. . . increasing knowledge results in increasing pain” (Ecclesiastes 1:18b, New American Standard).

16“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

5“ . . . The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple (innocent babes with pure hearts)” (Psalm 19:7b). “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see (comprehend) God” (Matthew 5:8).

7“So Jonathan told David, saying, ‘My father Saul seeks to kill you’” (1 Samuel 19:2a).

“Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. So he came to the sheepfolds by the road where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. [David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.] Then the men of David said to him that the Lord had said to him, ‘Behold I will deliver your enemy into your hand that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’

“And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’

“So David restrained his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way” (1 Samuel 24:2-7).

So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. Then Abishai said to David, ‘God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!’

“But David said to Abishai, ‘Do not destroy him; for who can stretch his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?’ David said furthermore, ‘As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head and let us go’” (1 Samuel 26:9-11).

8“Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.’ . . . When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! (For) many will come from east and west (Gentiles), and sit down . . . in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom (Jews, unwilling to receive God’s delegate, Jesus) will be cast into outer darkness’” (Matthew 8:5-12a).

1Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptural references are from the New King James Version.  All parenthetical items contained within the Scriptural references are my emphasis.

“. . . His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, ‘. . . Assuredly I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down . . . . Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven . . . and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. . . . Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place’” (Matthew 24:1b, 2b, 29a, 30, 34).

10“He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars (axis) tremble” (Job 9:6).

11“Now faith is the substance (seed) of things hoped for, the evidence (seed) of things not seen. . . . by faith the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:1, 3).

12“. . . the angel Gabriel was sent by God to . . . a virgin . . . (whose) name was Mary.  And . . . the angel said to her, ‘. . . with God nothing will be impossible’” (Luke 1:26-28a, 37).  “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26).  “Ah, Lord God!  Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and the outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You” (Jeremiah 32:6).

13“Be diligent to present yourself approved of God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”  (Romans 8:16).  “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but . . . the same anointing teaches you concerning all things” (1 John 2:27a).  

14“Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together with Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from one of us, as though the day of  Christ had come” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

15“Paul (and company), to the church of the Thessalonians:  Grace to you and peace . . . (for) it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels . . . when He comes that Day. . . . (But) let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God . . . Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?  And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 1:1a, 2a, 6-7, 10a; 2:3-8).

“Therefore, when you see the ‘abolition of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place [whoever reads, let him understand], then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).

“And the forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation” (Daniel 11:31). 

16“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod.  And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.  But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.  And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months’” (Revelation 11:1-2).

2“The (prophecy) against Egypt:  ‘Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt . . . ‘  Then the Lord said, ‘. . . the king of Assyria (will) lead away the Egyptians as prisoners . . . to the shame of Egypt’” (Isaiah 19:1a, 20:3a, 4).  “. . . the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.  And a sword will come upon Egypt . . . (when) her foundations are torn down. . . . when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt . . . a cloud will cover her . . . thus I will execute judgments on Egypt’”

(Ezekiel 30:3-4, 18-19a, New American Standard).  “For the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand . . . like the morning clouds spread over the mountains, a people come great and strong . . . surely nothing shall escape them . . . “ (Joel 2:1b, 2, 3b). 

3“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. . . . Therefore say I to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 7:18, 21:43, King James Version).

4“In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete.  Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:13).  “. . . the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining . . .” (1 John 2:8b).  “For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious” (2 Corinthians 3:11).

5“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

6“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. . . . I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (when) . . . I turned to see the voice that spoke to me.  And having turned I saw . . . out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword . . .”(Revelation 1:3, 10a, 12a, 16a).

7“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 6:13).

8“Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end, Amen” (Ephesians 3:21, King James Version).  “One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).  “And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has established forever” (Psalm 78:69).

9“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

10“. . . to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22b).  “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17).  “Bondservants, be obedient . . . in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eye service, but . . . doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:5, 6).

11“Then His mother and brothers came to see Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told to Him by some, who said, ‘Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.’  “But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it’” (Luke 8:19-21).

12 “(Either) He (and what He says) will be as a sanctuary (or as) a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense  . . . “ (Isaiah 8:14a).

2“The humble, He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. . . . The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Psalm 25:9, 14).

3“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples . . . (gained authority to search them out at Damascus so that) he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.  As he journeyed . . . suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.  Then he fell to the ground and heard (Jesus’) voice . . . So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’  Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’  Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one . . . (and) was three days without sight . . . . (Simultaneously) the Lord said in a vision (to) . . . a certain disciple named Ananias (that he would be) ‘putting his hand on (Saul) so that he might receive his sight.’  (Ananias expressed fear.)  But the Lord said to him, ‘Go for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.’  . . . Ananias . . . lay his hands on him . . . and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized . . . received food . . . was strengthened . . . spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.  Immediately, he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God”  (Acts 9:1a, 2-4a, 6, 8a, 9a, 10b, 12b, 17a, 18b-20).

4“So he (Moses) looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand” (Exodus 2:12).

5“And he (David) wrote in the letter (to his general, Joab), saying, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die’” (2 Samuel 11:15).

6“Then they cried out . . . ran at him (Stephen) . . . cast him out of the city and stoned him . . . (laying) their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul (who, thereby) . . . was consenting to his death” (Acts 7:57-58, 8:1a).

7“For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants . . . That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise (covenant) . . . not from among the Jews only, but also from among Gentiles, as He says also in Hosea, ‘I will call those who were not My people, MY PEOPLE’ . . . Of the sons of Israel . . . it is the remnant that will be saved . . . a remnant according to God’s gracious choice” (Romans 9:6b-7a, 8a, 24b-25a, 27b; 11:5b, New American Standard).

8“(While) Gentiles . . . did not pursue righteousness . . . (nonetheless, they) attained . . . the righteousness (which is) of faith; (natural) Israel pursuing the law of righteousness . . . has not attained (it) . . . because they did not seek it by faith . . . (but) stumbled at the stumbling stone (Christ) . . . (and) because of unbelief they were broken off” (Romans 9:30-32; 11:20a) . . . Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. . . . And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (covenant)” (Galatians 3:7, 29).

9“’But this is the (new) covenant . . .’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will right it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people’” (Jeremiah 31:33, New American Standard).

10“. . . graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52-53).  

11“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life” (John 5:28-29a).

12“One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).  

13“. . . a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6b).  

14“But you go your way till the end; for you shall rest (fall asleep), and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13).  “. . . eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23b).  “. . . to redeem those that were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons   . . . Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir (inheritor) of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:5, 7).   

16“Behold I tell you a mystery:  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).  

17“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die’” (John 11:25, 26a).  “He who has the Son has life . . .” (1 John 5:12a).  “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).  “. . . when He is revealed, we shall be like Him . . .” (1 John 3:2b).  “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).                   

18“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20).  “That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).  

19“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the (first of the) firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.  But each in his own order:  Christ, (the rest of) the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).  

2“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from (such) evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7).  

20“Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).  “For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17). 

3“But without faith it is impossible to please Him . . .” (Hebrews 11:6a).  “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8).  “ . . . that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5).  

4“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).  

5“Death and life are in the power of the tongue . . .” (Proverbs 23:7).  “I believed, therefore I spoke, ‘I am greatly afflicted’” (Psalm 116:10).  “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).   “. . . out of the abundance (or poverty) of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b).  

6“. . . because you are lukewarm . . . I will spew you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:16).  

7“He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm” (Psalm 42:2, New American Standard).  

8“. . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!  For . . . I have been entrusted with a stewardship” (1 Corinthians 9:16b, 17b).  “ . . . consider us . . . stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2).  “ . . . when they saw that the gospel . . . had been committed to me” (Galatians 2:7a).  

9“. . . He (Christ) would be the first to rise from the dead . . .” (Acts 26:23a).  “And He is . . . the firstborn from the dead” (Galatians 2:7a).  

[1]Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptural references are from the New King James Version.  All parenthetical items contained within Scriptural references are my emphasis.

“(Christ), although He existed in the form (essence) of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant . . . (coming) in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7, New American Standard).

[10]“. . . (Why) do you subject yourself to regulations . . . according to the commandments and doctrines of men?” (Colossians 2:20b, 22b).  “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).  “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or I speak of my own authority” (John 7:17).  “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).

[11]“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them. . . . And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. . . . Then Caleb . . . said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’  But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able . . .’ and they gave . . . a bad report . . . saying, ‘The land . . . devours its inhabitants . . .’” (Numbers 13:2, 25, 30-31a, 32).

“So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept (and complained) that night.  . . . But Joshua (and Caleb said), ‘The land . . . is an exceedingly good land . . . (and) the Lord . . . will bring us into this land and give it to us . . .  “The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘. . . The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness . . . except for Caleb . . . and Joshua . . . (and) your little ones . . . (whom) I will bring in . . .’” (Numbers 14:1, 6a, 7, 8a, 26, 29a, 30a, & 31a).

[12]“And Terah took his son, Abram (and company) . . . and they came to Haran and dwelt there. . . . and Terah died in Haran” (Genesis 11:31, 32b).

“Now the Lord had said to Abram:  ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.’  . . . So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him . . .” (Genesis 12:1a, 4a).

[2]“No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18a).  “. . . who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16a).

[3]“I and My Father are one. . . . If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:30, 37-38).

[4]“And being found in the appearance of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).  “. . . I lay down My life for the sheep. . . . No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:15b, 18a).

[5]“But without faith it is impossible to please Him . . .” (Hebrews 11:6a).

[6]“Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32a).

[7](John 20:29b)  “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16b).

[8]“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

[9]“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

John 13

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

 ¹ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
² And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ⁵ After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶ Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” 
⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” 
⁸ Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” 
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 
⁹ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” 
¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” 
¹² So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Jesus Identifies His Betrayer

   
¹⁸ “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ¹⁹ Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. ²⁰ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” 
²¹ When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” ²² Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke. 
²³ Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. ²⁴ Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. 
²⁵ Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” 
²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. ²⁷ Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” ²⁸ But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. ²⁹ For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 
³⁰ Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.

The New Commandment

   
³¹ So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. ³² If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. ³³ Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. ³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

   
³⁶ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” 
Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” 
³⁷ Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” 
³⁸ Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.

John 14

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

 ¹ “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 
⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The Father Revealed

   
⁷ “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 
⁸ Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 
⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

The Answered Prayer

   
¹² “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Jesus Promises Another Helper

   
¹⁵ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Indwelling of the Father and the Son

   
¹⁹ “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” 
²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 
²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

The Gift of His Peace

   
²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ²⁸ You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. 
²⁹ “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. ³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

John 15

The True Vine

 ¹ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and everybranch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

   
⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 
¹¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, that you love one another.

The World’s Hatred

   
¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

The Coming Rejection

   
²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. ²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

John 16

 ¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. ² They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³ And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴ But these things I have told you, that when the  time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

   
⁵ “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 
¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Sorrow Will Turn to Joy

   
¹⁶ “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” 
¹⁷ Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.” 
¹⁹ Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? ²⁰ Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. ²¹ A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²² Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. 
²³ “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. ²⁴Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World

   
²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; ²⁷ for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. ²⁸ I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” 
²⁹ His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! ³⁰ Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” 
³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³ These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth..."

⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

 ⁷² So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
         And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

All Things Made New

 ¹ Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 
⁶ And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷ He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. ⁸ But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

   
⁹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife." ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ¹¹having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ¹³ three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 
¹⁴ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. ¹⁷ Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. ¹⁸ The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem

   
²² But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. ²⁴ And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.  ²⁵ Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). ²⁶ And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. ²⁷ But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Revelation 22

The River of Life

 ¹ And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. ⁴ They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. ⁵ There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.  For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.  For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.  Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?  As He says also in Hosea:  “ I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.”

²⁵ As He says also in Hosea: “ I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. ²⁶And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there they shall be called sons of the living God.”
²⁷ Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:“ Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.
      

But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

⁶ But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, ⁷ nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” ⁸ That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

 Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptural references are from the New King James Version.  All parenthetical items contained within the Scriptural references are my emphasis.

“. . . His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, ‘. . . Assuredly I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down . . . . Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven . . . and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. . . . Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place’” (Matthew 24:1b, 2b, 29a, 30, 34).

 “The (prophecy) against Egypt:  ‘Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt . . . ‘  Then the Lord said, ‘. . . the king of Assyria (will) lead away the Egyptians as prisoners . . . to the shame of Egypt’” (Isaiah 19:1a, 20:3a, 4).  “. . . the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.  And a sword will come upon Egypt . . . (when) her foundations are torn down. . . . when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt . . . a cloud will cover her . . . thus I will execute judgments on Egypt’”

(Ezekiel 30:3-4, 18-19a, New American Standard).  “For the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand . . . like the morning clouds spread over the mountains, a people come great and strong . . . surely nothing shall escape them . . . “ (Joel 2:1b, 2, 3b).