Children of God Love One Another

3 See ^[a](A)how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called ^(B)children of God; and in fact we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because ^(C)it did not know Him.

¹⁸ For ^(A)Christ also ^[a]suffered for sins ^(B)once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might ^(C)bring us to God, having been put to death ^(D)in the flesh, but made alive ^(E)in the ^[b]spirit;

²⁹ He who has the bride is ^(A)the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this ^(B)joy of mine has been made full.

²⁸ and I give them ^(A)eternal life, and they will never perish; and ^(B)no one will snatch them out of My hand.

² For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I ^(A)betrothed you to one husband, to ^(B)present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Marriage like Christ and the Church

^22 (A)Wives, ^(B)subject yourselves to your own husbands, ^(C)as to the Lord. ²³ For ^(D)the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the ^(E)head of the church, He Himself ^(F)being the Savior of the body. ²⁴ But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

^25 (G)Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and ^(H)gave Himself up for her, ^26 (I)so that He might sanctify her, having ^(J)cleansed her by the ^(K)washing of water with ^(L)the word, ²⁷ that He might ^(M)present to Himself the church ^[a]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be ^(N)holy and blameless. ²⁸ So husbands also ought to ^(O)love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; ²⁹ for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, ³⁰ because we are ^(P)parts of His ^(Q)body. ^31 (R)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. ³² This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

⁵ Make sure that your character is ^(A)free from the love of money, ^(B)being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “^(C)I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,”

Marriage of the Lamb

⁷ Let’s rejoice and be glad and ^(A)give the glory to Him, because ^(B)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His ^[a](C)bride has prepared herself.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in ^(D)fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the ^(E)righteous acts of the ^[b]saints.

⁹ Then ^(F)he *said to me, “^(G)Write: ‘^(H)Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “^(I)These are the true words of God.”

² And I saw ^(A)the holy city, ^(B)new Jerusalem, ^(C)coming down out of heaven from God, ^(D)prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.