Christ Born of Mary^(A)

¹⁸ Now the ^(B)birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child ^(C)of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being ^[a]a just man, and not wanting ^(D)to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, ^(E)for that which is ^[b]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ^21 (F)And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name ^[c]Jesus, ^(G)for He will save His people from their sins.”

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ^23 (H)“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, ²⁵ and ^[d]did not know her till she had brought forth ^(I)her^[e] firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

The Eternal Word^(A)

1 In the beginning ^(B)was the Word, and the ^(C)Word was ^(D)with God, and the Word was ^(E)God. ^2 (F)He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ^4 (H)In Him was life, and ^(I)the life was the light of men. ⁵ And ^(J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[a]comprehend it.

John’s Witness: The True Light

⁶ There was a ^(K)man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a ^(L)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might ^(M)believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that ^(N)Light. ^9 (O)That^[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and ^(P)the world did not know Him. ^11 (Q)He came to His ^[c]own, and His ^[d]own did not receive Him. ¹² But ^(R)as many as received Him, to them He gave the ^[e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ^13 (S)who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Becomes Flesh

^14 (T)And the Word ^(U)became ^(V)flesh and dwelt among us, and ^(W)we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ^(X)full of grace and truth.

^15 (Y)John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ^(Z)‘He who comes after me ^[f]is preferred before me, ^(AA)for He was before me.’ ”

^16 [g]And of His ^(AB)fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For ^(AC)the law was given through Moses, but ^(AD)grace and ^(AE)truth came through Jesus Christ. ^18 (AF)No one has seen God at any time. ^(AG)The only begotten ^[h]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

^34 (A)Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, ^(B)who is even at the right hand of God, ^(C)who also makes intercession for us.

The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality^(A)

15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel ^(B)which I preached to you, which also you received and ^(C)in which you stand, ^2 (D)by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless ^(E)you believed in vain.

³ For ^(F)I delivered to you first of all that ^(G)which I also received: that Christ died for our sins ^(H)according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day ^(I)according to the Scriptures, ^5 (J)and that He was seen by ^[a]Cephas, then ^(K)by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have ^[b]fallen asleep. ⁷ After that He was seen by James, then ^(L)by all the apostles. ^8 (M)Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

⁹ For I am ^(N)the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because ^(O)I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But ^(P)by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, ^(Q)yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ¹¹ Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Risen Christ, Our Hope^(R)

¹² Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^(S)then Christ is not risen. ¹⁴ And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. ¹⁵ Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because ^(T)we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. ¹⁶ For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. ¹⁷ And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; ^(U)you are still in your sins! ¹⁸ Then also those who have ^[c]fallen ^(V)asleep in Christ have perished. ^19 (W)If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

The Last Enemy Destroyed

²⁰ But now ^(X)Christ is risen from the dead, and has become ^(Y)the firstfruits of those who have ^[d]fallen asleep. ²¹ For ^(Z)since by man came death, ^(AA)by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall ^(AB)be made alive. ²³ But ^(AC)each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when He delivers ^(AD)the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign ^(AE)till He has put all enemies under His feet. ^26 (AF)The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For ^(AG)“He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ^28 (AH)Now when all things are made subject to Him, then ^(AI)the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

²¹ For ^(A)He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become ^(B)the righteousness of God in Him.

The Law Brings a Curse

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ^(A)“Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” ¹¹ But that no one is ^[a]justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ^(B)“the just shall live by faith.” ¹² Yet ^(C)the law is not of faith, but ^(D)“the man who does them shall live by them.”

^13 (E)Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ^(F)“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ^14 (G)that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the ^(H)Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive ^(I)the promise of the Spirit through faith.

^7 (A)In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to ^(B)the riches of His grace

⁶ who, ^(A)being in the form of God, did not consider it ^[a]robbery to be equal with God, ^7 (B)but ^[b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form ^(C)of a bondservant, and ^(D)coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and ^(E)became ^(F)obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ^9 (G)Therefore God also ^(H)has highly exalted Him and ^(I)given Him the name which is above every name, ^10 (J)that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and ^(K)that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹⁵ He is ^(A)the image of the invisible God, ^(B)the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For ^(C)by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or ^(D)dominions or ^[a]principalities or ^[b]powers. All things were created ^(E)through Him and for Him. ^17 (F)And He is before all things, and in Him ^(G)all things consist. ¹⁸ And ^(H)He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, ^(I)the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Reconciled in Christ

¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that ^(J)in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and ^(K)by Him to reconcile ^(L)all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, ^(M)having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹ And you, ^(N)who once were alienated and enemies in your mind ^(O)by wicked works, yet now He has ^(P)reconciled ^22 (Q)in the body of His flesh through death, ^(R)to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— ²³ if indeed you continue ^(S)in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are ^(T)not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, ^(U)which was preached to every creature under heaven, ^(V)of which I, Paul, became a minister.