Life in the Spirit

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.¹ 2 For the law of ^hthe Spirit of life ⁱhas set you² free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For ^jGod has done what the law, ^kweakened by the flesh, ^lcould not do. ^mBy sending his own Son ⁿin the likeness of sinful flesh and ^ofor sin,³ he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that ^pthe righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, ^qwho walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For ^rthose who live according to the flesh set their minds on ^sthe things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on ^tthe things of the Spirit. 6 For to set ^uthe mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is ^vhostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; ^windeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact ^xthe Spirit of God dwells in you. ^yAnyone who does not have ^zthe Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of ^ahim who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus⁴ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^bthrough his Spirit who dwells in you.

Heirs with Christ

12 So then, brothers,⁵ we are debtors, ^cnot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you ^dput to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are ^eled by the Spirit of God are ^fsons⁶ of God. 15 For ^gyou did not receive ^hthe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of ⁱadoption as sons, by whom we cry, ^j“Abba! Father!” 16 ^kThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then ^lheirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ^mprovided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Future Glory

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ⁿare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for ^othe revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation ^pwas subjected to futility, not willingly, but ^qbecause of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that ^rthe creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that ^sthe whole creation ^thas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have ^uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, ^vgroan inwardly as ^wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, ^xthe redemption of our bodies. 24 For ^yin this hope we were saved. Now ^zhope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we ^await for it with patience.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For ^bwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, but ^cthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And ^dhe who searches hearts knows what is ^ethe mind of the Spirit, because⁷ the Spirit ^fintercedes for the saints ^gaccording to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^hfor good,⁸ for ⁱthose who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he ^jforeknew he also ^kpredestined ^lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^mthe firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ⁿjustified, and those whom he justified he also ^oglorified.

God’s Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? ^pIf God is for us, who can be⁹ against us? 32 ^qHe who did not spare his own Son but ^rgave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? ^sIt is God who justifies. 34 ^tWho is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—^uwho is at the right hand of God, ^vwho indeed is interceding for us.¹⁰ 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

37 No, in all these things we are more than ^yconquerors through ^zhim who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Resurrection of Christ

1 Now I would remind you, brothers,¹ of the gospel ^gI preached to you, which you received, ^hin which you stand, 2 and by which ⁱyou are being saved, if you ^jhold fast to the word I preached to you—^kunless you believed in vain.

3 For ^lI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died ^mfor our sins ⁿin accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised ^oon the third day ^pin accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that ^qhe appeared to Cephas, then ^rto the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to ^sJames, then ^tto all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, ^uhe appeared also to me. 9 For ^vI am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because ^wI persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, ^xI worked harder than any of them, ^ythough it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, ^zhow can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^athen not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that ^bhe raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and ^cyou are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who ^dhave fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope² in this life only, ^ewe are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact ^fChrist has been raised from the dead, ^gthe firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as ^hby a man came death, ⁱby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For ^jas in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^kat his coming ^lthose who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers ^mthe kingdom to God the Father after destroying ⁿevery rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign ^ountil he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be ^pdestroyed is death. 27 For ^q“God³ has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When ^rall things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that ^sGod may be all in all.

29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we ^tin danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by ^umy pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^vI die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^wI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^x“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 ^yDo not be deceived: ^z“Bad company ruins good morals.”⁴ 34 ^aWake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For ^bsome have no knowledge of God. ^cI say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask, ^d“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! ^eWhat you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 ^fSo is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; ^git is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, ^h“The first man Adam became a living being”;^{5 i}the last Adam became a ^jlife-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 ^kThe first man was from the earth, ^la man of dust; ^mthe second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, ⁿso also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just ^oas we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^pwe shall⁶ also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

50 I tell you this, brothers: ^qflesh and blood ^rcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. ^sWe shall not all sleep, ^tbut we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For ^uthe trumpet will sound, and ^vthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^wthis mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

56 The sting of death is sin, and ^zthe power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, ^awho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 ^bTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^cthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^dyour labor is not in vain.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

1 Then I saw ^ya new heaven and a new earth, for ^zthe first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw ^athe holy city, ^bnew Jerusalem, ^ccoming down out of heaven from God, ^dprepared ^eas a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, ^fthe dwelling place¹ of God is with man. He will ^gdwell with them, and they will be his people,² and God himself will be with them as their God.³ 4 ^hHe will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and ⁱdeath shall be no more, ^jneither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And ^khe who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I ^lam making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for ^mthese words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, ⁿ“It is done! ^oI am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. ^pTo the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 ^qThe one who conquers will have this heritage, and ^rI will be his God and ^she will be my son. 8 ^tBut as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, ^utheir portion will be in ^vthe lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is ^wthe second death.”

The New Jerusalem

9 Then came ^xone of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of ^ythe seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^zthe Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And ^ahe carried me away in the Spirit to ^ba great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 ^chaving the glory of God, ^dits radiance ^elike a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, ^fwith twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve ^gfoundations, and ^hon them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And the one who spoke with me ⁱhad a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.⁴ Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits⁵ by ^jhuman measurement, which is also ^kan angel’s measurement. 18 The wall was built of ^ljasper, while the city was pure gold, like ^lclear glass. 19 ^mThe foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and ⁿthe street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

22 And ^oI saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city ^phas no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for ^qthe glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light ^rwill the nations walk, and the kings of the earth ^swill bring their glory into it, 25 and ^tits gates will never be shut by day—and ^uthere will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But ^vnothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s ^wbook of life.

The River of Life

1 Then the angel⁶ showed me ^xthe river of ^ythe water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of ^zthe street of the city; ^aalso, on either side of the river, ^bthe tree of life⁷ with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were ^cfor the healing of the nations. 3 ^dNo longer will there be anything accursed, but ^ethe throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and ^fhis servants will worship him. 4 ^gThey will see his face, and ^hhis name will be on their foreheads. 5 And ⁱnight will be no more. They will need no light of lamp ^jor sun, for ^kthe Lord God will be their light, and ^lthey will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

6 And he said to me, ^m“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of ⁿthe spirits of the prophets, ^ohas sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7 “And behold, ^pI am coming soon. ^qBlessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8 I, ^rJohn, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, ^sI fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 ^sbut he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those ^mwho keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

10 And he said to me, ^t“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 ^uLet the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

12 “Behold, ^vI am coming soon, ^wbringing my recompense with me, ^xto repay each one for what he has done. 13 ^yI am the Alpha and the Omega, ^zthe first and the last, ^athe beginning and the end.”

14 Blessed are those who ^bwash their robes,⁸ so that they may have the right to ^cthe tree of life and that ^dthey may enter the city by the gates. 15 ^eOutside are ^fthe dogs ^gand sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 ^h“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things ⁱfor the churches. I am ^jthe root and ^kthe descendant of David, ^lthe bright morning star.”

17 The Spirit and ^mthe Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And ⁿlet the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the ^owater of life without price.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: ^pif anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in ^qthe tree of life and in ^rthe holy city, which are described in this book.

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely ^sI am coming soon.” Amen. ^tCome, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.⁹ Amen.