16 Therefore we do not lose heart.(A) Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly(B) we are being renewed(C) day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.(D) 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,(E) since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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27 The human spirit is[a] the lamp of the Lord(A)
    that sheds light on one’s inmost being.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:27 Or A person’s words are

30 Blows and wounds scrub(A) away evil,
    and beatings(B) purge the inmost being.

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Made Alive in Christ

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,(A) in which you used to live(B) when you followed the ways of this world(C) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,(D) the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.(E) All of us also lived among them at one time,(F) gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a](G) and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us,(H) God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions(I)—it is by grace you have been saved.(J) And God raised us up with Christ(K) and seated us with him(L) in the heavenly realms(M) in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,(N) expressed in his kindness(O) to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace(P) you have been saved,(Q) through faith(R)—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works,(S) so that no one can boast.(T) 10 For we are God’s handiwork,(U) created(V) in Christ Jesus to do good works,(W) which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,(A) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.(B) 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,(C) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

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23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

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