The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ^11 (A)Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the ^[a]wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(B)principalities, against powers, against ^(C)the rulers of ^[b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ^13 (D)Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand ^(E)in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(F)having girded your waist with truth, ^(G)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ^15 (H)and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking ^(I)the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And ^(J)take the helmet of salvation, and ^(K)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ^18 (L)praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ^(M)being watchful to this end with all perseverance and ^(N)supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, ^(O)that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which ^(P)I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

¹⁵ Therefore I also, ^(A)after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ^16 (B)do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that ^(C)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ^(D)may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ^18 (E)the eyes of your ^[a]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is ^(F)the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, ^(G)according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when ^(H)He raised Him from the dead and ^(I)seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ^21 (J)far above all ^(K)principality^[b] and ^[c]power and ^[d]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

²² And ^(L)He put all things under His feet, and gave Him ^(M)to be head over all things to the church, ^23 (N)which is His body, ^(O)the fullness of Him ^(P)who fills all in all.

The Twelve Apostles^(A)

^13 (B)And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. ¹⁴ Then He appointed twelve, ^[a]that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have ^[b]power ^[c]to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: ^16 [d]Simon, ^(C)to whom He gave the name Peter; ¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

A House Divided Cannot Stand^(D)

²⁰ Then the multitude came together again, ^(E)so that they could not so much as eat bread. ²¹ But when His ^(F)own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, ^(G)for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ^(H)“He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ^(I)ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”

^23 (J)So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. ^27 (K)No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin^(L)

^28 (M)“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; ²⁹ but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— ³⁰ because they ^(N)said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, ^(A)surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted ^(A)the heavenly gift, and ^(B)have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ^6 [a]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, ^(C)since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.