¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”^(A)

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,^(B) but by my Father in heaven.^{(C) 18} And I tell you that you are Peter,^[a](D) and on this rock I will build my church,^(E) and the gates of Hades^[b] will not overcome it.

⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.^(A) They broke bread^(B) in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.^(C) And the Lord added to their number^(D) daily those who were being saved.

8 And Saul^(A) approved of their killing him.

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered^(B) throughout Judea and Samaria.^(C)

¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God^(A) should be made known^(B) to the rulers and authorities^(C) in the heavenly realms,^{(D) 11} according to his eternal purpose^(E) that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives,^(A) just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her^{(B) 26} to make her holy,^(C) cleansing^[a] her by the washing^(D) with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself^(E) as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.^(F)

¹⁸ And he is the head^(A) of the body, the church;^(B) he is the beginning and the firstborn^(C) from among the dead,^(D) so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

¹⁵ if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church^(A) of the living God,^(B) the pillar and foundation of the truth.

²² But you have come to Mount Zion,^(A) to the city^(B) of the living God,^(C) the heavenly Jerusalem.^(D) You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn,^(E) whose names are written in heaven.^(F) You have come to God, the Judge of all,^(G) to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,^{(H) 24} to Jesus the mediator^(I) of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood^(J) that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.^(K)