⁶ yet for us ^(A)there is only one God, ^(B)the Father, ^(C)from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and ^(D)one Lord, Jesus Christ, ^(E)by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

³ For ^(A)I handed down to you ^[a]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died ^(B)for our sins ^(C)according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was ^(D)raised on the third day ^(E)according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that ^(F)He appeared to ^[b](G)Cephas, then ^(H)to the twelve. ⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some ^(I)have fallen asleep; ⁷ then He appeared to ^[c](J)James, then to ^(K)all the apostles;

²³ but they only kept hearing, “The man who once persecuted us is now preaching ^(A)the faith which he once ^(B)tried to destroy.”

³ concerning His Son, who was born ^(A)of a ^[a]descendant of David ^(B)according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared ^(C)the Son of God with power according to the ^[b]Spirit of holiness ^[c]by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

^9 [a]that ^(A)if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and ^(B)believe in your heart that ^(C)God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, ^[b]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, ^[c]resulting in salvation.

⁵ For there is ^(A)one God, and ^(B)one mediator also between God and mankind, the ^(C)man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who ^(D)gave Himself as a ransom for all, the ^(E)testimony ^[a]given at ^[b](F)the proper time.

^5 (A)Have this attitude ^[a]in yourselves which was also in ^(B)Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, as He already ^(C)existed in the ^(D)form of God, ^(E)did not consider equality with God something to be ^[b]grasped,

¹² giving thanks to ^(A)the Father, who has qualified us ^[a]to share in ^(B)the inheritance of the ^[b]saints in ^(C)light.

The Incomparable Christ

^13 [c]For He rescued us from the ^[d](D)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^[e](E)His beloved Son, ^14 (F)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

^15 [f]He is the ^(G)image of the ^(H)invisible God, the ^(I)firstborn of all creation: ¹⁶ for ^[g](J)by Him all things were created, ^(K)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(L)thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—^(M)all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He ^[h](N)is before all things, and in Him all things ^[i]hold together. ¹⁸ He is also the ^(O)head of ^(P)the body, the church; and He is ^(Q)the beginning, ^(R)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For ^[j]it was ^(S)the Father’s good pleasure for all ^(T)the ^[k]fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to ^(U)reconcile all things to Himself, ^(V)whether things on earth or things in ^[l]heaven, having made ^(W)peace through ^(X)the blood of His cross.

⁹ For in Him all the ^(A)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(B)made ^[a]complete, and ^(C)He is the head ^[b]over every ^(D)ruler and authority; ¹¹ and in Him ^(E)you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of ^(F)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been ^(G)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(H)raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(I)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And ^[c]when you were ^(J)dead ^[d]in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(K)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, ¹⁴ having canceled ^(L)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^(M)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had ^[e](N)disarmed the ^(O)rulers and authorities, He ^(P)made a public display of them, having ^(Q)triumphed over them through ^[f]Him.