²² But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen^(A)— ²³ that the Messiah would suffer^(B) and, as the first to rise from the dead,^(C) would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”^(D)

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.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!^(A) In his great mercy^(B) he has given us new birth^(C) into a living hope^(D) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,^(E)