²⁶ Then God said, ^(A)“Let us make man^[a] in our image, ^(B)after our likeness. And ^(C)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

By Grace Through Faith

2 ^(A)And you were ^(B)dead in the trespasses and sins ^2 (C)in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following ^(D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in ^(E)the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in ^(F)the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[a] and the mind, and ^(G)were by nature ^(H)children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^{[b] 4} But^[c] God, being ^(I)rich in mercy, ^(J)because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even ^(K)when we were dead in our trespasses, ^(L)made us alive together with Christ—^(M)by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and ^(N)seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable ^(O)riches of his grace in ^(P)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For ^(Q)by grace you have been saved ^(R)through faith. And this is ^(S)not your own doing; ^(T)it is the gift of God, ^9 (U)not a result of works, ^(V)so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For ^(W)we are his workmanship, ^(X)created in Christ Jesus ^(Y)for good works, ^(Z)which God prepared beforehand, ^(AA)that we should walk in them.

One in Christ

¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ^(AB)the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember ^(AC)that you were at that time separated from Christ, ^(AD)alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to ^(AE)the covenants of promise, ^(AF)having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were ^(AG)far off have been brought near ^(AH)by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For ^(AI)he himself is our peace, ^(AJ)who has made us both one and has broken down ^(AK)in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ^(AL)ordinances, that he might create in himself one ^(AM)new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might ^(AN)reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and ^(AO)preached peace to you who were ^(AP)far off and peace to those who were ^(AQ)near. ¹⁸ For ^(AR)through him we both have ^(AS)access in ^(AT)one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer ^(AU)strangers and aliens,^[d] but you are ^(AV)fellow citizens with the saints and ^(AW)members of the household of God,

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous^[a] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: ^(A)neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,^{[b] 10} nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And ^(B)such were some of you. But ^(C)you were washed, ^(D)you were sanctified, ^(E)you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.