15 He said to them, “But who do (A)you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, (B)“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, (C)for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but (D)My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that (E)you are Peter, and (F)on this rock I will build My church, and (G)the gates of Hades shall not [a]prevail against it. 19 (H)And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth [b]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 16:18 be victorious
  2. Matthew 16:19 Or will have been bound . . . will have been loosed

Dealing with a Sinning Brother

15 “Moreover (A)if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, (B)you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that (C)‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a (D)heathen and a tax collector.

18 “Assuredly, I say to you, (E)whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 (F)“Again[a] I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, (G)it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered (H)together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:19 NU, M Again, assuredly, I say

41 Then those who [a]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 (A)And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ [b]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 2:41 NU omits gladly
  2. Acts 2:42 teaching

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And (A)the Lord added [a]to the church daily those who were being saved.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 2:47 NU omits to the church

11 (A)So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

Continuing Power in the Church

12 And (B)through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. (C)And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet (D)none of the rest dared join them, (E)but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

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Therefore, brethren, (A)seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this (B)business; but we (C)will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, (D)a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and (E)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and (F)Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and (G)when they had prayed, (H)they laid hands on them.

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Paul and Barnabas Are Sent to the Gentiles

13 Now (A)in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: (B)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, (C)Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, (D)“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work (E)to which I have called them.” Then, (F)having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

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23 So when they had (A)appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

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27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, (A)they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had (B)opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

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Conflict over Circumcision

15 And (A)certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, (B)“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that (C)Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

So, (D)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, (E)describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

The Jerusalem Council

Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: (F)“Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, (G)who knows the heart, [a]acknowledged them by (H)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, (I)and made no distinction between us and them, (J)purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God (K)by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But (L)we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus [b]Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had (M)worked through them among the Gentiles. 13 And after they had [c]become silent, (N)James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 (O)Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

16 ‘After(P) this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the [d]Lord who does all these things.’

18 [e]“Known to God from eternity are all His works. 19 Therefore (Q)I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who (R)are turning to God, 20 but that we (S)write to them to abstain (T)from things polluted by idols, (U)from [f]sexual immorality, (V)from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, (W)being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

The Jerusalem Decree

22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named (X)Barsabas,[g] and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

23 They wrote this letter by them:

The apostles, the elders, and the brethren,

To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Greetings.

24 Since we have heard that (Y)some who went out from us have troubled you with words, (Z)unsettling your souls, [h]saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment— 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one [i]accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 (AA)men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 (AB)that you abstain from things offered to idols, (AC)from blood, from things strangled, and from (AD)sexual[j] immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

Farewell.

Continuing Ministry in Syria

30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 15:8 bore witness to
  2. Acts 15:11 NU, M omit Christ
  3. Acts 15:13 stopped speaking
  4. Acts 15:17 NU Lord, who makes these things
  5. Acts 15:18 NU (continuing v. 17) known from eternity (of old).
  6. Acts 15:20 Or fornication
  7. Acts 15:22 NU, M Barsabbas
  8. Acts 15:24 NU omits saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”
  9. Acts 15:25 purpose or mind
  10. Acts 15:29 Or fornication

(A)So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

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28 (A)Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit (B)has made you overseers, to shepherd the church [a]of God (C)which He purchased (D)with His own blood.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 20:28 M of the Lord and God

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, (A)called to be saints:

(B)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who (A)are [a]sanctified in Christ Jesus, (B)called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ (C)our Lord, (D)both theirs and ours:

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 1:2 set apart

16 (A)Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

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In the (A)name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, (B)with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, (C)deliver such a one to (D)Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord [a]Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 5:5 NU omits Jesus

Live as You Are Called

17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And (A)so I [a]ordain in all the churches.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 7:17 direct

13 (A)Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the (B)temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so (C)the Lord has commanded (D)that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

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12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?

(A)Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things (B)lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.

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