The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 ^(A)In the beginning was ^(B)the Word, and the Word was ^(C)with God, and ^(D)the Word was God. ^2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ^4 (F)In Him was life, and the life was ^(G)the Light of men. ^5 (H)The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[b]comprehend it.

The Witness John

⁶ There ^[c]came a man sent from God, whose name was ^(I)John. ^7 [d]He came ^[e](J)as a witness, to testify about the Light, ^(K)so that all might believe through him. ^8 [f](L)He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

⁹ There was ^(M)the true Light ^[g]which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and ^(N)the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His ^[h]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become ^(O)children of God, even ^(P)to those who believe in His name, ^13 (Q)who were ^[i]born, not of ^[j]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Made Flesh

¹⁴ And ^(R)the Word ^(S)became flesh, and ^[k](T)dwelt among us, and ^(U)we saw His glory, glory as of ^[l]the only begotten from the Father, full of ^(V)grace and ^(W)truth. ¹⁵ John *^(X)testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘^(Y)He who comes after me ^[m]has a higher rank than I, ^(Z)for He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His ^(AA)fullness ^[n]we have all received, and ^[o]grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For ^(AB)the Law was given through Moses; ^(AC)grace and ^(AD)truth ^[p]were realized through Jesus Christ. ^18 (AE)No one has seen God at any time; ^(AF)the only begotten God who is ^(AG)in the bosom of the Father, ^(AH)He has explained Him.

The Testimony of John

¹⁹ This is ^(AI)the testimony of John, when ^(AJ)the Jews sent to him priests and Levites ^(AK)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “^(AL)I am not ^[q]the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you ^(AM)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(AN)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am ^(AO)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ^[r]Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^(AP)the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them saying, “^(AQ)I baptize ^[s]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is ^(AR)He who comes after me, the ^(AS)thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany ^(AT)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, ^(AU)the Lamb of God who ^(AV)takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘^(AW)After me comes a Man who ^[t]has a higher rank than I, ^(AX)for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize ^[u]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing ^[v]in water.” ³² John ^(AY)testified saying, “^(AZ)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not recognize ^[w]Him, but He who sent me to baptize ^[x]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, ^(BA)this is the One who baptizes ^[y]in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is ^(BB)the Son of God.”

Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts

³⁵ Again ^(BC)the next day John was standing ^[z]with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, ^(BD)the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “^(BE)Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” ³⁹ He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the ^[aa]tenth hour. ^40 (BF)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the ^(BG)Messiah” (which translated means ^[ab]Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ^[ac](BH)John; you shall be called ^(BI)Cephas” (which is translated ^[ad](BJ)Peter).

^43 (BK)The next day He purposed to go into ^(BL)Galilee, and He *found ^(BM)Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “^(BN)Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now ^(BO)Philip was from ^(BP)Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. ^45 (BQ)Philip *found ^(BR)Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom ^(BS)Moses in the Law and also ^(BT)the Prophets wrote—Jesus of ^(BU)Nazareth, ^(BV)the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “^(BW)Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” ^(BX)Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an ^(BY)Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before ^(BZ)Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered Him, “^(CA)Rabbi, You are ^(CB)the Son of God; You are the ^(CC)King of Israel.” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see ^(CD)the heavens opened and ^(CE)the angels of God ascending and descending on ^(CF)the Son of Man.”

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

1 ^(A)Paul, ^(B)an apostle of Jesus Christ ^[a](C)by the will of God, and ^(D)Timothy ^[b]our brother,

² To the ^[c](E)saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: ^(F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

^3 (G)We give thanks to God, ^(H)the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4 (I)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the ^(J)love which you have ^[d]for ^(K)all the ^[e]saints; ⁵ because of the ^(L)hope ^(M)laid up for you in ^[f]heaven, of which you previously ^(N)heard in the word of truth, ^[g]the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as ^[h](O)in all the world also it is constantly bearing ^(P)fruit and ^[i]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you ^(Q)heard of it and ^[j]understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(R)Epaphras, our ^(S)beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and he also informed us of your ^(T)love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason also, ^(U)since the day we heard of it, ^(V)we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the ^[k](W)knowledge of His will in all spiritual ^(X)wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will ^(Y)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^[l](Z)to please Him in all respects, ^(AA)bearing fruit in every good work and ^[m]increasing in the ^[n]knowledge of God; ^11 (AB)strengthened with all power, according to ^[o]His glorious might, ^[p]for the attaining of all steadfastness and ^[q]patience; ^(AC)joyously ¹² giving thanks to ^(AD)the Father, who has qualified us ^[r]to share in ^(AE)the inheritance of the ^[s]saints in ^(AF)Light.

The Incomparable Christ

^13 [t]For He rescued us from the ^[u](AG)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^[v](AH)His beloved Son, ^14 (AI)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

^15 [w]He is the ^(AJ)image of the ^(AK)invisible God, the ^(AL)firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For ^[x](AM)by Him all things were created, ^(AN)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(AO)thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—^(AP)all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He ^[y](AQ)is before all things, and in Him all things ^[z]hold together. ¹⁸ He is also ^(AR)head of ^(AS)the body, the church; and He is ^(AT)the beginning, ^(AU)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For ^[aa]it was ^(AV)the Father’s good pleasure for all ^(AW)the ^[ab]fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to ^(AX)reconcile all things to Himself, having made ^(AY)peace through ^(AZ)the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, ^(BA)whether things on earth or things in ^[ac]heaven.

²¹ And although you were ^(BB)formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, ²² yet He has now ^(BC)reconciled you in His fleshly ^(BD)body through death, in order to ^(BE)present you before Him ^(BF)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³ if indeed you continue in ^[ad]the faith firmly ^(BG)established and steadfast, and not moved away from the ^(BH)hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed ^(BI)in all creation under heaven, ^(BJ)and of which I, Paul, ^[ae]was made a ^[af](BK)minister.

^24 (BL)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^(BM)I ^[ag]do my share on behalf of ^(BN)His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking ^[ah]in Christ’s afflictions. ^25 (BO)Of this church I ^[ai]was made a minister according to the ^(BP)stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might ^[aj]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, ²⁶ that is, ^(BQ)the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His ^[ak]saints, ²⁷ to whom ^(BR)God willed to make known what is ^(BS)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is ^(BT)Christ in you, the ^(BU)hope of glory. ²⁸ We proclaim Him, ^(BV)admonishing every man and teaching every man ^[al]with all ^(BW)wisdom, so that we may ^(BX)present every man ^[am](BY)complete in Christ. ²⁹ For this purpose also I ^(BZ)labor, ^(CA)striving ^(CB)according to His ^[an]power, which ^[ao]mightily works within me.

God’s Final Word in His Son

1 God, after He ^(A)spoke long ago to the fathers in ^(B)the prophets in many portions and ^(C)in many ways, ^2 [a](D)in these last days ^(E)has spoken to us ^[b]in ^(F)His Son, whom He appointed ^(G)heir of all things, ^(H)through whom also He made the ^[c](I)world. ^3 [d]And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact ^(J)representation of His nature, and ^[e](K)upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made ^(L)purification of sins, He ^(M)sat down at the right hand of the ^(N)Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent ^(O)name than they.

⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say,

And again,

⁶ And ^[f]when He again ^(R)brings the firstborn into ^[g](S)the world, He says,

⁷ And of the angels He says,

⁸ But of the Son He says,

¹⁰ And,

¹³ But to which of the angels has He ever said,

¹⁴ Are they not all ^(AG)ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will ^(AH)inherit ^(AI)salvation?

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which ^(A)God gave Him to ^(B)show to His bond-servants, ^(C)the things which must soon take place; and He sent and ^[a]communicated it ^(D)by His angel to His bond-servant ^(E)John, ² who testified to ^(F)the word of God and to ^(G)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ^3 (H)Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and ^[b]heed the things which are written in it; ^(I)for the time is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 (J)John to ^(K)the seven churches that are in ^(L)Asia: ^(M)Grace to you and peace, from ^(N)Him who is and who was and who ^[c]is to come, and from ^(O)the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(P)the faithful witness, the ^(Q)firstborn of the dead, and the ^(R)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^(S)loves us and released us from our sins ^[d]by His blood— ⁶ and He has made us to be a ^(T)kingdom, ^(U)priests to ^[e](V)His God and Father—^(W)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ^7 (X)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and ^(Y)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^(Z)mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am ^(AA)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the ^(AB)Lord God, “^(AC)who is and who was and who ^[f]is to come, the Almighty.”

The Patmos Vision

^9 (AD)I, John, your ^(AE)brother and ^(AF)fellow partaker in the tribulation and ^(AG)kingdom and ^[g](AH)perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AI)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was ^[h](AJ)in the Spirit on ^(AK)the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AL)like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “^(AM)Write in a ^[i]book what you see, and send it to the ^(AN)seven churches: to ^(AO)Ephesus and to ^(AP)Smyrna and to ^(AQ)Pergamum and to ^(AR)Thyatira and to ^(AS)Sardis and to ^(AT)Philadelphia and to ^(AU)Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw ^(AV)seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and ^(AW)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(AX)like ^[j]a son of man, ^(AY)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(AZ)girded across His chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His ^(BA)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(BB)His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His ^(BC)feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His ^(BD)voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held ^(BE)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(BF)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(BG)face was like ^(BH)the sun ^[k]shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(BI)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(BJ)placed His right hand on me, saying, “^(BK)Do not be afraid; ^(BL)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the ^(BM)living One; and I ^[l](BN)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(BO)the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore ^(BP)write ^(BQ)the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(BR)after these things. ²⁰ As for the ^(BS)mystery of the ^(BT)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^(BU)seven golden lampstands: the ^(BV)seven stars are the angels of ^(BW)the seven churches, and the seven ^(BX)lampstands are the seven churches.

^61 (A)But He kept silent and did not answer. ^(B)Again the high priest was questioning Him, and ^[a]saying to Him, “Are You ^[b]the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see ^(C)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and ^(D)coming with the clouds of heaven.”

^30 (A)I and the Father are ^[a]one.”

Oneness with the Father

^7 (A)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you ^(B)know Him, and have ^(C)seen Him.”

^8 (D)Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? ^(E)He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that ^(F)I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? ^(G)The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. ¹¹ Believe Me that ^(H)I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise ^(I)believe because of the works themselves.