¹⁷ “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

⁶ And because we^[a] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”^{[b] 7} Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.^[c] And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

⁸ That is why the Scriptures say,

⁹ Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.^{[b] 10} And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

²⁶ For you are all children^[a] of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹¹ So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.^{[a] 12} For he said to God,

¹³ He also said,

²⁸ Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”

The Hope of Eternal Life

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

² Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

¹⁷ asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom^[a] and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. ¹⁸ I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.^[b]

¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. ²¹ Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. ²² God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. ²³ And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.