¹¹ He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret^[a] of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,

Jesus’ Prayer of Thanksgiving

²⁵ At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.

¹⁰ He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets^[a] of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God.^[a] And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

¹⁶ So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.^[a] He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.^{[b] 18} He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.^[c]

¹² Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.

⁵ Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.

¹² It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. ¹³ God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”^[a]

³ Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. ⁴ But—

⁷ Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.