Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13 (A)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(B)John the Baptist, others say ^(C)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, ^(D)“You are ^(E)the Christ, ^(F)the Son of ^(G)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ^(H)“Blessed are you, ^(I)Simon Bar-Jonah! For ^(J)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^(K)but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, ^(L)you are Peter, and ^(M)on this rock^[a] I will build my church, and ^(N)the gates of ^(O)hell^[b] shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(P)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^(Q)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[c] in heaven.” ^20 (R)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples ^(A)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they ^(B)worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(C)“All authority ^(D)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (E)Go therefore and ^(F)make disciples of ^(G)all nations, ^(H)baptizing them ^(I)in^{[a] (J)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them ^(K)to observe all that ^(L)I have commanded you. And behold, ^(M)I am with you always, to ^(N)the end of the age.”

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

1 In the first book, O ^(A)Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began ^(B)to do and teach, ² until the day when ^(C)he was taken up, after he ^(D)had given commands ^(E)through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ^3 (F)He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴ And while staying^[a] with them ^(G)he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for ^(H)John baptized with water, ^(I)but you will be baptized ^(J)with^[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The Ascension

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, ^(K)will you at this time ^(L)restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, ^(M)“It is not for you to know ^(N)times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive ^(O)power ^(P)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and ^(Q)you will be ^(R)my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and ^(S)Samaria, and ^(T)to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, ^(U)he was lifted up, and ^(V)a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, ^(W)two ^(X)men stood by them in ^(Y)white robes, ¹¹ and said, ^(Z)“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, ^(AA)will ^(AB)come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When ^(A)the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like ^(B)a mighty rushing wind, and ^(C)it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues ^(D)as of fire appeared to them and rested^[a] on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all ^(E)filled with the Holy Spirit and began ^(F)to speak in other tongues ^(G)as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And ^(H)at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And ^(I)they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking ^(J)Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and ^(K)Medes and ^(L)Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and ^(M)proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And ^(N)all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others ^(O)mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, ^(P)since it is only the third hour of the day.^{[b] 16} But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, ^(Y)a man attested to you by God ^(Z)with ^(AA)mighty works and wonders and signs that ^(AB)God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Jesus,^{[c] (AC)}delivered up according to ^(AD)the definite plan and ^(AE)foreknowledge of God, ^(AF)you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ^24 (AG)God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because ^(AH)it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him,

²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about ^(AO)the patriarch David ^(AP)that he both died and ^(AQ)was buried, and ^(AR)his tomb is with us to this day. ^30 (AS)Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that ^(AT)God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that ^(AU)he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus ^(AV)God raised up, ^(AW)and of that we all are witnesses. ^33 (AX)Being therefore ^(AY)exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from ^(AZ)the Father ^(BA)the promise of the Holy Spirit, ^(BB)he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ For ^(BC)David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that ^(BE)God has made him ^(BF)both Lord and Christ, this Jesus ^(BG)whom you crucified.”

³⁷ Now when ^(BH)they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, ^(BI)what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, ^(BJ)“Repent and ^(BK)be baptized every one of you ^(BL)in the name of Jesus Christ ^(BM)for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive ^(BN)the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For ^(BO)the promise is for you and ^(BP)for your children and for all ^(BQ)who are far off, everyone ^(BR)whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ^(BS)“Save yourselves from this ^(BT)crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and ^(BU)there were added that day about three thousand souls.

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴² And ^(BV)they devoted themselves to the apostles' ^(BW)teaching and the ^(BX)fellowship, to ^(BY)the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe^[d] came upon every soul, and ^(BZ)many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and ^(CA)had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And ^(CB)they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, ^(CC)attending the temple ^(CD)together and ^(CE)breaking bread in their homes, they received their food ^(CF)with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and ^(CG)having favor with all the people. And the Lord ^(CH)added to their number ^(CI)day by day those who ^(CJ)were being saved.

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, ^(A)a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to ^(B)walk in a manner worthy of ^(C)the calling to which you have been called, ² with all ^(D)humility and ^(E)gentleness, with ^(F)patience, ^(G)bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in ^(H)the bond of peace. ⁴ There is ^(I)one body and ^(J)one Spirit—just as you were called to the one ^(K)hope that belongs to your call— ^5 (L)one Lord, ^(M)one faith, ^(N)one baptism, ^6 (O)one God and Father of all, ^(P)who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But ^(Q)grace was given ^(R)to each one of us ^(S)according to the measure of Christ's gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

⁹ (^(V)In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ^(W)the lower regions, the earth?^{[b] 10} He who descended is the one who also ^(X)ascended ^(Y)far above all the heavens, that he might ^(Z)fill all things.)

¹¹ And ^(A)he gave the ^(B)apostles, the prophets, the ^(C)evangelists, the ^(D)shepherds^[a] and teachers,^{[b] 12 (E)}to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^(F)building up ^(G)the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to ^(H)the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^(I)to mature manhood,^[c] to the measure of the stature of ^(J)the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, ^(K)tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^(L)deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, ^(M)speaking the truth in love, we are to ^(N)grow up in every way into him who is ^(O)the head, into Christ, ^16 (P)from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, ^(Q)when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.