¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(A)“All authority ^(B)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (C)Go therefore and ^(D)make disciples of ^(E)all nations, ^(F)baptizing them ^(G)in^{[a] (H)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them ^(I)to observe all that ^(J)I have commanded you. And behold, ^(K)I am with you always, to ^(L)the end of the age.”

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him ^(A)of whom they have never heard?^[a] And how are they to hear ^(B)without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ^(C)“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶ But ^(D)they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^(E)“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷ So ^(F)faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

²⁸ Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that ^(A)we may present everyone ^(B)mature in Christ.

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(A)this ministry ^(B)by the mercy of God,^[a] we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced ^(C)disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practise cunning or ^(D)to tamper with God's word, but ^(E)by the open statement of the truth ^(F)we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even ^(G)if our gospel is veiled, ^(H)it is veiled only to ^(I)those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case ^(J)the god of this world ^(K)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(L)the light of ^(M)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(N)who is the image of God. ⁵ For what ^(O)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(P)ourselves as your servants^[b] for Jesus' sake. ⁶ For God, who said, ^(Q)“Let light shine out of darkness”, ^(R)has shone in our hearts to give ^(S)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

^13 (A)Follow ^(B)the pattern of ^(C)the sound^[a] words ^(D)that you have heard from me, in ^(E)the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ By the Holy Spirit ^(F)who dwells within us, guard ^(G)the good deposit entrusted to you.

⁹ But you are ^(A)a chosen race, ^(B)a royal ^(C)priesthood, ^(D)a holy nation, ^(E)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(F)out of darkness into ^(G)his marvellous light.