¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

⁹ For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

⁵ It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

¹⁶ So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

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]

¹⁰ But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

¹¹ Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,^[a] for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

⁶ God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.