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Through Christ, God has given us the privilege[a] and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:5 Or the grace.

15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.

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26 But now as the prophets[a] foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him.

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Footnotes

  1. 16:26 Greek the prophetic writings.

So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

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11 But my name is honored[a] by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer[b] sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:11a Or will be honored.
  2. 1:11b Or will offer.

In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

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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.

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Because of the privilege and authority[a] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 12:3a Or Because of the grace; compare 1:5.
  2. 12:3b Or by the faith God has given you; or by the standard of our God-given faith.

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[a] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
    now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
    now you have received God’s mercy.”[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 2:9 Greek a royal priesthood.
  2. 2:10 Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.

15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me[a] so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:16a Or in me.
  2. 1:16b Greek with flesh and blood.

25 as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.”

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For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.

In fact, James, Peter,[a] and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:9 Greek Cephas; also in 2:11, 14.

[a]We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:4 English translations divide verses 4 and 5 in various ways.

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

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Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.

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15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, 16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

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29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.

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16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:16 Or received the grace of Christ rather than the grace of the law; Greek reads received grace upon grace.

11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.

Paul’s Gratitude for God’s Mercy

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him,

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assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.[a] By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone[b] this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:6 Or because they are united with Christ Jesus.
  2. 3:9 Some manuscripts do not include to everyone.

12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.

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So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:6 Greek to us in the beloved.

18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. 19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit.[a] In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 15:19a Other manuscripts read the Spirit; still others read the Holy Spirit.
  2. 15:19b Illyricum was a region northeast of Italy.

14 Peter[a] has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:14 Greek Simeon.

14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!

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