⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact ^(A)the Spirit of God dwells in you. ^(B)Anyone who does not have ^(C)the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of ^(D)him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus^[a] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^(E)through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Heirs with Christ

¹² So then, brothers,^[b] we are debtors, ^(F)not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you ^(G)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are ^(H)led by the Spirit of God are ^(I)sons^[c] of God. ¹⁵ For ^(J)you did not receive ^(K)the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of ^(L)adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ^(M)“Abba! Father!” ^16 (N)The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then ^(O)heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ^(P)provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^(A)and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, ^(B)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And ^(C)he told them many things in parables, saying: ^(D)“A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but ^(E)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^(F)they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among ^(G)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^(H)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (I)He who has ears,^[a] let him hear.”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

^18 (A)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of ^(B)the kingdom and ^(C)does not understand it, ^(D)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^(E)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(F)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(G)he falls away.^{[a] 22} As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(H)the cares of ^(I)the world and ^(J)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^(K)understands it. He indeed ^(L)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(M)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”