Book of Common Prayer

So Remember Your Hopeless Condition As Gentiles Without Christ And God’s Promises

¹¹ Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh— the ones being called “the uncircumcised” by the one being called “the circumcised” (one done-by-human-hands in the flesh)— ¹² that you were at that time without Christ, having been excluded from the citizenship^[a] of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without-God in the world.

But Now Christ Made Peace And Reconciled Jews And Gentiles To God Through The Cross

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones formerly being far-away, were made near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, the One having made both one and having broken-down the dividing-wall of partition^[b], the hostility— in His flesh ¹⁵ having abolished^[c] the Law of commandments in decrees^[d] in order that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, making peace, ¹⁶ and reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility by it^[e]. ¹⁷ And having come, He announced-as-good-news peace to you, the ones far-away, and peace to the ones near, ¹⁸ because^[f] through Him we both have the access in^[g] one Spirit to the Father.

So You Are No Longer Strangers, But In Christ You Are Fellow Citizens And Family Members

¹⁹ So then, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints and family-members of God, ²⁰ having been built upon the foundation of ^[h] the apostles and prophets— Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in Whom the whole building being fitted-together^[i] is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in Whom also you are being built-together into a dwelling-place of God in^[j] the Spirit.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic To Prove He Has Authority To Forgive Sins

2 And having entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was heard that He was at home^[a]. ² And many were gathered together, so that the house was no longer having-room, not even the places at the door. And He was speaking the word to them. ³ And they come bringing to Him a paralytic being picked-up by four men. ⁴ And not being able to bring him to Him because of the crowd, they unroofed the roof where He was. And having dug out an opening, they lower the cot on-which the paralytic was lying-down. ⁵ And Jesus, having seen their faith, says to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven”. ⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why is this One speaking in this manner? He is blaspheming. Who is able to forgive sins except One— God?” ⁸ And immediately Jesus, having known^[b] in His spirit that they were reasoning in this manner within themselves, says to them “Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier— to say to the paralytic ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say ‘Arise, and pick-up your cot and walk’? ¹⁰ But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”— He says to the paralytic, ¹¹ “I say to you, arise, pick up your cot and go to your house”. ¹² And he arose, and immediately having picked-up the cot, went out in front of everyone, so that everyone was astonished^[c] and glorifying God, saying that “We never saw anything like this”.