Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Addressing the Areopagus
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the [a]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 (A)God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is (B)Lord of heaven and earth, (C)does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He (D)gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one [b]blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and (E)the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 (F)so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, (G)though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for (H)in Him we live and move and have our being, (I)as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, (J)we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, (K)these times of ignorance God overlooked, but (L)now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which (M)He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by (N)raising Him from the dead.”
8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to [a]be moved.
10 For (A)You, O God, have tested us;
(B)You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 (C)You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 (D)You have caused men to ride over our heads;
(E)We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to [b]rich fulfillment.
13 (F)I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
(G)I will pay You my [c]vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was [d]extolled with my tongue.
18 (H)If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God (I)has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!
Suffering for Right and Wrong
13 (A)And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 (B)But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. (C)“And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But [a]sanctify [b]the Lord God in your hearts, and always (D)be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the (E)hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 (F)having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Christ’s Suffering and Ours
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring [c]us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, [d]when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 (G)There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (H)(not the removal of the filth of the flesh, (I)but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and (J)is at the right hand of God, (K)angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 (A)“If you love Me, [a]keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and (B)He will give you another [b]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 (C)the Spirit of truth, (D)whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you (E)and will be in you. 18 (F)I will not leave you orphans; (G)I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son
19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but (H)you will see Me. (I)Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that (J)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 (K)He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [c]manifest Myself to him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.