Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the water swarm with swimming creatures, and let birds fly through the sky over the earth.” ²¹ So God created the large sea creatures, every type of creature that swims around in the water and every type of flying bird. God saw that they were good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the sea, and let there be many birds on the earth.” ²³ There was evening, then morning—a fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth produce every type of living creature: every type of domestic animal, crawling animal, and wild animal.” And so it was. ²⁵ God made every type of wild animal, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground. God saw that they were good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals all over the earth, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”

²⁸ God blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”

²⁹ God said, “I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds. This will be your food. ³⁰ I have given all green plants as food to every land animal, every bird in the sky, and every animal that crawls on the earth—every living, breathing animal.” And so it was.

³¹ And God saw everything that he had made and that it was very good. There was evening, then morning—the sixth day.

2 Heaven and earth and everything in them were finished. ² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing. On the seventh day he stopped the work he had been doing. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on that day he stopped all his work of creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman

⁴ This is the account of heaven and earth when they were created, at the time when the Lord God made earth and heaven.

⁵⁰ Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: Flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom. What decays cannot inherit what doesn’t decay.

⁵¹ I’m telling you a mystery. Not all of us will die, but we will all be changed. ⁵² It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. They will be changed so that they can live forever. ⁵³ This body that decays must be changed into a body that cannot decay. This mortal body must be changed into a body that will live forever. ⁵⁴ When this body that decays is changed into a body that cannot decay, and this mortal body is changed into a body that will live forever, then the teaching of Scripture will come true:

⁵⁶ Sin gives death its sting, and God’s standards give sin its power. ⁵⁷ Thank God that he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ So, then, brothers and sisters, don’t let anyone move you off the foundation ⌞of your faith⌟. Always excel in the work you do for the Lord. You know that the hard work you do for the Lord is not pointless.