Matthew 13:11 He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Wh...

13:11 MSG

逐节对照

The Message - He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again: Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing. The people are stupid! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.
新标点和合本 - 耶稣回答说：“因为天国的奥秘只叫你们知道，不叫他们知道。
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 耶稣回答他们说：“因为天国的奥秘只让你们知道，不让他们知道。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 耶稣回答他们说：“因为天国的奥秘只让你们知道，不让他们知道。
当代译本 - 耶稣回答说：“天国的奥秘只让你们知道，不让他们知道。
圣经新译本 - 他回答：“天国的奥秘，只给你们知道，却不给他们知道。
中文标准译本 - 耶稣回答他们，说：“天国的奥秘已经赐下来让你们知道，而没有赐给那些人；
现代标点和合本 - 耶稣回答说：“因为天国的奥秘只叫你们知道，不叫他们知道。
和合本（拼音版） - 耶稣回答说：“因为天国的奥秘，只叫你们知道，不叫他们知道。
New International Version - He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
New International Reader's Version - He replied, “Because you have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. It has not been given to outsiders.
English Standard Version - And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
New Living Translation - He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
Christian Standard Bible - He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.
New American Standard Bible - And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
New King James Version - He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
Amplified Bible - Jesus replied to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
American Standard Version - And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
King James Version - He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
New English Translation - He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.
World English Bible - He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
新標點和合本 - 耶穌回答說：「因為天國的奧祕只叫你們知道，不叫他們知道。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 耶穌回答他們說：「因為天國的奧祕只讓你們知道，不讓他們知道。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 耶穌回答他們說：「因為天國的奧祕只讓你們知道，不讓他們知道。
當代譯本 - 耶穌回答說：「天國的奧祕只讓你們知道，不讓他們知道。
聖經新譯本 - 他回答：“天國的奧祕，只給你們知道，卻不給他們知道。
呂振中譯本 - 耶穌回答他們說：『天國的奧祕是給你們知道，而不給那些人的。
中文標準譯本 - 耶穌回答他們，說：「天國的奧祕已經賜下來讓你們知道，而沒有賜給那些人；
現代標點和合本 - 耶穌回答說：「因為天國的奧祕只叫你們知道，不叫他們知道。
文理和合譯本 - 曰、天國之奧、予爾知之、不予他人也、
文理委辦譯本 - 曰、天國之奧、與爾知之、不與他人也、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 答曰、天國之奧、賜爾知、不賜眾知、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 耶穌曰：『天國之蘊奧、賜爾知之、不賜若輩；
Nueva Versión Internacional - —A ustedes se les ha concedido conocer los secretos del reino de los cielos; pero a ellos no.
현대인의 성경 - 예수님은 이렇게 대답하셨다. “너희에게는 하늘 나라의 비밀을 아는 것이 허락되었으나 저 사람들에게는 허락되지 않았다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Иисус ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Небесного Царства, а им не дано.
Восточный перевод - Иса ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Царства Всевышнего, а им не дано.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Иса ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Царства Аллаха, а им не дано.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Исо ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Царства Всевышнего, а им не дано.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Il leur répondit : Vous avez reçu le privilège de connaître les secrets du royaume des cieux, mais eux ne l’ont pas reçu.
リビングバイブル - 「あなたがたには神の国を理解することが許されていますが、ほかの人たちはそうではないからです。」イエスはこう答え、
Nestle Aland 28 - ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ὅτι ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐκείνοις δὲ οὐ δέδοται.
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, ὅτι ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τῶν Οὐρανῶν, ἐκείνοις δὲ οὐ δέδοται.
Nova Versão Internacional - Ele respondeu: “A vocês foi dado o conhecimento dos mistérios do Reino dos céus, mas a eles não.
Hoffnung für alle - Jesus antwortete: »Euch lässt Gott die Geheimnisse seines himmlischen Reiches verstehen, den anderen sind sie verborgen.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Chúa đáp: “Các con hiểu huyền nhiệm về Nước Trời, còn những người khác không hiểu được.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - พระเยซูทรงตอบว่า “ความลับของอาณาจักรสวรรค์ทรงให้พวกท่านรู้ แต่ไม่ทรงให้พวกเขารู้
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - พระองค์กล่าวตอบว่า “เราทำให้เจ้าเข้าใจถึงความลับของอาณาจักรแห่งสวรรค์แล้ว แต่ยังไม่ได้ให้กับพวกเขาเหล่านั้น

交叉引用

Psalms 25:14 - God-friendship is for God-worshipers; They are the ones he confides in.
James 1:16 - So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.
1 Corinthians 4:1 - Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s divine secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
Matthew 11:25 - Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”
1 Corinthians 4:7 - For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you!
Ephesians 6:19 - And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
Psalms 25:8 - God is fair and just; He corrects the misdirected, Sends them in the right direction.
Psalms 25:9 - He gives the rejects his hand, And leads them step-by-step.
Luke 10:41 - The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”
Ephesians 3:4 - As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
Ephesians 3:7 - This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
Ephesians 3:8 - And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
Isaiah 35:8 - There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It’s for God’s people exclusively— impossible to get lost on this road. Not even fools can get lost on it. No lions on this road, no dangerous wild animals— Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening. Only the redeemed will walk on it. The people God has ransomed will come back on this road. They’ll sing as they make their way home to Zion, unfading halos of joy encircling their heads, Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.
1 Corinthians 15:51 - But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life! Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now? It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!
Colossians 2:2 - I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.”
Colossians 1:26 - This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
1 John 2:20 - But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven’t been writing this to tell you something you don’t know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn’t breed lies.
Luke 8:10 - He said, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren’t going to get it: Their eyes are open but don’t see a thing, Their ears are open but don’t hear a thing.
James 1:5 - If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
1 Corinthians 13:2 - If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
Romans 16:25 - All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the final detail.
Matthew 16:17 - Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
1 Corinthians 2:14 - The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. * * *
Matthew 19:11 - But Jesus said, “Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn’t for everyone. Some, from birth seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked—or accepted. And some decide not to get married for kingdom reasons. But if you’re capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it.”
1 Corinthians 2:10 - The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

逐节对照

交叉引用

The Message - He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again: Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing. The people are stupid! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.
新标点和合本 - 耶稣回答说：“因为天国的奥秘只叫你们知道，不叫他们知道。
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 耶稣回答他们说：“因为天国的奥秘只让你们知道，不让他们知道。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 耶稣回答他们说：“因为天国的奥秘只让你们知道，不让他们知道。
当代译本 - 耶稣回答说：“天国的奥秘只让你们知道，不让他们知道。
圣经新译本 - 他回答：“天国的奥秘，只给你们知道，却不给他们知道。
中文标准译本 - 耶稣回答他们，说：“天国的奥秘已经赐下来让你们知道，而没有赐给那些人；
现代标点和合本 - 耶稣回答说：“因为天国的奥秘只叫你们知道，不叫他们知道。
和合本（拼音版） - 耶稣回答说：“因为天国的奥秘，只叫你们知道，不叫他们知道。
New International Version - He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
New International Reader's Version - He replied, “Because you have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. It has not been given to outsiders.
English Standard Version - And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
New Living Translation - He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
Christian Standard Bible - He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.
New American Standard Bible - And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
New King James Version - He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
Amplified Bible - Jesus replied to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
American Standard Version - And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
King James Version - He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
New English Translation - He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.
World English Bible - He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
新標點和合本 - 耶穌回答說：「因為天國的奧祕只叫你們知道，不叫他們知道。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 耶穌回答他們說：「因為天國的奧祕只讓你們知道，不讓他們知道。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 耶穌回答他們說：「因為天國的奧祕只讓你們知道，不讓他們知道。
當代譯本 - 耶穌回答說：「天國的奧祕只讓你們知道，不讓他們知道。
聖經新譯本 - 他回答：“天國的奧祕，只給你們知道，卻不給他們知道。
呂振中譯本 - 耶穌回答他們說：『天國的奧祕是給你們知道，而不給那些人的。
中文標準譯本 - 耶穌回答他們，說：「天國的奧祕已經賜下來讓你們知道，而沒有賜給那些人；
現代標點和合本 - 耶穌回答說：「因為天國的奧祕只叫你們知道，不叫他們知道。
文理和合譯本 - 曰、天國之奧、予爾知之、不予他人也、
文理委辦譯本 - 曰、天國之奧、與爾知之、不與他人也、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 答曰、天國之奧、賜爾知、不賜眾知、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 耶穌曰：『天國之蘊奧、賜爾知之、不賜若輩；
Nueva Versión Internacional - —A ustedes se les ha concedido conocer los secretos del reino de los cielos; pero a ellos no.
현대인의 성경 - 예수님은 이렇게 대답하셨다. “너희에게는 하늘 나라의 비밀을 아는 것이 허락되었으나 저 사람들에게는 허락되지 않았다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Иисус ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Небесного Царства, а им не дано.
Восточный перевод - Иса ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Царства Всевышнего, а им не дано.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Иса ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Царства Аллаха, а им не дано.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Исо ответил: – Вам дано знать тайны Царства Всевышнего, а им не дано.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Il leur répondit : Vous avez reçu le privilège de connaître les secrets du royaume des cieux, mais eux ne l’ont pas reçu.
リビングバイブル - 「あなたがたには神の国を理解することが許されていますが、ほかの人たちはそうではないからです。」イエスはこう答え、
Nestle Aland 28 - ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ὅτι ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐκείνοις δὲ οὐ δέδοται.
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, ὅτι ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τῶν Οὐρανῶν, ἐκείνοις δὲ οὐ δέδοται.
Nova Versão Internacional - Ele respondeu: “A vocês foi dado o conhecimento dos mistérios do Reino dos céus, mas a eles não.
Hoffnung für alle - Jesus antwortete: »Euch lässt Gott die Geheimnisse seines himmlischen Reiches verstehen, den anderen sind sie verborgen.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Chúa đáp: “Các con hiểu huyền nhiệm về Nước Trời, còn những người khác không hiểu được.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - พระเยซูทรงตอบว่า “ความลับของอาณาจักรสวรรค์ทรงให้พวกท่านรู้ แต่ไม่ทรงให้พวกเขารู้
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - พระองค์กล่าวตอบว่า “เราทำให้เจ้าเข้าใจถึงความลับของอาณาจักรแห่งสวรรค์แล้ว แต่ยังไม่ได้ให้กับพวกเขาเหล่านั้น

Psalms 25:14 - God-friendship is for God-worshipers; They are the ones he confides in.
James 1:16 - So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.
1 Corinthians 4:1 - Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s divine secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
Matthew 11:25 - Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”
1 Corinthians 4:7 - For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you!
Ephesians 6:19 - And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
Psalms 25:8 - God is fair and just; He corrects the misdirected, Sends them in the right direction.
Psalms 25:9 - He gives the rejects his hand, And leads them step-by-step.
Luke 10:41 - The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”
Ephesians 3:4 - As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
Ephesians 3:7 - This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
Ephesians 3:8 - And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
Isaiah 35:8 - There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It’s for God’s people exclusively— impossible to get lost on this road. Not even fools can get lost on it. No lions on this road, no dangerous wild animals— Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening. Only the redeemed will walk on it. The people God has ransomed will come back on this road. They’ll sing as they make their way home to Zion, unfading halos of joy encircling their heads, Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.
1 Corinthians 15:51 - But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life! Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now? It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!
Colossians 2:2 - I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.”
Colossians 1:26 - This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
1 John 2:20 - But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven’t been writing this to tell you something you don’t know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn’t breed lies.
Luke 8:10 - He said, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren’t going to get it: Their eyes are open but don’t see a thing, Their ears are open but don’t hear a thing.
James 1:5 - If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
1 Corinthians 13:2 - If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
Romans 16:25 - All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the final detail.
Matthew 16:17 - Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
1 Corinthians 2:14 - The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. * * *
Matthew 19:11 - But Jesus said, “Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn’t for everyone. Some, from birth seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked—or accepted. And some decide not to get married for kingdom reasons. But if you’re capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it.”
1 Corinthians 2:10 - The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.