The Teachings of the Apostles
Acts and the apostolic letters · 124 total teachings · 68 major teachings, each with the word of Christ it carries · 56 minor teachings, each with the Scripture or event it rests on
The teachings are set out in two orders. The major teachings are those in which the apostles hand on a word of the Lord Himself: each is followed by the commandment of Christ it carries, linked to The Commandments of Christ or to the Gospel passage. The minor teachings rest on Christ less directly. They are drawn from the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms and the events of sacred history, read in the light of Christ: each is followed by the verses or events the apostle points to, linked to their place in the Saints Translation. “Minor” is a description of how a teaching is grounded, not of its weight.
Each entry gives the teaching in a sentence of our own, then the cited source’s words from the Saints Translation (long passages are shortened, with a link to the whole), then other places where the same is taught. The selection and the grouping are an editor’s gathering for study, not a complete catalogue. Psalms are numbered as in the Saints Translation, with the Hebrew number in parentheses. At the foot of the page is an index by book.
Major teachings: The Gospel Proclaimed · Love, the Fulfilling of the Law · Enemies, Vengeance and Forgiveness · Humility and Service · Speech and the Heart · Prayer · Riches and Generosity · Marriage · Rulers and the Obedience Owed to God · Suffering with Christ · Watchfulness and the Day of the Lord · Light, Worship and the World
Minor teachings: The Faith of the Fathers · Adam, the Promise and the Law · Warnings from Israel’s History · Christ in the Law and the Prophets · Wisdom for the Household of God
Major Teachings: The Word of Christ Handed On
The Gospel Proclaimed
1. To repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away—as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself.”
Acts 2:38–39
Also taught in: Acts 3:19
The word of Christ: To repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near · To go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father…
2. To bear witness to Him to the end of the earth; He commanded us to proclaim that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.
He commanded us to proclaim to the people and bear solemn witness that He is the One appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets bear witness to Him: everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
Acts 10:42–43
Also taught in: Acts 1:8 · Acts 13:38–39
The word of Christ: That repentance and forgiveness of sins be proclaimed in His name to all the nations…
3. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Salvation is in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among human beings by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12
The word of Christ: John 14:6
4. To believe in the Lord Jesus; to confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in the heart that God raised Him.
Because if you confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart one believes for righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses for salvation.
Romans 10:9–10
Also taught in: Acts 16:31
The word of Christ: This is the work of God: to believe in the One He sent · To acknowledge Him before people
5. To be born anew, not of perishable seed but through the living and abiding word of God.
having been born anew, not from perishable seed but from imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:23
Also taught in: Titus 3:5 · James 1:18
The word of Christ: You must be born from above, of water and Spirit
6. To be buried with Him through baptism into death, and to walk in newness of life.
Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the Father’s glory, so we also might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3–4
Also taught in: Colossians 2:12 · Galatians 3:27
The word of Christ: To go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father… · To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him
7. To keep the Supper as received from the Lord: this is My body, this cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this in remembrance of Me.
For I received from the Lord what I also handed over to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was being handed over, took bread, and after giving thanks He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23–26
Also taught in: 1 Corinthians 10:16–17
The word of Christ: To take and eat: this is His body; to drink of the cup: this is His blood of the…
8. To remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
In everything I showed you that by working in this way we must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Acts 20:35
The word of Christ: To proclaim that the kingdom has drawn near, to heal the sick; freely you received… · To love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back
Love, the Fulfilling of the Law
9. To owe no one anything except to love one another: the commandments are summed up in this word, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Owe no one anything except to love one another; for the one who loves the other has fulfilled law. For “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not desire,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil toward the neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of law.
Romans 13:8–10
The word of Christ: The second, like it: to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang… · If you wish to enter life, keep the commandments: you shall not murder, commit…
10. The whole Law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not make freedom a base of operations for the flesh, but through love serve one another as slaves. For the whole law is fulfilled in one saying: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:13–14
The word of Christ: The second, like it: to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang…
11. To fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
If, however, you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
James 2:8
The word of Christ: The second, like it: to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang…
12. This is His commandment: to believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and to love one another, just as He commanded us.
And this is His commandment: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He gave us a commandment.
1 John 3:23
Also taught in: 1 John 4:21 · 2 John 1:5–6 · 1 John 4:7–11
The word of Christ: A new commandment: to love one another as He has loved you · This is the work of God: to believe in the One He sent
13. By this we know that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments and walk as He walked.
And by this we know that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But whoever keeps His word, in that person the love of God has truly been brought to completion. By this we know that we are in Him. The one who says that he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
1 John 2:3–6
Also taught in: 1 John 5:3
The word of Christ: If you love Me, keep My commandments · To remain in Him and in His love
14. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 3:15
Also taught in: 1 John 2:9–11
The word of Christ: Murder: whoever is angry with his brother, insults him or calls him a fool is liable to…
15. Not to love in word or tongue but in deed and truth: whoever sees his brother in need and closes his heart, how does the love of God remain in him?.
But whoever has this world’s means of living and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or with the tongue, but in deed and truth.
1 John 3:17–18
Also taught in: James 2:15–16
The word of Christ: What you did to one of the least of these His brothers, you did to Him · Go, and do likewise: to show mercy as the Samaritan did
16. Love is patient and kind; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, does not boast, is not puffed up, does not behave shamefully, does not seek its own interests, is not provoked, does not keep account of wrong, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4–7
Also taught in: Colossians 3:14 · 1 Peter 4:8
The word of Christ: A new commandment: to love one another as He has loved you
Enemies, Vengeance and Forgiveness
17. To bless those who persecute you; to repay no one evil for evil; to overcome evil with good.
Bless those who persecute; bless, and do not curse. … Repay no one evil for evil. Take thought for what is honorable before all people. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Romans 12:14 · Romans 12:17–21
The word of Christ: Love of neighbor: to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so as to… · An eye for an eye: not to resist the evil person; to turn the other cheek, give the…
18. Not to return evil for evil or insult for insult, but to bless.
not repaying evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but, on the contrary, blessing, because you were called for this, so that you might inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9
Also taught in: 1 Thessalonians 5:15
The word of Christ: Love of neighbor: to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so as to… · An eye for an eye: not to resist the evil person; to turn the other cheek, give the…
19. To forgive one another, just as the Lord forgave you.
Therefore put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, tender compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against someone. Just as the Lord forgave you, so also must you.
Colossians 3:12–13
Also taught in: Ephesians 4:32
The word of Christ: To forgive, so that your Father may forgive you · To forgive your brother not seven times but seventy times seven
20. Not to let the sun go down on your anger; to put away all bitterness, wrath and slander.
Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your anger, nor give a place to the devil. … Let all bitterness and rage and anger and shouting and slander be taken away from you, with all malice.
Ephesians 4:26–27 · Ephesians 4:31
The word of Christ: Murder: whoever is angry with his brother, insults him or calls him a fool is liable to…
21. To restore in a spirit of gentleness the one caught in a trespass, and to bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Brothers, even if a person is overtaken in some transgression, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness, watching yourself, lest you too be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:1–2
Also taught in: James 5:19–20
The word of Christ: If your brother sins, to show him his fault between you and him alone; then with one or…
22. Not to judge your brother or despise him, for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
But why do you judge your brother? Or you also, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat, for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bend to Me, and every tongue will confess to God.” So each of us will give an account concerning himself. Therefore let us no longer judge one another; but judge this instead: not to place a stumbling block or a snare for a brother.
Romans 14:10–13
Also taught in: James 4:11–12
The word of Christ: Not to judge, so that you are not judged; first to take the beam out of your own eye
23. Judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:13
The word of Christ: To be merciful, as your Father is merciful · Not to judge, so that you are not judged; first to take the beam out of your own eye
Humility and Service
24. To have the mind of Christ Jesus, who emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave; to count others above yourselves.
doing nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility considering one another above yourselves, each looking not to your own interests, but each also to those of others. Have this mind among yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not regard being equal with God as something to exploit, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of human beings; and being found in appearance as a human being, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:3–8
The word of Christ: Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, as the Son of Man came to… · To wash one another’s feet, as He has done
25. To clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, and to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.
Likewise, you who are younger, submit yourselves to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time,
1 Peter 5:5–6
Also taught in: James 4:10
The word of Christ: To take the last place, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled
26. Elders are to shepherd the flock of God willingly, not lording it over those in their charge but being examples.
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a participant in the glory about to be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not for shameful gain but eagerly; not as lording it over those allotted to you, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
1 Peter 5:1–4
Also taught in: Acts 20:28
The word of Christ: To feed His lambs and shepherd His sheep · Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, as the Son of Man came to…
27. Not to put a stumbling block in a brother’s way; not to destroy by your food the one for whom Christ died.
Therefore let us no longer judge one another; but judge this instead: not to place a stumbling block or a snare for a brother. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; except that to the one who reckons something unclean, to that person it is unclean. For if your brother is grieved because of food, you no longer walk according to love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.
Romans 14:13–15
Also taught in: 1 Corinthians 8:9–13
The word of Christ: Not to despise one of these little ones, nor cause one of them to stumble
28. To show no partiality: not to give the rich man the good seat and tell the poor man to stand.
My brothers, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with acts of favoritism. For if a man with gold rings and splendid clothing enters your gathering, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, and you attend to the one wearing splendid clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” but say to the poor person, “You stand, or sit there beneath my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers: has not God chosen those poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?
James 2:1–5
The word of Christ: When you give a feast, to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind · To take the last place, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled
29. To receive the runaway slave no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother, as you would receive the apostle himself.
For perhaps he was separated from you for a little while for this reason: that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
Philemon 1:15–17
The word of Christ: Not to be called Rabbi, father or guide, for you are all brothers · Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, as the Son of Man came to…
30. To receive and send on their way the brothers who went out for the sake of the Name, and so to become fellow workers for the truth.
Beloved, you act faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers, even though they are strangers, who have borne witness to your love before the Church. You will do well to send them onward in a manner worthy of God, for they went out for the sake of the Name, receiving nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to support such people, so that we may become fellow workers with the truth.
3 John 1:5–8
Also taught in: 3 John 1:11
The word of Christ: To take nothing for the road, to remain in one house, and to shake off the dust where… · Matthew 10:40–42
Speech and the Heart
31. Above all, not to swear, by heaven or by earth or by any other oath; let your Yes be yes and your No be no.
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
James 5:12
The word of Christ: Oaths: not to swear at all; let your word be Yes, yes, or No, no
32. To be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
But become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror, for he looked at himself and went away and immediately forgot what he was like. But the one who looks closely into the complete law, the law of freedom, and continues in it, becoming no forgetful hearer but a doer of work, will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22–25
The word of Christ: To hear His words and do them, like the man who built upon the rock
33. Nothing is unclean in itself; the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; except that to the one who reckons something unclean, to that person it is unclean. … For God’s kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit;
Romans 14:14 · Romans 14:17
Also taught in: Acts 10:15
The word of Christ: Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him; what comes out of the…
34. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth; this ought not to be. Can a fig tree bear olives?.
With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God’s likeness. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to happen this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? My brothers, can a fig tree produce olives, or a vine figs? Neither can salt water produce sweet water.
James 3:9–12
The word of Christ: To beware of false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing · Matthew 12:34–37
35. To put away falsehood and speak truth; to let no rotten word come out of your mouth, but what builds up.
Therefore, putting away falsehood, let each speak truth with his neighbor, because we are members of one another. … Let no rotten word come out of your mouth, but only what is good for building up as needed, so that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:25 · Ephesians 4:29
Also taught in: Colossians 4:6
The word of Christ: Matthew 12:36–37
Prayer
36. To rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything.
Rejoice always. Pray unceasingly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Also taught in: Colossians 4:2 · Ephesians 6:18
The word of Christ: Always to pray and not lose heart
37. If anyone lacks wisdom, to ask God, who gives generously; but to ask in faith, doubting nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, a man of divided mind, unstable in all his ways.
James 1:5–8
The word of Christ: To ask, to seek, to knock · To have faith in God: to believe that you have received what you ask
38. Not to be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving to make your requests known to God.
Be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6–7
The word of Christ: Not to be anxious for your life, what you will eat or wear
39. To cast all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
The word of Christ: Not to be anxious for your life, what you will eat or wear
40. This is the confidence we have toward Him: if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And this is the confidence we have toward Him: if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests we have asked of Him.
1 John 5:14–15
Also taught in: 1 John 3:21–22
The word of Christ: To ask the Father in His name
41. You received a Spirit of adoption, in whom we cry, Abba, Father.
For all who are led by God’s Spirit are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery again for fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, in whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:14–16
Also taught in: Galatians 4:6
The word of Christ: The prayer He gave: Our Father
42. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the elders of the church to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; confess your sins to one another.
Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name. And the prayer of faith will save the weary sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. A righteous person’s petition has great strength when it is at work.
James 5:14–16
The word of Christ: As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you… · Mark 6:12–13
Riches and Generosity
43. Godliness with contentment is great gain; the love of money is a root of all evils.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, because neither can we carry anything out. But having food and coverings, with these we will be content. But those who want to become rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge human beings into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all evils, and some, reaching for it, wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
1 Timothy 6:6–10
Also taught in: Hebrews 13:5
The word of Christ: You cannot serve God and mammon · To guard against all greed, for life is not in the abundance of possessions
44. The rich are not to set their hope on uncertain riches but to be rich in good works, storing up a good foundation for the future.
Command those who are rich in the present age not to be high-minded nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us all things for enjoyment, to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17–19
The word of Christ: Not to store up treasures on earth, but in heaven
45. Come now, you rich: your gold and silver have rusted; the wages you withheld from the workers cry out.
Come now, you rich people: weep and howl over the miseries coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be a testimony against you and will devour your flesh. You have stored up treasure like fire in the last days. Look, the wages of the laborers who reaped your fields, withheld by you, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have entered the ears of the Lord Sabaoth. You lived luxuriously on the earth and indulged yourselves; you fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter.
James 5:1–5
The word of Christ: Not to store up treasures on earth, but in heaven · Luke 6:24–25
46. Each is to give as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Now this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows in blessings will also reap in blessings. Let each give as he has decided in his heart, not out of sorrow or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:6–7
The word of Christ: To give alms in secret
47. The Lord directed that those who proclaim the good news should live from the good news; the worker is worthy of his wages.
In the same way, the Lord directed those who proclaim the good news to live from the good news.
1 Corinthians 9:14
Also taught in: 1 Timothy 5:18
The word of Christ: To take nothing for the road, to remain in one house, and to shake off the dust where… · Luke 10:7
Marriage
48. To the married I command, not I but the Lord: a wife is not to separate from her husband, and a husband is not to divorce his wife.
To the married I give this instruction—not I, but the Lord: a wife is not to separate from her husband— but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to dismiss his wife.
1 Corinthians 7:10–11
The word of Christ: Divorce: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her commit… · What God has yoked together, no human being is to separate. Moses permitted divorce…
49. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church; the two shall become one flesh.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her, … “For this reason a man will leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let each one of you also love his own wife as himself, and let the wife respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:25 · Ephesians 5:31–33
Also taught in: Colossians 3:19
The word of Christ: What God has yoked together, no human being is to separate. Moses permitted divorce…
Rulers and the Obedience Owed to God
50. To be subject to the governing authorities and to pay to all what is owed: tax to whom tax, honor to whom honor.
Let every soul submit to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been appointed by God. … For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers, persisting in this very task. Pay everyone what is owed: tax to whom tax, duty to whom duty, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Romans 13:1 · Romans 13:6–7
Also taught in: 1 Peter 2:13–17 · Titus 3:1
The word of Christ: To give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s
51. We must obey God rather than human beings.
Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than human beings.
Acts 5:29
Also taught in: Acts 4:19–20
The word of Christ: To give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s · Not to fear those who kill the body; to fear Him who can destroy both soul and body
Suffering with Christ
52. Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His footsteps. He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but entrusted His cause to the One who judges justly.
1 Peter 2:21–23
The word of Christ: To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him · An eye for an eye: not to resist the evil person; to turn the other cheek, give the…
53. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
For through law I died to law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:19–20
Also taught in: Galatians 5:24 · Galatians 6:14
The word of Christ: To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him
54. To rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings; if you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for testing, as though something strange were happening to you. But insofar as you share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, so that you may also rejoice with exultation at the revelation of His glory. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
1 Peter 4:12–14
Also taught in: Acts 5:41
The word of Christ: To rejoice and be glad when you are reviled and persecuted for His sake
55. To count it all joy when you fall into various trials, for the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter trials of various kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its complete work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2–4
Also taught in: Romans 5:3–5
The word of Christ: To rejoice and be glad when you are reviled and persecuted for His sake
56. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us.
The saying is faithful: for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
2 Timothy 2:11–13
The word of Christ: To acknowledge Him before people
Watchfulness and the Day of the Lord
57. The day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night; so let us not sleep as the rest do, but stay awake and be sober.
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know precisely that the day of the Lord comes in this way, like a thief in the night. When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pain upon a pregnant woman, and they will certainly not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that the day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night or darkness. So then, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us keep watch and be sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:1–6
The word of Christ: To stay awake, for you do not know the day or the hour · To watch yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down, and to stay awake at all times…
58. To be sober and watchful: your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion.
Be sober; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kinds of sufferings are being experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
1 Peter 5:8–9
The word of Christ: To keep watch and pray that you may not enter temptation
59. The day of the Lord will come like a thief; what sort of people ought you to be, in holy conduct and godliness.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a rushing roar, and the elements will be dissolved by burning heat, and the earth and the works in it will be found. Since all these things are being dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy acts of conduct and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved by fire and the elements melt in burning heat?
2 Peter 3:10–12
The word of Christ: To stay awake, for you do not know the day or the hour
60. To be patient until the coming of the Lord; the Judge is standing at the doors.
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Look, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until he receives the early and late rain. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord has drawn near. Do not groan against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Look, the Judge stands before the doors.
James 5:7–9
The word of Christ: To stay awake, for you do not know the day or the hour
61. Not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and is already in the world now.
1 John 4:1–3
Also taught in: 2 Peter 2:1
The word of Christ: To beware of false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing
62. Savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; therefore be alert.
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will enter among you, not sparing the flock. Even from among you yourselves men will arise, speaking distorted things to draw the disciples away after themselves. Therefore stay awake, remembering that for three years, night and day, I never ceased admonishing each one with tears.
Acts 20:29–31
The word of Christ: To beware of false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing · To be prudent as snakes and innocent as doves
Light, Worship and the World
63. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, testing what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not share in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them,
Ephesians 5:8–11
Also taught in: Philippians 2:14–15 · 1 Thessalonians 5:5
The word of Christ: To let your light shine before people, so that they glorify your Father
64. To present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your reasonable worship; not to be conformed to this age.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, through God’s mercies, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your rational worship. And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of the mind, so that you may discern what God’s will is: the good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:1–2
The word of Christ: The hour is coming when the Father will be worshiped neither on this mountain nor in…
65. You are God’s temple, and the Spirit of God dwells among you.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells among you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.
1 Corinthians 3:16–17
Also taught in: 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 · 1 Peter 2:4–5
The word of Christ: The hour is coming when the Father will be worshiped neither on this mountain nor in… · John 2:19–21
66. Not to love the world or the things in the world.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the boastfulness of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and its desire; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15–17
Also taught in: James 4:4
The word of Christ: You cannot serve God and mammon · To seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
67. Pure and undefiled religion: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:27
The word of Christ: What you did to one of the least of these His brothers, you did to Him
68. To let brotherly love continue, not to neglect hospitality, and to remember the prisoners as though in prison with them.
Let brotherly love remain. Do not forget hospitality, for through it some unknowingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as fellow prisoners, and those being mistreated, as you yourselves also are in a body.
Hebrews 13:1–3
The word of Christ: What you did to one of the least of these His brothers, you did to Him · When you give a feast, to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind
Minor Teachings: The Scriptures Read in Christ
The Faith of the Fathers
69. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.
What, then, shall we say Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast of—but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, the wage is not reckoned according to grace, but according to what is owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes in the One who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,
Romans 4:1–5
Also taught in: Galatians 3:6–7 · James 2:23
Scripture and event: Abraham believes the promise, Genesis 15:6
70. Abraham was shown righteous by works when he offered Isaac on the altar: faith was working together with his works.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar? You see that faith was working together with his works, and by the works faith was brought to completion, and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
James 2:21–24
Also taught in: Hebrews 11:17–19
Scripture and event: The binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:9–12
71. The righteous one shall live by faith.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written, “But the righteous one will live by faith.”
Romans 1:16–17
Also taught in: Galatians 3:11 · Hebrews 10:38
Scripture and event: The prophet’s word, Habakkuk 2:4
72. By faith Abel offered, Enoch was taken, and Noah built the ark.
By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, through which he received testimony that he was righteous, God testifying concerning his gifts; and through it, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so as not to see death, and he was not found, because God took him away. For before his taking away he had received testimony that he had pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one approaching God must believe that He is and that He becomes a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, instructed concerning things not yet seen, acted with reverent fear and prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness according to faith.
Hebrews 11:4–7
Scripture and event: Abel’s offering, Genesis 4:4 · Enoch taken, Genesis 5:24 · Noah obeys, Genesis 6:22
73. By faith Moses chose to be mistreated with the people of God rather than enjoy the passing pleasure of sin.
By faith Moses, when grown, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking toward the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger, for he endured as though seeing the invisible One.
Hebrews 11:24–27
Scripture and event: Moses leaves Pharaoh’s house, Exodus 2:11–15
74. Rahab the prostitute was shown righteous when she received the messengers.
And likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James 2:25–26
Also taught in: Hebrews 11:31
Scripture and event: Rahab hides the spies, Joshua 2:1–6
75. The holy women who hoped in God: Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.
Let your adornment not be the outward kind—braiding hair, putting on gold ornaments, or dressing in garments— but the hidden person of the heart, in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious before God. For this is how the holy women of former times, who hoped in God, also adorned themselves, submitting themselves to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children if you do good and do not fear any terror.
1 Peter 3:3–6
Scripture and event: Sarah’s word, Genesis 18:12
76. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and have seen the Lord’s purpose.
Brothers, take as an example of suffering and patience the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. Look, we call those who endured blessed. You heard of Job’s endurance and saw the outcome from the Lord, because the Lord is full of compassion and merciful.
James 5:10–11
Scripture and event: Job blesses the Lord in loss, Job 1:20–22
77. Elijah was a man like us, and he prayed that it might not rain.
Elijah was a human being with experiences like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain upon the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
James 5:17–18
Scripture and event: The drought announced, 1 Kings 17:1 · Rain returns, 1 Kings 18:41–45
Adam, the Promise and the Law
78. Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin; Adam is a type of the One to come.
For this reason, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and so death passed to all people, because all sinned— for until law, sin was in the world, but sin is not charged to account when there is no law; nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a type of the One to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, much more did God’s grace and the gift in the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
Romans 5:12–15
Also taught in: 1 Corinthians 15:21–22 · 1 Corinthians 15:45–49
Scripture and event: The fall, Genesis 3:17–19 · Man made a living soul, Genesis 2:7
79. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring; the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, was our guardian until Christ.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It does not say, “And to seeds,” as concerning many, but as concerning one, “And to your seed,” who is Christ. What I mean is this: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is from law, it is no longer from promise. But God has graciously given it to Abraham through promise. Why, then, the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. … So the law became our guardian until Christ, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
Galatians 3:16–19 · Galatians 3:24–25
Scripture and event: The promise to Abraham’s offspring, Genesis 12:7 · Four hundred and thirty years, Exodus 12:40
80. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the nations by faith: In you all the nations will be blessed.
And Scripture, foreseeing that God justifies the nations by faith, proclaimed the gospel beforehand to Abraham: “In you all the nations will be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
Galatians 3:8–9
Also taught in: Acts 3:25
Scripture and event: The blessing of the nations, Genesis 12:3 · Renewed after Isaac, Genesis 22:18
81. Hagar and Sarah are two covenants: the child of the slave and the child of the free woman.
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. But the one by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and the one by the free woman through promise. These things are being interpreted allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, bearing children into slavery, which is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. … But what does Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall certainly not inherit with the son of the free woman.” Therefore, brothers, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.
Galatians 4:22–26 · Galatians 4:30–31
Scripture and event: Ishmael born, Genesis 16:15 · Isaac born, Genesis 21:2 · Cast out the slave woman, Genesis 21:10
82. Circumcision is of the heart, in spirit and not in letter.
For the Jew is not the one outwardly so, nor is circumcision what is outward in flesh; but the Jew is the one inwardly so, and circumcision is of the heart, in Spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not from people but from God.
Romans 2:28–29
Also taught in: Colossians 2:11
Scripture and event: Circumcise your heart, Deuteronomy 10:16 · The Lord will circumcise your heart, Deuteronomy 30:6
83. You shall not muzzle an ox while it threshes: it was written for our sake, that the worker should share the crop.
Am I saying these things merely in a human way, or does not the law also say them? For in the law of Moses it is written, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it threshes.” Is it oxen that concern God, or does He surely say it for our sake? For it was written for our sake, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher in hope of sharing. If we sowed spiritual things among you, is it a great matter if we reap your material things?
1 Corinthians 9:8–11
Also taught in: 1 Timothy 5:18
Scripture and event: The ox that threshes, Deuteronomy 25:4
84. That there may be equality: the one who gathered much had nothing over.
For it is not that there should be relief for others and affliction for you, but on the basis of equality: at the present time your abundance is for their lack, so that their abundance may also be for your lack, so that there may be equality. As it is written, “The one with much had no excess, and the one with little had no shortage.”
2 Corinthians 8:13–15
Scripture and event: The measure of manna, Exodus 16:18
85. Every matter is to be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.
This third time I am coming to you. “On the mouth of two witnesses and three every matter will be established.”
2 Corinthians 13:1
Also taught in: 1 Timothy 5:19 · Hebrews 10:28
Scripture and event: Two or three witnesses, Deuteronomy 19:15
86. Never to avenge yourselves: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19
Also taught in: Hebrews 10:30
Scripture and event: The song of Moses, Deuteronomy 32:35
87. As He who called you is holy, be holy in all your conduct, for it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.
As children of obedience, do not conform yourselves to the former desires of your ignorance, but, in accordance with the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all your conduct, because it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:14–16
Scripture and event: Be holy, Leviticus 19:2 · Leviticus 11:44
88. Children, obey your parents: Honor your father and mother is the first commandment with a promise.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may be well with you and you may live long upon the earth.”
Ephesians 6:1–3
Also taught in: Colossians 3:20
Scripture and event: Honor your father and mother, Exodus 20:12
89. Whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point has become guilty of all.
For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point has become accountable for all of it. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are going to be judged through a law of freedom.
James 2:10–12
Scripture and event: The commandments, Exodus 20:13–15
90. The days are coming when I will make a new covenant, and will write My laws upon their hearts.
For, finding fault with them, He says, “Look, days are coming, says the Lord, and I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not remain in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: putting My laws into their mind, I will also inscribe them upon their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And they shall certainly not teach, each his fellow citizen and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because all will know Me, from their small to their great. …
Hebrews 8:8–12
Also taught in: Hebrews 10:15–17 · 2 Corinthians 3:5–6
Scripture and event: The new covenant foretold, Jeremiah 38:31–34
Warnings from Israel’s History
91. These things happened as examples for us: not to be idolaters, not to commit sexual immorality, not to test Christ, not to grumble.
For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all underwent baptism into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were strewn over the wilderness. Now these things became examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things as they also desired. Do not become idolaters, as some of them did, just as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. …
1 Corinthians 10:1–11
Scripture and event: The golden calf, Exodus 32:6 · Baal of Peor, Numbers 25:1–9 · The serpents, Numbers 21:5–6 · The grumbling after Korah, Numbers 17:6–14
92. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts; a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God.
Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me with a trial and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was indignant with this generation and said, ‘They always wander in their heart, and they did not know My ways,’ as I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall certainly not enter My rest.’” Watch out, brothers, lest there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceit of sin. … So then, a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. For the one who entered His rest also himself rested from his works, just as God did from His own. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one may fall in the same pattern of disobedience.
Hebrews 3:7–13 · Hebrews 4:9–11
Scripture and event: Do not harden your hearts, Psalm 94 (95):7–11 · God rested on the seventh day, Genesis 2:2 · The oath in the wilderness, Numbers 14:22–23
93. See that no one is immoral or profane like Esau, who for one meal gave up his birthright.
Pursue peace with everyone, and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord. Watch lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness grow up and cause trouble, and through it many be defiled, lest anyone be sexually immoral or profane like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, although he sought it with tears.
Hebrews 12:14–17
Scripture and event: Esau sells his birthright, Genesis 25:29–34
94. Not like Cain, who was from the evil one and slaughtered his brother.
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was from the evil one and slaughtered his brother. And for what reason did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.
1 John 3:11–12
Also taught in: Jude 1:11
Scripture and event: Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:8
95. Woe to them: they walked in the way of Cain, rushed into Balaam’s error, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have poured themselves into Balaam’s error for pay, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Jude 1:11
Also taught in: 2 Peter 2:15–16
Scripture and event: Balaam’s donkey speaks, Numbers 22:28–33 · Korah’s rebellion, Numbers 16:1–3 · The earth swallows them, Numbers 16:31–33
96. Sodom and Gomorrah were condemned to ruin as an example, and righteous Lot was rescued.
and reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, condemning them to overthrow, having made them an example of things to come for ungodly people, and rescued righteous Lot, who was distressed by the lawless people’s conduct in debauchery— for by what he saw and heard, that righteous man, living among them, tormented his righteous soul day after day over their lawless deeds— then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
2 Peter 2:6–9
Also taught in: Jude 1:7
Scripture and event: Sodom destroyed, Genesis 19:24–25 · Lot brought out, Genesis 19:16
97. In the days of Noah eight souls were saved through water, which corresponds to baptism that now saves you.
who were once disobedient, when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few—that is, eight souls—were brought safely through water. Corresponding to this, baptism now saves you—not a removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
1 Peter 3:20–21
Also taught in: 2 Peter 2:5 · 2 Peter 3:5–7
Scripture and event: Noah enters the ark, Genesis 7:7 · The flood, Genesis 7:23
98. Moses put a veil over his face; when one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away.
Therefore, having such hope, we use great boldness, and are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel might not gaze at the end of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For until this very day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant, not being unveiled, because in Christ it is brought to an end. But to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord, the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:12–18
Scripture and event: The veil of Moses, Exodus 34:33–35
99. The Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands: Heaven is My throne.
Our fathers had the Tent of Testimony in the wilderness, as the One who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. Our fathers in their turn received it and brought it in with Joshua when they took possession of the nations’ land, whose people God drove out before our fathers. It remained until the days of David, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him a house. Yet the Most High does not dwell in things made by hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth the footstool of My feet. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what place is there for My rest? Did not My hand make all these things?’
Acts 7:44–50
Also taught in: Acts 17:24–25
Scripture and event: Heaven is My throne, Isaiah 66:1–2
Christ in the Law and the Prophets
100. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed; let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump of dough, just as you are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed. So let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:6–8
Scripture and event: The Passover lamb slain, Exodus 12:21 · Leaven removed, Exodus 12:15
101. A priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. Abraham also apportioned to him a tenth of everything. His name is interpreted first as king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor an end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest continually. … And it is still more evident if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not according to a law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an indestructible life. For it is testified, “You are a priest for the age, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 7:1–3 · Hebrews 7:15–17
Also taught in: Hebrews 5:5–6
Scripture and event: Melchizedek blesses Abraham, Genesis 14:18–20 · The oath of the Lord, Psalm 109 (110):4
102. Christ entered once for all into the holy places, not with the blood of goats and calves but with His own blood.
With these things so arranged, the priests enter the first tent continually, carrying out the acts of worship. But into the second only the high priest enters, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the people’s sins of ignorance. … But Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, through the greater and more perfect tent, not made by hands—that is, not of this creation— and entered the holy places once for all, not through the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleanness of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through an eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God!
Hebrews 9:6–7 · Hebrews 9:11–14
Scripture and event: The Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16:15–16 · Once a year, Leviticus 16:34 · The red heifer, Numbers 19:2–9
103. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins: a body You prepared for Me.
for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, coming into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. In whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You took no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come—in the scroll of the book it is written about Me—to do Your will, O God.’” After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You did not desire or take pleasure in”—which are offered according to law— He then said, “Look, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:4–10
Scripture and event: Sacrifice You did not desire, Psalm 39 (40):7–9
104. Jesus suffered outside the gate; let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
We have an altar from which those serving the tent have no authority to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings into the holy places for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that He might sanctify the people through His own blood. So let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one to come.
Hebrews 13:10–14
Scripture and event: Burned outside the camp, Leviticus 16:27
105. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree; by His wounds you were healed.
He Himself bore our sins in His body upon the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live to righteousness. By His wound you were healed. For you were wandering like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:24–25
Also taught in: Acts 8:32–35
Scripture and event: The suffering servant, Isaiah 53:4–7
106. The stone the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.
For it stands in Scripture: “Look, I am laying in Zion a stone, a chosen, precious cornerstone, and the one who believes in Him will certainly not be put to shame.” Therefore, the honor is for you who believe; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, disobeying the word; to this they were also appointed.
1 Peter 2:6–8
Also taught in: Acts 4:11 · Ephesians 2:20
Scripture and event: The rejected stone, Psalm 117 (118):22 · A stone laid in Zion, Isaiah 28:16 · Christ applies it to Himself, Matthew 21:42
107. David, being a prophet, foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ.
For David says concerning Him, ‘I kept the Lord before me always, for He is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue exulted; moreover, my flesh will dwell in hope, because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow Your Holy One to see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with gladness in Your presence.’ Men, brothers, I may speak openly to you about the patriarch David: he both died and was buried, and his tomb is among us to this day. Since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ: He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see decay. …
Acts 2:25–32
Also taught in: Acts 13:35–37
Scripture and event: You will not abandon my soul to Hades, Psalm 15 (16):8–11
108. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand.
Therefore, exalted to God’s right hand and having received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’ Therefore let the whole house of Israel know with certainty that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Acts 2:33–36
Also taught in: Hebrews 1:13 · 1 Corinthians 15:25
Scripture and event: The oracle to David’s Lord, Psalm 109 (110):1 · Christ’s own question, Matthew 22:41–45
109. Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers; to Him you shall listen.
Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You shall listen to him in everything he says to you. Every person who does not listen to that prophet will be destroyed from among the people.’
Acts 3:22–23
Also taught in: Acts 7:37
Scripture and event: The prophet like Moses, Deuteronomy 18:15–19
110. This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh.
Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your young men will see visions, and your elders will dream dreams. Even upon My male slaves and My female slaves in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they will prophesy. I will give wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. The sun will be changed into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and manifest day of the Lord comes. And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Acts 2:16–21
Also taught in: Romans 10:13
Scripture and event: The Spirit poured out, Joel 3:1–5
111. The council at Jerusalem: not to trouble the nations who turn to God, but to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood.
After they fell silent, James spoke: “Men, brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for His name. With this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written: ‘After these things I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild its ruins and set it upright, so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, and all the nations upon whom My name has been called, says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago.’ Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from the Gentiles who are turning to God, but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols, sexual immorality, what is strangled, and blood. … For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to place no further burden upon you except these necessary things: to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, blood, things strangled, and sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
Acts 15:13–20 · Acts 15:28–29
Scripture and event: The tent of David rebuilt, Amos 9:11–12 · Blood not to be eaten, Leviticus 17:10–14 · The command to Noah, Genesis 9:4
112. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the excellences of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9–10
Scripture and event: A kingdom of priests, Exodus 19:5–6 · Not My people made My people, Hosea 2:25
113. All flesh is like grass, but the word of the Lord remains forever.
For “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of grass. The grass withered, and the flower fell, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you as good news.
1 Peter 1:24–25
Also taught in: James 1:10–11
Scripture and event: The grass withers, Isaiah 40:6–8
114. We were eyewitnesses of His majesty when the voice came: This is My beloved Son.
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we became eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice such as this was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My Son, My Beloved, in whom I have taken pleasure”— and we ourselves heard this voice borne from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more firmly established, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,
2 Peter 1:16–19
Scripture and event: The Transfiguration, Matthew 17:1–5
Wisdom for the Household of God
115. Whom the Lord loves He disciplines; endure it as sons.
and you have forgotten the encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, nor faint when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and scourges every son He receives.” Endure for discipline. God deals with you as sons; for what son is there whom a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, in which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh as disciplinarians and respected them. Shall we not much more submit to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a few days according to what seemed right to them, but He for our benefit, so that we may share in His holiness. …
Hebrews 12:5–11
Scripture and event: My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, Proverbs 3:11–12
116. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
But He gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:6–7
Also taught in: 1 Peter 5:5
Scripture and event: Grace to the humble, Proverbs 3:34
117. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; for by doing this you will heap burning coals upon his head.
But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head.
Romans 12:20
Scripture and event: Bread for the enemy, Proverbs 25:21–22
118. Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and seek peace.
For “The one who wishes to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their petition, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
1 Peter 3:10–12
Scripture and event: Who is the man who desires life, Psalm 33 (34):13–17
119. Be angry and do not sin.
Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your anger,
Ephesians 4:26
Scripture and event: Be angry and do not sin, Psalm 4:5
120. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years: He is patient, not wishing any to perish.
But do not let this one thing escape you, beloved: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow concerning the promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing anyone to perish but all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:8–9
Scripture and event: A thousand years in Your sight, Psalm 89 (90):4
121. There is none righteous, not even one; all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
What, then? Are we better off? Not at all; for we have already charged both Jews and Greeks with all being under sin, just as it is written: “There is no righteous one, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All turned aside; together they became useless. There is no one who does kindness; there is not even one. … for all sinned and fall short of God’s glory, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Romans 3:9–12 · Romans 3:23–24
Scripture and event: None who does good, Psalm 13 (14):1–3
122. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat; and do not grow weary in doing good.
For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat. For we hear that some among you are walking disorderly, not working at all but working at everyone else’s business. Now such people we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and eat their own bread. But you, brothers, do not lose heart in doing good.
2 Thessalonians 3:10–13
Also taught in: 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 · Ephesians 4:28
Scripture and event: By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, Genesis 3:19
123. Let marriage be held in honor; be content with what you have, for He has said, I will never leave you.
Let marriage be honored among all, and the marriage bed undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. Let your manner of life be free from the love of money, being content with what is present; for He Himself has said, “I will certainly not leave you, nor will I ever forsake you.” So we may say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What will a human being do to me?”
Hebrews 13:4–6
Scripture and event: I will not forsake you, Deuteronomy 31:6 · The Lord is my helper, Psalm 117 (118):6
124. Adam was formed first, then Eve: the apostle’s order for teaching in the assembly.
Let a woman learn in quietness, in all submission. But I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to be in quietness. For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, came to be in transgression. But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with self-restraint.
1 Timothy 2:11–15
Also taught in: 1 Corinthians 11:8–12
Scripture and event: The woman made from the man, Genesis 2:21–23 · The deception, Genesis 3:13
Index by Book
Acts 2, 110, 107, 108, 1, 109, 80, 106, 3, 51, 54, 99, 105, 33, 111, 4, 26, 62, 8
Romans 71, 82, 121, 69, 55, 78, 6, 41, 4, 110, 64, 17, 86, 117, 50, 9, 22, 27, 33
1 Corinthians 65, 100, 48, 27, 83, 47, 91, 7, 124, 16, 78, 108
2 Corinthians 90, 98, 84, 46, 85
Galatians 53, 69, 80, 71, 79, 6, 41, 81, 10, 21
Ephesians 106, 35, 20, 119, 122, 19, 63, 49, 88, 36
Philippians 24, 63, 38
Colossians 82, 6, 19, 16, 49, 88, 36, 35
1 Thessalonians 122, 57, 63, 18, 36
1 Timothy 124, 47, 83, 85, 43, 44
Hebrews 108, 92, 101, 90, 102, 103, 85, 86, 71, 72, 70, 73, 74, 115, 93, 68, 123, 43, 104
James 55, 37, 113, 5, 32, 67, 28, 11, 89, 23, 15, 70, 69, 74, 34, 66, 116, 25, 22, 45, 60, 76, 31, 42, 77, 21
1 Peter 87, 5, 113, 65, 106, 112, 50, 52, 105, 75, 18, 118, 97, 16, 54, 26, 25, 116, 39, 58
2 Peter 114, 61, 97, 96, 95, 120, 59
1 John 13, 14, 66, 94, 15, 40, 12, 61
Saints Translation · The Teachings of the Apostles · an editor’s gathering from Acts and the apostolic letters; statements in our own words; passages quoted from the Saints Translation · working draft awaiting specialist review.