Bible (New Testament): English Standard Version

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

This is another selection from the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus gives his “Lord’s Prayer” (in some traditions, called the “Our Father”). A parallel passage can be found in Luke 11:2-4. This prayer, consonant with Jesus’s other teaching, places emphasis on the idea of the kingdom of God, which spoke to Jewish expectations about the messianic age and the last days.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

While Jesus’s clearest appeals to his own messianic identity are seen in his claims of teaching authority, his acceptance of the disciples’ worship on several occasions, and his use of the title “Son of Man,” they also can be seen in subtler ways, as in this famous quote. Here Jesus portrays himself as the source of comfort and rest, referring to himself as a spiritual refuge in a way that reveals his understanding of his own high purpose in God’s plan.

“And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’”

This quote deals with the theme of The Relationship Between the Old and New Covenants. Jesus acts as an authoritative interpreter of the Old Testament law, and here he brings the entire Old Testament down to two basic commandments, derived from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Thus we see in Jesus’s teaching the beginnings of the Christian de-emphasis of the ritual commandments of the law, replaced with an overarching law of love.

“[…] Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

This is Mark’s opening description of Jesus’s ministry of preaching, which puts its focus on the kingdom of God. Here the theme of The Good News of God’s Saving Action in History is clear, as Jesus calls people to respond to what God is doing in that moment in time, which he addresses with the term gospel (“good news”).

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”

This passage comes from Luke’s nativity narrative, describing the angelic announcement of Jesus’s birth to a group of shepherds near Bethlehem. It uses the common description of “good news” (gospel) to describe these events and identifies Jesus directly as the Messiah (the Hebrew title for which “Christ” is the Greek translation). It also portrays Jesus as “Savior,” an appellation used in the Old Testament either to designate a hero who delivers the people from their enemies, or for God himself.

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.’”

One of the unique features of Jesus’s ministry was the way in which he called his own disciples; most rabbis of the time simply allowed a circle of interested students to gather around of their own volition. In this passage, Jesus portrays his definition of discipleship in exceptionally difficult terms, asking them to reflect the self-sacrificial attitude of his own ministry. Here the symbol of the cross appears, applied not to Jesus’s crucifixion but to the daily lives of his followers.

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”

This passage comes from Luke’s account of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, when Jesus institutes the ritual of communion for the first time. Many scholars think it likely that this supper took place in the context of a traditional Passover seder meal. Jesus employs the symbols of bread and wine (here referred to as “the cup”) and gives them their symbolic meanings relating to the sacrificial significance of his own body and blood.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. […] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

This is John’s prologue to his gospel, in which he describes Jesus using the Greek term Logos (“the Word”), an appellation that draws on Greek philosophy and contemporary Jewish theology to describe God’s self-revelation to the world, communicated through the divine wisdom that binds all things together. John’s description deals with the theme of The Identity of Jesus and places him not only as a messianic figure but as the incarnation of a preexistent divine being in union with God the Father.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

John 3:16 is the most well-known verse from the New Testament, often quoted because of the clear and concise way it expresses the gospel message. That verse, together with the following verse, emphasizes The Good News of God’s Saving Action in History, rooting the gospel not in human efforts but in the love of God and the self-giving life of Jesus. In the context of the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks these words as part of a larger discussion he is having with a Pharisee named Nicodemus (a discussion that is also the source of the famous analogy of salvation as being “born again”).

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

One of John’s primary purposes is to establish The Identity of Jesus. Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples on the evening before his arrest, and he addresses the theme of his own identity. To do so, he makes use of an “I am” construction, which is notable because John uses the repetition of such statements—a symbolically significant seven times—to draw attention to Jesus’s use of the personal name of God from the Old Testament (“I Am”). The claim to divinity is also subtly evident in Jesus’s claim to be the only access to God the Father.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

This passage comes from Peter’s address to the crowds of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit has descended on the fledgling community of the church (10 days after Jesus’s ascension). As such, it represents the first public proclamation of the gospel by a follower of Jesus, and it stresses The Identity of Jesus. While also referring to Jesus’s widely known reputation as a miracle worker, Peter emphasizes the central importance of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection.

“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

These verses represent the climax of a theological argument Paul makes throughout the first few chapters of Romans where he argues that the sinfulness of humanity puts all people in the same condition before God. The opening words, “there is no distinction,” refers to the distinction that some people were trying to make between Jews and Gentiles; Paul’s point is that, by contrast, all people are in the same condition regarding their sins, and all are equally in need of God’s saving action through Jesus’s death.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

Like the passage from Romans 3 quoted above, these verses represent the climax of another of Paul’s theological arguments in Romans. Paul has been dealing with the theme The Relationship Between the Old and New Covenants, specifically regarding whether the Old Testament law has continuing applications to the life of the Christian. In this passage, Paul expresses his conclusion that the law no longer binds Christians since, through the work of the Holy Spirit, each Christian has already gained the goal for which the Old Testament law existed: freedom from the condemnation that comes from one’s own sinfulness.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. […] So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

This extract from 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most widely known passages in the New Testament and is often used in wedding ceremonies. Within its original context, however, it does not refer to romantic love, but to the love that binds Christians to one another in their mutual life in church congregations. First Corinthians 13 falls between longer sections in which Paul chastises the Corinthian Christians for their fractiousness and divisions, which arose partly from their habit of emphasizing other spiritual gifts (such as speaking in tongues) to such an extent that they had forgotten the basic practice of loving one another.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Here Paul lists nine virtues he describes as “the fruit of the Spirit,” meaning that they grow in one’s life through the activity of the Holy Spirit. In its context in Galatians, these virtues are set against a parallel list of vices to avoid. Paul’s concluding line—“against such things there is no law”—refers to one of the main themes of Galatians, the argument that Christians are not saved by adherence to the law but by faithfully trusting in God’s work on their behalf.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

This passage from Ephesians offers a concise view of the Pauline articulation of the gospel, which places emphasis on the transformation from spiritual death (a result of sin’s presence) to spiritual life, granted through the sacrifice of Christ. Paul stresses the theme of The Good News of God’s Saving Action in History, noting that the good news of salvation comes down to God’s work on humanity’s behalf, not because of anyone’s personal religious efforts.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created […]. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

This text from Colossians speaks to the theme The Identity of Jesus, mirroring the prologue to the Gospel of John by asserting the divine preexistence of Jesus as the Son of God. It also makes use of characteristically Pauline elements, such as The Good News of God’s Saving Action in History being one of reconciliation (a prominent theme in 2 Corinthians) and placing the pivotal moment of God’s plan of salvation at the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high […].”

Like the Colossians text quoted above, these opening lines of the Book of Hebrews address the theme of The Identity of Jesus, once again stressing Jesus’s divine nature and his actions in both creating the world and saving it from its sins. As is characteristic of Hebrews, it describes Jesus in terms familiar to an Old Testament context, setting God’s self-revelation through Jesus in comparison to God’s words through the prophets, and describing Jesus in the language of radiance and glory, terms customarily reserved for descriptions of God’s presence in the temple.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

This is James’s exposition of the relationship between faith and works, pushing back against an apparently hyper-Pauline interpretation that emphasized faith to the point where good works were being ignored. James sees works as one of the primary features of true faith, leading to the well-known Christian adage based on verse 17: “faith without works is dead.”

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

In this passage, Peter borrows language from the Old Testament (Exod 19:6) to describe the identity of the Christian Church. His direct adoption of rhetoric that had been applied to God’s people under the old covenant illustrates the early Christian conception of their own movement as not a new religion, but rather a direct continuation of what they believed was the one true religion, grounded in the works of God in the Old Testament and continuing directly through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

These verses show the way that the ethic of love was seen as foundational to the Christian worldview, matching the themes of Jesus’s own teaching as recorded in John 15. This passage also stresses the theme of The Good News of God’s Saving Action in History, rooting the definition of love not in any human efforts but in God’s nature and in his act of sending Jesus as a sacrifice for sins.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

These verses are the ending of the epistle of Jude, and they are usually referred to as a doxology in Christian tradition (a liturgical word for a brief prayer or song of praise, from a Greek term meaning “a word of glory”). Once again, the writer emphasizes The Good News of God’s Saving Action in History; that is, God is the one who keeps Christians faithful to his gospel. The rendering of worship to Jesus in these lines illustrates the early Christian conviction of Jesus’s divine identity.

“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’”

This is one of the first visions of the Book of Revelation, shortly after John gets his first view of the throne room of God. The character of the Lamb—symbolizing Jesus—has just appeared and now receives the worship of the angels and all creation. The literary style of this quote shows the common pattern of Revelation, which uses repetition (myriads, thousands, blessing, honor, glory, throne, Lamb) to achieve a sense of the overwhelming power of its visions.