⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day.^{(A) 45} It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.^{(B) 46} Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.^{(C) 47} Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.^{(D) 48} I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”^(E)

¹² The whole assembly kept silence and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles.^{(A) 13} After they finished speaking, James replied, “My brothers,^[a] listen to me.^{(B) 14} Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name. ¹⁵ This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,

¹⁹ “Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those gentiles who are turning to God, ²⁰ but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality and from whatever has been strangled^[c] and from blood.^{(D) 21} For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every Sabbath in the synagogues.”^(E)

The Power of the Gospel

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is God’s saving power for everyone who believes,^[a] for the Jew first and also for the Greek.^{(A) 17} For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith, as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”^[b](B)

The Guilt of Humankind

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth.^{(C) 19} For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse,^{(D) 21} for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.^{(E) 22} Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.^(F)

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.^{(G) 25} They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.^(H)