On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. (niv)
“ To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. (niv)
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, (niv)
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,“ Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (niv)
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. (niv)
