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1 Paul, an apostlea of Christ Jesus by the will of God,b
To God’s holy peoplec in Ephesus,*d the faithfule in Christ Jesus:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.f
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,a who has blessed us in the heavenly realmsb with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose usc in him before the creation of the worldd to be holy and blamelesse in his sight. In lovef 5he* predestinedg us for adoption to sonship*h through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasurei and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace,j which he has freely given us in the One he loves.k 7In him we have redemptionl through his blood,m the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the richesn of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9he* made known to us the mysteryo of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposedp in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillmentq—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.r
11In him we were also chosen,* having been predestineds according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purposet of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.u 13And you also were included in Christv when you heard the word of truth,w the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,x the promised Holy Spirit,y 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritancez until the redemptiona of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.b
15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesusa and your love for all his people,b 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you,c remembering you in my prayers.d 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,e may give you the Spirit* of wisdomf and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightenedg in order that you may know the hope to which he has calledh you, the richesi of his glorious inheritancej in his people,k 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That powerl is the same as the mighty strengthm 20he exerted when he raised Christ from the deadn and seated him at his right hando in the heavenly realms,p 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,q and every namer that can be invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.s 22And God placed all things under his feett and appointed him to be headu over everything for the church, 23which is his body,v the fullness of himw who fills everything in every way.x
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,a 2in which you used to liveb when you followed the ways of this worldc and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,d the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.e 3All of us also lived among them at one time,f gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature*g and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us,h God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressionsi—it is by grace you have been saved.j 6And God raised us up with Christk and seated us with himl in the heavenly realmsm in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,n expressed in his kindnesso to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by gracep you have been saved,q through faithr—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works,s so that no one can boast.t 10For we are God’s handiwork,u createdv in Christ Jesus to do good works,w which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ
11Therefore, remember that formerlya you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)b— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreignersc to the covenants of the promise,d without hopee and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who oncef were far away have been brought nearg by the blood of Christ.h
14For he himself is our peace,i who has made the two onej and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by setting aside in his fleshk the law with its commands and regulations.l His purpose was to create in himself onem new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,n by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peaceo to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.p 18For through him we both have accessq to the Fatherr by one Spirit.s
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,t but fellow citizensu with God’s people and also members of his household,v 20builtw on the foundationx of the apostles and prophets,y with Christ Jesus himselfz as the chief cornerstone.a 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy templeb in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.c
God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisonera of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to meb for you, 3that is, the mysteryc made known to me by revelation,d as I have already written briefly. 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insighte into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.f 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirsg together with Israel, members together of one body,h and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.i
7I became a servant of this gospelj by the gift of God’s grace given mek through the working of his power.l 8Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people,m this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentilesn the boundless riches of Christ,o 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,p which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of Godq should be made knownr to the rulers and authoritiess in the heavenly realms,t 11according to his eternal purposeu that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach Godv with freedom and confidence.w 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
14For this reason I kneela before the Father, 15from whom every family* in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious richesb he may strengthen you with powerc through his Spirit in your inner being,d 17so that Christ may dwell in your heartse through faith. And I pray that you, being rootedf and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s people,g to grasp how wide and long and high and deeph is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledgei—that you may be filledj to the measure of all the fullness of God.k
20Now to him who is ablel to do immeasurably more than all we askm or imagine, according to his powern that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.o
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