1This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.G3972G652G2424G5547G1223G2307G2316G40G5607G1722G2181G2532G4103G1722G5547G2424 2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.G5485G5213G2532G1515G575G2316G2257G3962G2532G2962G2424G5547 3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.G2128G2316G2532G3962G2257G2962G2424G5547G3588G2127G2248G1722G3956G4152G2129G1722G2032G1722G5547 4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.G2531G1586G2248G1722G846G4253G2602G2889G2248G1511G40G2532G299G2714G846G1722G26 5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.G4309G2248G1519G5206G1223G2424G5547G1519G846G2596G2107G846G2307 6So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.G1519G1868G1391G846G5485G1722G3739G5487G2248G5487G1722G25 7He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.G1722G3739G2192G629G1223G846G129G859G3900G2596G4149G846G5485 8He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.G3739G4052G1519G2248G1722G3956G4678G2532G5428 9God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.G1107G2254G3466G846G2307G2596G846G2107G3739G4388G1722G846 10And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.G1519G3622G4138G2540G346G3956G1722G5547G5037G3588G1722G3772G2532G3588G1909G1093G1722G846 11Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.G1722G3739G2532G2820G4309G2596G4286G1754G3956G2596G1012G846G2307 12God's purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.G1519G2248G1511G1519G1868G846G1391G3588G4276G1722G5547 13And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.G1722G3739G5210G2532G191G3056G225G2098G5216G4991G1722G3739G2532G4100G4972G40G4151G1860 14The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.G3739G2076G728G2257G2817G1519G629G4047G1519G1868G846G1391 15Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere,G1223G5124G2504G191G2596G5209G4102G1722G2962G2424G2532G26G1519G3956G40 16I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,G3973G3756G2168G5228G5216G4160G3417G5216G1909G3450G4335 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.G2443G2316G2257G2962G2424G5547G3962G1391G1325G5213G4151G4678G2532G602G1722G1922G846 18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.G3788G5216G1271G5461G1519G5209G1492G5101G2076G1680G846G2821G2532G5101G4149G1391G846G2817G1722G40 19I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty powerG2532G5101G5235G3174G846G1411G1519G2248G3588G4100G2596G1753G846G2479G2904 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.G3739G1754G1722G5547G1453G846G1537G3498G2532G2523G1722G846G1188G1722G2032 21Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.G5231G3956G746G2532G1849G2532G1411G2532G2963G2532G3956G3686G3687G3756G3440G1722G5129G165G235G2532G1722G3195 22God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.G2532G5293G3956G5259G846G4228G2532G1325G846G2776G5228G3956G1577 23And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.G3748G2076G846G4983G4138G4137G3956G1722G3956
2Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.G2532G5209G5607G3498G3900G2532G266 2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.G1722G3739G4218G4043G2596G165G5127G2889G2596G758G1849G109G4151G3568G1754G1722G5207G543 3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else.G1722G3739G2532G2249G3956G390G4218G1722G1939G2257G4561G4160G2307G4561G2532G1271G2532G2258G5449G5043G3709G2532G5613G3062 4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,G1161G2316G5607G4145G1722G1656G1223G846G4183G26G3739G25G2248 5that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)G2532G2248G5607G3498G3900G4806G5547G5485G2075G4982 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.G2532G4891G2532G4776G1722G2032G1722G5547G2424 7So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.G2443G1722G165G1904G1731G5235G4149G846G5485G1722G5544G1909G2248G1722G5547G2424 8God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.G1063G5485G2075G4982G1223G4102G2532G5124G3756G1537G5216G1435G2316 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.G3756G1537G2041G3363G5100G2744 10For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.G1063G2070G846G4161G2936G1722G5547G2424G1909G18G2041G3739G2316G4282G2443G4043G1722G846 11Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called "uncircumcised heathens" by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.G1352G3421G3754G5210G4218G1484G1722G4561G3588G3004G203G5259G3588G3004G4061G1722G4561G5499 12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.G3754G1722G1565G2540G2258G5565G5547G526G4174G2474G2532G3581G1242G1860G2192G3361G1680G2532G112G1722G2889 13But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.G1161G3570G1722G5547G2424G5210G3588G4218G5607G3112G1096G1451G1722G129G5547 14For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.G1063G846G2076G2257G1515G3588G4160G297G1520G2532G3089G3320G5418 15He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.G2673G1722G846G4561G2189G3551G1785G1722G1378G2443G2936G1722G1438G1417G1519G1520G2537G444G4160G1515 16Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.G2532G604G297G2316G1722G1520G4983G1223G4716G615G2189G1722G846 17He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.G2532G2064G2097G1515G5213G3588G3112G2532G1451 18Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.G3754G1223G846G2192G297G2192G4318G1722G1520G4151G4314G3962 19So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family.G3767G686G2075G3765G3581G2532G3941G235G4847G40G2532G3609G2316 20Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.G2026G1909G2310G652G2532G4396G2424G5547G846G5607G204 21We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.G1722G3739G3956G3619G4883G837G1519G40G3485G1722G2962 22Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.G1722G3739G5210G2532G4925G1519G2732G2316G1722G4151
3When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles . . .G5127G5484G1473G3972G1198G2424G5547G5228G5216G1484 2assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.G1489G191G3622G5485G2316G3588G1325G3427G1519G5209 3As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me.G3754G2596G602G1107G3427G3466G2531G4270G1722G3641 4As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.G4314G3739G314G1410G3539G3450G4907G1722G3466G5547 5God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.G3739G1722G2087G1074G1107G3756G1107G5207G444G5613G601G3568G601G846G40G652G2532G4396G1722G4151 6And this is God's plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.G1484G1511G4789G2532G4954G2532G4830G846G1860G1722G5547G1223G2098 7By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.G3739G1096G1249G2596G1431G5485G2316G1325G3427G2596G1753G846G1411 8Though I am the least deserving of all God's people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.G1698G1647G3956G40G1325G3778G5485G1325G2097G1722G1484G421G4149G5547 9I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.G2532G5461G3956G5461G5101G2842G3466G3588G575G165G613G1722G2316G3588G2936G3956G1223G2424G5547 10God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.G2443G3568G746G2532G1849G1722G2032G1107G1223G1577G4182G4678G2316 11This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.G2596G165G4286G3739G4160G1722G5547G2424G2257G2962 12Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence.G1722G3739G2192G3954G2532G4318G1722G4006G1223G4102G846 13So please don't lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.G1352G154G1573G3361G1722G3450G2347G5228G5216G3748G2076G5216G1391 14When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,G5127G5484G2578G3450G1119G4314G3962G2257G2962G2424G5547 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.G1537G3739G3956G3965G1722G3772G2532G1909G1093G3687 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.G2443G1325G5213G2596G4149G846G1391G2901G1411G1223G846G4151G1519G2080G444 17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.G5547G2730G1722G5216G2588G1223G4102G2443G4492G2532G2311G1722G26 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.G1840G2638G4862G3956G40G5101G4114G2532G3372G2532G899G2532G5311 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.G5037G1097G26G5547G5235G1108G2443G4137G1519G3956G4138G2316 20Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.G1161G1410G4160G5228G1537G4053G5228G3956G3739G154G2228G3539G2596G1411G1754G1722G2254 21Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.G846G1391G1722G1577G1722G5547G2424G1519G3956G1074G165G165G281
New Living Translation (NLT). Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.G3972
