ephesians paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the

8/14/2019 Ephesians Paul, An Apostle of Christ Jesus by The

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Ephesians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in

Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the

heavenly realms with every spiritual blessin in Christ. For he chose us in him before the

creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his siht. !n love he predestined us to be

adopted as his sons throuh Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will" tothe praise of his lorious race, which he has freely iven us in the #ne he loves. !n him

we have redemption throuh his blood, the foriveness of sins, in accordance with the

riches of God$s race that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understandin. %nd hemade &nown to us the mystery of his will accordin to his ood pleasure, which he

purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment

"to brin all thins in heaven and on earth toether under one head, even Christ.

!n him we were also chosen, havin been predestined accordin to the plan of him whowor&s out everythin in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who

were the first to hope in Christ, miht be for the praise of his lory. %nd you also were

included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the ospel of your salvation. 'avinbelieved, you were mar&ed in him with a seal, the promised 'oly (pirit, who is a deposit

uaranteein our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God$s possession"to

the praise of his lory.

For this reason, ever since ! heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all

the saints, ! have not stopped ivin than&s for you, rememberin you in my prayers. !&eep as&in that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the lorious Father, may ive you the

(pirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may &now him better. ! pray also that theeyes of your heart may be enlihtened in order that you may &now the hope to which he

has called you, the riches of his lorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably

reat power for us who believe. )hat power is li&e the wor&in of his mihty strenth,

which he e*erted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his rihthand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and

every title that can be iven, not only in the present ae but also in the one to come. %nd

God placed all thins under his feet and appointed him to be head over everythin for thechurch, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everythin in every way.

%s for you, you were dead in your transressions and sins, in which you used to livewhen you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the &indom of the air, the

spirit who is now at wor& in those who are disobedient. %ll of us also lived amon them

at one time, ratifyin the cravins of our sinful nature and followin its desires and

thouhts. Li&e the rest, we were by nature ob+ects of wrath. ut because of his reat lovefor us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in

transressions"it is by race you have been saved. %nd God raised us up with Christ and

seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the comin aes


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he miht show the incomparable riches of his race, e*pressed in his &indness to us in

Christ Jesus. For it is by race you have been saved, throuh faith"and this not from

yourselves, it is the ift of God" not by wor&s, so that no one can boast. For we areGod$s wor&manship, created in Christ Jesus to do ood wor&s, which God prepared in

advance for us to do.

)herefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called

-uncircumcised- by those who call themselves -the circumcision- that done in the body

by the hands of men/" remember that at that time you were separate from Christ,e*cluded from citi0enship in !srael and foreiners to the covenants of the promise,

without hope and without God in the world. ut now in Christ Jesus you who once were

far away have been brouht near throuh the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, thedividin wall of hostility, by abolishin in his flesh the law with its commandments and

reulations. 'is purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus

ma&in peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God throuh the cross,by which he put to death their hostility. 'e came and preached peace to you who were far

away and peace to those who were near. For throuh him we both have access to the

Father by one (pirit.

Conse1uently, you are no loner foreiners and aliens, but fellow citi0ens with God$speople and members of God$s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and

prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. !n him the whole buildin is

+oined toether and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. %nd in him you too are

bein built toether to become a dwellin in which God lives by his (pirit.

For this reason !, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sa&e of you Gentiles"

(urely you have heard about the administration of God$s race that was iven to me for

you, that is, the mystery made &nown to me by revelation, as ! have already written

briefly. !n readin this, then, you will be able to understand my insiht into the mysteryof Christ, which was not made &nown to men in other enerations as it has now been

revealed by the (pirit to God$s holy apostles and prophets. )his mystery is that throuh

the ospel the Gentiles are heirs toether with !srael, members toether of one body, andsharers toether in the promise in Christ Jesus.

! became a servant of this ospel by the ift of God$s race iven me throuh the wor&in

of his power. %lthouh ! am less than the least of all God$s people, this race was iven

me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to ma&e plain toeveryone the administration of this mystery, which for aes past was &ept hidden in God,

who created all thins. 'is intent was that now, throuh the church, the manifold wisdom

of God should be made &nown to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,accordin to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. !n him

and throuh faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ! as& you,

therefore, not to be discouraed because of my sufferins for you, which are your lory.


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For this reason ! &neel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on

earth derives its name. ! pray that out of his lorious riches he may strenthen you with

power throuh his (pirit in your inner bein, so that Christ may dwell in your heartsthrouh faith. %nd ! pray that you, bein rooted and established in love, may have power,

toether with all the saints, to rasp how wide and lon and hih and deep is the love of

Christ, and to &now this love that surpasses &nowlede"that you may be filled to themeasure of all the fullness of God.

2ow to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we as& or imaine, accordin

to his power that is at wor& within us, to him be lory in the church and in Christ Jesus

throuhout all enerations, for ever and ever3 %men.

%s a prisoner for the Lord, then, ! ure you to live a life worthy of the callin you have

received. e completely humble and entle4 be patient, bearin with one another in love.

5a&e every effort to &eep the unity of the (pirit throuh the bond of peace. )here is one

body and one (pirit"+ust as you were called to one hope when you were called" one

Lord, one faith, one baptism4 one God and Father of all, who is over all and throuh alland in all.

ut to each one of us race has been iven as Christ apportioned it. )his is why it says:

-6hen he ascended on hih, he led captives in his train and ave ifts to men.- 6hatdoes -he ascended- mean e*cept that he also descended to the lower, earthly reions7 'e

who descended is the very one who ascended hiher than all the heavens, in order to fill

the whole universe./ !t was he who ave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, someto be evanelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God$s people for wor&s

of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith

and in the &nowlede of the (on of God and become mature, attainin to the whole

measure of the fullness of Christ.

)hen we will no loner be infants, tossed bac& and forth by the waves, and blown here

and there by every wind of teachin and by the cunnin and craftiness of men in their

deceitful schemin. !nstead, spea&in the truth in love, we will in all thins row up intohim who is the 'ead, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, +oined and held toether

by every supportin liament, rows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its

wor&.

(o ! tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no loner live as the Gentilesdo, in the futility of their thin&in. )hey are dar&ened in their understandin and

separated from the life of God because of the inorance that is in them due to the

hardenin of their hearts. 'avin lost all sensitivity, they have iven themselves over tosensuality so as to indule in every &ind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

8ou, however, did not come to &now Christ that way. (urely you heard of him and were

tauht in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 8ou were tauht, with reard

to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is bein corrupted by its


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'usbands, love your wives, +ust as Christ loved the church and ave himself up for her to

ma&e her holy, cleansin her by the washin with water throuh the word, and to present

her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrin&le or any other blemish, but holyand blameless. !n this same way, husbands ouht to love their wives as their own bodies.

'e who loves his wife loves himself. %fter all, no one ever hated his own body, but he

feeds and cares for it, +ust as Christ does the church" for we are members of his body.-For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the

two will become one flesh.- )his is a profound mystery"but ! am tal&in about Christ

and the church. 'owever, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself,and the wife must respect her husband.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is riht. -'onor your father and

mother-"which is the first commandment with a promise" -that it may o well with

you and that you may en+oy lon life on the earth. Fathers, do not e*asperate yourchildren4 instead, brin them up in the trainin and instruction of the Lord.

(laves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, +ust

as you would obey Christ. #bey them not only to win their favor when their eye is onyou, but li&e slaves of Christ, doin the will of God from your heart. (erve

wholeheartedly, as if you were servin the Lord, not men, because you &now that the

Lord will reward everyone for whatever ood he does, whether he is slave or free.

%nd masters, treat your slaves in the same way. 9o not threaten them, since you &nowthat he who is both their 5aster and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with

him.

Finally, be stron in the Lord and in his mihty power. Put on the full armor of God so

that you can ta&e your stand aainst the devil$s schemes. For our strule is not aainst

flesh and blood, but aainst the rulers, aainst the authorities, aainst the powers of thisdar& world and aainst the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. )herefore put

on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to standyour round, and after you have done everythin, to stand. (tand firm then, with the belt

of truth buc&led around your waist, with the breastplate of rihteousness in place, and

with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the ospel of peace. !n addition

to all this, ta&e up the shield of faith, with which you can e*tinuish all the flaminarrows of the evil one. )a&e the helmet of salvation and the sword of the (pirit, which is

the word of God. %nd pray in the (pirit on all occasions with all &inds of prayers and

re1uests. 6ith this in mind, be alert and always &eep on prayin for all the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever ! open my mouth, words may be iven me so that ! willfearlessly ma&e &nown the mystery of the ospel, for which ! am an ambassador in

chains. Pray that ! may declare it fearlessly, as ! should.

)ychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everythin, sothat you also may &now how ! am and what ! am doin. ! am sendin him to you for this

very purpose, that you may &now how we are, and that he may encourae you.


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Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undyin love.

ephesians paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the

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