Ephesians 1-2
New King James Version
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Redemption in Christ
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as (B)He chose us in Him (C)before the foundation of the world, that we should (D)be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 (E)having predestined us to (F)adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, (G)according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, (H)by which He [a]made us accepted in (I)the Beloved.
7 (J)In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to (K)the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [b]prudence, 9 (L)having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure (M)which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of (N)the fullness of the times (O)He might gather together in one (P)all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 (Q)In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to (R)the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 (S)that we (T)who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard (U)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, (V)you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 (W)who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance (X)until the redemption of (Y)the purchased possession, (Z)to the praise of His glory.
Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Therefore I also, (AA)after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 (AB)do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that (AC)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, (AD)may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 (AE)the eyes of your [f]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is (AF)the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, (AG)according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when (AH)He raised Him from the dead and (AI)seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 (AJ)far above all (AK)principality[g] and [h]power and [i]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And (AL)He put all things under His feet, and gave Him (AM)to be head over all things to the church, 23 (AN)which is His body, (AO)the fullness of Him (AP)who fills all in all.
By Grace Through Faith
2 And (AQ)you He made alive, (AR)who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 (AS)in which you once walked according to the [j]course of this world, according to (AT)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in (AU)the sons of disobedience, 3 (AV)among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in (AW)the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and (AX)were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, (AY)who is rich in mercy, because of His (AZ)great love with which He loved us, 5 (BA)even when we were dead in trespasses, (BB)made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together (BC)in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in (BD)His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 (BE)For by grace you have been saved (BF)through faith, and that not of yourselves; (BG)it is the gift of God, 9 not of (BH)works, lest anyone should (BI)boast. 10 For we are (BJ)His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Brought Near by His Blood
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called (BK)the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Christ Our Peace
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one (BL)new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might (BM)reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby (BN)putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For (BO)through Him we both have access (BP)by one Spirit to the Father.
Christ Our Cornerstone
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been (BQ)built (BR)on the foundation of the (BS)apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being (BT)the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into (BU)a holy temple in the Lord, 22 (BV)in whom you also are being built together for a (BW)dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 1:6 Lit. bestowed grace (favor) upon us
- Ephesians 1:8 understanding
- Ephesians 1:10 NU, M omit both
- Ephesians 1:14 NU which
- Ephesians 1:14 down payment, earnest
- Ephesians 1:18 NU, M hearts
- Ephesians 1:21 rule
- Ephesians 1:21 authority
- Ephesians 1:21 power
- Ephesians 2:2 Gr. aion, aeon
Ephesians 1-2
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful[a] in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ[b] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,[c] having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this[d] is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
Paul’s Prayer
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[e] towards all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God[f] put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
From Death to Life
2 You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ[g]—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
One in Christ
11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth,[h] called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body[i] through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.[j] 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.[k] 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually[l] into a dwelling-place for God.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 1:1 Other ancient authorities lack in Ephesus, reading saints who are also faithful
- Ephesians 1:4 Gk in him
- Ephesians 1:11 Or been made a heritage
- Ephesians 1:14 Other ancient authorities read who
- Ephesians 1:15 Other ancient authorities lack and your love
- Ephesians 1:20 Gk He
- Ephesians 2:5 Other ancient authorities read in Christ
- Ephesians 2:11 Gk in the flesh
- Ephesians 2:16 Or reconcile both of us in one body for God
- Ephesians 2:16 Or in him, or in himself
- Ephesians 2:20 Or keystone
- Ephesians 2:22 Gk in the Spirit
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.