Ephesians 1-3

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and ^(C)are faithful^[a] in Christ Jesus:

^2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

^3 (E)Blessed be ^(F)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing ^(G)in the heavenly places, ^4 (H)even as he ^(I)chose us in him ^(J)before the foundation of the world, that we should be ^(K)holy and blameless before him. In love ^5 (L)he predestined us^[b] for ^(M)adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, ^(N)according to the purpose of his will, ^6 (O)to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in ^(P)the Beloved. ^7 (Q)In him we have ^(R)redemption ^(S)through his blood, ^(T)the forgiveness of our trespasses, ^(U)according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ^9 (V)making known^[c] to us the mystery of his will, ^(W)according to his purpose, which he ^(X)set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for ^(Y)the fullness of time, ^(Z)to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

¹¹ In him we have obtained ^(AA)an inheritance, ^(AB)having been predestined ^(AC)according to the purpose of him who works all things according to ^(AD)the counsel of his will, ¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be ^(AE)to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you heard ^(AF)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, ^(AG)were sealed with the ^(AH)promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is ^(AI)the guarantee^[d] of our ^(AJ)inheritance until ^(AK)we acquire ^(AL)possession of it,^{[e] (AM)}to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵ For this reason, ^(AN)because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love^[f] toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I ^(AO)do not cease to give thanks for you, ^(AP)remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that ^(AQ)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ^(AR)may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ^18 (AS)having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is ^(AT)the hope to which he has called you, what are ^(AU)the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, ^(AV)according to the working of ^(AW)his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ ^(AX)when he raised him from the dead and ^(AY)seated him at his right hand ^(AZ)in the heavenly places, ^21 (BA)far above ^(BB)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above ^(BC)every name that is named, not only in ^(BD)this age but also in the one to come. ²² And ^(BE)he put all things under his feet and gave him as ^(BF)head over all things to the church, ^23 (BG)which is his body, ^(BH)the fullness of him ^(BI)who fills ^(BJ)all in all.

By Grace Through Faith

2 ^(BK)And you were ^(BL)dead in the trespasses and sins ^2 (BM)in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following ^(BN)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in ^(BO)the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in ^(BP)the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[g] and the mind, and ^(BQ)were by nature ^(BR)children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^{[h] 4} But^[i] God, being ^(BS)rich in mercy, ^(BT)because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even ^(BU)when we were dead in our trespasses, ^(BV)made us alive together with Christ—^(BW)by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and ^(BX)seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable ^(BY)riches of his grace in ^(BZ)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For ^(CA)by grace you have been saved ^(CB)through faith. And this is ^(CC)not your own doing; ^(CD)it is the gift of God, ^9 (CE)not a result of works, ^(CF)so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For ^(CG)we are his workmanship, ^(CH)created in Christ Jesus ^(CI)for good works, ^(CJ)which God prepared beforehand, ^(CK)that we should walk in them.

One in Christ

¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ^(CL)the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember ^(CM)that you were at that time separated from Christ, ^(CN)alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to ^(CO)the covenants of promise, ^(CP)having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were ^(CQ)far off have been brought near ^(CR)by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For ^(CS)he himself is our peace, ^(CT)who has made us both one and has broken down ^(CU)in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ^(CV)ordinances, that he might create in himself one ^(CW)new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might ^(CX)reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and ^(CY)preached peace to you who were ^(CZ)far off and peace to those who were ^(DA)near. ¹⁸ For ^(DB)through him we both have ^(DC)access in ^(DD)one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer ^(DE)strangers and aliens,^[j] but you are ^(DF)fellow citizens with the saints and ^(DG)members of the household of God, ^20 (DH)built on the foundation of the ^(DI)apostles and prophets, ^(DJ)Christ Jesus himself being ^(DK)the cornerstone, ^21 (DL)in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into ^(DM)a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him ^(DN)you also are being built together ^(DO)into a dwelling place for God by^[k] the Spirit.

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, ^(DP)a prisoner of Christ Jesus ^(DQ)on behalf of you Gentiles— ² assuming that you have heard of ^(DR)the stewardship of ^(DS)God's grace that was given to me for you, ^3 (DT)how the mystery was made known to me ^(DU)by revelation, ^(DV)as I have written briefly. ^4 (DW)When you read this, you can perceive my insight into ^(DX)the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ⁶ This mystery is^[l] that the Gentiles are ^(DY)fellow heirs, ^(DZ)members of the same body, and ^(EA)partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

^7 (EB)Of this gospel I was made ^(EC)a minister according to the gift of ^(ED)God's grace, which was given me ^(EE)by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, ^(EF)though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, ^(EG)to preach to the Gentiles the ^(EH)unsearchable ^(EI)riches of Christ, ⁹ and ^(EJ)to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery ^(EK)hidden for ages in^[m] God, ^(EL)who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold ^(EM)wisdom of God ^(EN)might now be made known to ^(EO)the rulers and authorities ^(EP)in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was ^(EQ)according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have ^(ER)boldness and ^(ES)access with ^(ET)confidence through our ^(EU)faith in him. ¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering ^(EV)for you, ^(EW)which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom ^(EX)every family^[n] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to ^(EY)the riches of his glory ^(EZ)he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit ^(FA)in your inner being, ^17 (FB)so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being ^(FC)rooted and ^(FD)grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to ^(FE)comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ^(FF)height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ ^(FG)that surpasses knowledge, that ^(FH)you may be filled with all ^(FI)the fullness of God.

^20 (FJ)Now to ^(FK)him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, ^(FL)according to the power at work within us, ^21 (FM)to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.