Ephesians 2–3

By Grace Through Faith

2^jAnd you were ^kdead in the trespasses and sins ^2lin which you once walked, following the course¹ of this world, following ^mthe prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in ⁿthe sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in ^othe passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and ^pwere by nature ^qchildren of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^{2 4}But³ God, being ^rrich in mercy, ^sbecause of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even ^twhen we were dead in our trespasses, ^umade us alive together with Christ—^vby grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and ^wseated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable ^xriches of his grace in ^ykindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For ^zby grace you have been saved ^athrough faith. And this is ^bnot your own doing; ^cit is the gift of God, ^9dnot a result of works, ^eso that no one may boast. ¹⁰For ^fwe are his workmanship, ^gcreated in Christ Jesus ^hfor good works, ⁱwhich God prepared beforehand, ^jthat we should walk in them.

One in Christ

¹¹Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ^kthe circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹²remember ^lthat you were at that time separated from Christ, ^malienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to ⁿthe covenants of promise, ^ohaving no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were ^pfar off have been brought near ^qby the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For ^rhe himself is our peace, ^swho has made us both one and has broken down ^tin his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ^uordinances, that he might create in himself one ^vnew man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶and might ^wreconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷And he came and ^xpreached peace to you who were ^yfar off and peace to those who were ^znear. ¹⁸For ^athrough him we both have ^baccess in ^cone Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer ^dstrangers and aliens,⁴ but you are ^efellow citizens with the saints and ^fmembers of the household of God, ^20gbuilt on the foundation of the ^hapostles and prophets, ⁱChrist Jesus himself being ^jthe cornerstone, ^21kin whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into ^la holy temple in the Lord. ²²In him ^myou also are being built together ⁿinto a dwelling place for God by⁵ the Spirit.

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3For this reason I, Paul, ^oa prisoner of Christ Jesus ^pon behalf of you Gentiles— ²assuming that you have heard of ^qthe stewardship of ^rGod’s grace that was given to me for you, ^3show the mystery was made known to me ^tby revelation, ^uas I have written briefly. ^4vWhen you read this, you can perceive my insight into ^wthe mystery of Christ, ⁵which 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. ⁶This mystery is¹ that the Gentiles are ^xfellow heirs, ^ymembers of the same body, and ^zpartakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

^7aOf this gospel I was made ^ba minister according to the gift of ^cGod’s grace, which was given me ^dby the working of his power. ⁸To me, ^ethough I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, ^fto preach to the Gentiles the ^gunsearchable ^hriches of Christ, ⁹and ⁱto bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery ^jhidden for ages in² God, ^kwho created all things, ¹⁰so that through the church the manifold ^lwisdom of God ^mmight now be made known to ⁿthe rulers and authorities ^oin the heavenly places. ¹¹This was ^paccording to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹²in whom we have ^qboldness and ^raccess with ^sconfidence through our ^tfaith in him. ¹³So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering ^ufor you, ^vwhich is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

¹⁴For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom ^wevery family³ in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to ^xthe riches of his glory ^yhe may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit ^zin your inner being, ^17aso that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being ^brooted and ^cgrounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to ^dcomprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ^eheight and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ ^fthat surpasses knowledge, that ^gyou may be filled with all ^hthe fullness of God.

²⁰ⁱNow to ^jhim who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, ^kaccording to the power at work within us, ^21lto him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.