Ephesians 3–4

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.

Unity in the Body of Christ

4I therefore, ^ma prisoner for the Lord, urge you to ⁿwalk in a manner worthy of ^othe calling to which you have been called, ²with all ^phumility and ^qgentleness, with ^rpatience, ^sbearing with one another in love, ³eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in ^tthe bond of peace. ⁴There is ^uone body and ^vone Spirit—just as you were called to the one ^whope that belongs to your call— ^5xone Lord, ^yone faith, ^zone baptism, ^6aone God and Father of all, ^bwho is over all and through all and in all. ⁷But ^cgrace was given ^dto each one of us ^eaccording to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore it says,

^f“When he ascended on high ^ghe led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”¹

⁹(^hIn saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ⁱthe lower regions, the earth?^{2 10}He who descended is the one who also ^jascended ^kfar above all the heavens, that he might ^lfill all things.) ¹¹And ^mhe gave the ⁿapostles, the prophets, the ^oevangelists, the ^pshepherds³ and teachers,^{4 12q}to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^rbuilding up ^sthe body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to ^tthe unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^uto mature manhood,⁵ to the measure of the stature of ^vthe fullness of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, ^wtossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^xdeceitful schemes. ¹⁵Rather, ^yspeaking the truth in love, we are to ^zgrow up in every way into him who is ^athe head, into Christ, ^16bfrom whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, ^cwhen each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The New Life

¹⁷Now this I say and ^dtestify in the Lord, ^ethat you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, ^fin the futility of their minds. ¹⁸They ^gare darkened in their understanding, ^halienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to ⁱtheir hardness of heart. ¹⁹They ^jhave become callous and ^khave given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰But that is not the way you ^llearned Christ!— ²¹assuming that ^myou have heard about him and ⁿwere taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to ^oput off ^pyour old self,⁶ which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through ^qdeceitful desires, ²³and ^rto be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on ^sthe new self, ^tcreated after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you ^uspeak the truth with his neighbor, for ^vwe are members one of another. ^26wBe angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and ^xgive no opportunity to the devil. ²⁸Let the thief no longer steal, but rather ^ylet him labor, ^zdoing honest work with his own hands, so ^athat he may have something to share with anyone in need. ^29bLet no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give ^cgrace to those who hear. ³⁰And ^ddo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^eby whom you were sealed for the day of ^fredemption. ^31gLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ^32hBe kind to one another, tenderhearted, ⁱforgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.