Ephesians 2–5

2ND CHAPTER

God Saved Us because of His Great Love for Us

¹You were once dead because of your failures and sins. ²You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This ruler continues to work in people who refuse to obey God. ³All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else. 

⁴But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us. ⁵We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness^athat saved you.) ⁶God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him. ⁷He did this through Christ Jesus out of his generosity to us in order to show his extremely rich kindness in the world to come. ⁸God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. ⁹It’s not the result of anything you’ve done, so no one can brag about it. ¹⁰God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. 

God Has United Jewish and Non-Jewish People

¹¹Remember that once you were not Jewish physically. Those who called themselves “the circumcised” because of what they had done to their bodies called you “the uncircumcised.” ¹²Also, at that time you were without Christ. You were excluded from citizenship in Israel, and the pledges^b⸤God made in his⸥ promise were foreign to you. You had no hope and were in the world without God. 

¹³But now through Christ Jesus you, who were once far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴So he is our peace. In his body he has made Jewish and non-Jewish people one by breaking down the wall of hostility that kept them apart. ¹⁵He brought an end to the commandments and demands found in Moses’ Teachings so that he could take Jewish and non-Jewish people and create one new humanity in himself. So he made peace. ¹⁶He also brought them back to God in one body by his cross, on which he killed the hostility. ¹⁷He came with the Good News of peace for you who were far away and for those who were near. ¹⁸So Jewish and non-Jewish people can go to the Father in one Spirit. 

¹⁹That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family. ²⁰You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. ²¹In him all the parts of the building fit together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. ²²Through him you, also, are being built in the Spirit together with others into a place where God lives. 

3RD CHAPTER

Paul’s Work of Spreading the Good News

¹This is the reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus^afor those of you who are not Jewish. 

²Certainly, you have heard how God gave me the responsibility of bringing his kindness^bto you. ³You have heard that he let me know this mystery through a revelation. I’ve already written to you about this briefly. ⁴When you read this, you’ll see that I understand the mystery about Christ. ⁵In the past, this mystery was not known by people as it is now. The Spirit has now revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. ⁶This mystery is the Good News that people who are not Jewish have the same inheritance as Jewish people do. They belong to the same body and share the same promise that God made in Christ Jesus. ⁷I became a servant of this Good News through God’s kindness freely given to me when his power worked ⸤in me⸥. 

⁸I am the least of all God’s people. Yet, God showed me his kindness by allowing me to spread the Good News of the immeasurable wealth of Christ to people who are not Jewish. ⁹He allowed me to explain the way this mystery works. God, who created all things, kept it hidden in the past. ¹⁰He did this so that now, through the church, he could let the rulers and authorities in heaven know his infinite wisdom. ¹¹This was God’s plan for all of history which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹²We can go to God with bold confidence through faith in Christ. ¹³So then, I ask you not to become discouraged by the troubles I suffer for you. In fact, my troubles bring you glory. 

Paul Prays That God Would Strengthen Christians

¹⁴This is the reason I kneel in the presence of the Father ¹⁵from whom all the family in heaven and on earth receives its name. ¹⁶I’m asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. ¹⁷Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. ¹⁸This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is. ¹⁹You will know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God. 

²⁰Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. ²¹Glory belongs to God in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time and eternity! Amen. 

4TH CHAPTER

Christ’s Gifts to the Church

¹I, a prisoner in the Lord, encourage you to live the kind of life which proves that God has called you. ²Be humble and gentle in every way. Be patient with each other and lovingly accept each other. ³Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit. In the same way you were called to share one hope. ⁵There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over everything, through everything, and in everything. 

⁷God’s favor^ahas been given to each of us. It was measured out to us by Christ who gave it. ⁸That’s why the Scriptures say: 

“When he went to the highest place, 

he took captive those who had captured us 

and gave gifts to people.” 

⁹Now what does it mean that he went up except that he also had gone down to the lowest parts of the earth? ¹⁰The one who had gone down also went up above all the heavens so that he fills everything. 

¹¹He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts ⸤to his church⸥. ¹²Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ. ¹³This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard. ¹⁴Then we will no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind. We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray. ¹⁵Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our relationship to Christ, who is the head. ¹⁶He makes the whole body fit together and unites it through the support of every joint. As each and every part does its job, he makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 

Live as God’s People

¹⁷So I tell you and encourage you in the Lord’s name not to live any longer like other people in the world. Their minds are set on worthless things. ¹⁸They can’t understand because they are in the dark. They are excluded from the life that God approves of because of their ignorance and stubbornness. ¹⁹Since they no longer have any sense of shame, they have become promiscuous. They practice every kind of sexual perversion with a constant desire for more. 

²⁰But that is not what you learned from Christ’s teachings. ²¹You have certainly heard his message and have been taught his ways. The truth is in Jesus. ²²You were taught to change the way you were living. The person you used to be will ruin you through desires that deceive you. ²³However, you were taught to have a new attitude. ²⁴You were also taught to become a new person created to be like God, with a life that truly has God’s approval and is holy. 

²⁵So then, get rid of lies. Speak the truth to each other, because we are all members of the same body. 

²⁶Be angry without sinning. Don’t go to bed angry. ²⁷Don’t give the devil any opportunity ⸤to work⸥. 

²⁸Thieves must quit stealing and, instead, they must work hard. They should do something good with their hands so that they’ll have something to share with those in need. 

²⁹Don’t say anything that would hurt ⸤another person⸥. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you. ³⁰Don’t give God’s Holy Spirit any reason to be upset with you. He has put his seal on you for the day you will be set free ⸤from the world of sin⸥. 

³¹Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. ³²Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ. 

5TH CHAPTER

Imitate God

¹Imitate God, since you are the children he loves. ²Live in love as Christ also loved us. He gave his life for us as an offering and sacrifice, a soothing aroma to God. 

³Don’t let sexual sin, perversion of any kind, or greed even be mentioned among you. This is not appropriate behavior for God’s holy people. ⁴It’s not right that dirty stories, foolish talk, or obscene jokes should be mentioned among you either. Instead, give thanks ⸤to God⸥. ⁵You know very well that no person who is involved in sexual sin, perversion, or greed (which means worshiping wealth) can have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶Don’t let anyone deceive you with meaningless words. It is because of sins like these that God’s anger comes to those who refuse to obey him. ⁷Don’t be partners with them. 

⁸Once you lived in the dark, but now the Lord has filled you with light. Live as children who have light. ⁹Light…