Ephesians 3–4

Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles

3For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner ^jof Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— ²you have heard, haven’t you, about the administration of God’s grace that He gave to me for you? ³The mystery was made known to me by revelation, ^kas I have briefly written above. ⁴By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. ^l5This was not made known to people ^min other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets ⁿby the Spirit: ⁶The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise ^oin Christ Jesus through the gospel. ⁷I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power. ^p

⁸This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches ^qof the Messiah, ⁹and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created ^rall things. ¹⁰This is so God’s multi-faceted wisdom ^smay now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. ^t11This is according to His eternal purpose ^uaccomplished in the Messiah, Jesus our Lord. ¹²In Him we have boldness and confident access ^vthrough faith in Him. ^w13So then I ask you not to be discouraged ^xover my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory. ^y

Prayer for Spiritual Power

¹⁴For this reason I kneel ^zbefore the Father ^a15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. ¹⁶I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches ^bof His glory, ^cto be strengthened with power ^din the inner man ^ethrough His Spirit, ¹⁷and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, ¹⁸may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, ^f19and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰Now to Him who is able ^gto do above and beyond all that we ask or think ^haccording to the power ⁱthat works in us— ²¹to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ^j

Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ

4Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, ^kurge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, ²with all humility ^land gentleness, with patience, ^maccepting ^noone another in love, ^p3diligently keeping the unity ^qof the Spirit ^rwith the peace ^sthat binds us. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit ^t—just as you were called to one hope ^uvat your calling— ⁵one Lord, ^wone faith, ^xone baptism, ⁶one God ^yand Father ^zof all, who is above all and through all and in all. ^a

⁷Now grace was given to each one of us ^baccording to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. ⁸For it says:

When He ascended ^con high,

He took prisoners into captivity; ^d

He gave gifts to people. ^ef

⁹But what does “He ascended” mean except that He ^gdescended to the lower parts of the earth? ^hi10The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, ^jthat He might fill ^kall things. ^l11And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, ^m13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, ⁿgrowing into a mature man with a stature ^omeasured by Christ’s fullness. ¹⁴Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, ^pby human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. ¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head ^q—Christ. ¹⁶From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together ^rby every supporting ligament, promotes the growth ^sof the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Living the New Life

¹⁷Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. ¹⁹They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity ^twith a desire for more and more. ^u

²⁰But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, ²¹assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truth ^vis in Jesus. ²²You took off ^wxyour former way of life, ^ythe old self ^zathat is corrupted by deceitful desires; ²³you are being renewed ^bin the spirit ^cof your minds; ²⁴you put on ^dethe new self, the one created ^faccording to God’s likeness ^gin righteousness and purity of the truth.

²⁵Since you put away ^hlying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, ^ijbecause we are members of one another. ²⁶Be angry and do not sin. ^klDon’t let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and don’t give the Devil an opportunity. ²⁸The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share ^mwith anyone in need. ²⁹No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, ⁿso that it gives grace to those who hear. ³⁰And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. ^oYou were sealed by Him ^pfor the day of redemption. ^q31All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. ³²And be kind ^rand compassionate ^sto one another, forgiving ^tone another, just as God also forgave you ^uin Christ.