Ephesians 2–5

God Has Given Us New Life Through Christ

2You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. ²You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don’t obey God.

³At one time we all lived among them. We tried to satisfy what our sinful nature wanted to do. We followed its longings and thoughts. God was angry with us and everyone else because of the kind of people we were.

⁴But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. ⁵So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you.

⁶God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom because we belong to Christ Jesus. ⁷He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can’t be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done.

⁸God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. ⁹It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it.

¹⁰God made us. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good things. Long ago God prepared them for us to do.

God’s New Family

¹¹You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “circumcised.” But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands.

¹²Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world. ¹³At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.

¹⁴Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and non-Jews into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us. ¹⁵Through his body on the cross, Christ put an end to the law with all its commands and rules. He wanted to create one new group of people out of the two. He wanted to make peace between them.

¹⁶He planned to bring both of them as one body back to God because of the cross. Christ put their hatred to death on that cross.

¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near. ¹⁸Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.

¹⁹So you are no longer strangers and outsiders. You are citizens together with God’s people. You are members of God’s family.

²⁰You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building. ²¹The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord.

²²And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.

Paul Is the Messenger to Non-Jews

3I, Paul, am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. I am in prison because of my work among you who are not Jews.

²I am sure you have heard that God appointed me to share his grace with you. ³I’m talking about the mystery God showed me. I have already written a little about it. ⁴By reading it you will be able to understand what I know about the mystery of Christ.

⁵The mystery was not made known to people of other times. But now the Holy Spirit has made it known to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

⁶Here is the mystery. Because of the good news, God’s promises are for non-Jews as well as for Jews. Both groups are parts of one body. They share in the promise. It belongs to them because they belong to Christ Jesus.

⁷I now serve the good news because God gave me his grace. His power is at work in me. ⁸I am by far the least important of all of God’s people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the non-Jews about the wonderful riches that Christ gives.

⁹God told me to make clear to everyone how the mystery came about. In times past it was kept hidden in the mind of God, who created all things. ¹⁰He wanted the rulers and authorities in the heavenly world to come to know his great wisdom. The church would make it known to them.

¹¹That was God’s plan from the beginning. He has worked it out through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹²Through him and through faith in him we can approach God. We can come to him freely. We can come without fear.

¹³So here is what I’m asking you to do. Don’t lose hope because I am suffering for you. It will lead to the time when God will give you his glory.

Paul Prays for God’s People

¹⁴I bow in prayer to the Father because of my work among you. ¹⁵From the Father his whole family in heaven and on earth gets its name.

¹⁶I pray that he will use his glorious riches to make you strong. May his Holy Spirit give you his power deep down inside you. ¹⁷Then Christ will live in your hearts because you believe in him.

And I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have a strong foundation. ¹⁸May you have power with all God’s people to understand Christ’s love. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is. ¹⁹And may you know his love, even though it can’t be known completely. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you.

²⁰God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. ²¹Give him glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. Give him glory through all time and for ever and ever. Amen.

The Body of Christ Is One

4I am a prisoner because of the Lord. So I am asking you to live a life worthy of what God chose you for.

²Don’t be proud at all. Be completely gentle. Be patient. Put up with one another in love. ³The Holy Spirit makes you one in every way. So try your best to remain as one. Let peace keep you together.

⁴There is one body. There is one Spirit. You were appointed to one hope when you were chosen. ⁵There is one Lord. There is one faith and one baptism. ⁶There is one God and Father of all. He is over everything. He is through everything. He is in everything.

⁷But each one of us has received a gift of grace, just as Christ wanted us to have it. ⁸That is why Scripture says,

“When he went up to his place on high,

he led a line of prisoners.

He gave gifts to people.”

⁹What does “he went up” mean? It can only mean that he also came down to the lower, earthly places. ¹⁰The One who came down is the same as the One who went up higher than all the heavens. He did it in order to fill all of creation. ¹¹He is the One who gave some the gift to be apostles. He gave some the gift to be prophets. He gave some the gift of preaching the good news. And he gave some the gift to be pastors and teachers. ¹²He did it so that they might prepare God’s people to serve. If they do, the body of Christ will be built up.

¹³That will continue until we all become one in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son. Then we will be grown up in the faith. We will receive everything that Christ has for us.

¹⁴We will no longer be babies in the faith. We won’t be like ships tossed around by the waves. We won’t be blown here and there by every new teaching. We won’t be blown around by the cleverness and tricks of people who try to hide their evil plans. ¹⁵Instead, we will speak the truth in love. We will grow up into Christ in every way.

He is the Head. ¹⁶He makes the whole body grow and build itself up in love. Under the control of Christ, each part of the body does its work. It supports the other parts. In that way, the body is joined and held together.

Living as Children of Light

¹⁷Here is what I’m telling you. I am speaking for the Lord as I warn you. You must no longer live like those who aren’t Jews. Their thoughts don’t have any purpose. ¹⁸They can’t understand the truth. They are separated from the life of God. That is because they don’t know him. And they don’t know him because their hearts are stubborn.

¹⁹They have lost all feeling for what is right. They have given themselves over to the evil pleasures of their bodies. They take part in every kind of unclean act. And they always long for more.

²⁰But that is not what you have learned about Christ. ²¹I’m sure you heard of him. I’m sure you were taught by him. What you learned was the truth about Jesus.

²²You were taught not to live the way you used to. You must get rid of your old way of life. That’s because it is polluted by longing for things that lead you down the wrong path.

²³You were taught to be made new in your thinking. ²⁴You were taught to start living a new life. It is created to be truly good and holy, just as God is.

²⁵So each of you must get rid of your lying. Speak the truth to your neighbor. We are all parts of one body.

²⁶Scripture says, “When you are angry, do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. ²⁷Don’t give the devil a chance.

²⁸Those who have been stealing must never steal again. Instead, they must work. They must do something useful with their own hands. Then they will have something to give to people in need.

²⁹Don’t let any evil talk come out of your mouths. Say only what will help to build others up and meet their needs. Then what you say will help those who listen.

³⁰Do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad. He marked you with a seal for the day when God will set you completely free.

³¹Get rid of all hard feelings, anger and rage. Stop all fighting and lying. Put away every form of hatred. ³²Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive each other, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done.

5You are the children that God dearly loves. So be just like him. ²Lead a life of love, just as Christ did. He loved us. He gave himself up for us. He was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

³There should not be even a hint of sexual sin…