GREETING

1 Paul,a an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:b

To the faithful saintsc in Christ JesusA at Ephesus.B,d

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

GOD’S RICH BLESSINGS

3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.f 4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.C,f 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious graceg that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.h

7 In him we have redemptioni through his blood, the forgivenessj of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.D 9 He made known to us the mystery of his will,k according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christl 10 as a plan for the right timeE—to bring everything together in Christ,m both things in heaven and things on earthn in him.o

11 In him we have also received an inheritance,F because we were predestinedp according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, 12 so that we who had already put our hopeq in Christ might bring praise to his glory.r

13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirits when you heard the word of truth,t the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down paymentu of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL INSIGHT

15 This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,G would give you the SpiritH,v of wisdom and revelationw in the knowledge of him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hopex of his calling,y what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his powerz toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.

GOD’S POWER IN CHRIST

20 He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right handaa in the heavensab—21 far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given,I,ac not only in this age but also in the one to come.ad 22 And he subjected everything under his feetJ,ae and appointed himK as headaf over everything for the church, 23 which is his body,ag the fullnessah of the one who fills all thingsai in every way.

FROM DEATH TO LIFE

2 And you were deadaj in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world,ak according to the ruler of the power of the air,al the spiritam now working in the disobedient.L 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshlyan desires, carrying out the inclinationsao of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrathap as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy,aq because of his great lovear that he had for us,M 5 made us aliveas with Christ even though we were deadat in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,au 7 so that in the coming agesav he might display the immeasurable richesaw of his grace through his kindnessa to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by graceb through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, createdc in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of timed for us to do.

UNITY IN CHRIST

11 So, then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,”e which is done in the flesh by human hands.f 12 At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise,g without hopeh and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the bloodi of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who made both groups onej and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh, 15 he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might createk in himself onel new man from the two, resulting in peace. 16 He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one bodym through the cross by which he put the hostility to death.A 17 He came and proclaimed the good newsn of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.o 18 For through him we both have accessp in one Spirit to the Father.q 19 So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,r with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building, being put together,s grows into a holy temple in the Lord.t 22 In him you are also being built togetheru for God’s dwellingv in the Spirit.

PAUL’S MINISTRY TO THE GENTILES

3 For this reason, I, Paul, the prisonerw of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—2 assuming you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that he gave me for you. 3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation,x as I have briefly written above. 4 By reading this you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.y 5 This was not made known to peopleB in other generations as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophetsz by the Spirit: 6 The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promiseaa in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 I 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.ab

8 This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable richesac of Christ, 9 and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who createdad all things. 10 This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdomae may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.af 11 This is according to his eternal purposeag accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him we have boldness and confident accessah through faith in him.C 13 So, then, I ask you not to be discouragedai over my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory.aj

PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL POWER

14 For this reason I kneelak before the FatherD 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. 16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the richesal of his glory,am to be strengthened with poweran in your inner beingao through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love,ap 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is ableaq to do above and beyond all that we ask or thinkar according to the poweras that works in us—21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.at

UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord,au urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humilityav and gentleness, with patience,aw bearingax with one another in love,ay 3 making every effort to keep the unityaz of the Spiritba through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spiritbb—just as you were called to one hopeA,a at your calling—5 one Lord,b one faith,c one baptism, 6 one Godd and Fathere of all, who is above all and through all and in all.f

7 Now grace was given to each one of usg according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says:

When he ascendedh on high,

he took the captives captive;

he gave gifts to people.B,i

9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that heC also descended to the lower parts of the earth?D,j 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens,k to fill all things.l 11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,m 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,n growing into maturity with a statureo measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,p by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the headq—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit togetherr by every supporting ligament, promotes the growths of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

LIVING THE NEW LIFE

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

20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truthu is in Jesus, 22 to take offG,v your former way of life,w the old selfx that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewedH in the spirity of your minds, 24 and to put onI,z the new self, the one createdaa according to God’s likenessab in righteousness and purity of the truth.

25 Therefore, putting awayac lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor,J,ad because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin.K,ae Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to shareaf with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need,L so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.ag You were sealed by himM for the day of redemption.ah 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kindai and compassionateaj to one another, forgivingak one another, just as God also forgave youN in Christ.

5 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us,al a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But sexual immoralityam and any impurityan or greedao should not even be heard ofO among you, as is proper for saints. 4 Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. 5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoralap or impureaq or greedyar person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdomas of Christ and of God.

LIGHT VERSUS DARKNESS

6 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrathat is coming on the disobedientP because of these things. 7 Therefore, do not become their partners. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are lightau in the Lord. Walk as children of lightav—9 for the fruit of the lightQ consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truthaw—10 testingax what is pleasingay to the Lord. 11 Don’t participate in the fruitlessaz works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. 13 Everything exposed by the light is made visible,a 14 for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:

Get up, sleeper,b and rise up from the dead,c

and Christ will shine on you.d

CONSISTENCY IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—16 making the most of the time,A,e because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understandf what the Lord’s willg is. 18 And don’t get drunkh with wine,i which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:j 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.k

WIVES AND HUSBANDS

22 Wives,l submitB,m to your husbandsn as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wifeo as Christ is the headp of the church. He is the Savior of the body.q 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives,r just as Christ loveds the church and gave himselft for her 26 to make her holy, cleansingC her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.u 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.D 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,v and the two will become one flesh.E,w 32 This mysteryx is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.