Ephesians 1:1-23.
Ephesians 1:1-23 (Good News Translation)
1From Paul, who by God's will is an apostle of Christ Jesus—
To God's people in Ephesus,
who are faithful in their life in union with Christ Jesus:
2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace
and peace.
3Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.
4Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to
be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without
fault before him.
Because of his love
5God
had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us
his children—this was his pleasure and purpose.
6Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he
gave us in his dear Son!
7For by the blood of Christ
we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is
the grace of God,
8which he gave to us in such large measure!
In all his wisdom and insight
9God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret
plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ.
10This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is
to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with
Christ as head.
11All things are done according to God's plan and decision; and
God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own
purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning.
12Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise
God's glory!
13And you also became God's people when you heard the true
message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ,
and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he
had promised.
14The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God
has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete
freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!
15For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus and your love for all of God's people,
16I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I remember
you in my prayers
17and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious
Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to
you, so that you will know him.
18I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that
you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the
wonderful blessings he promises his people,
19and how very great is his power at work in us who believe.
This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength
20which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him
at his right side in the heavenly world.
21Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities,
powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in
this world and in the next.
22God put all things under Christ's feet and gave him to the
church as supreme Lord over all things.
23The church is Christ's body, the completion of him who
himself completes all things everywhere.
1From Paul, who by God's will is an apostle of Christ Jesus—
To God's people in Ephesus,
who are faithful in their life in union with Christ Jesus:
2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace
and peace.
3Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.
4Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to
be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without
fault before him.
Because of his love
5God
had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us
his children—this was his pleasure and purpose.
6Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he
gave us in his dear Son!
7For by the blood of Christ
we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is
the grace of God,
8which he gave to us in such large measure!
In all his wisdom and insight
9God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret
plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ.
10This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is
to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with
Christ as head.
11All things are done according to God's plan and decision; and
God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own
purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning.
12Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise
God's glory!
13And you also became God's people when you heard the true
message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ,
and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he
had promised.
14The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God
has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete
freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!
15For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus and your love for all of God's people,
16I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I remember
you in my prayers
17and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious
Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to
you, so that you will know him.
18I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that
you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the
wonderful blessings he promises his people,
19and how very great is his power at work in us who believe.
This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength
20which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him
at his right side in the heavenly world.
21Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities,
powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in
this world and in the next.
22God put all things under Christ's feet and gave him to the
church as supreme Lord over all things.
23The church is Christ's body, the completion of him who
himself completes all things everywhere.
God bless you.
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