Ephesians 3

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

⁸So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

¹As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

¹⁴And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

¹²But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.

¹¹that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

²⁵I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God,

²⁶the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.

¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased

¹⁶to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,

⁵Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

¹¹to which I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.

⁷Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

²⁵Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past

⁹And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ

¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.

⁹and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

²⁶the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.

²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

³as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

⁶Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.

¹So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

⁶Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

⁷No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.

²that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,

¹⁶By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,

¹¹trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

²by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

¹⁷But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ

¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

⁹and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

²⁶You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁷For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

¹⁶The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

²⁵And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.

¹⁹and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,

⁶And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

²Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

²⁰Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,

²¹equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²³if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

¹³I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.

¹⁶I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,

⁷in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

⁷For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything.

²⁶the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.

³⁵So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

⁹He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

³For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.

⁴And every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

⁷No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.

³³O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

⁹He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

¹¹In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

⁴For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love

¹¹Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,

¹⁰I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

¹¹I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will surely do it.

⁹And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ

¹⁸For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.

¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body,

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

⁴Such confidence before God is ours through Christ.

¹³But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.

³¹But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

⁶If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel.

¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...

¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

⁶O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

⁵But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

²³By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.

¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.

⁸When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

⁹And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

¹⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

¹²The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

¹¹being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully

¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

²⁹He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.

¹⁰Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

¹²I will strengthen them in the Lord, and in His name they will walk,” declares the Lord.

¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

⁷rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

²³Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

¹⁶And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

²¹In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

²²And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.

¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.

¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

⁷Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

¹⁸I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,

¹³Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁹of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the Lord extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—

²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

⁹For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.

¹⁰And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

¹⁰so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

⁹This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

¹⁰And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

¹⁶From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

²¹being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.

²⁷“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?

⁹Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

¹⁹and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,

²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

³⁶For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

¹²saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”

¹¹To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

¹¹Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.