THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS Greetings from Paul From Paul an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by Gods will To His holy and faithful people in Ephesus who are in union with the Messiah Jesus May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah be yours The Many Blessings of Salvation Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm just as he chose us in the Messiah before the creation of the universe to be holy and blameless in his presence In love he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus the Messiah according to the pleasure of his will so that we would praise his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One In union with him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our offenses according to the riches of Gods grace that he lavished on us along with all wisdom and understanding when he made known to us the secret of his will This was according to his plan that he set forth in the Messiah to usher in the fullness of the times and to bring together in the Messiah all things in heaven and on earth In the Messiah we were also chosen when we were predestined according to the purpose of the one who does everything that he wills to do so that we who had already fixed our hope on the Messiah might live for his praise and glory You too have heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation When you believed in the Messiah you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems his own possession for his praise and glory Pauls Prayer for the Ephesians Therefore because I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints I never stop giving thanks for you as I mention you in my prayers I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah the most glorious Father would give you a wise spirit along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully Then with the eyes of your hearts enlightened you will know the confidence that is produced by God having called you the rich glory that is his inheritance among the saints and the unlimited greatness of his power for us who believe according to the working of his mighty strength which he brought about in the Messiah when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm He is far above every ruler authority power dominion and every name that can be named not only in the present age but also in the one to come God has put everything under the Messiahs feet and has made him the head of everything for the good of the church which is his body the fullness of the one who fills everything in every way God Has Brought Us from Death to Life You used to be dead because of your offenses and sins that you once practiced as you lived according to the ways of this present world and according to the ruler of the power of the air the spirit that is now active in those who are disobedient Indeed all of us once behaved like them in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of our flesh and senses By nature we were destined for wrath just like everyone else But God who is rich in mercy because of his great love for us even when we were dead because of our offenses made us alive together with the Messiah by grace you have been saved raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realm in the Messiah Jesus so that in the coming ages he might display the limitless riches of his grace that comes to us through his kindness in the Messiah Jesus For by such grace you have been saved through faith This does not come from you it is the gift of God and not the result of actions to put a stop to all boasting For we are Gods masterpiece created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life All Believers are One in the Messiah So then remember that at one time you gentiles by birth were called the uncircumcised by those who called themselves the circumcised They underwent physical circumcision done by human hands At that time you were without the Messiah excluded from citizenship in Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise You had no hope and were in the world without God But now in union with the Messiah Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah For it is he who is our peace Through his mortality he made both groups one by tearing down the wall of hostility that divided them He rendered the law inoperative along with its commandments and regulations thus creating in himself one new humanity from the two thereby making peace and reconciling both groups to God in one body through the cross on which he eliminated the hostility He came and proclaimed peace for you who were far away and for you who were near For through him both of us have access to the Father by one Spirit That is why you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of Gods household having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets the Messiah Jesus himself being the cornerstone In union with him the whole building is joined together and rises into a holy sanctuary for the Lord You too are being built in him along with the others into a place for Gods Spirit to dwell Pauls Ministry to the Gentiles For this reason I Paul am the prisoner of the Messiah Jesus for the sake of you gentiles Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering Gods grace that was given to me on your behalf and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation just as I wrote about briefly in the past By reading this you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about the Messiah which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to Gods holy apostles and prophets This is that secret The gentiles are heirs in common members in common of the body and common participants in what was promised by the Messiah Jesus through the gospel I have become a servant of this gospel according to the gift of Gods grace that was given me by the working of his power To me the very least of all the saints this grace was given so that I might proclaim to the gentiles the immeasurable wealth of the Messiah and help everyone see how this secret that has been at work was hidden for ages by God who created all things He did this so that now through the church the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm in keeping with the eternal purpose that God carried out through the Messiah Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and confident access through his faithfulness So then I ask you not to become discouraged because of my troubles on your behalf which work toward your glory To Know the Messiahs Love This is the reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name I pray that he would give you according to his glorious riches strength in your inner being and power through his Spirit and that the Messiah would make his home in your hearts through faith Then having been rooted and grounded in love you will be able to understand along with all the saints what is wide long high and deep that is you will know the love of the Messiah which transcends knowledge and will be filled with all the fullness of God Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us to him be glory in the church and in the Messiah Jesus to all generations forever and ever Amen The Messiahs Gifts to the Church I therefore the prisoner of the Lord urge you to live in a way that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called demonstrating all expressions of humility gentleness and patience accepting one another in love Do your best to maintain the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace There is one body and one Spirit Likewise you were called to the one hope of your calling There is one Lord one faith one baptism one God and Father of all who is above all through all and in all Now to each one of us grace has been given proportionate to the measure of the Messiahs gift That is why God says When he went up to the highest place he led captives into captivity and gave gifts to people Now what does this he went up mean except that he also had gone down into the lower parts of the earth ? The one who went down is the same one who went up above all the heavens so that all things would be fulfilled And it is he who gifted some to be apostles others to be prophets others to be evangelists and still others to be pastors and teachers to equip the saints to do the work of ministry and to build up the body of the Messiah until all of us are united in the faith and in the full knowledge of Gods Son and until we attain mature adulthood and the full standard of development in the Messiah Then we will no longer be little children tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine by peoples trickery or by clever strategies that would lead us astray Instead by speaking the truth in love we will grow up completely and become one with the head that is one with the Messiah in whom the whole body is united and held together by every ligament with which it is supplied As each individual part does its job the body builds itself up in love The Old Life and the New Therefore I tell you and insist on in the Lord not to live any longer like the gentiles live thinking worthless thoughts They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart Since they have lost all sense of shame they have abandoned themselves to sensuality and practice every kind of sexual perversion without restraint However that is not the way you came to know the Messiah Surely you have listened to him and have been taught by him since truth is in Jesus Regarding your former way of life you were taught to strip off your old nature which is being ruined by its deceptive desires to be renewed in your mental attitude and to clothe yourselves with the new nature which was created according to Gods image in righteousness and true holiness Therefore stripping off falsehood let each of us speak the truth to his neighbor for we belong to one another Be angry yet do not sin Do not let the sun set while you are still angry and do not give the devil an opportunity to work The thief must no longer steal but must work hard and do what is good with his own hands so that he might earn something to give to the needy Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment This way you will administer grace to those who hear you Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption Let all bitterness wrath anger quarreling and slander be put away from you along with all hatred And be kind to one another compassionate forgiving one another just as God has forgiven you in the Messiah So be imitators of God as his dear children Live lovingly just as the Messiah also loved us and gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice a fragrant aroma to God Do not let sexual sin impurity of any kind or greed even be mentioned among you as is proper for saints Obscene flippant or vulgar talk is totally inappropriate Instead let there be thanksgiving For you know very well that no immoral or impure person or anyone who is greedy that is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God Living in the Light Do not let anyone deceive you with meaningless words for it is because of these things that God becomes angry with those who disobey So do not be partners with them For once you were darkness but now you are light in the Lord Live as children of light for the fruit that the light produces consists of every form of goodness righteousness and truth Determine what pleases the Lord and have nothing to do with the unfruitful actions that darkness produces Instead expose them for what they are For it is shameful even to mention what is done by these disobedient people in secret But everything that is exposed to the light becomes visible for the light is making everything visible That is why it says Wake up sleeper Arise from the dead and the Messiah will shine on you Wise Behavior So then be careful how you live Do not be unwise but wise making the best use of your time because the times are evil Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lords will is Stop getting drunk with wine which leads to wild living but keep on being filled with the Spirit Then you will recite to one another psalms hymns and spiritual songs you will sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts you will consistently give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and you will submit to one another out of reverence for the Messiah Wives and Husbands Wives submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord For the husband is the head of his wife as the Messiah is the head of the church It is he who is the Savior of the body Indeed just as the church is submissive to the Messiah so wives must be submissive to their husbands in everything Husbands love your wives as the Messiah loved the church and gave himself for it so that he might make it holy by cleansing it washing it with water and the word and might present the church to himself in all its glory without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind but holy and without fault In the same way husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies A man who loves his wife loves himself For no one has ever hated his own body but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it as the Messiah does the church For we are parts of his body of his flesh and of his bones That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and the two will become one flesh This is a great secret but I am talking about the Messiah and the church But each individual man among you must love his wife as he loves himself and may the wife fear her husband Advice for Children and Parents Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is the right thing to do Honor your father and mother This is a very important commandment with a promise so that it may go well for you and that you may have a long life on the earth Fathers do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up by training and instructing them about the Lord Advice for Slaves and Masters Slaves obey your earthly masters with fear trembling and sincerity as when you obey the Messiah Do not do this only while youre being watched in order to please them but be like slaves of the Messiah who are determined to obey Gods will Serve willingly as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people because you know that everyone will receive a reward from the Lord for whatever good he has done whether he is a slave or free Masters treat your slaves the same way Do not threaten them for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven and there is no favoritism with him Putting on the Whole Armor of God Finally be strong in the Lord relying on his mighty strength Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the devils strategies For our struggle is not against human opponents but against rulers authorities cosmic powers in the darkness around us and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm For this reason take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes And when you have done everything you could you will be able to stand firm Stand firm therefore having fastened the belt of truth around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and being firm footed in the gospel of peace In addition to having clothed yourselves with these things having taken up the shield of faith with which you will be able to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request Likewise be alert with your most diligent efforts and pray for all the saints Pray also for me so that when I begin to speak the right words will come to me Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel for whose sake I am an ambassador in chains desiring to declare the gospel as boldly as I should Final Greeting So that you may know what has happened to me and how I am doing Tychicus our dear brother and a faithful minister in service to the Lord will tell you everything I am sending him to you for this very reason so that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts May peace and love with faith be with the brothers from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah May grace be with all who sincerely love the Lord Jesus the Messiah