THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints
who are at Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in
Christ,
4 even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love,
5
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of
His glorious grace, by which He bestowed favor upon us in the
Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which
He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight,
9 having made known
to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He
purposed in Himself,
10 for an administration of the fullness of
the times, He might bring together all things in Christ, those in
heaven and those on the earth—in Him.
11 In whom also we
have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His
purpose, who works all things according to the counsel of His
will,
12 so that we should be to the praise of His glory, we who
first trusted in Christ;
13 in whom you also, when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having
believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who
is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the
possession, to the praise of His glory.
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Because of this I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease to give
thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
17 that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18
having the eyes of your heart enlightened; that you may know what is
the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His
glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the
immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to
the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ,
having raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in
the heavenlies,
21 above every ruler and authority and power and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also
in the coming age.
22 And He subjected all things under His feet,
and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which
is His body, the fullness of Him filling all things in
all.
EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2
By Grace Through Faith
1 And you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in which
you formerly walked according to the age of this world, according to
the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in
the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted
ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the senses, and were by nature children of wrath, as also
the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great
love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have
been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and seated us together
in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the coming ages He
might show the surpassing riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not
of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are His handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.
One in Christ
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are
called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made by hands
in the flesh,
12 that at that time you were separated from
Christ, being estranged from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
to the covenants of promise, not having hope and without God in the
world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Christ Our Peace
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both groups one, and has
destroyed the dividing wall of separation,
15 having abolished in
His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in
ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man from the two,
thus establishing peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both
to God in one body through the cross, putting to death the enmity in
Himself.
17 And having come, He preached peace to you who were
far away and to those near.
18 For through Him we both have
access by one Spirit to the Father.
Christ Our Cornerstone
19 So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens
with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 being
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole
building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the
Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a
dwelling place of God in the
Spirit.
EPHESIANS CHAPTER 3
God’s Mysterious Plan Revealed
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of
you Gentiles—
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of
the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3 how that by
revelation He made known to me the mystery, just as I wrote before
briefly,
4 with reference to which, when you read, you can
understand my insight in the mystery of Christ,
5 which in other
generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been
revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
6 that
the Gentiles should be joint heirs, and of the same body, and joint
partakers in His promise in Christ by the gospel,
7 of which I
became a minister according to the free gift of the grace of God which
was given to me according to the working of His power.
Purpose of the Mystery
8 To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9
and to enlighten all as to what is the administration of the mystery,
which had been hidden from the ages in God, who created all things
through Jesus Christ;
10 that the manifold wisdom of God might be
made known by the church to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenlies,
11 according to the eternal purpose which He made in
Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have the boldness and the
access with confidence through faith in Him.
13 Therefore I
beseech you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, which
is your glory.
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
15 from whom every family in heaven and earth takes its
name,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His
glory, to be strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner
man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; being
rooted and founded in love,
18 that you may be able to comprehend
with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and
height—
19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses
knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that
we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to
Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever
and ever.
Amen.
EPHESIANS CHAPTER 4
Unity in the Body of Christ
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the
calling with which you were called,
2 with all humility and
meekness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3
being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one
hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6
one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us
all.
Spiritual Gifts
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the
free gift of Christ.
8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on
high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."
9 But
that "He ascended"—what is it but that He also first descended
into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended, He is
also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill
all things.
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as
prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and
teachers,
12 for the perfecting of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,
13 until we
all arrive to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ;
14 that we may no longer be infants, being tossed as by
waves, and being carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the
trickery of men, by craftiness in regard to deceitful scheming,
15 but speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into
Him who is the head—Christ;
16 from whom the whole body,
being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according
to the working of the measure of each individual part, causes the
growth of the body for the edification of itself in love.
The New Man
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no
longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their
mind,
18 having been darkened in understanding, being estranged
from the life of God, because of the ignorance which is in them,
because of the hardness of their heart;
19 who, having become
callous, gave themselves over to debauchery, for the working of
uncleanness with utmost greediness.
20 But you did not thus learn
Christ,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and were instructed by
Him, just as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off,
concerning your former way of life, the old man which is being
corrupted according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and that you be
renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the
new man which was created in the likeness of God, in true righteousness
and holiness.
Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
25 Therefore, having put off falsehood, "Let each one speak truth with
his neighbor," for we are members of one another.
26 “Be
angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun set on your anger,
27
nor give opportunity to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no
longer, but rather let him labor, working that which is good with his
hands, in order that he may have something to share with him who has
need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed from your mouth, but only
what is good for edification, that it may give grace to them that
hear.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you
were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness,
wrath, anger, clamor, and blasphemy be removed from you, with all
malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, just as also God in Christ forgave
us.
EPHESIANS CHAPTER 5
Walk in Love
1 Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children.
2 And walk
in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us, an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant aroma.
3 But
fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be
named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4 neither wickedness,
nor foolish talk or coarse jesting, which are not proper, but rather
thanksgiving.
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, or unclean
person, nor covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon
the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be participants with
them.
Walk in Light
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk
as children of light—
9 for the fruit of the Spirit is in all
goodness, righteousness, and truth,
10 proving what is
well-pleasing to the Lord.
11 And have no partnership with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it
is shameful even to speak of those things being done by them in
secret.
13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by
the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
14 Therefore He
says: "Awake, you who are sleeping, and arise from the dead, and Christ
will shine on you."
Walk in Wisdom
15 See then that you walk carefully, not as unwise, but as wise,
16
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be
foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And do
not get drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with
the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord,
20 giving thanks always concerning all things to God the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 subjecting
yourselves to one another in the fear of God.
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the
Lord,
23 because the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ
is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
24 But
just as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives be to their
own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your own wives,
just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26
in order that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of
water by the word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that
she should be holy and blameless.
28 So husbands ought to love
their own wives as their own bodies; he that loves his own wife loves
himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes
and cherishes it, just as also the Lord does the church.
30 For
we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31
"For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined
to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
32 This is a
great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and to the
church.
33 Nevertheless you also individually, let each one love
his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respect her
husband.
EPHESIANS CHAPTER 6
Children and Parents
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2
"Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with a
promise:
3 "that it may be well with you, and you may live long
on the earth."
4 And fathers, do not provoke your children to
anger, but bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your masters according to the flesh with fear and
trembling, in simplicity of heart, as to Christ;
6 not with
eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of
God wholeheartedly,
7 with good will doing service, as to the
Lord, and not to men,
8 knowing that whatever good thing anyone
does, the same he shall receive back from the Lord, whether slave or
free.
9 And masters, do the same things towards them, giving up
threatening, knowing that your own Master is in heaven, and there is no
partiality with Him.
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able
to stand against the stratagems of the devil.
12 For we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.
13 Because of this,
take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day, and having accomplished all things, to stand.
14 Stand
therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the
breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with
the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking up
the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the
flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 through every prayer and petition, praying in every season in the
Spirit, being watchful to this same thing with all perseverance and
petition concerning all the saints—
19 and for me, that
utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known
with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
20 for the sake of which
I serve as an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I
must speak.
Final Greetings
21 But that you also may know my circumstances, and how I am doing,
Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make
all things known to you;
22 whom I have sent to you for this very
purpose, that you may know our situation, and that he may comfort your
hearts.
23 Peace to the brothers, and love with faith, from God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all those
who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.