New Living Translation

New King James Version

Greetings from Paul

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus,a who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

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Greeting

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

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May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

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

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Spiritual Blessings

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

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Redemption in Christ

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

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Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

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just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

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God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

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having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

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So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.b

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to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He [a]made us accepted in the Beloved.

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He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

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In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

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He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

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which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [b]prudence,

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God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ — which is to fulfill his own good plan.

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having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

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And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ — everything in heaven and on earth.

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that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him.

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Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,c for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

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In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

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God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.

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that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

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And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his ownd by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

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In Him you also trusted, after 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,

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The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

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who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

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Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,e

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Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

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I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

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do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

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asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdomf and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

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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,

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I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called — his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.g

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the eyes of your [f]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

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I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power

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and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

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that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

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which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

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Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else — not only in this world but also in the world to come.

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far above all principality[g] and [h]power and [i]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

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God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

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And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,

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And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

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

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1