Ephesians 3
1 By reason of this grace, I, Paul, am a prisoner of Jesus Christ, for the sake of you Gentiles.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus, the Christ, for the sake of you Gentiles –
2 Now certainly, you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which has been given to me among you:
For you have heard, I suppose, of the responsible charge with which God entrusted me for your benefit,
3 that, by means of revelation, the mystery was made known to me, just as I have written above in a few words.
and also that it was by direct revelation that the hidden purpose of God was made known to me, as I have already briefly told you.
4 Yet, by reading this closely, you might be able to understand my prudence in the mystery of Christ.
And, by reading what I have written, you will be able to judge how far I understand this hidden purpose of God in Christ.
5 In other generations, this was unknown to the sons of men, even as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and Prophets in the Spirit,
In former generations it was not made known to humanity, as fully as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to the apostles and prophets among Christ’s people –
6 so that the Gentiles would be co-heirs, and of the same body, and partners together, by his promise in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel.
That, by union with Christ Jesus and through the good news, the Gentiles are coheirs with us and members of one body, and that they share with us in God’s Promise.
7 Of this Gospel, I have been made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, which has been given to me by means of the operation of his virtue.
Of this good news I become an assistant, in virtue of the charge with which God entrusted me in the exercise of his power –
8 Although I am the least of all the saints, I have been given this grace: to evangelize among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Yes, to me, who am less than the least of all Christ’s people, was this charge entrusted! – to tell the Gentiles the good news of the boundless wealth to be found in the Christ,
9 and to enlighten everyone concerning the dispensation of the mystery, hidden before the ages in God who created all things, (aiōn g165)
and to make clear what is God’s way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things; (aiōn g165)
10 so that the manifold wisdom of God may become well-known to the principalities and powers in the heavens, through the Church,
so that now to the archangels and to all the powers on high should be made known, through the church, the all-embracing wisdom of God,
in accordance with that purpose which runs through all the ages and which he has now accomplished in Jesus, the Christ, our Master. (aiōn g165)
12 In him we trust, and so we approach with confidence, through his faith.
And in union with him, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence.
13 Because of this, I ask you not to be weakened by my tribulations on your behalf; for this is your glory.
Therefore I beg you not to be disheartened at the sufferings that I am undergoing for your sakes; for they redound to your honour.
14 By reason of this grace, I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
For this reason, then, I kneel before the Father –
15 from whom all paternity in heaven and on earth takes its name.
from whom all “fatherhood” in heaven and on earth derives its name –
16 And I ask him to grant to you to be strengthened in virtue by his Spirit, in accord with the wealth of his glory, in the inner man,
and pray that, in proportion to the wealth of his glory, he will strengthen you with his power by breathing his Spirit into your inmost soul,
17 so that Christ may live in your hearts through a faith rooted in, and founded on, charity.
so that the Christ, through your faith, may make his home within your hearts in love; and I pray that you, now firmly rooted and established, may, with all Christ’s people,
18 So may you be able to embrace, with all the saints, what is the width and length and height and depth
have the power to comprehend in all its width and length and height and depth,
19 of the charity of Christ, and even be able to know that which surpasses all knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
and to understand – though it surpasses all understanding – the love of the Christ; and so be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do all things, more abundantly than we could ever ask or understand, by means of the virtue which is at work in us:
To him who, through his power which is at work within us, is able to do far more than anything that we can ask or conceive –
