Ephesians 3
1 This is why, I, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the sake of you foreigners,
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus, the Christ, for the sake of you Gentiles –
2 (well, I'm assuming you've heard that God gave me the specific responsibility of sharing God's grace with you),
For you have heard, I suppose, of the responsible charge with which God entrusted me for your benefit,
3 how, by what God showed me, made clear the mystery that was previously hidden. I wrote to you briefly before about this,
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 and when you read this you'll be able to understand my insight into 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 past generations this wasn't made clear to anyone, but now it's been revealed to God's holy apostles and prophets by 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 that foreigners are joint heirs, part of the same body, and in Christ Jesus share together in the promise through the good news.
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 I became a minister of this good news through the gift of God's grace that I was given by his power that was at work in me.
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 This grace was given to me, the least important of all Christians, in order to share with the foreigners the incredible value 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 help everyone see the purpose of the mystery which from the very beginning was hidden in God who made everything. (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 God's plan was that the various aspects of his wisdom would be revealed through the church to the rulers and authorities in heaven.
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,
11 This was in accordance with God's eternal purpose that he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. (aiōn g165)
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 Because of him and our trust in him we can come to God in total freedom and confidence.
And in union with him, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence.
13 So I'm asking that you don't get discouraged that I'm suffering—it's for you and you should value that!
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 This is why I kneel before the Father
For this reason, then, I kneel before the Father –
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its nature and character,
from whom all “fatherhood” in heaven and on earth derives its name –
16 asking him that out of his wealth of glory he may strengthen you in your innermost being with power through his Spirit.
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 May Christ live in you as you trust in him, so that as you are planted deep in love,
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 you may have the power to comprehend with all God's people the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love.
have the power to comprehend in all its width and length and height and depth,
19 May you know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you're made full and complete by 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 may he who—through his power working in us—can do infinitely more than we ever ask for or even think about,
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 –
