HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1436
EP H ES IA N S 3
obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.* He is the spirit at work
in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3 All of us used to live that way, following the
passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful
nature. By our very nature we were subject to
God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us
so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised
Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace
that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us
from the dead along with Christ and seated us
with him in the heavenly realms because we are
united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us
in all future ages as examples of the incredible
wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as
shown in all he has done for us who are united
with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a
gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the
good things we have done, so none of us can
boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can
do the good things he planned for us long ago.
— promises —
from God
For we are God’s
masterpiece. He has
created us anew in Christ
Jesus, so we can do the
good things he planned
for us long ago.
E P H E S I A N S 2:1 0
Oneness and Peace in Christ
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their
circumcision, even though it affected only their
bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you
were living apart from Christ. You were excluded
from citizenship among the people of Israel,
and you did not know the covenant promises
God had made to them. You lived in this world
without God and without hope. 13 But now you
have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you
were far away from God, but now you have been
brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us.
He united Jews and Gentiles into one people
when, in his own body on the cross, he broke
down the wall of hostility that separated us.
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15 He
did this by ending the system of law with
its commandments and regulations. He made
peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in
himself one new people from the two groups.
16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both
groups to God by means of his death on the
cross, and our hostility toward each other was
put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to
you Gentiles who were far away from him, and
peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us
can come to the Father through the same Holy
Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
A Temple for the Lord
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers
and foreigners. You are citizens along with all
of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s
family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the
foundation of the apostles and the prophets.
And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through
him you Gentiles are also being made part of
this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
God’s Mysterious Plan Revealed
When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you
Gentiles* . . . 2 assuming, by the way, that you
know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. 3 As
I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed
his mysterious plan to me. 4 As you read what
I have written, you will understand my insight
into this plan regarding Christ. 5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his
Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and
prophets.
6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and
Jews who believe the Good News share equally
in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both
are part of the same body, and both enjoy the
promise of blessings because they belong to
Christ Jesus.* 7 By God’s grace and mighty
power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s
people, he graciously gave me the privilege of
telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures
available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to
explain to everyone* this mysterious plan that
God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret
from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the
church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities
in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal
3
2:2 Greek obeying the commander of the power of the air.
3:1 Paul resumes this thought in verse 14: “When I think of all
this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father.” 3:6 Or because
they are united with Christ Jesus. 3:9 Some manuscripts do
not include to everyone.