so to order it in the fulness of the ages that all things in heaven and earth alike should be gathered up in Christ ??11 in the Christ in whom we have had our heritage allotted us (as was decreed in the design of him who carries out everything according to the counsel of his will),

Hence, as I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

above all the angelic Rulers, Authorities, Powers, and Lords, above every Name that is to be named not only in this age but in the age to come ??22 he has put everything under his feet and set him as head over everything for the church,

And as with us so with you. You were dead in the trespasses and sins

in which you moved as you followed the course of this world, under the sway of the prince of the air ??the spirit which is at present active within those sons of disobedience

among whom all of us lived, we as well as you, when we obeyed the passions of our flesh, carrying out the dictates of the flesh and its impulses, when we were objects of God's anger by nature, like the rest of men.

But, dead in trespasses as we were, God was so rich in mercy that for his great love to us

For it is by grace you have been saved, as you had faith; it is not your doing but God's gift,

God has made us what we are, creating us in Christ Jesus for the good deeds which are prepared beforehand by God as our sphere of action.

in his own flesh he put an end to the feud of the Law with its code of commands, so as to make peace by the creation of a new Man in himself out of both parties,

so as himself to give the death-blow to that feud by reconciling them both to God in one Body through the cross;

you are a building that rests on the apostles and prophets as its foundation, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone;

which was not disclosed to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his sacred apostles and prophets by the Spirit),

less than the least of all saints as I am, this grace was vouchsafed me, that I should bring the Gentiles the gospel of the fathomless wealth of Christ

through whom, as we have faith in him, we enjoy our confidence of free access.

May Christ dwell in your hearts as you have faith!

Now to him who by the action of his power within us can do all things, aye far more than we ever ask or imagine,

As the Lord's prisoner, then, I beg of you to live a life worthy of your calling,

For there is one Body and one Spirit ??as you were called for the one hope that belongs to your call ??5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

But each one of us is granted his own grace, as determined by the full measure of Christ's gift.

as the entire Body is welded together and compacted by every joint with which it is supplied, the due activity of each part enables the Body to grow and build itself up in love.

Let the thief steal no more; rather let him work and put his hands to an honest task, so as to have something to contribute to the needy.

Let no bad word pass your lips, but only such speech as is good for edification, as occasion may require, words that are gracious and a means of grace to those who hear them.

be kind to each other, be tender-hearted, be generous to each other as God has been generous to you in Christ.

Copy God, then, as his beloved children,

and lead lives of love, just as Christ loved you and gave himself up for you to be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Never let any sexual vice or impurity or lust be so much as mentioned by you ??that is the proper course for saints to take;

Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord,

for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ also (though he is the saviour of the Body) is the head of the church;

as the church is subject to Christ, so wives are to be subject to their husbands in every respect.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

to consecrate her by cleansing her in the bath of baptism as she utters her confession,

in order to have the church as his very own, standing before him in all her glory, with never a spot or wrinkle or any such flaw, but consecrated and unblemished.

So ought husbands to love their wives ??to love them as their own bodies (he who loves his wife loves himself).

For no one ever hates his flesh; no, he nourishes and cherishes it (just as Christ does the church

This is a profound symbol, I mean as regards Christ and the church.

However, let every man of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife reverence her husband.

As for you fathers, do not exasperate your children, but bring them up in the discipline and on the admonitions of the Lord.

Servants, be obedient to those who are your masters here below with reverence and trembling, with singleness of heart as to Christ himself;

by rendering service with goodwill as to the Lord and Master, not to men.

And as for you masters, act by your servants in the same way, and stop threatening them; be sure that they and you have a Lord and Master in heaven, and there is no partiality about him.

put on God's armour so as to be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil.

Hold your ground, tighten the belt of truth about your loins, wear integrity as your coat of mail,

above all, take faith as your shield, to enable you to quench all the fire-tipped darts flung by the evil one,

put on salvation as your helmet, and take the Spirit as your sword (that is, the word of God),

for the sake of which I am in custody as its envoy. Pray that I may have freedom to declare it as I should.