PAUL, by the will of God an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the saints who are faithful in Jesus Christ:

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

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

So richly has God lavished his grace upon us!

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, grant you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation for the knowledge of himself,

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.

Remember, then, that once upon a time you Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 'the Uncircumcision' by that so-called 'Circumcision' which is itself the product of human hands in the flesh ??12 remember you were in those days outside Christ, aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the Promise, devoid of hope and God within the world.

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;

Thus you are strangers and foreigners no longer, you share the membership of the saints, you belong to God's own household,

and in him you are yourselves built into this to form a habitation for God in the Spirit.

For this reason I Paul, I whom Jesus has made a prisoner for the sake of you Gentiles ??2 for surely you have heard how the grace of God which was vouchsafed me in your interests has ordered it,

Such is the gospel which I was called to serve by the endowment of God's grace which was vouchsafed me, by the energy of his power;

and enlighten all men upon the new order of that divine secret which God the Creator of all concealed from eternity ??10 intending to let the full sweep of the divine wisdom be disclosed now by the church to the angelic Rulers and Authorities in the heavenly sphere,

by knowing the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge! May you be filled with the entire fulness of God!

one God and Father of all, who is over us all, who pervades us all, who is within us all.

till we should all attain the unity of the faith and knowledge of God's Son, reaching maturity, reaching the full measure of development which belongs to the fulness of Christ ??14 instead of remaining immature, blown from our course and swayed by every passing wind of doctrine, by the adroitness of men who are dexterous in devising error;

their intelligence is darkened, they are estranged from the life of God by the ignorance which their dulness of heart has produced in them ??19 men who have recklessly abandoned themselves to sensuality, with a lust for the business of impurity in every shape and form.

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.

And do not vex God's holy Spirit, by whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption.

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.

no, nor indecent, silly, or scurrilous talk ??all that is improper. Rather, voice your thanks to God.

Be sure of this, that no one guilty of sexual vice or impurity or lust (that is, an idolater) possesses any inheritance in the realm of Christ and God.

Let no one deceive you with specious arguments; these are the vices that bring down God's anger on the sons of disobedience.

(for the fruit of light consists in all that is good and right and true),

and do not get drunk with wine ??that means profligacy ??but be filled with the Spirit,

and render thanks to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ at all times and for all things.

instead of merely working when their eye is on you, like those who court human favour, do God's will from the heart like servants of Christ,

Be sure that everyone, slave or free, will be paid back by the Lord and Master for the good he has done.

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

So take God's armour, that you may be able to make a stand upon the evil day and hold your ground by overcoming all the foe.

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

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

Peace and love with faith be to the brothers from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.