To Christ's People [AT EPHESUS] who are faithful to him, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God.

May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.

Blessed is the God and Father of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has blessed us on high with every spiritual blessing, in Christ.

From the first he destined us, in his good-will towards us, to be adopted as Sons through Jesus Christ,

All this accords with the loving-kindness which God lavished upon us, accompanied by countless gifts of wisdom and discernment,

When he made known to us his hidden purpose. And it also accords with the good-will which God purposed to exhibit in Christ,

In him, I say, for by our union with him we became God's Heritage, having from the first been destined for this in the intention of him who, in all that happens, is carrying out his own fixed purpose;

And you, too, by your union with him, after you had heard the Message of the Truth, the Good News of your Salvation--you believed in him and were sealed as his by receiving the holy Spirit, which he had promised.

And the Spirit is a pledge of our future heritage, fore- shadowing the full redemption of God's own People--to enhance his Glory.

Have never omitted to thank God on your behalf, whenever I make mention of you in my prayers.

My prayer is that the God of Jesus Christ our Lord, the all- glorious Father, may inspire you with wisdom and true insight through a fuller knowledge of himself;

That your minds may be so enlightened that you may realize the hope given by God's Call, the wealth of the glory of his heritage among Christ's People,

And God placed 'all things under Christ's feet,' and gave him to the Church as its supreme Head;

Yet God, in his abundant compassion, and because of the great love with which he loved us,

Even though we were 'dead' because of our offenses, gave Life to us in giving Life to the Christ. (By God's loving-kindness you have been saved.)

And, through our union with Christ Jesus, God raised us with him, and caused us to sit with him on high,

For it is by God's loving-kindness that you have been saved, through your faith. It is not due to yourselves; the gift is God's.

For we are God's handiwork, created, by our union with Christ Jesus, for the good actions in doing which God had pre-arranged that we should spend our lives.

Remember that you were at that time far from Christ; you were shut out from the citizenship of Israel; you were strangers to the Covenants founded on God's Promise; you were in the world without hope and without God.

And when, upon the cross, he had destroyed their mutual enmity, he sought by means of his cross to reconcile them both to God, united in one Body.

He came with the Good News of peace for you who were 'far off,' and of peace for those who were 'near';

It follows, then, that you are no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow-citizens with Christ's People and members of God's Household.

And, through union in him, you also are being built up together, to be a dwelling-place for God through the Spirit.

For you have heard, I suppose, of the responsible charge with which God entrusted me for your benefit,

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.

And, by reading what I have written, you will be able to judge how far I understand this hidden purpose of God in Christ.

That, by union with Christ Jesus and through the Good News, the Gentiles are co-heirs with us and members of one Body, and that they share with us in God's Promise.

Of this Good News I became a minister, in virtue of the charge with which God entrusted me in the exercise of his power--

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,

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;

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,

And in union with him, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence.

And to understand--though it surpasses all understanding--the love of the Christ; and so be filled to the full with God himself.

There is but one God and Father of all--the God who is over all, pervades all, and is in all.

And this shall continue, until we all attain to that unity which is given by faith and by a fuller knowledge of the Son of God; until we reach the ideal man--the full standard of the perfection of the Christ.

With their powers of discernment darkened, cut off from the Life of God, owing to the ignorance that prevails among them and to the hardness of their hearts.

And that you must clothe yourselves in that new nature which was created to resemble God, with the righteousness and holiness springing from the Truth.

Never let any foul word pass your lips, but only such good words as the occasion demands, that they may be a help to those who hear them.

And do not grieve God's Holy Spirit; for it was through that Spirit that God sealed you as his, against the Day of Redemption.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ready to forgive one another, just as God, in Christ, forgave you.

Therefore imitate God, as his dear children,

And live a life of love, following the example of the Christ, who loved you and gave himself for you as 'an offering and a sacrifice to God, that should be fragrant and acceptable.'

For of this you may be sure--that no one who is unchaste or impure or greedy of gain (for to be greedy of gain is idolatry) has any place awaiting him in the kingdom of the Christ and God.

Do not let any one deceive you with specious arguments. Those are the sins that bring down the Wrath of God upon the disobedient.

Take no part in deeds of Darkness, from which no good can come; on the contrary, expose them.

Do not drink wine to excess, for that leads to profligacy; but seek to be filled with the Spirit of God, and speak to one another in psalms and hymns and sacred songs.

Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Not only when their eyes are on you, as if you had merely to please men, but as slaves of Christ, who are trying to carry out the will of God.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground against the stratagems of the Devil.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, that, when the evil day comes, you may be able to withstand the attack, and, having fought to the end, still to stand your ground.

And with the readiness to serve the Good News of Peace as shoes for your feet.

And receive 'the helmet of Salvation,' and 'the sword of the Spirit'--which is the Message of God--always with prayer and supplication.

And on my behalf also, that, when I begin to speak, words may be given me, so that I may fearlessly make known the inmost truth of the Good News,

May God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ give our Brothers peace, and love linked with faith.

May God's blessing be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.