Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is in [fellowship with] Christ that we [Jewish Christians] also were selected as [God's] inheritance [i.e., to receive His never ending blessings], having been predetermined according to the plan of God, who works out everything in harmony with what He wants.

an enlightned understanding, that ye may see what great expectations he has called you to, and what abundant glory it is to the saints to be the lot of his inheritance.

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Among whom we all at one time were living in the pleasures of our flesh, giving way to the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and the punishment of God was waiting for us even as for the rest.

and he has raised you up, and caused you to sit in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus:

And after coming he preached good-news, peace to you, to those far off and to those near,

So then, you [Gentiles] are no longer foreigners and aliens [i.e., to God's promises. See verse 12], but you are fellow-citizens with the saints [i.e., God's holy people], and are part of God's family.

I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,

Therefore, it says [Psa. 68:18], "When He ascended on high [i.e., to heaven], He led a procession of captured prisoners [behind Him] [Note: This originally referred to God leading His people in triumph over Israel's enemies, but here is applied to Christ], and gave gifts to [various] people."

(But what does "He ascended" mean if not that He also [first] descended to the lower parts of the earth [i.e., to the earth below]? [Note: Of the three principal interpretations given to this verse: a) Christ descended to earth, b) Christ descended to the grave, c) Christ descended to Mary's womb. The first is to be preferred. See John 3:13; 6:38, 62].

This I say therefore, and solemnly declare in Lord, for you to walk no longer as also the other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

You have learned to lay aside, with your former manner of living, the old self who was on his way to ruin, as he followed the desires which deceive;

And do not give way to the Evil One.

Let, the stealer, no more, steal, but rather let him be toiling, - working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have wherewith to be giving away to him that hath need;

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.

Being certain of this, that no man who gives way to the passions of the flesh, no unclean person, or one who has desire for the property of others, or who gives worship to images, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Put on the complete armor of God, for you to be able to stand against the artifices of the accuser.

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

that is why I am sending him to you, to let you know how I am and to encourage your hearts.

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