From: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by God's will. To: His holy and faithful people in Ephesus who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm,

In union with him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of God's grace

who is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems his own possession for his praise and glory.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the most glorious Father, would give you a wise spirit, along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully.

Then, with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you will know the confidence that is produced by God having called you, the rich glory that is his inheritance among the saints,

God has put everything under the Messiah's feet and has made him the head of everything for the good of the church,

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love for us

For by such grace you have been saved through faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God

For we are God's masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life.

At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise. You had no hope and were in the world without God.

and reconciling both groups to God in one body through the cross, on which he eliminated the hostility.

That is why you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household,

You, too, are being built in him, along with the others, into a place for God's Spirit to dwell.

Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering God's grace that was given to me on your behalf,

which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret:

I have become a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.

and help everyone see how this secret that has been at work was hidden for ages by God, who created all things.

He did this so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm

in keeping with the eternal purpose that God carried out through the Messiah Jesus our Lord,

that is, you will know the love of the Messiah which transcends knowledge, and will be filled with all the fullness of God.

one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all.

That is why God says, "When he went up to the highest place, he led captives into captivity and gave gifts to people."

until all of us are united in the faith and in the full knowledge of God's Son, and until we attain mature adulthood and the full standard of development in the Messiah.

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.

and to clothe yourselves with the new nature, which was created according to God's image in righteousness and true holiness.

The thief must no longer steal but must work hard and do what is good with his own hands, so that he might earn something to give to the needy.

Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you.

And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another just as God has forgiven you in the Messiah.

So be imitators of God, as his dear children.

Live lovingly, just as the Messiah also loved us and gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice, a fragrant aroma to God.

For you know very well that no immoral or impure person, or anyone who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God.

Do not let anyone deceive you with meaningless words, for it is because of these things that God becomes angry with those who disobey.

you will consistently give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah;

Do not do this only while you're being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of the Messiah, who are determined to obey God's will.

because you know that everyone will receive a reward from the Lord for whatever good he has done, whether he is a slave or free.

Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the Devil's strategies.

For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.

also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

May peace and love, with faith, be with the brothers, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah!