Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.

so that we might praise the splendid blessing which he has given us through his beloved Son.

in the abundance of his mercy which he has lavished upon us.

He has given us perfect insight into his secret purpose and understanding of it, in following out the design he planned to carry out in Christ,

He has put everything under his feet and made him the indisputable head of the church,

It has not been earned, so that no one can boast of it.

For he has made us, creating us through our union with Christ Jesus for the life of goodness which God had predestined us to live.

For he is himself our peace. He has united the two divisions, and broken down the barrier that kept us apart,

This is why I, Paul, whom Jesus the Christ has made a prisoner for the sake of you heathen??2 if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you,

(which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets)

for which I became a worker by virtue of the gift of God's mercy which by the exercise of his power he has given me.

To me, the very least of all his people, this favor has been given, of preaching to the heathen the inexhaustible wealth of the Christ,

and making clear how the secret purpose is to be worked out which has been hidden away for ages in God the creator of all things,

But each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure.

It is he who went down who has also gone up above all the heavens, to fill the universe.

And he has given us some men as apostles, some as prophets, some as missionaries, some as pastors and teachers,

and put on the new self which has been created in likeness to God, with all the uprightness and holiness that belong to the truth.

You must be kind to one another, you must be tender-hearted, and forgive one another just as God through Christ has forgiven you.