Paul, by God's will an apostle of Christ Jesus, to God's people who are steadfast in Christ Jesus;

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.

Through him he chose us out before the creation of the world, to be consecrated and above reproach in his sight in love.

and in arranging, when the time should have fully come, that everything in heaven and on earth should be unified in Christ??11 the Christ through whom it is our lot to have been predestined by the design of him who in everything carries out the purpose of his will,

to win praise for his glory, by having been the first to believe in Christ.

far above all hierarchies, authorities, powers, and dominions, and all titles that can be bestowed not only in this world but in the world to come.

which is his body, filled by him who fills everything everywhere.

We all lived among them once, indulging our physical cravings and obeying the impulses of our lower nature and its thoughts, and by nature we were doomed to God's wrath like other men.

he made us, dead as we were through our offenses, live again with the Christ. It is by his mercy that you have been saved.

to show the incomparable wealth of his mercy throughout the ages to come by his goodness to us through Christ Jesus.

For it is by his mercy that you have been saved through faith. It is not by your own action, it is the gift of God.

So remember that you were once physically heathen, and called uncircumcised by those who called themselves circumcised, though only physically, by human hands.

and through his human nature put an end to the feud between us, and abolished the Law with its rules and regulations, in order to make peace and create out of the two parties one new man by uniting them with himself,

and how the secret was made known to me by revelation, as I have just briefly written.

As you read that, you will be able to understand the insight I have into the secret of the Christ

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.

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,

so that the many-sided wisdom of God may now through the church be made known to the rulers and authorities in heaven,

and through your faith to let Christ in his love make his home in your hearts. Your roots must be deep and your foundations strong,

so that you and all God's people may be strong enough to grasp what breadth, length, height, and depth mean,

and to understand Christ's love, so far beyond our understanding, so that you may be filled with the very fulness of God.

To him who by the exertion of his power within us can do unutterably more than all we ask or imagine,

be glory through the church and through Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever. Amen.

We must not be babies any longer, blown about and swung around by every wind of doctrine through the trickery of men with their ingenuity in inventing error.

For it is under his control that the whole system, adjusted and united by each ligament of its equipment, develops in proportion to the functioning of each particular part, and so builds itself up through love.

Be angry, but do not sin. The sun must not go down upon your anger;

No bad word must ever pass your lips, but only words that are good and suited to improve the occasion, so that they will be a blessing to those who hear them.

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

But immorality or any form of vice or greed must not be so much as mentioned among you; that would not be becoming in God's people.

There must be no indecency or foolish or scurrilous talk??ll that is unbecoming. There should be thanksgiving instead.

For you may be sure that no one who is immoral, or greedy for gain (for that is idolatry) can have any share in the Kingdom of Christ and God.

yet when anything is exposed by the light, it is made visible, and anything that is made visible is light.

Be very careful, then, about the way you live. Do not act thoughtlessly, but like sensible men,

So do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Do not get drunk on wine, for that is profligacy, but be filled with the Spirit,

for a husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church, which is his body, and is saved by him.

Just as the church is in subjection to Christ, so married women must be, in everything, to their husbands.

in order to bring the church to himself in all her beauty, without a flaw or a wrinkle or anything of the kind, but to be consecrated and faultless.

for you know that everyone, slave or free, will be rewarded by the Lord for his good conduct.

You must put on God's armor, so as to be able to stand up against the devil's stratagems.

So you must take God's armor, so that when the evil day comes you will be able to make a stand, and when it is all over to hold your ground.

Besides all these, take faith for your shield, for with it you will be able to put out all the flaming missiles of the evil one,

Use every kind of prayer and entreaty, and at every opportunity pray in the Spirit. Be on the alert about it; devote yourselves constantly to prayer for all God's people

and for me, that when I open my lips I may be given a message, so that I may boldly make known the secret of the good news,

God's blessing be with all who have an unfailing love for our Lord Jesus Christ.