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

It is through union with him and through his blood that we have been delivered and our offenses forgiven,

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,

You also have heard the message of the truth, the good news of your salvation, and believed in him, and through union with him you have been marked with the seal of the holy Spirit that was promised,

which is the advance installment of our inheritance, so that we may get full possession of it, and praise his glory for it.

This is why I, for my part, since I have heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that prevails among you and among all God's people,

enlightening the eyes of your mind so that you may know what the hope is to which he calls you, and how gloriously rich his inheritance is among God's people,

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.

But God is so rich in mercy that because of the great love he had for us,

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.

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.

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

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

At that time you had no connection with Christ, you were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the agreements about God's promise; with no hope and no God in all the world.

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

for it is through him that we both with one Spirit are now able to approach the Father.

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,

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

that through union with Christ Jesus the heathen are fellow-heirs with the Jews, belong to the same body and share the promise with them, through the good news

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

So I ask that what I am having to suffer for your sake may not make me lose heart, for it does you honor.

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.

There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received.

What does "he went up" mean, except that he had first gone down to the under parts of the earth?

until we all attain unity in faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and reach mature manhood, and that full measure of development found in Christ.

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.

They are estranged from the life of God because of the ignorance that exists among them and their obstinacy of heart,

That is not the way you have been taught what Christ means,

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.

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.

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.

Whatever anyone may say in the way of worthless arguments to deceive you, these are the things that are bringing God's anger down upon the disobedient.

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

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

That is the way husbands ought to love their wives??s if they were their own bodies; a man who loves his wife is really loving himself,

Children, as Christians obey your parents, for that is right.

"You must honor your father and mother"??hat is the first commandment accompanied with a promise??3 "so that you may prosper and have a long life on earth."

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

You who are masters, too, must treat your slaves in the same way, and cease to threaten them, for you know that their Master and yours is in heaven, and that he will show no partiality.

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.

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,

for the sake of which I am an envoy, and in prison. Pray that, when I tell it, I may have the courage to speak as I ought.

In order that you also may know how I am, our dear brother Tychicus, a faithful helper in the Lord's service, will tell you all about it.

That is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts.