As we were designed before by him for the position of sons to himself, through Jesus Christ, in the good pleasure of his purpose,

the same in himself to have it declared when the time were full come: that all things, both the things which are in heaven, and also the things which are in earth, should be gathered together, even in Christ. That is to say, in him

in whom we are made heirs, and were thereto predestinate according to the purpose of him which worketh all things after the purpose of his own will:

so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory.

In whom also ye - after that ye heard the word of truth, I mean the gospel of your salvation wherein ye believed - were sealed with the holy spirit of promise,

And you hath he quickened also, that were dead in trespass and sin:

In which you were living in the past, after the ways of this present world, doing the pleasure of the lord of the power of the air, the spirit who is now working in those who go against the purpose of God;

among which we also had our conversation in time past, in the lusts of our flesh, and fulfilled the will of the flesh, and of the mind: and were naturally the children of wrath, even as well as others.

but God who is rich in mercy, on account of his great love with which he loved us,??5 even when we were dead in sins he made us alive with Christ,??y grace are you saved,

even when we were dead by sin, hath quickened us together in Christ - for by grace are ye saved -

For by his act we were given existence in Christ Jesus to do those good works which God before made ready for us so that we might do them.

Wherefore, remember that ye, being in time past gentiles in the flesh, and were called "uncircumcision" to them which are called "circumcision" in the flesh - which circumcision is made by hands -

remember, I say, that ye were at that time without Christ, and were reputed aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and were strangers from the testaments of promise, and had no hope, and were without God in this world.

But now in Christ Jesus, ye which a while ago were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

by setting aside the Law with its commandments, expressed, as they were, in definite decrees. His design was to unite the two sections of humanity in Himself so as to form one new man,

and came, and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

Call upon you, then, do I -- the prisoner of the Lord -- to walk worthily of the calling with which ye were called,

one body and one Spirit, according as also ye were called in one hope of your calling;

And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct],

if so be ye did hear him, and in him were taught, as truth is in Jesus;

Regarding your former way of life, you were taught to strip off your old nature, which is being ruined by its deceptive desires,

And were to be getting young again in the spirit of your mind,

And were to put on the man of new mould, who, after God, hath been created in his truthful righteousness and loving kindness.

For this reason, laying aside falsehood, every one of you should speak the truth to his fellow man; for we are, as it were, parts of one another.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

Ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

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,

because we are, as it were, parts of His Body.

But as for you individually, you must each one of you love his own wife exactly as if she were yourself; and the wife, on her part, should reverence her husband.

Slaves, be obedient to your earthly masters, with respect and eager anxiety to please and with simplicity of motive as if you were obeying Christ.

not serving them as though they were watching you, but as true slaves of Christ, trying to carry out the will of God.

Heartily and cheerfully keep on working as slaves, as though it were for the Lord and not for men,