Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God: To God's people who are in Ephesus--believers in Christ Jesus.

It is in Him, and through the shedding of His blood, that we have our deliverance--the forgiveness of our offences--so abundant was God's grace,

when He made known to us the secret of His will. And this is in harmony with God's merciful purpose

so that we should be devoted to the extolling of His glorious attributes--we who were the first to fix our hopes on Christ.

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and of your love for all God's people,

the eyes of your understanding being enlightened so that you may know what is the hope which His call to you inspires, what the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in God's people,

For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is God's gift, and is not on the ground of merit--

so that it may be impossible for any one to boast.

For we are God's own handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works which He has pre-destined us to practise.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were so far away have been brought near through the death 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,

So He came and proclaimed good news of peace to you who were so far away, and peace to those who were near;

You are therefore no longer mere foreigners or persons excluded from civil rights. On the contrary you share citizenship with God's people and are members of His family.

in union with whom the whole fabric, fitted and closely joined together, is growing so as to form a holy sanctuary in the Lord;

To me who am less than the least of all God's people has this work been graciously entrusted--to proclaim to the Gentiles the Good News of the exhaustless wealth of Christ,

concealed in order that the Church might now be used to display to the powers and authorities in the heavenly realms the innumerable aspects of God's wisdom.

I pray that Christ may make His home in your hearts through your faith; so that having your roots deep and your foundations strong, in love, you may become mighty to grasp the idea,

as it is grasped by all God's people, of the breadth and length, the height and depth--

yes, to attain to a knowledge of the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, so that you may be made complete in accordance with God's own standard of completeness.

I, then, the prisoner for the Master's sake, entreat you to live and act as becomes those who have received the call that you have received--

in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body--

So we shall no longer be babes nor shall we resemble mariners tossed on the waves and carried about with every changing wind of doctrine according to men's cleverness and unscrupulous cunning, making use of every shifting device to mislead.

Dependent on Him, the whole body--its various parts closely fitting and firmly adhering to one another-- grows by the aid of every contributory link, with power proportioned to the need of each individual part, so as to build itself up in a spirit of love.

He who has been a thief must steal no more, but, instead of that, should work with his own hands in honest industry, so that he may have something of which he can give the needy a share.

Let no unwholesome words ever pass your lips, but let all your words be good for benefiting others according to the need of the moment, so that they may be a means of blessing to the hearers.

But fornication and every kind of impurity, or covetousness, let them not even be mentioned among you, for they ought not to be named among God's people.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is on account of these very sins that God's anger is coming upon the disobedient.

On this account do not prove yourselves wanting in sense, but try to understand what the Lord's will is.

Do not over-indulge in wine--a thing in which excess is so easy--

but drink deeply of God's Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and offer praise in your hearts to the Lord.

And just as the Church submits to Christ, so also married women should be entirely submissive to their husbands.

So too married men ought to love their wives as much as they love themselves. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Yet I insist that among you also, each man is to love his own wife as much as he loves himself, and let a married woman see to it that she treats her husband with respect.

"so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth."

Let it not be in acts of eye-service as if you had but to please men, but as Christ's bondservants who are doing God's will from the heart.

Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the Devil.

Therefore put on the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground on the day of battle, and, having fought to the end, to remain victors on the field.

Pray with unceasing prayer and entreaty on every fitting occasion in the Spirit, and be always on the alert to seize opportunities for doing so, with unwearied persistence and entreaty on behalf of all God's people,

and ask on my behalf that words may be given to me so that, outspoken and fearless, I may make known the truths (hitherto kept secret)

to spread which I am an ambassador in chains--so that when telling them I may speak out boldly as I ought.

But in order that you also may know how I am doing, Tychicus our dearly-loved brother and faithful helper in the Lord's service will tell you everything.