Now the son by the servant-woman has his birth after the flesh; but the son by the free woman has his birth through the undertaking of God.

This set of circumstances contains an illustration; for these two women [Hagar and Sarah] represent the two Agreements [between God and mankind]. The one [Agreement], given at Mount Sinai, represents Hagar, whose children became [the Israelites], enslaved under bondage [to the requirements of the law of Moses].

Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are the children of the undertaking of God.

What does the Scripture say about this matter? [It says, Gen. 21:10-12], "Get rid of the slave woman [Hagar], with her son [Ishmael]; for the son of the slave woman [Ishmael] will not inherit [what God promised to Abraham and his descendants], along with the son of the free woman [i.e., Isaac]."

Christ set us free [from condemnation under the law of Moses], so we could stay free! Remain where you are then, and do not get tangled up again in the enslaving harness [of the law of Moses].

Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all.

Yes, I declare to every person who attempts to require circumcision [as a means of gaining acceptance with God], that he must also obey everything else required by the law of Moses.

You have been severed from Christ, if you seek to be justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] through the Law; you have fallen from grace [for you have lost your grasp on God’s unmerited favor and blessing].

For we [not relying on the Law but] through the [strength and power of the Holy] Spirit, by faith, are waiting [confidently] for the hope of righteousness [the completion of our salvation].

You were running the race beautifully. Who cut in on you and stopped you from obeying the truth?

[Your] being persuaded [to do this] was not motivated by God, who called you [into His fellowship].

I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view of this. However, the one who is troubling you will suffer God's judgment, whoever he is.

I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

For you brothers were called [by God] to enjoy your freedom; but do not use this freedom as an excuse for living a sinful life; instead, use it to render loving service to each other.

But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts].

Worship of images, use of strange powers, hates, fighting, desire for what another has, angry feelings, attempts to get the better of others, divisions, false teachings,

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith,

good faith, meekness, self-restraint.

If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].

Brothers, if any one of you is overwhelmed by a [particular] sin, those of you who are spiritually minded should [attempt to] restore such a person [to faithfulness]. But do it in a gentle way, being very careful that you yourself do not become tempted [to get involved in any sin].

But let each person test his own accomplishments so that he can determine if he should get credit for them or if his neighbor should.

Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Because he who puts in the seed of the flesh will of the flesh get the reward of death; but he who puts in the seed of the Spirit will of the Spirit get the reward of eternal life.

but let us not lose heart in doing good; for in due time, if we do not faint, we shall reap.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

as many as are willing to make a good appearance in the flesh, these constrain you to be circumcised -- only that for the cross of the Christ they may not be persecuted,

Why, even the circumcision party do not observe the Law themselves! They merely want you to get circumcised, so as to boast over your flesh!

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

For it does not matter whether a person practices circumcision or refrains from practicing it; what really matters is [whether or not he is] a new creature [in the eyes of God].

And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Even before the creation of the world God chose us, who are in [fellowship with] Christ, to be dedicated [to Him] and to be without just blame in His sight. Out of love

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

so that we would praise His glorious, unearned favor, which was freely given to us through the One whom God loved [i.e., Christ].

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,

All this accords with the loving-kindness which God lavished upon us, accompanied by countless gifts of wisdom and discernment,

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

In Him also we have received an inheritance [a destiny—we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will,

The end [i.e., of being so predetermined] was that we [Jewish Christians], who had previously placed our hope in Christ, should bring about the praise of God's splendor.

in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth -- the good news of your salvation -- in whom also having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,

which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,

I do not stop thanking [God] for you. I keep asking, in my prayers,

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

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,

and what God's tremendous power [working] in us believers is. [This power is] the same as that utilized by God's mighty strength,

God has put all things under His feet, and has appointed Him universal and supreme Head of the Church, which is His Body,

which is His [spiritual] body. The church is completely filled by Christ [or, "Christ is completely filled by God"], who completely fills everything in every way.

And so God has given life to you Gentiles also, who were once dead in your trespasses and sins,

in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].

Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

restored [spiritual] life to us with Christ, even though we were [spiritually] dead because of our sins --- it is by God's unearned favor that you have been saved.

God raised us up with Christ [See Col. 2:12] and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms [i.e., in the church. See 1:3] in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus.

This was so that, to future ages [of people on earth and in heaven], God could demonstrate the tremendous abundance of His unearned favor, expressed by His kindness to us in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

It was not the result of your own [good] deeds [See Titus 3:5], so that no one could boast [about it].

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Remember, then, that once upon a time you Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 'the Uncircumcision' by that so-called 'Circumcision' which is itself the product of human hands in the flesh ??12 remember you were in those days outside Christ, aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the Promise, devoid of hope and God within the world.

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

But now [that you are] in [fellowship with] Christ, you [Gentiles], who were once far away [from God], have been brought near [to Him] through the blood of Christ.

in his own flesh he put an end to the feud of the Law with its code of commands, so as to make peace by the creation of a new Man in himself out of both parties,

And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

and having come, he did proclaim good news -- peace to you -- the far-off and the nigh,

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

In whom all the building, rightly joined together, comes to be a holy house of God in the Lord;

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

For this reason I Paul, I whom Jesus has made a prisoner for the sake of you Gentiles ??2 for surely you have heard how the grace of God which was vouchsafed me in your interests has ordered it,

If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

[It is] that God's secret plan [i.e., revealed in the Gospel preached to Gentiles. See verse 6] was made known to me by way of a revelation. [See Acts 9:15; 22:21]. I have already written to you [about this] briefly [i.e., probably a reference to 1:9ff].

And, by reading what I have written, you will be able to judge how far I understand this hidden purpose of God in Christ.

which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret:

that the nations be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in the Christ, through the good news,

Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

to me -- the less than the least of all the saints -- was given this grace, among the nations to proclaim good news -- the untraceable riches of the Christ,

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

in keeping with the eternal purpose that God carried out through the Messiah Jesus our Lord,

in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him [that is, our faith gives us sufficient courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ].

[I pray] that, according to God's glorious abundance, He would empower you to become [spiritually] strong through His Holy Spirit in your inner person,

be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

May there be to God, who is able to do infinitely more [for us] than we could [even] ask or think, according to [His] power at work in us ---

[I say] may there be praise to God in the church and in [or, "for"] Christ Jesus throughout all generations of people for ages and ages. May it be so.

So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation],

With all gentle and quiet behaviour, taking whatever comes, putting up with one another in love;

There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been marked out by God in the one hope of his purpose for you;

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Yet grace [God’s undeserved favor] was given to each one of us [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and abundant] gift.

That is why God says, "When he went up to the highest place, he led captives into captivity and gave gifts to people."

and He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as proclaimers of good news, and some as shepherds and teachers,

for the purpose of equipping the saints [i.e., God's holy people] for the work of serving [others], in order to build up the [spiritual] body of Christ [i.e., the church].

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

They have stopped caring [i.e., about morality], so God has abandoned them to lives of unrestrained indecency and to engage in all kinds of [moral] impurity, with a constant desire for more.

to quit the vicious habits of your former conversation, corrupted by deceitful passions: