when he made known to us the secret of his will. This was according to his plan that he set forth in the Messiah

that you once practiced as you lived according to the ways of this present world and according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now active in those who are disobedient.

For by such grace you have been saved through faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God

For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of the Messiah Jesus for the sake of you gentiles.

and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past.

By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about the Messiah,

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:

I have become a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.

To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given so that I might proclaim to the gentiles the immeasurable wealth of the Messiah

and help everyone see how this secret that has been at work was hidden for ages by God, who created all things.

He did this so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm

This is the reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,

Now what does this "he went up" mean except that he also had gone down into the lower parts of the earth?

Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you.

This is a great secret, but I am talking about the Messiah and the church.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.

"Honor your father and mother"" (This is a very important commandment with a promise.)

Do not do this only while you're being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of the Messiah, who are determined to obey God's will.

For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.

I am sending him to you for this very reason, so that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts.