which is the pledge and instalment of our common heritage, that we may obtain our divine possession and so redound to the praise of his glory.

illuminating the eyes of your heart so that you can understand the hope to which He calls us, the wealth of his glorious heritage in the saints,

and the surpassing greatness of his power over us believers ??a power which operates with the strength of the might

which he exerted in raising Christ from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly sphere,

the church which is his Body, filled by him who fills the universe entirely.

in which you moved as you followed the course of this world, under the sway of the prince of the air ??the spirit which is at present active within those sons of disobedience

God has made us what we are, creating us in Christ Jesus for the good deeds which are prepared beforehand by God as our sphere of action.

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.

For he is our peace, he who has made both of us a unity and destroyed the barrier which kept us apart;

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,

which was not disclosed to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his sacred apostles and prophets by the Spirit),

Such is the gospel which I was called to serve by the endowment of God's grace which was vouchsafed me, by the energy of his power;

and enlighten all men upon the new order of that divine secret which God the Creator of all concealed from eternity ??10 intending to let the full sweep of the divine wisdom be disclosed now by the church to the angelic Rulers and Authorities in the heavenly sphere,

in terms of the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

by knowing the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge! May you be filled with the entire fulness of God!

till we should all attain the unity of the faith and knowledge of God's Son, reaching maturity, reaching the full measure of development which belongs to the fulness of Christ ??14 instead of remaining immature, blown from our course and swayed by every passing wind of doctrine, by the adroitness of men who are dexterous in devising error;

as the entire Body is welded together and compacted by every joint with which it is supplied, the due activity of each part enables the Body to grow and build itself up in love.

their intelligence is darkened, they are estranged from the life of God by the ignorance which their dulness of heart has produced in them ??19 men who have recklessly abandoned themselves to sensuality, with a lust for the business of impurity in every shape and form.

you must lay aside the old nature which belonged to your former course of life, that nature which crumbles to ruin under the passions of moral deceit,

putting on the new nature, that divine pattern which has been created in the upright and pious character of the Truth.

for the sake of which I am in custody as its envoy. Pray that I may have freedom to declare it as I should.