¹¹ And that is what some of you were.^(A) But you were washed,^(B) you were sanctified,^(C) you were justified^(D) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Stand Firm

¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you,^(A) brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits^[a](B) to be saved^(C) through the sanctifying work of the Spirit^(D) and through belief in the truth.

⁵ he saved us,^(A) not because of righteous things we had done,^(B) but because of his mercy.^(C) He saved us through the washing^(D) of rebirth and renewal^(E) by the Holy Spirit,

¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit,^(A) and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.^{(B) 18} And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate^[a](C) the Lord’s glory,^(D) are being transformed into his image^(E) with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;^(A) and you will be my witnesses^(B) in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,^(C) and to the ends of the earth.”^(D)

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,^(A) but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,^{(B) 5} so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.^(C)

A Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel^(A) before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches^(B) he may strengthen you with power^(C) through his Spirit in your inner being,^{(D) 17} so that Christ may dwell in your hearts^(E) through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted^(F) and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,^(G) to grasp how wide and long and high and deep^(H) is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge^(I)—that you may be filled^(J) to the measure of all the fullness of God.^(K)

⁵ because our gospel^(A) came to you not simply with words but also with power,^(B) with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know^(C) how we lived among you for your sake.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh^(A) but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.^(B) And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,^(C) they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you,^(D) then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[a] because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead^(E) is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies^(F) because of^[b] his Spirit who lives in you.