I became a servant of this gospel(A) by the gift of God’s grace given me(B) through the working of his power.(C) Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people,(D) this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles(E) the boundless riches of Christ,(F) and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,(G) which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God(H) should be made known(I) to the rulers and authorities(J) in the heavenly realms,(K) 11 according to his eternal purpose(L) that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God(M) with freedom and confidence.(N)

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(A)of which I became a minister (B)according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by (C)the effective working of His power.

Purpose of the Mystery

To me, (D)who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles (E)the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the [a]fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who (F)created all things [b]through Jesus Christ; 10 (G)to the intent that now (H)the [c]manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church (I)to the [d]principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 (J)according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access (K)with confidence through faith in Him.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 3:9 NU, M stewardship (dispensation)
  2. Ephesians 3:9 NU omits through Jesus Christ
  3. Ephesians 3:10 variegated or many-sided
  4. Ephesians 3:10 rulers

(A)of which I was made a (B)minister, according to the gift of (C)God’s grace which was given to me (D)according to the working of His power. To me, (E)the very least of all [a]saints, this grace was given, to (F)preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable (G)riches of Christ, and to [b]enlighten all people as to what the plan of the (H)mystery is which for ages has been (I)hidden in God, (J)who created all things; 10 so that the multifaceted (K)wisdom of God might now be (L)made known through the church to the (M)rulers and the authorities in (N)the heavenly places. 11 This was in (O)accordance with the [c]eternal purpose which He [d]carried out in (P)Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and [e](Q)confident (R)access through faith [f]in Him.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 3:8 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  2. Ephesians 3:9 One early ms bring to light what
  3. Ephesians 3:11 Lit purpose of the ages
  4. Ephesians 3:11 Or formed
  5. Ephesians 3:12 Lit access in confidence
  6. Ephesians 3:12 Lit of Him

7-8 This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.

8-10 And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!

11-13 All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!

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