Paul’s Prayer

¹⁵ That is why ·since [or because] I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all ·God’s people [^Tthe saints], ¹⁶ I ·have not stopped [never cease] giving thanks to God for you. I always remember you in my prayers, ¹⁷ asking the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you ·a spirit of wisdom [or spiritual wisdom; or the Spirit of wisdom] and revelation so that you will know him better. ¹⁸ I pray also that ·you will have greater understanding in your heart [^Lthe eyes of your heart may be enlightened] so you will ·know [comprehend] the hope to which he has called us and that you will know ·how rich and glorious are the blessings God has promised [the riches of his glorious inheritance for; or the glorious wealth of an inheritance that God possesses in] ·his holy people [^Tthe saints]. ¹⁹ And you will know that God’s power is ·very [exceedingly; overwhelmingly] great for us who believe. That power ·is the same as [or was demonstrated in] the great strength ²⁰ God ·used [exerted] to raise Christ from the dead and ·put [^Lseat] him at his right ·side [^Lhand; Ps. 110:1; Acts 2:34] in the heavenly ·world [realm; places]. ²¹ God has put Christ ·over [far above] all rulers, authorities, powers, and ·kings [lords; dominion], and every other ·title given [^Lname that is named] not only in this ·world [age] but also in the ·next [coming one]. ²² God ·put [subjected] everything under his ·power [^Lfeet; Ps. 8:6] and ·made him the head over everything for the church [or gave him to the church as head over all things], which is his body. ²³ ·The church is filled with Christ [or The church completes Christ; ^L…the fullness of the one], who fills ·everything in every way [or all things everywhere; ^Lall in all].

We Now Have Life

2 In the past you were ·spiritually dead [^Ldead] ·because of [or in] your sins and ·the things you did against God [transgressions]. ² Yes, in the past you ·lived [walked] ·the way the world lives [^Laccording to the course/ways/age of this world], following the ruler [^CSatan] of the ·evil powers that are above the earth [^Ldominion/authority of the air; ^Cprobably demonic forces]. That same spirit is now working in ·those who refuse to obey God [^Lthe children/sons of disobedience]. ³ In the past all of us lived ·like [or among] them, ·trying to please [or giving in to the cravings of] our ·sinful selves [sinful nature; flesh] and doing all the things our ·bodies [flesh] and minds wanted. We ·should have suffered God’s anger because we were sinful by nature [^Lwere by nature children/sons of wrath]. ·We were the same as all other people [^L…just like the rest; ^Cof mankind].

⁴ But ·God’s mercy is great [^LGod is rich in mercy], and he loved us very much. ⁵ Though we were spiritually dead because of ·the things we did against God [our transgressions], he ·gave us new life [brought us to life] with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace. ⁶ And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the ·heavens [heavenly places/realms]. He did this for those in Christ Jesus ⁷ so that ·for all future time [^Lin the ages to come] he could show the ·very great [exceeding; overwhelming] riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ ·I mean that [or For; Because] you have been saved by grace through ·believing [faith]. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. ⁹ It was not the result of ·your own efforts [works], so ·you cannot [no one can] ·brag about it [boast]. ¹⁰ ·God has made us what we are [^LFor we are his handiwork/workmanship/work of art]. In Christ Jesus, God ·made [created] us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.