Ephesians 3:1-5:14

New American Standard Bible

Paul’s Stewardship

3 For this reason I, Paul, ^(A)the prisoner of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^(C)for the sake of you ^(D)Gentiles— ² if indeed you have heard of the ^(E)administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you; ^3 (F)that ^(G)by revelation there was ^(H)made known to me ^(I)the mystery, ^(J)as I wrote before briefly. ^4 [a]By referring to this, when you read you can understand ^(K)my insight ^[b]into the ^(L)mystery of Christ, ⁵ which in other generations was not made known to ^[c]mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy ^(M)apostles and prophets ^[d]in the Spirit; ⁶ to be specific, that the Gentiles are ^(N)fellow heirs and ^(O)fellow members of the body, and ^(P)fellow partakers of the promise in ^(Q)Christ Jesus through the gospel, ^7 (R)of which I was made a ^(S)minister, according to the gift of ^(T)God’s grace which was given to me ^(U)according to the working of His power. ⁸ To me, ^(V)the very least of all ^[e]saints, this grace was given, to ^(W)preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable ^(X)riches of Christ, ⁹ and to ^[f]enlighten all people as to what the plan of the ^(Y)mystery is which for ages has been ^(Z)hidden in God, ^(AA)who created all things; ¹⁰ so that the multifaceted ^(AB)wisdom of God might now be ^(AC)made known through the church to the ^(AD)rulers and the authorities in ^(AE)the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was in ^(AF)accordance with the ^[g]eternal purpose which He ^[h]carried out in ^(AG)Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and ^[i](AH)confident ^(AI)access through faith ^[j]in Him. ¹³ Therefore I ask ^[k]you not ^(AJ)to become discouraged about my tribulations ^(AK)in your behalf, ^[l]since they are your glory.

¹⁴ For this reason I ^(AL)bend my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom ^[m]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to ^(AM)the riches of His glory, to be ^(AN)strengthened with power through His Spirit in ^(AO)the inner ^[n]self, ¹⁷ so that ^(AP)Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being ^(AQ)rooted and ^(AR)grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with ^(AS)all the ^[o]saints what is ^(AT)the width and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know ^(AU)the love of Christ which ^(AV)surpasses knowledge, that you may be ^(AW)filled to all the ^(AX)fullness of God.

^20 (AY)Now to Him who is ^(AZ)able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, ^(BA)according to the power that works within us, ^21 (BB)to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations ^[p]forever and ever. Amen.

Unity of the Spirit

4 Therefore I, ^(BC)the prisoner of the Lord, ^(BD)urge you to ^(BE)walk in a manner worthy of the ^(BF)calling with which you have been ^(BG)called, ² with all ^(BH)humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another ^(BI)in love, ³ being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the ^(BJ)bond of peace. ⁴ There is ^(BK)one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one ^(BL)hope of your calling; ^5 (BM)one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all ^(BN)who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But ^(BO)to each one of us ^(BP)grace was given ^(BQ)according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore ^[q]it says,

⁹ (Now this expression, “He ^(BT)ascended,” what ^[r]does it mean except that He also ^[s]had descended into ^(BU)the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended ^(BV)far above all the heavens, so that He might ^(BW)fill all things.) ¹¹ And He ^(BX)gave ^(BY)some as apostles, some as prophets, some as ^(BZ)evangelists, some as ^[t]pastors and ^(CA)teachers, ^12 (CB)for the equipping of the ^[u]saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of ^(CC)the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to ^(CD)the unity of the faith, and of the ^[v](CE)knowledge of the Son of God, to a ^(CF)mature man, to the measure of the stature ^[w]which belongs to the ^(CG)fullness of Christ. ^14 [x]As a result, we are ^(CH)no longer to be children, ^(CI)tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by ^(CJ)craftiness ^[y]in ^(CK)deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but ^[z]speaking the truth ^(CL)in love, ^[aa]we are to ^(CM)grow up in all aspects into Him who is the ^(CN)head, that is, Christ, ¹⁶ from whom ^(CO)the whole body, being fitted and held together ^[ab]by what every joint supplies, according to the ^[ac]proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself ^(CP)in love.

The Christian’s Walk

^17 (CQ)So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, ^(CR)that you are to no longer walk just as the ^[ad]Gentiles also walk, in the ^(CS)futility of their minds, ¹⁸ being ^(CT)darkened in their understanding, ^[ae](CU)excluded from the life of God because of the ^(CV)ignorance that is in them, because of the ^(CW)hardness of their heart; ¹⁹ and they, having ^(CX)become callous, ^(CY)have given themselves up to ^(CZ)indecent behavior ^[af]for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ²⁰ But you did not ^(DA)learn Christ in this way, ²¹ if indeed you ^(DB)have heard Him and have ^(DC)been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, ²² that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to ^(DD)rid yourselves of the ^(DE)old ^[ag]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the ^(DF)lusts of deceit, ²³ and that you are to be ^(DG)renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to ^(DH)put on the ^(DI)new ^[ah]self, which ^[ai](DJ)in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

²⁵ Therefore, ^(DK)ridding yourselves of falsehood, ^(DL)speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are ^(DM)parts of one another. ^26 (DN)Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and do not ^(DO)give the devil ^[aj]an opportunity. ²⁸ The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather ^(DP)he must labor, ^(DQ)producing with his own hands what is good, ^(DR)so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. ²⁹ Let no ^[ak](DS)unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for ^(DT)edification ^[al]according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. ^30 (DU)Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^[am]by whom you were ^(DV)sealed for the day of redemption. ^31 (DW)All bitterness, wrath, anger, ^[an]clamor, and slander must be ^(DX)removed from you, along with all ^(DY)malice. ^32 (DZ)Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, ^(EA)just as God in Christ also has forgiven ^[ao]you.

Be Imitators of God

5 ^(EB)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ² and ^(EC)walk in love, just as Christ also ^(ED)loved ^[ap]you and ^(EE)gave Himself up for us, an ^(EF)offering and a sacrifice to God ^[aq]as a ^(EG)fragrant aroma.

³ But ^(EH)sexual immorality ^[ar]or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among ^[as]saints; ⁴ and there must be no ^(EI)filthiness ^[at]or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which ^(EJ)are not fitting, but rather ^(EK)giving of thanks. ⁵ For this you know with certainty, that ^(EL)no sexually immoral or ^[au]impure or greedy person, which ^[av]amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom ^(EM)of Christ and God.

^6 (EN)See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things ^(EO)the wrath of God comes upon ^(EP)the ^[aw]sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become ^(EQ)partners with them; ⁸ for ^(ER)you were once ^(ES)darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as ^(ET)children of light ⁹ (for ^(EU)the fruit of the light consists in all ^(EV)goodness, righteousness, and truth), ^10 [ax](EW)as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. ^11 (EX)Do not participate in the useless ^(EY)deeds of ^(EZ)darkness, but instead even ^(FA)expose them; ¹² for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. ¹³ But all things become visible ^(FB)when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. ¹⁴ For this reason ^[ay]it says,