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Ephesians 3
Amplified Bible
Ephesians 3
Amplified Bible
Paul’s Stewardship
3 For this reason [because I preach that you and believing Jews are joint heirs] I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was entrusted to me [to share with you] for your benefit; 3 and that by [divine] revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have already written in brief.(A) 4 By referring to this, when you read it you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not disclosed to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the [Holy] Spirit; 6 [it is this:] that the Gentiles are now joint heirs [with the Jews] and members of the same body, and joint partakers [sharing] in the [same divine] promise in Christ Jesus through [their faith in] the good news [of salvation]. 7 Of this [gospel] I was made a minister by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power. 8 To me, [though I am] the very least of all the saints (God’s people), this grace [which is undeserved] was graciously given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the incomprehensible riches of Christ [that spiritual wealth which no one can fully understand], 9 and to make plain [to everyone] the plan of the mystery [regarding the uniting of believing Jews and Gentiles into one body] which [until now] was kept hidden through the ages in [the mind of] God who created all things. 10 So now through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God [in all its countless aspects] might now be made known [revealing the mystery] to the [angelic] rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This is in accordance with [the terms of] the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him [that is, our faith gives us sufficient courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ]. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart at my sufferings on your behalf, for they are your glory and honor.
14 For this reason [grasping the greatness of this plan by which Jews and Gentiles are joined together in Christ] I bow my knees [in reverence] before the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ], 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth [a]derives its name [God—the first and ultimate Father]. 16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
20 Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 3:15 In Greek, the word for family is patria, which is derived from pater, the word for “father.” The concept of family originates with God.
Ephesians 3
New King James Version
Ephesians 3
New King James Version
The Mystery Revealed
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the [a]dispensation of the grace of God (A)which was given to me for you, 3 (B)how that by revelation (C)He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles (D)should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 (E)of which I became a minister (F)according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by (G)the effective working of His power.
Purpose of the Mystery
8 To me, (H)who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles (I)the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the [b]fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who (J)created all things [c]through Jesus Christ; 10 (K)to the intent that now (L)the [d]manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church (M)to the [e]principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 (N)according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access (O)with confidence through faith in Him. 13 (P)Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, (Q)which is your glory.
Appreciation of the Mystery
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the (R)Father [f]of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, (S)according to the riches of His glory, (T)to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in (U)the inner man, 17 (V)that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, (W)being rooted and grounded in love, 18 (X)may be able to comprehend with all the saints (Y)what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled (Z)with all the fullness of God.
20 Now (AA)to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly (AB)above all that we ask or think, (AC)according to the power that works in us, 21 (AD)to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 3:2 stewardship
- Ephesians 3:9 NU, M stewardship (dispensation)
- Ephesians 3:9 NU omits through Jesus Christ
- Ephesians 3:10 variegated or many-sided
- Ephesians 3:10 rulers
- Ephesians 3:14 NU omits of our Lord Jesus Christ
Ephesians 3
Living Bible
Ephesians 3
Living Bible
3 I, Paul, the servant of Christ, am here in jail because of you—for preaching that you Gentiles are a part of God’s house. 2-3 No doubt you already know that God has given me this special work of showing God’s favor to you Gentiles, as I briefly mentioned before in one of my letters. God himself showed me this secret plan of his, that the Gentiles, too, are included in his kindness. 4 I say this to explain to you how I know about these things. 5 In olden times God did not share this plan with his people, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his apostles and prophets.
6 And this is the secret: that the Gentiles will have their full share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s sons; both are invited to belong to his Church, and all of God’s promises of mighty blessings through Christ apply to them both when they accept the Good News about Christ and what he has done for them. 7 God has given me the wonderful privilege of telling everyone about this plan of his; and he has given me his power and special ability to do it well.
8 Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the most useless Christian there is, yet I was the one chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles the Glad News of the endless treasures available to them in Christ; 9 and to explain to everyone that God is the Savior of the Gentiles too, just as he who made all things had secretly planned from the very beginning.
10 And his reason? To show to all the rulers in heaven how perfectly wise he is when all of his family—Jews and Gentiles alike—are seen to be joined together in his Church 11 in just the way he had always planned it through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Now we can come fearlessly right into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome when we come with Christ and trust in him.
13 So please don’t lose heart at what they are doing to me here. It is for you I am suffering, and you should feel honored and encouraged.
14-15 When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God—some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth— 16 that out of his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; 18-19 and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.
20 Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. 21 May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the Church through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
Ephesians 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
Paul’s Work of Spreading the Good News
3 This is the reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus [a] for those of you who are not Jewish.
2 Certainly, you have heard how God gave me the responsibility of bringing his kindness [b] to you. 3 You have heard that he let me know this mystery through a revelation. I’ve already written to you about this briefly. 4 When you read this, you’ll see that I understand the mystery about Christ. 5 In the past, this mystery was not known by people as it is now. The Spirit has now revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is the Good News that people who are not Jewish have the same inheritance as Jewish people do. They belong to the same body and share the same promise that God made in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this Good News through God’s kindness freely given to me when his power worked ⌞in me⌟.
8 I am the least of all God’s people. Yet, God showed me his kindness by allowing me to spread the Good News of the immeasurable wealth of Christ to people who are not Jewish. 9 He allowed me to explain the way this mystery works. God, who created all things, kept it hidden in the past. 10 He did this so that now, through the church, he could let the rulers and authorities in heaven know his infinite wisdom. 11 This was God’s plan for all of history which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 We can go to God with bold confidence through faith in Christ. 13 So then, I ask you not to become discouraged by the troubles I suffer for you. In fact, my troubles bring you glory.
Paul Prays That God Would Strengthen Christians
14 This is the reason I kneel in the presence of the Father 15 from whom all the family in heaven and on earth receives its name. 16 I’m asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. 18 This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is. 19 You will know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God.
20 Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. 21 Glory belongs to God in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time and eternity! Amen.
Ephesians 3
New International Version
Ephesians 3
New International Version
God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner(A) of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me(B) for you, 3 that is, the mystery(C) made known to me by revelation,(D) as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight(E) into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.(F) 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs(G) together with Israel, members together of one body,(H) and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.(I)
7 I became a servant of this gospel(J) by the gift of God’s grace given me(K) through the working of his power.(L) 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people,(M) this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles(N) the boundless riches of Christ,(O) 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,(P) 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(Q) should be made known(R) to the rulers and authorities(S) in the heavenly realms,(T) 11 according to his eternal purpose(U) that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God(V) with freedom and confidence.(W) 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
A Prayer for the Ephesians
14 For this reason I kneel(X) 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(Y) he may strengthen you with power(Z) through his Spirit in your inner being,(AA) 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts(AB) through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted(AC) and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,(AD) to grasp how wide and long and high and deep(AE) is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge(AF)—that you may be filled(AG) to the measure of all the fullness of God.(AH)
20 Now to him who is able(AI) to do immeasurably more than all we ask(AJ) or imagine, according to his power(AK) that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.(AL)
Footnotes
- Ephesians 3:15 The Greek for family (patria) is derived from the Greek for father (pater).
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.