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God’s Mysterious Plan Revealed

When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles[a] . . . assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.[b] By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:1 Paul resumes this thought in verse 14: “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father.”
  2. 3:6 Or because they are united with Christ Jesus.

Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles

For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of the Messiah[a] Jesus for the sake of you gentiles. Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering God’s grace that was given to me on your behalf, and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past. By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about the Messiah,[b] which in previous generations was not made known to human beings[c] as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s[d] holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret:[e] The gentiles are heirs-in-common, members-in-common of the body, and common participants in what was promised[f] by the Messiah[g] Jesus through the gospel.

I have become a servant of this gospel[h] according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 3:1 Or Christ
  2. Ephesians 3:4 Or Christ
  3. Ephesians 3:5 Lit. the sons of men
  4. Ephesians 3:5 Lit. his
  5. Ephesians 3:5 The Gk. lacks This is that secret:
  6. Ephesians 3:6 Lit. of the promise
  7. Ephesians 3:6 Or Christ
  8. Ephesians 3:7 Lit. of it