Chronological

The everlasting ordinance and election of God in saving all races through Christ Jesus his Son. We are to be saints and without blame. The dominion of Christ.

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. To the saints who are at Ephesus, and to those who believe on Jesus Christ.

² Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all manner of spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ, ⁴ accordingly as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world was laid, to be holy and without blame before him through love. ⁵ And he predestined us through Jesus Christ to be his heirs, in accordance with his pleasure and will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of the grace with which he has made us accepted in the Beloved, ⁷ by whom we have redemption through his blood; that is, the forgiveness of sins, consonant with the riches of his grace, ⁸ which grace he shed on us abundantly in all wisdom and understanding.

⁹ And as it pleased him, he has made known to us the mystery of his will, ¹⁰ and purposed in himself to have it declared when the time was full come – namely that all things, both the things that are in heaven and also the things that are in earth, will be gathered together in Christ; ¹¹ that is to say, in him in whom we are made heirs. To this we were predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will, ¹² so that we who before believed in Christ will be to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him also you (after you heard the word of truth, I mean the gospel of your salvation, in which you believed) were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ which is the earnest of our inheritance to redeem the purchased possession, and that to the laud of his glory.

¹⁵ Therefore I (after I heard of the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus and love to all the saints) ¹⁶ cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of glory to give to you the spirit of wisdom, and to open to you the knowledge of himself, ¹⁸ and to enlighten the eyes of your minds, so that you may know what that hope is to which he has called you, and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is upon the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of his power in us who believe pursuant to the working of that his mighty power, ²⁰ which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his right hand in heavenly things, ²¹ above all rule, power, and might, and dominion, and above all names that are named, not in this world only, but also in the world to come. ²² And he has put all things under his feet, and has made him above all things, the head of the congregation, ²³ which is his body, and the fullness of him who fills all in all things.

Paul shows them what manner of people they were before their conversion, and what they are now in Christ. We are ordained for good works.

2 And you he has quickened to life also, who were dead in trespass and sin, ² in which you walked in time past according to the course of this world, and followed the prince that rules in the air – the spirit that now works in the children of unbelief, ³ among whom we also had our living in time past, in the lusts of our flesh, and fulfilled the will of the flesh and of the mind, and were naturally the children of wrath fully as well as others.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, through his great love that he loved us with ⁵ even when we were dead by sin, has quickened us to life together in Christ (for by grace you are saved), ⁶ and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly things through Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order to show in times to come the exceeding riches of his grace, in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you are saved, through faith – and that not of yourselves. For it is the gift of God, ⁹ and does not come by works, lest any man should boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, to which God ordained us before, that we should walk in them.

¹¹ And so remember that you (being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, and called uncircumcision by those who are called the circumcision in the flesh, which circumcision is made by hands) – ¹² remember, I say, that you were at that time without Christ, and were reputed aliens from the community of Israel, and were strangers to the testaments of promise, and had no hope, and were without God in this world. ¹³ But now, in Christ Jesus, you who a while ago were afar off, are made near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he is our peace, who has made of both one, and has broken down the wall that was a partition between us, ¹⁵ and has also put away through his flesh the cause of hatred (that is to say, the law of observances contained in the written law), to make of the two one new man in himself, so making peace, ¹⁶ and to reconcile both to God in one body through his cross. And he slew hatred thereby, ¹⁷ and came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those that were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have an open way in, in one Spirit, to the Father.

  ¹⁹ Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. ²⁰ And you are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the head cornerstone, ²¹ in whom every structure coupled together grows into a holy temple in the Lord – ²² in whom you also are built together, and made a habitation for God in the Spirit.

He explains the cause of his imprisonment, and more of the revelation of the mystery of Christ. He desires them not to faint because of his trouble, and prays God to make them steadfast in his Spirit.

3 For this then I, Paul, am in the bonds of Jesus Christ, for the sake of you who are heathen – ² if you have heard of the ministration of the grace of God that is given to me for you. ³ For by revelation he showed this mystery to me, as I wrote above in a few words, ⁴ from which, when you read, you may know my understanding in the mystery of Christ. ⁵ This mystery was not in times past opened to the sons of men as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: ⁶ that the Gentiles should be inheritors also, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise that is in Christ by the means of the gospel – ⁷ of which gospel I am made a minister by the gift of the grace of God given to me through the working of his power. ⁸ To me, the least of all saints, is this grace given, to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make all men see what the fellowship of the mystery is.

This mystery has from the beginning of the world been hid in God, who made all things through Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ to the intent that now, through the congregation, the manifold wisdom of God may be made known to the rulers and powers in heaven, ¹¹ according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² by whom we are bold to draw near in the confidence that we have by faith on him.

¹³ Therefore I desire that you faint not because of my tribulations for your sakes, which are worthy to be glorified by you. ¹⁴ For this I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ who is Father over all that is called father in heaven and in earth. ¹⁶ I pray that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power by his Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, so that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is that breadth and length, depth and height, ¹⁹ and to know what is the love of Christ, which love passes knowledge; that you might be filled with every kind of fullness that comes of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think by the power that works in us, ²¹ be praise in the congregation by Jesus Christ throughout all generations, world without end.

Amen.

He exhorts them to meekness and longsuffering, to love and peace. Everyone is to serve and edify the other with the gift that God has given him, to beware of strange doctrine, to lay aside the old life of greedy desires, and to walk in a new life.

4 I therefore, who am in bonds for the Lord’s sake, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling wherein you are called, ² in all humbleness of mind, and meekness and longsuffering, forbearing one another through love; ³ and to be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, ⁴ being one body and one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling. ⁵ Let there be but one Lord, one faith, one baptism: ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in you all.

⁷ To every one of us grace is given according to the nature and scope of the gift of Christ. ⁸ Therefore he says: He ascended up on high, and has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men. ⁹ That he ascended, what does it mean but that he also descended first, into the lowest parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the same also who ascended up, even above all heavens, to fulfil all things. ¹¹ And the very same made some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some shepherds, and some teachers, ¹² so that the saints may have all things necessary to work and minister for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ until we every one (in the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God) grow up to be perfect in the maturity of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ so that we henceforth would no longer be children, wavering and carried with every wind of doctrine by the wiliness of men, and craftiness whereby they lay in wait for us, to deceive us.

¹⁵ But let us follow the truth in love, and in all things grow in him who is the head; that is to say, Christ. ¹⁶ In him all the body is coupled and knit together in every joint, and one ministers to another (according to the divine working, as every part has its role), and advances the body for the edifying of itself in love.

  ¹⁷ I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that henceforth you must not walk like other Gentiles walk, in vanity of their mind, ¹⁸ blinded in their understanding, being alienated from the life that is in God, through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts; ¹⁹ who, being past repentance, have given themselves over to wantonness, to work all manner of uncleanness, even with greediness. ²⁰ But you have not so learned Christ – ²¹ if it so be that you have heard him, and are taught in him, inasmuch as the truth is in Jesus. ²² So then, as concerning the former lifestyle, lay away from you that old man, which is corrupt through deceptive desires and affections, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and put on that new man, which is shapen in the image of God in righteousness and true holiness.

²⁵ Therefore put away lying, and let every person speak truth to his neighbour, seeing as we are members of one another. ²⁶ Be angry, but sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath; ²⁷ neither give place to the backbiter. ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no more, but let him rather do good work with his hands, so that he may have something to give to him who has need.

²⁹ Let no unwholesome talk proceed out of your mouths, but that which is good to edify when needful, so that it may find favour with the hearers. ³⁰ And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, fierceness, and wrath, shouting and cursing, be put away from you, with all maliciousness. ³² Be kind to one another, and merciful, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake forgave you.

He exhorts them to love. He warns them to beware of uncleanness, covetousness, foolish talking, and false counsel; to be circumspect, to avoid drunkenness, to rejoice and to be thankful to God, and to submit themselves one to another. He teaches how women should obey their husbands, and how lovingly men ought to treat their wives.

5 Be followers of God as dear children, ² and walk in love, even as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet savour to God.

³ As for fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let them not be once named among you, as it becomes saints. ⁴ Nor should there be coarseness, or foolish talking, or jestings which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. ⁵ For this you know, that no whoremonger or unclean person, or covetous person (who is an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁶ Let no person deceive you with vain words. For through such things comes the wrath of God upon the children of unbelief. ⁷ Therefore do not be companions with them. ⁸ You were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. ⁹ For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.  ¹⁰ Accept that which is pleasing to the Lord, ¹¹ and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather rebuke them. ¹² For it is shameful even to name those things that are done by them in secret. ¹³ But all things, when they are rebuked by the light, are manifest. For whatsoever is manifest, that same is light. ¹⁴ Therefore he says, Awake, you who sleep, and stand up from death, and Christ will give you light.

¹⁵ Take heed therefore that you walk circumspectly – not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time. For the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore be not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be fulfilled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ and submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God.

²² Women, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the congregation, and he is the saviour of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, as the congregation is subject to Christ, so also let the wives be subject to their husbands in all things.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the congregation and gave himself for it, ²⁶ to sanctify it, and cleansed it in the fountain of water through the word, ²⁷ to make it for himself a glorious congregation, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but to be holy and without blame. ²⁸ This is how men ought to love their wives: as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but cares for and cherishes it, even as the Lord does the congregation. ³⁰ For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. ³¹ On this account must a man leave father and mother and continue with his wife, and the two will be made one flesh. ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak as between Christ and the congregation. ³³ Nevertheless, see to it that every one of you loves his wife truly, even as himself. And let the wife see that she fears her husband.

How children should behave toward their fathers and mothers; likewise fathers toward their children, servants toward their masters, and masters toward their servants. An exhortation to the spiritual battle, and what weapons Christians should fight with.

6 Children, obey your fathers and mothers in the Lord, for this is right. ² Honour your father and mother (which is the first commandment that has any promise with it), ³ so that you may prosper and live long on the earth. ⁴ And ye fathers, do not move your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

⁵ Servants, be obedient to your carnal masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ – ⁶ not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart with good will: ⁷ serving the Lord, and not men. ⁸ And remember, whatever good thing anyone does, that he will receive back again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

⁹ And ye masters, do the same toward your servants, putting away threatenings. And remember that even your master also is in heaven; neither is there any respect of person with him.

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. ¹¹ Put on the armour of God so that you are able to stand steadfast against the crafty assaults of the devil. ¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against rule, against power; namely against the rulers of the world, of the darkness of this world; against spiritual wickedness, for heavenly things. ¹³ So then, take up the armour of God, so that you are able to resist in the evil day, and to stand perfect in all things.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and shod with shoes prepared by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ Above all, take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray always with every sort of prayer and supplication, and that in the Spirit. And keep vigil also with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints – ¹⁹ and for me: that utterance may be given to me; that I may open my mouth boldly to utter the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am a messenger in bonds; that I may speak freely therein as I ought to speak.

²¹ But so that you may also know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything, ²² whom I sent to you for this same purpose: so that you could know what circumstances I stand in, and so that he could comfort your hearts.

²³ Peace be with the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in pureness. Amen.

Sent from Rome to the Ephesians
by the hand of
Tychicus.