Ephesians Chapters

1 | ¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

to the saints in Ephesus, to you who share the Christian faith:

²receive grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus, the Lord.

•  ³Blessed be God the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord,

who, in Christ, has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing.

⁴God chose us in Christ before the world's creation

to be holy and without sin in his presence.

⁵From eternity, he destined us in love,

to be his adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus,

thus fulfilling his free and generous will.

This goal suited him:

⁶that his loving-kindness, which he granted us in his beloved,

might finally receive all glory and praise.

⁷For, in Christ, we obtain freedom sealed by his blood,

and have the forgiveness of sins.

In this appears the greatness of his grace,

⁸which he lavished on us.

In all wisdom and understanding,

⁹God has made known to us his mysterious design,

in accord with his loving-kindness in Christ.

¹⁰In him, and under him, God wanted to unite,

when the fullness of time had come,

everything in heaven and on earth.

¹¹By a decree of him, who disposes of all things

according to his own plan and decision,

we, the Jews, have been chosen and called,

¹²and we were awaiting the Messiah

for the praise of his glory.

¹³You, on hearing the word of truth,

the gospel that saves you,

have believed in him.

And, as promised, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit,

¹⁴the first pledge of what we shall receive

on the way to our deliverance as a people of God,

for the praise of his glory.

God Has Put All Things Under the Feet of Christ

•  ¹⁵I have been told of your faith and affection toward all the believers, ¹⁶so I always thank God, remembering you in my prayers.

¹⁷May the God of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Father of glory, reveal himself to you and give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know him.

¹⁸May he enlighten your inner vision so that you may appreciate what we hope for since God called us.

May you know how great is the inheritance, the glory, God sets apart for his saints;

¹⁹may you understand with what extraordinary power he acts in favor of us who believe.

²⁰He revealed his almighty power in Christ when he raised him from the dead and had him sit at his right hand in heaven, ²¹far above all rule, power, authority, dominion, or any other supernatural force that could be named, not only in this world but in the world to come as well.

²²Thus, God has put all things under Christ's feet and set him above all things as head of the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

By Grace, You Have Been Saved!

2 | •  ¹You were dead through the faults and sins. ²Once, you lived through them according to this world and followed the Sovereign Ruler who reigns between heaven and earth and who goes on working in those who resist the faith. ³All of us belonged to them at one time, and we followed human greed; we obeyed the urges of our human nature and consented to its desires. By ourselves, we went straight to the judgment like the rest of humankind.

⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, revealed his immense love. ⁵As we were dead through our sins, he gave us life with Christ. By grace, you have been saved! ⁶And he raised us to life, with Christ, giving us a place with him in heaven.

⁷In showing us such kindness in Christ Jesus, God willed to reveal and unfold the extraordinary riches of his grace in the coming ages. ⁸By the grace of God, you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you; it is God’s gift. ⁹This was not the result of your work, so you should not feel proud. ¹⁰What we are is God’s work. He has created us in Christ Jesus for the good works he has prepared, and we should devote ourselves to them.

Christ Is Our Peace

•  ¹¹Remember that you were pagans, even in your flesh, and the Jews, who call themselves Circumcised (because of a surgical circumcision), called you Uncircumcised. ¹²At that time, you were without Christ, you did not belong to the community of Israel; the Covenants of God and his promises were not for you; you had no hope, and were without God in this world. ¹³But now, in Christ Jesus, and by his blood, you, who were once far off, have come near.

¹⁴For Christ is our peace; he who has made the two people one; ¹⁵destroying, in his own flesh, the wall—the hatred—which separated us. He abolished the law with its commands and precepts. He made peace by uniting the two people in him, creating out of the two one New Man. ¹⁶He destroyed hatred and reconciled us both to God through the cross, making the two one body.

¹⁷He came to proclaim peace; peace to you who were far off, peace to the Jews who were near. ¹⁸Through him, we—the two people—approach the Father in one Spirit.

¹⁹Now you are no longer strangers or guests but fellow citizens of the holy people: you are of the household of God. You are the house, ²⁰whose foundations are the apostles and prophets and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. ²¹In him, the whole structure is joined together, becoming a holy temple in the Lord. ²²In him, you too, are being built to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.

God’s Inheritance Is for All

3 | •  ¹For this reason, I, Paul, came to be the prisoner of Christ for you, the non-Jews. ²You may have heard of the graces God bestowed on me for your sake. ³By a revelation, he gave me the knowledge of his mysterious design, as I have explained in a few words. ⁴On reading them, you will have some idea of how I understand the mystery of Christ.

⁵This mystery was not made known to past generations, but only now through revelations given to holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ⁶Now, the non-Jews share the inheritance; in Christ Jesus, the non-Jews are incorporated and are to enjoy the Promise.

This is the Good News, ⁷of which I have become a minister by a gift of God, a grace he gave me when his power worked in me.

⁸This grace was given to me, the least, among all the holy ones: to announce to the pagan nations the immeasurable riches of Christ ⁹and to make clear to all how the mystery hidden from the beginning in God, the Creator of all things, is to be fulfilled.

¹⁰Even the heavenly forces and powers will now discover through the church the wisdom of God in its manifold expression, as the plan is being fulfilled, ¹¹which God designed from the beginning in Christ Jesus, our Lord. ¹²In him, we receive boldness and confidence to approach God.

¹³So I ask you not to be discouraged at seeing the trials I endure for you, but rather, to feel proud because of them.

•  ¹⁴And, now, I kneel in the presence of the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth has received its name.

¹⁶May he strengthen in you the inner self, through his Spirit, according to the riches of his glory;

¹⁷may Christ dwell in your hearts through faith;

may you be rooted and founded in love.

¹⁸All of this, so that you may understand with all the holy ones, the width, the length, the height, and the depth—in a word, ¹⁹that you may know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled, and reach the fullness of God.

²⁰Glory to God, who shows his power in us and can do much more than we could ask or imagine; ²¹glory to him in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, through all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We Shall Become the Perfect Creation

4 | •  ¹Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you to live the vocation you have received. ²Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.

³Make every effort to keep the unity of spirit among you through bonds of peace. ⁴Let there be one body and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. ⁵One Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God, the Father of all, who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.

⁷But to each of us, divine grace is given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore, it is said: When he ascended to the heights, he brought captives and gave his gifts to people.

⁹He ascended, what does it mean, but that he had also descended to the lower parts of the world? ¹⁰He went down, ascended far above all the heavens to fill all things. ¹¹As for his gifts, to some, he gave to be apostles, to others, prophets or even evangelists, or pastors and teachers. ¹²So, he prepared those who belong to him for the ministry to build up the Body of Christ, ¹³until we are all united in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man upon reaching maturity and sharing the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴Then, no longer shall we be like children, tossed about by any wave or wind of doctrine and deceived by the cunning of people who drag them along into error. ¹⁵Rather, speaking the truth in love, we shall grow in every way toward him who is the head, Christ. ¹⁶From him comes the growth of the whole body, to which a network of joints gives order and cohesion, taking into account and making use of the function of each one. So, the body builds itself in love.

Put on the New Self

¹⁷I say to you, then, and with insistence, I advise you in the Lord: do not imitate the pagans who live an aimless kind of life. ¹⁸Their understanding is in darkness, and they remain ignorant because of their blind conscience, which is very far from the life of God. ¹⁹As a result of their corruption, they have abandoned themselves to sensuality and have eagerly given themselves to every kind of immorality.

•  ²⁰But it is not for this that you have followed Christ. ²¹For, I suppose, you heard of him and received his teaching, which is seen in Jesus himself. ²²You must give up your former way of living, the old self, whose deceitful desires bring self-destruction. ²³Renew yourselves spiritually, from inside, ²⁴and put on the new self, or self, according to God, that is created in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵Therefore, give up lying; let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. ²⁶Be angry, but do not sin: do not let your anger last until the end of the day, ²⁷lest you give the devil a foothold.

²⁸Let the one who used to steal, steal no more but busy himself, working usefully with his hands so that he may have something to share with the needy. ²⁹Do not let even one bad word come from your mouth, but only good words that will encourage when necessary and be helpful to those who hear.

³⁰Do not sadden the Holy Spirit of God with which you were marked. He will be your distinctive mark on the day of salvation. ³¹Do away with all quarreling, rage, anger, insults, and every kind of malice: ³²Be good and understanding, forgiving one another as God forgave you in Christ.

Imitate God

5 | •  ¹As most beloved children of God, strive to imitate him. ²Follow the way of love, the example of Christ, who loved you. He gave himself up for us and became the offering and sacrificial victim whose fragrance rises to God. ³And since you are holy, there must not be among you even a hint of sexual immorality or greed, or any kind of impurity: these should not be named among you. ⁴So too, for scandalous words, nonsense, and foolishness, which are not fitting; instead, offer thanksgiving to God.

⁵Know this: no depraved, impure, or covetous person who serves the god ‘Money’ shall have a part in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶Let no one deceive you with empty arguments for these are the sins which God is about to condemn in people who do not obey. ⁷Do not associate with such people. ⁸You were once darkness, but now, you are light in the Lord. Behave as children of light; ⁹the fruits of light are kindness, justice, and truth in every form.

¹⁰You, yourselves, search out what pleases the Lord, ¹¹and take no part in works of darkness that are of no benefit; expose them instead. ¹²Indeed, it is a shame even to speak of what those people do in secret, ¹³but as soon as it is exposed to the light, everything becomes clear, and what is unmasked becomes clear through light. ¹⁴Therefore it is said:

“Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, that the light of Christ may shine on you.”

¹⁵Pay attention to how you behave. Do not live as the unwise do but as responsible persons. ¹⁶Try to make good use of the present time because these days are evil. ¹⁷So do not be foolish but understand the will of the Lord.

¹⁸Do not get drunk: wine leads to levity, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Gather together to pray with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and celebrate the Lord in your heart, ²⁰giving thanks to God, the Father, in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, always and for everything.

Husbands, Love Your Wives

•  ²¹Let all kinds of submission to one another become obedience to Christ. ²²So wives, to their husbands, as to the Lord.

²³The husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of whom he is also the Savior. ²⁴As the church submits to Christ, let a wife submit everything to her husband.

²⁵As for you husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. ²⁶He washed her and made her holy by baptism in the word. ²⁷As he wanted a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless, he himself had to prepare and present her to himself.

²⁸Similarly, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹And no one has ever hated his body; he feeds and takes care of it. That is just what Christ does for the Church ³⁰because we are members of his body.

³¹Scripture says: Because of this, a man shall leave his father and mother, to be united with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. ³²This is a very great mystery, and I refer to Christ and the Church. ³³As for you, let each one love his wife as himself, and let the wife respect her husband.

Children, Parents, Servants, and Masters

6 | •  ¹Children, obey your parents, for this is right: ²Honor your father and your mother. And this is the first commandment with a promise: ³that you may be happy and enjoy a long life in the land. ⁴And you, fathers, do not make rebels of your children but educate them by correction and instruction, which the Lord may inspire.

⁵Servants, obey your masters of this world with fear and respect, with simplicity of heart, as if obeying Christ. ⁶Do not serve only when you are watched, or to please others, but become servants of Christ who do God’s will with all your heart. ⁷Work willingly for the Lord and not for humans, mindful that the good each one has done, ⁸whether servant or free, will be rewarded by the Lord.

⁹And you, masters, deal with your servants in the same way and do not threaten them since you know that they and you have the same Lord, who is in heaven, and he treats all fairly.

Be Strong in the Lord

•  ¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord with his energy and strength. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God to resist the devil's cunning. ¹²Our battle is not against human forces but against the rulers and authorities and their dark powers that govern this world. We are struggling against the spirits and supernatural forces of evil.

¹³Therefore, put on the whole armor of God that, on the evil day, you may resist and stand your ground, using all your weapons. ¹⁴Take truth as your belt, justice as your breastplate, ¹⁵and zeal as your shoes, to propagate the gospel of peace. ¹⁶Always hold in your hand the shield of faith to repel the devil's flaming arrows. ¹⁷Finally, use the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God.

¹⁸Pray at all times as the Spirit inspires you. Keep watch, together with sustained prayer and supplication for all the holy ones. ¹⁹Pray also for me so that when I speak, I may be given words to proclaim the mystery of the gospel bravely. ²⁰Even when in chains, I am an ambassador of God; may he give me the strength to speak as I should.

²¹I also want you to know how I am and what I am doing. Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything. ²²I am sending him precisely to give you news of us and comfort you all.

²³May peace and love, with faith from God the Father and from Christ Jesus the Lord, be with the brothers and sisters. ²⁴And may his blessing be with all who love Christ Jesus, our Lord, with undying love.