This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. It is written to God's holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
May grace and peace be yours, sent to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.
Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.
So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.
He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.
He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God's secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure.
And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ--everything in heaven and on earth.
Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago.
God's purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God.
And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere,
I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,
asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.
I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.
Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come.
And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church.
And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.