Ephesians 3
King James Version
3 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Ephesians 3
New Life Version
3 I, Paul, am in prison because I am a missionary for Jesus Christ to you who are not Jews. 2 I am sure you have heard that God trusted me with His loving-favor. 3 I wrote a little about this to you before. In a special way, God showed me His secret plan. 4 When you read this, you will understand how I know about the things that are not easy to understand about Christ. 5 Long ago men did not know these things. But now they have been shown to His missionaries and to the early preachers by the Holy Spirit. 6 Let me tell you that the Good News is for the people who are not Jews also. They are able to have life that lasts forever. They are to be a part of His church and family, together with the Jews. And together they are to receive all that God has promised through Christ.
7 God asked me to preach this Good News. He gave me the gift of His loving-favor. He gave me His power to preach it. 8 Of all those who belong to Christ, I am the least important. But this loving-favor was given to me to preach to the people who are not Jews. I was to tell them of the great riches in Christ which do not come to an end. 9 I was to make all men understand the meaning of this secret. God kept this secret to Himself from the beginning of the world. And He is the One Who made all things. 10 This was done so the great wisdom of God might be shown now to the leaders and powers in the heavenly places. It is being done through the church. 11 This was the plan God had for all time. He did this through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 We can come to God without fear because we have put our trust in Christ. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart because of my suffering for you. It is to help you.
Paul’s Prayer for the Church
14 For this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father. 15 It is from Him that every family in heaven and on earth has its name. 16 I pray that because of the riches of His shining-greatness, He will make you strong with power in your hearts through the Holy Spirit. 17 I pray that Christ may live in your hearts by faith. I pray that you will be filled with love. 18 I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is. 19 I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself.
20 God is able to do much more than we ask or think through His power working in us. 21 May we see His shining-greatness in the church. May all people in all time honor Christ Jesus. Let it be so.
Ephesians 3
Worldwide English (New Testament)
3 That is why I, Paul, am a prisoner who belongs to Jesus Christ. It is for the sake of you people who are not Jews.
2 I am sure you have heard that God gave me work to do for you.
3 He showed me what his plan was. And I have already written a little about it to you.
4 When you read this, you can understand why I know about his plan for Christ.
5 In the past, God did not tell his plan to people. But now the Holy Spirit has shown it to his holy apostles and prophets.
6 This is God's plan. Those who are not Jews will also share in the blessings of God. They also are a part of the body of Jesus Christ. They also will receive the things God has promised in Jesus Christ through the good news.
7 God gave me the work of telling that good news. And he blessed me by his power.
8 I am less than the least of all God's people, and yet he blessed me. It is my work to tell those who are not Jews about the wonderful blessings of Christ. There are so many that we cannot know them all.
9 God has blessed me so that I might tell all people plainly what his plan is. God, who made all things, did not tell anyone about his plan in all the times in the past.
10 Now he wants those who rule and have power in the sky to know how very wise God is. They will know this when they look at the church people.
11 This is what God has always planned to do. And he did it in Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 In Christ we are not to be afraid to come to God. We are sure we can come because we believe in Christ.
13 So I ask you not to be sad when you think of the troubles I have for your sake. You should be proud about it.
14 That is why I kneel down before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 From him every family in heaven or on earth gets its name.
16 I ask him to make you very strong in heart by his Spirit. He has great and wonderful blessings and is able to do so because of the fullness of his glory.
17 And I ask that Christ may live in your hearts because you believe in him. I ask that you may live and grow in love.
18 I ask that God will give you power to know how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is. All Christians should know that.
19 I ask God that you may know the love of Christ which is more than we can ever know. I ask that you may be filled with everything that God has.
20 God can do much more than we ask him to do, or we even think of. He does it by his power which is working in us.
21 So, praise him in the church meeting in Christ Jesus. Praise him for ever and ever! May it be so!
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