Paul’s Greeting to the Ephesians (Acts 19:8–12; Revelation 2:1–7)
1 UST I am Paul. The Messiah Jesus sent me to represent him because that is what God wanted. I write this letter to the people whom God has set apart for himself who are livingin the city of Ephesus and who are loyal to the Messiah Jesus. BSB BSB: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 UST { May} God our Father and our Lord Jesus the Messiah{ continue to be} kind to you and{ make you} peaceful. BSB BSB: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings (Romans 8:28–34)
3 UST Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah! He has blessed us with every kind of spiritual blessing that comes from heaven because we belong to the Messiah. BSB BSB: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
5 UST he decided long ago to adopt us as his own children by means of Jesus the Messiah. It pleased him to do this, so he did what he wanted to do. BSB BSB: He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 UST Because of this, we now praise God for being so amazingly kind to us, far beyond what we could deserve, as he blessed us by means of his Son whom he loves. BSB BSB: to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
7 UST When Jesus died in our place, he paid the price for our sin. That is, when he died for us, God forgave us our sins because that is how abundantly and generously kind he is. BSB BSB: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
8 UST God knew that we would need him to be extremely kind to us in this way because God knows everything and is completely wise. BSB BSB: that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
9 UST In this way, God has now revealed to us his plan that he had not revealed to anyone before— a plan that he was pleased to accomplish through the work of the Messiah. BSB BSB: And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ
10 UST In this plan, when the time was just right, the Messiah would unite all things under himself so that all things in heaven and all things on earth would belong to the Messiah. BSB BSB: as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.
11 UST Because of what the Messiah has done, God has also claimed us as his own. He planned to do this long ago, and he always does exactly what he wishes to do. BSB BSB: In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
12 UST In God’ s plan, we Jews, who were the first to trust in the Messiah, would live to praise God because he is so great. BSB BSB: in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.
13 UST Then you non- Jews also heard the true message, the good news of how God saves you, and you believed in the Messiah. When you did that, God marked you as belonging to the Messiah by giving you the Holy Spirit, as he had promised to do. BSB BSB: And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 UST The Holy Spirit is like a down payment that proves that God will also give to us everything else that he has promised to give to us at that time when he will release everything that he has for us. Praise God because he is so great! BSB BSB: who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.
Spiritual Wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:6–16)
15 UST Because God has done all of this for you, and because people have told me how you trust in the Lord Jesus and how much you love all the believers, BSB BSB: For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16 UST I thank God for you constantly as I talk to God about you when I pray to him. BSB BSB: I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17 UST I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, the glorious Father, will give you his Spirit to make you wise and to reveal God to you so that you can continually know him better. BSB BSB: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
18 UST I pray that God may enable you to see things as they truly are so that you may know the wonderful plan that God has for us because he has called us to be his people. I pray that you may know how wonderful and abundant are the things he promises to give to us and to all the believers. BSB BSB: I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 UST And I pray that you will know how exceedingly powerfully God acts for us who believe in the Messiah. He is just as powerfully strong for us BSB BSB: and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,
20 UST as he was for the Messiah when he caused the Messiah to become alive again after he died, and raised him to the place of highest honor in heaven. BSB BSB: which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
21 UST The Messiah rules as supreme there over every ruler and powerful spirit on every level of authority and over every being that people revere. He rules over them not only now, but forever. BSB BSB: far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22 UST God has made everything to be subject to the Messiah and has appointed the Messiah as the ruler over everything among all believers everywhere. BSB BSB: And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
23 UST We believers relate to the Messiah as the parts of a person’ s body relate to its head. He supplies what is lacking for all believers just as he completes everything everywhere. BSB BSB: which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.