The Mystery of the Gospel 1 UST Because God is working out this plan for you non- Jews, I, Paul, pray to the Father for you, even as I am in prison because I serve the Messiah Jesus for your sake. BSB BSB: For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...
2 UST I assume that people have told you about me, that God has given me the task of communicating to you non- Jews his plan to be extremely kind to you. BSB BSB: Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
3 UST God told me this message that people did not understand before by revealing it to me directly, just as I wrote to you before briefly. BSB BSB: that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
4 UST As you read that, you can perceive that I clearly understand things that God had not previously revealed about the Messiah. BSB BSB: In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5 UST Formerly, God did not fully reveal this message to people, but now his Spirit has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. BSB BSB: which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
6 UST The message is this: the non- Jews now share together with Jews the spiritual riches of God and belong to the same group of God’ s people and will share all the things God has promised to his people because they are joined to the Messiah Jesus as a result of believing the good news. BSB BSB: This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
7 UST I now serve God by telling people this good news. God was very kind to me and gave me this work to do even though I am not worthy of it, and he enables me to do it by powerfully working in me. BSB BSB: I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power.
8 UST Although I am the least worthy of all of God’ s people, God kindly gave me this gift: he appointed me to proclaim to the non- Jews the good news about the unending spiritual blessings that the Messiah has for us BSB BSB: Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 UST and to enable everyone to understand what God’ s plan is. This plan is something that God, who created everything, has kept hidden from long ago. BSB BSB: and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
10 UST God hid this plan so that as he reveals it now by making it happen in those who believe, he also reveals to the spiritual authorities at the highest levels how profoundly wise he is. BSB BSB: His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
11 UST This is the plan that God has always had, and it is what he accomplished through the work of the Messiah Jesus, our Lord. BSB BSB: according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 UST So now, because of what Jesus has done, we can come to God freely and confidently because, when we trust in Jesus, he joins us to himself. BSB BSB: In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
13 UST So please do not be discouraged by the things that I am suffering here in prison on your behalf, because they produce a glorious result for you. BSB BSB: So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians 14 UST Because God has done all this for you, I kneel and pray to God our Father. BSB BSB: ... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 UST He is the original father, who gave the pattern for every family in heaven and on the earth to follow. BSB BSB: from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
16 UST I pray that God will give you his Spirit to strengthen your spirit in proportion to how abundantly great he is. BSB BSB: I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
17 UST I pray that the Messiah may stay as close to you as your own hearts because you trust in him, and that everything that you do and say will be a result of God’ s love for you and your love for him and others BSB BSB: so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 UST so that you may be fully able to understand, along with all of God’ s people, how very much the Messiah loves us. BSB BSB: will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth
19 UST I pray that you will come to know how much the Messiah loves us, even though he loves us so much that we cannot understand it. I pray that God will give you a full measure of everything that he is. BSB BSB: of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 UST Praise God, who is able to do much more than anything that we ask him to do, or even that we think that he can do, because of how powerfully he works within us! BSB BSB: Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
21 UST May all believers praise him for how great he is and for the awesome work that he has done through the Messiah Jesus! May they praise him throughout all generations forever! May it be so. BSB BSB: to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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