Parallel Bible results for "ephesians 1"

Ephesians 1

The Message Bible MSG

1 I, Paul, am under God's plan as an apostle, a special agent of Christ Jesus, writing to you faithful Christians in Ephesus.

2 I greet you with the grace and peace poured into our lives by God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. The God of Glory

3 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him.

4 Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.

5 Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!)

6 He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

7 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people - free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!

8 He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need,

9 letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ,

10 a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

11 It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living,

12 part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

13 It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free - signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit.

14 This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

15 That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the Christians,

16 I couldn't stop thanking God for you - every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks.

17 But I do more than thank. I ask - ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory - to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally,

18 your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians,

19 oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him - endless energy, boundless strength!

20 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven,

21 in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever.

22 He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church.

23 The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

New Living Translation NLT

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.

10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.

11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.

13 And now you Gentiles have also 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.

14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,

16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power

20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.

22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.