Chapter 1
1 I am Paul, and I became an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. I am writing to the holy people of God who live in Ephesus and faithfully serve Jesus Christ.
2 Receive grace and peace from our God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is blessed. We belong to Christ that is why God blessed us. He gave us full spiritual blessing which is stored in heaven.
4 He chose us in Christ before He created the world. He did it so that we would live in His love and be holy and blameless in His presence.
5 God decided in advance that He would adopt us through Jesus Christ. And He wanted to fulfill His plan.
6 God adopted us in His greatness, glory and grace which He poured on us through beloved Jesus.
7 Christ paid for our freedom from sin with His blood. God is full of grace that is why He forgave us our sins.
8 God poured His grace on us in great abundance. He gave us all the wisdom and understanding.
9 God wanted to reveal to us the secret of His will. And from the very beginning He wanted to fulfill this plan through Christ.
10 The perfect time will come when God brings together all that exists in heaven and on earth. Then Christ will rule over everything.
11 God planned to give us His inheritance. He determined in advance that we would receive this inheritance because we belong to Christ. And God fulfilled all His plans and desires.
12 We came to Christ before you did. We put our hope in Him to enter God’s greatness and glory.
13 You also heard the word of truth. It was the Good News that God wants to save you from sin. You believed in Christ, and God put on you the seal of the Holy Spirit which He promised to give to believers.
14 The Holy Spirit is a guaranty that we have an inheritance. Christ redeemed us, and now we belong to God. That is why we can enter God’s greatness and His glory.
15 I heard that you believe in Jesus Christ and love all the holy people of God.
16 So I regularly thank God for you and remember you in my prayers.
17 May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ give you the Spirit of wisdom. I pray that the Father of glory would give you the Spirit of revelation. Then you will be able to understand fully who God is.
18 May God enlighten you with His light. Then the eyes of your heart will see the hope and God’s calling. And you will be able to fully realize what riches, glory and God’s inheritance belong to the holy people of God.
19 We believe in Christ. That is why God fills us with His unlimited greatness and power. And I ask Him that you could fully realize it. God works in us by His mighty power.
20 And God worked in Christ by the same power when He raised Christ from the dead. God seated Christ in heaven at His right hand and gave Him a position of authority.
21 God set Christ far above any ruler or authority. He gave Christ much greater power than to anyone in a leadership position. God exalted Christ far above any name that exists in this age or in the future to come.
22 God submitted all things under the feet of Christ. God set Him above all, and Christ became the Head of the Church.
23 The Church is the Body of Christ. Christ filled the Church with His presence. And He also filled everything around with Himself.
Chapter 2
1 In the past you lived in sins, and your sins put you to death.
2 You acted as this world does. The world obeys the ruler, the spirit who reigns in the air. Now he is at work in the people who do not submit to God.
3 We used to behave like everyone else, and we were burning with lust which lived in our body. We did what came to our minds. We did what our body wanted to do. And by nature we were children of anger like other people.
4 But God is full of great love and rich in mercy. That is why He showed us His love.
5 In the past we disobeyed God, and it made us dead. But God made us alive with Christ and saved us by His grace.
6 God raised us with Him and seated us in heaven in Jesus Christ.
7 In the future God will show us great abundance of grace and goodness in Christ.
8 You believed in Jesus, so God saved you by grace. No one can deserve such a gift from God.
9 So let no one boast that he earned salvation by his deeds.
10 When we turned to Jesus Christ, God made us a new creation. And now we do good works which He planned for us long ago.
11 You were born as the Gentiles, and the Jews call you “uncircumcised”. But the Jews perform circumcision, and they call themselves “circumcised”.
12 God gave His promises and established an Unbreakable Agreement with the people of Israel. When you lived without Christ, you did not belong to God’s people. You had no hope and no God in your life.
13 At that time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Jesus Christ. His blood purified you from sin, and you came closer to God.
14 Christ reconciled the Jews and Gentiles, and made them one. He destroyed the barrier which stood between them.
15 The Jews were hostile to the Gentiles because of the Law of Moses, Commandments and rules. But Christ destroyed the hostility by His death and cancelled the Law of Moses, Commandments and rules. Out of the Jews and Gentiles He created within Himself one new nation and brought us peace.
16 On the cross Christ destroyed hostility. Through the cross He united the Jews and Gentiles in one Body and reconciled them with God.
17 In the past the Gentiles were far away from God, and the Jews were close to God. But Christ came to both of them and brought them the Good News of peace.
18 Through Christ the Gentiles and Jews come to the Father in one Spirit.
19 Now you are no longer strangers to one another like foreigners. You became the citizens of the Kingdom of God like the other believers.
20 You became part of the house which God builds on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And Jesus Christ Himself is the cornerstone at the foundation of this house.
21 On this rock God is constructing a building where everything fits together perfectly. The building grows, and we become a holy temple where the Lord is present.
22 In Christ you also became a part of this building where God lives by His Spirit.
Chapter 3
1 I was put in prison because I spoke about Jesus Christ to you, Gentiles.
2 You have already heard that God gave me His grace to bring the Gentiles to Christ.
3 God showed me a secret through revelation, and I already wrote about it briefly.
4 After reading this letter, you will be able to learn how I understand the secret which God revealed to me through Christ.
5 People who lived in previous generations did not know this secret. But now the Holy Spirit opened it to the holy apostles and prophets.
6 And this is what the secret is about. Both the Gentiles and Jews who believe in the Good News belong to Jesus Christ. They became members of one Body. That is why both the Gentiles and Jews received access to the same promises of God.
7 I experienced the power of God and received grace. God made me His minister to spread the Good News.
8 I am the least worthy among the holy people of God. But God gave this grace to me so that I could preach to the Gentiles the Good News about the immeasurable riches of Christ.
9 God created everything through Jesus Christ. And from the very beginning He did not open the secret how the Gentiles would participate in His plan. But God gave me grace, and I reveal this secret to everyone.
10 God created the Church, and through the Church He showed the rich variety of His wisdom to the rulers and authorities which are in the heavenly realms.
11 From the very beginning of time God had a plan which He fulfilled through our Lord Jesus Christ.
12 We believe in Jesus, and through Him we come to God boldly and confidently.
13 I suffer because of you, but I ask you, do not get discouraged because of this. My sufferings will lead you to glory.
14 I kneel before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 I bow down before God who gave the name to every family that exists in heaven and on earth.
16 May God make you rich with His glory. Let His Spirit make your inner man powerful.
17 Let Christ live in your hearts through faith.
18 Love one another, and you will grow deep roots and stand on a strong foundation. Together with all the holy people of God you will be able to understand that the love of Christ extends wide, far, deep and high.
19 Christ loves us so much that it transcends understanding. I pray that along with all the holy people of God you could experience the love of Christ. Then God will fill you with His presence.
20 God works powerfully in us. And He is able to do immeasurably more than what we ask Him or think about.
21 Let through all ages, all generations of people glorify God in the Church which belongs to Jesus Christ. Amen.
Chapter 4
1 So I was put in prison because I preached about the Lord. And I urge you to live according to the calling you received from God.
2 Do not rise above one another. Be kind and be very patient. Love and accept one another despite the weaknesses.
3 If you maintain peace, you will live in spiritual unity. That is why you should make every effort to live in peace with one another.
4 You became different members of one Body, and God filled you with one Spirit. You received a calling from God, and He gave you one hope.
5 You believe in one Lord. You confess one faith and received one baptism.
6 One God became the Father for all of us. And He reigns over all of us, works through all of us, and lives in all of us.
7 Each of us received grace. And Christ gave different abilities to each one of us.
8 So the Scripture says, “He went up to a highest place, took captives into captivity and distributed gifts to the people.”
9 But first Christ came down to earth to the deepest places, and then He went up to a highest place.
10 Christ came down. And the same Christ rose high above all heavens and filled everything with His presence.
11 In the Church Christ appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
12 They equip the holy people of God to act and serve God. This way the Body of Christ will grow and become strong.
13 Our goal should be to understand more and more who the Son of God is. When we reach the unity in faith, we will become mature and fully grown up in Christ. Then we will meet the standard which Christ made for us.
14 We should not remain babies who doubt and are carried away by the changing winds of different teachings. When we grow up, we will not fall into delusion. And tricky people will not be able to involve us into their cunning schemes.
15 Let’s speak the truth with love. Then we will grow up spiritually and in everything we will become like Christ who is the Head of the Church.
16 Christ unites the whole Body and holds it together with various connections. All members of the Body perfectly match one another. Each part of the Body does its work. Everyone grows and becomes strong through love.
17 In the name of the Lord I urge and insist that you should not live as the other nations do. In the past you behaved like the Gentiles who think of meaningless things and act just as senselessly.
18 The Gentiles do not know God and make their hearts hard. The darkness fills their minds and separates them from the life of God.
19 They feel no shame. They indulge in immoral activities and uncontrollably engage in disgusting things.
20 But you learned from Christ, so you must not do such things.
21 The truth is in Jesus. And when you got to know about Him, He taught you the truth.
22 So do not go back to your old way of life. Take off the old sinful nature from your inner person who lived in deception, was consumed by lust and destroyed himself in the past.
23 Let the Spirit renew your mind.
24 Put the new nature of God on your inner person who is created in the image of God. And your inner person will receive God’s righteousness, holiness, and truth.
25 We became different members of one Body of Christ. So do not lie, but tell the truth to one another.
26 When anger boils within you, do not insult one another. Anger can blind you so much that you may lose clarity of thought and find yourself in darkness, as if the sunlight disappeared.
27 Do not allow the devil to take control of any area of your life.
28 Work and help needy people. Do good with your hands and do not steal if you used to do so.
29 Do not use abusive language. Instead, speak kind words only. They strengthen faith and bring grace to those who listen to you.
30 Do not make the Holy Spirit sad. You belong to God, and He put on you the seal of His Spirit so that you would receive salvation on the day of redemption.
31 Do not accumulate bitterness in your hearts and do not give in to furious outbursts. Stop getting angry and shouting. Do not insult one another and do not do evil.
32 Instead, show kindness and compassion. Forgive one another as God forgave you in Christ.
Chapter 5
1 God loves you, you are His children, so imitate Him in everything.
2 Let’s love one another as Christ loves us. He gave His life for our sins and sacrificed Himself. And God accepted the sacrifice of Christ as a pleasant aroma.
3 You must have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impure things and greed. Live a worthy life and behave as the holy people of God do.
4 Do not use bad language, do not engage in foolish conversations and do not tell rude jokes. Instead, be polite with one another.
5 Sexually immoral person and the one who engages in wicked activities will not receive an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. And a greedy person who worships things like an idol will not receive an inheritance in this Kingdom either. You must know that Christ and God rule in this Kingdom.
6 God will pour out His wrath on the people who disobey Him and deceive you with empty words.
7 So have nothing to do with such people.
8 In the past you were filled with darkness. But now the light the Lord gave you shines in you. You are the children of the light. So live your life to spread the light.
9 Do good deeds and act honestly. Study the truth well, and you will bear the fruit of the Spirit.
10 Fulfill the plans of God and please God.
11 Do not take part in the fruitless activities which people do in the darkness. Instead, show your negative attitude towards such things.
12 It is shameful even to talk about the things people do in secret.
13 We shed light when we express our negative attitude towards such things.
14 So God says, “Sleeper, wake up and rise from the dead so that Christ may shine His light upon you.”
15 So think carefully before you act. Behave wisely and do not act like fools.
16 Do not waste your time on the day when evil comes to you.
17 You must understand what God wants to do. Then you will be able to act thoughtfully.
18 Do not get drunk with wine which will lead you to an immoral life, but instead be filled with the Spirit.
19 Sing songs of praise from the Psalms written by King David. Encourage one another with solemn hymns of worship. Glorify the Lord with the songs that the Spirit gives you. And let your hearts sing and praise the Lord.
20 Always give thanks to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every circumstances.
21 Submit to one another. This will show that you have a great reverence to God.
22 Wives, submit to your husbands. This will show that you obey the Lord.
23 A husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the Head of the Church. Christ does not only rule the Church, He also saves the Church because the Church is His Body.
24 As Church submits to Christ so wives should also submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave His life for the Church.
26 Christ purified the Church with His Word like with water. He cleansed and made the Church holy.
27 Now the Church stands before Christ, and it is filled with God’s glory. The Church has no stain, no defect, and no fault. The Church became holy and blameless.
28 Husbands must love their wives as their bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 No man ever hates his body. Instead, everyone nourishes and takes care of it. In the same way, the Lord takes care of the Church and provides it with everything it needs.
30 The Church is the Body of Christ, and we are different members of His Body. As God created Eve from Adam’s physical body and his bone, so God created the Church from Christ’s physical body and His bone.
31 So when a man gets married, he leaves his father and mother, and joins his wife. And the two unite into one in the physical body.
32 And I say, there is a great secret hidden in this, and the secret relates to Christ and the Church.
33 Every husband must love his wife as he loves himself. And wife should respect her husband deeply.
Chapter 6
1 Children, obey your parents because it is correct. This will show that you obey the Lord.
2 The first commandment where God gives us His promise, says, “Treat your father and mother with respect.
3 Then you will live in full prosperity, and your life will last for many years on earth.”
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, because it annoys them. But raise them up and discipline them according to the teaching of the Lord.
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and dedication. Submit to them as you would submit to Christ.
6 Please them always, not just when they are observing you. You became the slaves of Christ, so do the will of God with all your heart.
7 Serve your masters as diligently as you would serve the Lord, not the people.
8 Do good deeds. Be sure that for this the Lord will reward every slave and every free person with good.
9 And you, masters, do good to your slaves and do not threaten them. Remember that above both you and the servants there is the Lord in heaven who can see how you act. He shows no favoritism to you nor the slaves.
10 Brothers, make yourselves strong with the power and strength of the Lord.
11 Put on the full spiritual armor which God gives you. Then you will be able to resist the evil plans of the devil.
12 We fight against the enemy who has no blood and no physical body. Our war is against the rulers, against the authorities, against powers which rule the darkness of this world. These evil spirits belong to the heavenly realms, and we are fighting against them.
13 Take the full spiritual armor that God gives you to resist the enemy on the day when evil comes against you. Then you will be able to overcome every challenge. And when the battle is over, you will remain standing victorious.
14 So be ready to repel the attack of the enemy. Take the truth and put it on like a military belt. Take the righteousness of God and put it on like a breastplate.
15 Take the Good News about Christ and put it on your feet like shoes. Then you will be ready to go and bring God’s peace to others.
16 But the most important thing is to take faith and use it like a shield. The devil flames his arrows in the fire and aims at you, but you will be able to extinguish the flames of fire with the shield of faith.
17 Take salvation and put it on your head like a helmet. Take the Word of God spoken by the Spirit and use it like a sword.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times. In every prayer remember to ask God to help you with your needs and with the needs of the holy people of God.
19 Pray also for me. Ask God to give me right words. Pray that I could boldly preach the Good News about Christ. Then I will be able to share with others the secret that God revealed to me.
20 I was put in prison because I preached the Good News about Christ. But even in prison I keep spreading a message of God. Pray for me, because I must speak boldly about the Lord.
21 I want you to know the situation I am experiencing and what I am doing. Our dear brother Tychicus who serves faithfully to the Lord, will tell you everything.
22 So I am sending him to you. Tychicus will bring you our news, and your hearts will find peace.
23 Brothers, may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ fill you with peace, love and faith.
24 Forever love our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will live in His grace. Amen.