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Paul’s Greeting to the Ephesians

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus^(a), the faithful in Christ Jesus:² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings

(Romans 8:28-34)

³ 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.⁴ For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love⁵ He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,⁶ to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,⁸ that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.⁹ And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.¹¹ 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 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.¹³ 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 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

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,¹⁷ in order 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 Then, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you will know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,¹⁹ and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,²⁰ which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.²² And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.