Eph 3 | ISV | STEP | Paul's Ministry to the Gentiles For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.

Ephesians 3

1 Paul's Ministry to the Gentiles

For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.Acts 21:33; Gal 5:11; Eph 4:1; 6:20; Phil 1:7, 13-14, 16; Col 1:24; 2Tim 1:8; 2:9-10 2 Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering God's grace that was given to me on your behalf,Acts 9:15; 13:2; Rom 1:5; 11:13; 12:3; 1Cor 4:1; Gal 1:16; Eph 1:8; 4:7; Col 1:25 3 and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past.Acts 22:17, 21; 26:17-18; Rom 16:25; Gal 1:12; Eph 1:9-10; Col 1:26-27 4 By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about Christ,1Cor 4:1; Eph 6:19 5 which in previous generations was not made known to human beings ^{▼▼Lit. the sons of men} as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's ^{▼▼Lit. his} holy apostles and prophets:Acts 10:28; Rom 16:25; Eph 2:20; 3:9 6 The Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow sharers of what was promised ^{▼▼Lit. of the promise} in Christ Jesus through the gospel.Gal 3:14, 28-29; Eph 2:14-16

7 I have become a servant of this gospel ^{▼▼Lit. of it} according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.Rom 1:5; Eph 1:19; Col 1:20, 23, 25 8 To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given so that I might proclaim to the Gentiles the immeasurable wealth of Christ1Cor 15:9; Gal 1:16; 2:8; Eph 1:7; Col 1:27; 1Tim 1:13, 15; 2:7; 2Tim 1:11 9 and help everyone see how this secret, which was hidden for ages in God who created all things, has been at work.Ps 33:6; John 1:3; Rom 16:25; 1Cor 2:7; Eph 1:9; 3:3; 3:5; Col 1:16, 26; Heb 1:2 10 He did this ^{▼▼The Gk. lacks He did this} so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realmRom 8:38; 1Cor 2:7; Eph 1:21; Col 1:16; 1Tim 3:16; 1Pet 1:12; 3:22 11 in keeping with the eternal purpose that God ^{▼▼Lit. he} carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord,Eph 1:9 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through his faithfulness. ^{▼▼Or through faith in him}Eph 2:18; Heb 4:16 13 So then, I ask you not to become discouraged because of my troubles on your behalf, which are your glory.Acts 14:22; 2Cor 1:6; Eph 3:1; Phil 1:14; 1Thes 3:3

14 To Know Christ's LoveThis is the reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^{▼▼Other mss. lack of our Lord Jesus Christ} 15 from whom every family ^{▼▼Or all fatherhood} in heaven and on earth receives its name.Eph 1:10; Phil 2:9-11 16 I pray ^{▼▼The Gk. lacks I pray} that he would give you, according to his glorious riches, strength in your inner being and power through his Spirit,Rom 7:22; 9:23; 2Cor 4:16; Eph 1:7; 6:10; Phil 4:19; Col 1:11, 27 17 and that Christ would make his home in your hearts through faith. Then, having been rooted and grounded in love,John 14:23; Eph 2:22; Col 1:23; 2:7 18 you will be able to understand, along with all the saints, what is wide, long, high, and deepRom 10:3, 11-12; Eph 1:18— 19 that is, you will know the love of Christ, which goes far beyond knowledge, and will be filled with all the fullness of God.John 1:16; Eph 1:23; Col 2:9-10

20 Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among ^{▼▼Or in} usRom 16:25; 1Cor 2:9; Eph 2:7; Col 1:29; Jude 1:24— 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen.Rom 11:36; 16:27; Heb 13:21