Paul’s Work in Telling the Good News

3 ·So [For this reason] I, Paul, a prisoner [^CPaul is probably writing from house arrest in Rome, about ad 60; see Acts 28:30–31] of Christ Jesus ·for [for the sake of] you Gentiles—[^CPaul is about to pray for the Ephesians, but instead digresses into a description of his ministry until v. 14]. ² Surely you have heard that God gave me this ·work [task; stewardship; commission] ·to tell you about his grace [^Lof God’s grace for you]. ³ He let me know his ·secret [mystery; 1:9] by ·showing it to me [revelation]. I have already written ·a little [briefly] about this [^Ceither earlier in this letter or previously]. ⁴ ·If you read what I wrote then [or By reading this], you can see that I truly understand the ·secret [mystery] ·about [or revealed by; or that consists of; ^Lof] ·Christ [or the Messiah]. ⁵ ·People [^LThe sons of men; ^Ca Hebrew way of referring to people] who lived in other ·times [generations] were not told that secret. But now, through the Spirit, God has ·shown [revealed] that secret to his holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This is that ·secret [mystery]: that through the ·Good News [Gospel] the Gentiles ·will share with the Jews in God’s blessing [^Lare co-heirs]. They belong to the same body, and they share together in the promise that God made in Christ Jesus.

⁷ By God’s special gift of grace given to me through ·his power [^Lthe working out/exercise of his power], I became a servant ·to tell that Good News [of this Gospel]. ⁸ I am the least important of all ·God’s people [^Tthe saints], but God gave me this ·gift [or grace]—to tell the Gentiles the ·Good News [Gospel] about the riches of Christ, which are ·too great to understand fully [unfathomable; or boundless]. ⁹ And God gave me the work of ·telling [making plain; enlightening] all people about the ·plan for [administration of; ^Cthe same word translated “work” in v. 2] his ·secret [mystery], which has been hidden ·in [or by] him ·since the beginning of time [^Lfrom the ages]. He is the One who created everything. ¹⁰ His purpose was that through the church all the rulers and powers in the heavenly ·world [realm; places; 1:3, 20; 2:6] will now know God’s ·wisdom, which has so many forms [multi-faceted/multi-dimensional wisdom]. ¹¹ ·This agrees with [^L…according to] ·the plan God had since the beginning of time [his eternal purpose/plan], which he accomplished ·through [or in] Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In Christ we ·can come before [have access to] God with ·freedom [boldness; freedom to speak] and ·without fear [with confidence]. We can do this ·through faith in Christ [or because of Christ’s faithfulness]. ¹³ So I ·ask you not to become [or pray that you would not be] discouraged because of the ·sufferings [trials] I am having for you. My ·sufferings [trials; affliction] are ·for your glory [to bring you honor/eternal glory].

The Love of Christ

¹⁴ So [^CPaul begins again the prayer he started in v. 1] I ·bow in prayer [kneel] before the Father ¹⁵ from whom ·every [or the whole] ·family [^Ca play on words, since the words “father” and “family” are related] in heaven and on earth gets its true name. ¹⁶ I ask the Father ·in his great glory [or from the treasures of his glory; or out of his glorious riches] to give you the power to be strong ·inwardly [^Lin the inner person] through his Spirit. ¹⁷ I pray that Christ will ·live [make his home] in your hearts by faith and that your life will be ·strong in love and be built on love [^Lrooted and grounded in love]. ¹⁸ And I pray that you and all ·God’s holy people [^Tthe saints] will have the power to ·understand [comprehend; grasp] the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. ¹⁹ Christ’s love is ·greater than anyone can ever know [beyond comprehension/knowledge], but I pray that you will be able to know that love. ·Then [^L…so that] you can be filled with the fullness of God.

²⁰ ·Glory be to God, who can [^LNow to the One who is able to] do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine through his power working in us. ²¹ To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all ·time [generations], forever and ever. Amen.