1 F or this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—

I, Paul, am in prison because I am a missionary for Jesus Christ to you who are not Jews.

2 i f indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,

I am sure you have heard that God trusted me with His loving-favor.

3 h ow that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,

I wrote a little about this to you before. In a special way, God showed me His secret plan.

4 b y which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),

When you read this, you will understand how I know about the things that are not easy to understand about Christ.

5 w hich in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

Long ago men did not know these things. But now they have been shown to His missionaries and to the early preachers by the Holy Spirit.

6 t hat the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Let me tell you that the Good News is for the people who are not Jews also. They are able to have life that lasts forever. They are to be a part of His church and family, together with the Jews. And together they are to receive all that God has promised through Christ.

7 o f which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. Purpose of the Mystery

God asked me to preach this Good News. He gave me the gift of His loving-favor. He gave me His power to preach it.

8 T o me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Of all those who belong to Christ, I am the least important. But this loving-favor was given to me to preach to the people who are not Jews. I was to tell them of the great riches in Christ which do not come to an end.

9 a nd to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;

I was to make all men understand the meaning of this secret. God kept this secret to Himself from the beginning of the world. And He is the One Who made all things.

10 t o the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

This was done so the great wisdom of God might be shown now to the leaders and powers in the heavenly places. It is being done through the church.

11 a ccording to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

This was the plan God had for all time. He did this through Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 i n whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

We can come to God without fear because we have put our trust in Christ.

13 T herefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. Appreciation of the Mystery

So I ask you not to lose heart because of my suffering for you. It is to help you. Paul’s Prayer for the Church

14 F or this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

For this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father.

15 f rom whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

It is from Him that every family in heaven and on earth has its name.

16 t hat He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

I pray that because of the riches of His shining-greatness, He will make you strong with power in your hearts through the Holy Spirit.

17 t hat Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

I pray that Christ may live in your hearts by faith. I pray that you will be filled with love.

18 m ay be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—

I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is.

19 t o know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself.

20 N ow to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

God is able to do much more than we ask or think through His power working in us.

21 t o Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

May we see His shining-greatness in the church. May all people in all time honor Christ Jesus. Let it be so.