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

¶ For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

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

if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which has been given to me in you,

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

how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote above in a few words,

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

by which, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of the Christ),

5 L ong 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.

which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit,

6 L et 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.

that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in the Christ by the gospel,

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

of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the operation of his power.

8 O f 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.

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of the Christ

9 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.

and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the ages has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

10 T his 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.

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the congregation the manifold wisdom of God,

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

according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord,

12 W e can come to God without fear because we have put our trust in Christ.

In whom we have security and access with confidence by the faith of him.

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

Therefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

14 F or this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father.

¶ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

15 I t is from Him that every family in heaven and on earth has its name.

(of whom the whole family in the heavens and on earth is named),

16 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.

that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man,

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

that the Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in charity,

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

may be able to well comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height

19 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.

and to know the charity of the Christ, which passes all knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

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

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

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

unto him be glory in the congregation by Christ Jesus throughout all generations of the ages of the ages. Amen.