1 F or this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,

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

2 i f it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you;

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

3 h ow that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,

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 can perceive my understanding 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 generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

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 are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,

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 was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.

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, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to 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 men see what is the administration of the mystery which for 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 through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the 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 purposed 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 in confidence through our 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 may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.

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 cause, 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 every family in heaven and on 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, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward 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; to the end 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 strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,

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

19 a nd to know Christ’s love which surpasses 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 the glory in the assembly and in 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.