Christ Has Set Us Free
5 For freedom Christ has set us tfree; ustand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a vyoke of wslavery.
2 xLook: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to yevery man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified1 by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by zfaith, we ourselves eagerly await for the bhope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus cneither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were drunning well. eWho hindered you from obeying the ftruth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 gA little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 hI have confidence in the Lord that iyou will take no other view, and the one who is jtroubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,2 still preach3 circumcision, kwhy am I still being persecuted? In that case the loffense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would memasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to nfreedom, brothers. oOnly do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love pserve one another. 14 For qthe whole law is fulfilled in one word: r“You shall slove your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Keep in Step with the Spirit
16 But I say, twalk by the Spirit, and you will unot gratify the vdesires of the flesh. 17 For wthe desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, xto keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are yled by the zSpirit, you are anot under the law. 19 Now bthe works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,4 drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that cthose who do5 such things dwill not einherit the kingdom of God. 22 But fthe fruit of the Spirit is glove, hjoy, ipeace, jpatience, kkindness, lgoodness, mfaithfulness, 23 ngentleness, oself-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And pthose who qbelong to Christ Jesus have rcrucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become sconceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Bear One Another’s Burdens
6 Brothers,1 tif anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him uin a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 vBear one another’s burdens, wand so fulfill the xlaw of Christ. 3 yFor if anyone zthinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But alet each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.
6 bLet the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for cwhatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And dlet us not grow weary eof doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not fgive up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, glet us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the hhousehold of faith.
Final Warning and Benediction
11 iSee with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would jforce you to be circumcised, and only kin order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised ldo not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast mexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which2 the world has been crucified to me, and nI to the world. 15 oFor neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a pnew creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon qthe Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Ephesians
Greeting
1 Paul, an aapostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in bEphesus, and are cfaithful1 in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 dBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the eheavenly places, 4 feven as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be gholy and blameless before him. In love 5 he hpredestined us2 for iadoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the jpurpose of his will, 6 kto the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the lBeloved. 7 In him we have mredemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our ntrespasses, according to the oriches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in pall wisdom and insight 9 making known3 to us the qmystery of his will, according to his purpose, which rhe set forth in Christ4 10 as a plan for the sfullness of time, tto unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.
11 In him we have obtained an uinheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you vheard the wword of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were xsealed with ythe promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the zguarantee5 of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,6 to the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, because aI have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love7 toward all the saints, 16 bI do cnot cease to give thanks for you, dremembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you ethe Spirit of wisdom and of frevelation in the gknowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts henlightened, that you may know what is ithe hope to which jhe has called you, what are the kriches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, laccording to the working of his great mmight 20 that he worked in Christ when nhe raised him from the dead and oseated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 pfar qabove all rule and authority and power and dominion, and rabove every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he sput tall things under his feet and gave him as uhead over all things to the church, 23 which is his vbody, the wfullness of him who xfills all in all.
By Grace Through Faith
2 And you were ydead in the trespasses and sins 2 zin which ayou once walked, following the course1 of this world, following the bprince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the csons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the dpassions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.2 4 But3 God, being rich in emercy, fbecause of the great love with which he loved us, 5 geven when we were dead in our trespasses, hmade us alive together with Christ—iby grace you have been saved— 6 and jraised us up with him and seated us with him in the kheavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable lriches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For mby grace you have been saved nthrough faith. And this is onot your own doing; it is the pgift of God, 9 qnot a result of works, rso that no one may sboast. 10 For we are his tworkmanship, ucreated in Christ Jesus for good works, vwhich God prepared beforehand, that we should wwalk in them.
One in Christ
11 Therefore remember that xat one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ythe circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, zalienated from the commonwealth of Israel and astrangers to bthe covenants of cpromise, dhaving no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus eyou who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our fpeace, who has made us both gone and has broken down hin his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 iby abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might jreconcile us both to God kin one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and lpreached mpeace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have naccess in oone Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,4 but you are pfellow citizens with the saints and members of the qhousehold of God, 20 rbuilt on the sfoundation of the tapostles and prophets, uChrist Jesus himself being the vcornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, wbeing joined together, grows into a xholy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being ybuilt together into a zdwelling place for God by5 the Spirit.
The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed
3 For this reason I, Paul, a aprisoner of Christ Jesus bon behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the cstewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the dmystery was made known to me by erevelation, fas I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 gwhich was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy hapostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 iThis mystery is1 that the Gentiles are jfellow heirs, kmembers of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I was made a lminister according to the gift of mGod’s grace, which was given me nby the working of his power. 8 To me, othough I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and pto bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery qhidden for ages in2 God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God rmight now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the sheavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal tpurpose that uhe has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have vboldness and waccess with xconfidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to ylose heart over what I am suffering zfor you, which is your glory.
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family3 in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the ariches of his glory he may grant you to be bstrengthened with power through his Spirit in your cinner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being drooted and egrounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and fheight and depth, 19 and to know the glove of Christ that hsurpasses knowledge, that iyou may be filled with all the jfullness of God.
20 kNow to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power lat work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
