Study Desk

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.

Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

God's purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,

So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.

As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me.

God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.