Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ; called by God.
To the
faithful in Ephesus, and members of the Church of Christ Jesus.
Grace and
peace be multiplied to you from the Father in heaven, and His dear Son.
Praise be to
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings through His Son. We only have to consider what He accomplished. For it
pleased Him to choose us before the creation of the worlds and stars, He caused
us to be righteous and blameless, and we are ever in His care.
Because of
His great love, He predestined us to be grafted into His family through the
finished work of the Messiah; according to both His will and pleasure. He is
worthy of glory and honor and praise for the grace which He lavished upon us,
and He has accepted us with the same love He has for His Son.
As a result
of Christ’ atoning blood, and the grace which flows out of His selfless
sacrifice, we have been redeemed, have received full and free forgiveness of
our sins, and our eyes were opened as they were never opened.
For God has
given us an entre into the Creator’s eternal plan. And His magnificent,
premeditated plan is this: That by His infinite intention everyone and
everything, past and present, will submit to the authority of Christ. As a
result, every man, woman and child, along with all the heavenly angels will
realize their fulfillment in Him.
And it is
nothing less than astonishing to realize that in the lovely person of Christ we
have been predestined according to God’s glorious plan, and we will soon
receive a share of the riches and splendor which always surrounds Him.
It is my
earnest hope and desire that we, who were among the first to invest their hope
in the Savior, might always bring praise to His person and plan. And you were
also included in Christ when you heard, and accepted the message of the Gospel
of your salvation. When you first believed you were sealed with the blessed
Holy Spirit, (promised, and subsequently sent by Him) who is a surety of our
inheritance; ‘til the redemption of God’s possession, as the result of an
inestimable cost. May God be praised forever.
For this
very reason, since I heard about the faith which you have extended towards the
Lord of lords, and your love for believers everywhere, I always give thanks to
God on your behalf, and you are ever in my prayers. And this, dear friends, is
my prayer: I implore the Father of our blessed Lord Jesus that He would,
through means of the Holy Spirit, offer you wisdom and rich insight.
I pray our
Lord would illumine your spirit so that you may comprehend the eternal
certainty for which He has commissioned you; the unfathomable riches of His
glorious inheritance among believers. How great is God’s power towards them who
have heard and believed the Gospel message.
The power to
which I have alluded is one and the same as the Father expended when He brought
our Savior back from the dead, and provided Him a place of glory and honor at
His right hand, permanent in the heavens, far above any other rule or
authority, power or dominion, and any name that can be invoked; not only now,
but in the eons to come.
And God has laid
all things at the feet of His blessed Son, and has commissioned Him to be Lord
of the Church, (and everything else which is). For He of His own volition laid
down His life for His Church, and this is the end of Him whose purposes cannot
be questioned or resisted.
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from The McDonald Paraphrase of the New Testament. Copyright 2018
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