Ephesians 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the holy ones who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus: ²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ, ⁴just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love, ⁵having destined us beforehand for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished on us in all wisdom and understanding, ⁹making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in him ¹⁰for the administration of the fullness of the times: to gather up all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In him, ¹¹in whom we were also allotted an inheritance, having been destined beforehand according to the purpose of the one who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹²we were to be for the praise of his glory, we who had hoped beforehand in Christ. ¹³In him you too, having heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and having believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is the down payment of our inheritance, toward the redemption of God's possession, to the praise of his glory.

¹⁵For this reason I too, having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the holy ones, ¹⁶do not stop giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in knowing him, ¹⁸with the eyes of your heart enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the holy ones, ¹⁹and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he has put to work in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²²And he subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the assembly, ²³which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in all.

Translation notes 7

1:1 — Address and holy ones. “In Ephesus” is missing from several early witnesses and is marked as uncertain in the Greek base. It is retained here in brackets; a circular letter addressed to several communities is a possible explanation, not an established fact. “Holy ones,” traditionally “saints,” identifies the community as belonging to God. “Faithful” can also mean “believing.”

1:3–14 — The long blessing. This is one extended Greek sentence. The English introduces a few sentence breaks while keeping its linked clauses and repeated “in him” and praise language. “Heavenly realms” renders a plural adjective with no expressed noun; the same expression recurs in 1:20; 2:6; 3:10; and 6:12.

1:4–5 — In love and adoption. “In love” can describe being holy and blameless, as punctuated here, or introduce “having destined us beforehand.” “Adoption as sons” retains the gendered inheritance image and applies to the whole believing community, including women. The wording does not add an explanation of how divine choice and human response relate.

1:9–10 — Mystery and gathering up. “Mystery” is a divine purpose now made known, not necessarily something impossible to understand. “Gather up” can also be rendered “sum up”; “bring together under one head” is a substantial interpretation in light of 1:22. The precise force of the verb is debated.

1:11–14 — Inheritance and possession. “We were also allotted an inheritance” can instead mean “we were also made God's allotted possession.” The passage speaks both of receiving an inheritance and of belonging to God. “God's” in verse 14 makes the understood possessor explicit. The Spirit as a “down payment” is an initial pledge of what is to come; sealing evokes ownership and authentication.

1:17–18 — Spirit and the heart's eyes. “The Spirit of wisdom and revelation” is understood as the Holy Spirit giving insight into God. “A spirit of wisdom and revelation,” referring to a disposition or capacity he gives, is a substantial alternative; the Greek has no article here, and capitalization is interpretive. The “eyes of your heart” preserves the image of inward perception. The phrase “his inheritance among the holy ones” can refer to what God gives his people or to his people as his own inheritance.

1:22–23 — Assembly, body, and fullness. “Assembly” here concerns Christ's people together, beyond one local gathering. “Fullness” is deliberately retained: the relation between Christ filling the body and the body expressing or completing his fullness is debated. “The one who is filled in every way” is another interpretation of the final Greek participle.