1:1  PAUL, AN apostle (special messenger) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah), by the divine will (the purpose and the choice of God) to the saints (the consecrated, set-apart ones) at Ephesus who are also faithful {and} loyal {and} steadfast in Christ Jesus:

1:2  May grace (God's unmerited favor) and spiritual peace [which means peace with God and harmony, unity, and undisturbedness] be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:3  May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us {in Christ} with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!

1:4  Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, {even} above reproach, before Him in love.

1:5  For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]--

1:6  [So that we might be] to the praise {and} the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

1:7  In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches {and} the generosity of His gracious favor,

1:8  Which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence),

1:9  Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed {and} set forth in Him,

1:10  [He planned] for the maturity of the times {and} the climax of the ages to unify all things {and} head them up {and} consummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth.

1:11  In Him we also were made [God's] heritage (portion) {and} we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel {and} design of His [own] will,

1:12  So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!

1:13  In Him you also who have heard the Word of Truth, the glad tidings (Gospel) of your salvation, and have believed in {and} adhered to {and} relied on Him, were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit.

1:14  That [Spirit] is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption {and} our acquiring [complete] possession of it--to the praise of His glory.

1:15  For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints (the people of God),

1:16  I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.

1:17  [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,

1:18  By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know {and} understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

1:19  And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable {and} unlimited {and} surpassing greatness of His power in {and} for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,

1:20  Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],

1:21  Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age {and} in this world, but also in the age {and} the world which are to come.

1:22  And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],

1:23  Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].