Indledende hilsen
1Kære trofaste medkristne i Efesos.1,1 Ordene „i Efesos” mangler i nogle håndskrifter, hvilket underbygger teorien om, at brevet måske var lige så meget rettet til de øvrige menigheder i Lilleasien som til menigheden i Efesos. Dette brev er fra Paulus, der ved Guds vilje er blevet apostel i tjenesten for Jesus Kristus. 2Nåde være med jer og fred fra Gud Fader og fra Herren Jesus Kristus.
Lovprisning af Guds store frelsesplan
3Vi takker og priser Gud, som er Far til vores Herre, Jesus Kristus. Han har jo gennem Kristus velsignet os med alle Himlens åndelige velsignelser.
4-5Allerede i tidernes morgen besluttede Gud på grund af sin kærlighed og efter sin egen fuldkomne plan, at han gennem Jesus Kristus ville gøre os til sine børn. Endnu før han grundlagde universet, udvalgte han os til at få lov at stå som rensede og skyldfri foran ham i kraft af, hvad Kristus ville gøre for os. 6Og nu priser vi Gud for den fantastiske nåde, han viste imod os ved at ofre sin elskede Søn, 7for da Kristus døde i vores sted, blev vi løskøbt og alle vores synder tilgivet. Så storslået er Guds nåde. 8Den udøste han over os i rigt mål tillige med al mulig visdom og indsigt. 9-10Han besluttede af egen fri vilje at gøre os bekendt med det mysterium, som hans frelsesplan hidtil har været. Når tiden er inde, vil han fuldføre sin plan ved at lægge alle ting i himlen og på jorden ind under Kristi herredømme. 11Gud gennemfører alt, hvad han har sat sig for, og han har for længst bestemt, at vi gennem Kristus skulle blive hans ejendomsfolk. 12Vi jøder har i lang tid set frem til, at Messias skulle komme en dag, og nu kan vi fryde os over hans herlige frelsesplan. 13Men også I ikke-jøder har hørt sandhedens ord, budskabet om frelse. I er kommet til tro på Kristus og er blevet beseglet med Helligånden, som han lovede at sende. 14Helligånden giver os en forsmag på alt det, vi vil få i eje, når vi som Guds ejendomsfolk opnår den endelige befrielse. Lad os lovprise den herlige Gud, vi har.
Kristus—den øverste autoritet, som fuldender alt
15Da jeg har hørt om jeres tro på Herren Jesus1,15 Eller: „jeres trofasthed som kristne”. Tro og trofasthed er det samme ord på græsk. og jeres kærlighed til alle dem, der tror på ham, 16kan jeg ikke lade være med igen og igen at takke Gud for jer i mine bønner. 17Og jeg beder om, at vores Herres, Jesu Kristi, Gud, vores vidunderlige Far, vil give jer åndelig visdom og åbenbaring, så I fuldt ud kan forstå alt, hvad I har fået adgang til gennem Kristus. 18Jeg beder om, at det må blive klart for jer, hvor stor en forventning vi lever i, hvor stor en herlighed der venter os, som hører ham til, 19-20og hvor umådelig stor den kraft er, som står til rådighed for os, der tror på ham. Det er den samme mægtige kraft, som Gud brugte til at oprejse Kristus fra de døde, hvorefter han gav ham pladsen ved sin højre hånd i den himmelske verden. 21Kristus er nu Herre over alle myndigheder, autoriteter, magter og herskere, ja over enhver autoritet i denne verden såvel som i den kommende. 22Gud har lagt alle ting under hans herredømme og på alle områder gjort ham til leder1,22 Ordret: „og givet ham som hoved over alle ting til menigheden”. Jf. Sl. 8,7. for menigheden, 23der udgør hans legeme. Han, som fører alt til fuldendelse på alle områder, når sin egen fuldendelse gennem enheden med sin menighed.
1I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned.
I am sending this letter to you, God’s holy people in Ephesus. Because you belong to Christ Jesus, you are faithful.
2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Praise God for His Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Those blessings come from the heavenly world. They belong to us because we belong to Christ. 4God chose us to belong to Christ before the world was created. He chose us to be holy and without blame in his eyes. He loved us. 5So he decided long ago to adopt us. He adopted us as his children with all the rights children have. He did it because of what Jesus Christ has done. It pleased God to do it. 6All those things bring praise to his glorious grace. God freely gave us his grace because of the One he loves. 7We have been set free because of what Christ has done. Because he bled and died our sins have been forgiven. We have been set free because God’s grace is so rich. 8He poured his grace on us. By giving us great wisdom and understanding, 9he showed us the mystery of his plan. It was in keeping with what he wanted to do. It was what he had planned through Christ. 10It will all come about when history has been completed. God will then bring together all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11We were also chosen to belong to him. God decided to choose us long ago in keeping with his plan. He works out everything to fit his plan and purpose. 12We were the first to put our hope in Christ. We were chosen to bring praise to his glory. 13You also became believers in Christ. That happened when you heard the message of truth. It was the good news about how you could be saved. When you believed, he stamped you with an official mark. That official mark is the Holy Spirit that he promised. 14The Spirit marks us as God’s own. We can now be sure that someday we will receive all that God has promised. That will happen after God sets all his people completely free. All these things will bring praise to his glory.
Paul Prays and Gives Thanks
15I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus. I have also heard about your love for all God’s people. That is why 16I have not stopped thanking God for you. I always remember you in my prayers. 17I pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the glorious Father. I keep asking him to give you the wisdom and understanding that come from the Holy Spirit. I want you to know God better. 18I pray that you may understand more clearly. Then you will know the hope God has chosen you to receive. You will know that what God will give his holy people is rich and glorious. 19And you will know God’s great power. It can’t be compared with anything else. His power works for us who believe. It is the same mighty strength 20God showed. He showed this when he raised Christ from the dead. God seated him at his right hand in his heavenly kingdom. 21There Christ sits far above all who rule and have authority. He also sits far above all powers and kings. He is above every name that is appealed to in this world and in the world to come. 22God placed all things under Christ’s rule. He appointed him to be ruler over everything for the church. 23The church is Christ’s body and is filled by Christ. He fills everything in every way.
