Amene anali Akufa Alandira Moyo
1Kunena za inu, kale munali akufa chifukwa cha zolakwa zanu ndi machimo anu, 2mmene inu munkakhalamo pamene munkatsatira njira za dziko lapansi ndi za ulamuliro waufumu wa mlengalenga, mzimu umene ukugwira ntchito tsopano mwa amene samvera. 3Nthawi ina tonsefe tinalinso ndi moyo wonga wawo, tinkachitanso zilizonse zimene matupi ndi maganizo athu ankafuna. Mwachibadwa chathu, tinali oyenera chilango monga anthu ena onse. 4Koma chifukwa cha chikondi chake chachikulu pa ife, Mulungu amene ndi olemera mʼchifundo, 5anatipanga kukhala amoyo ndi Khristu ngakhale pamene ife tinali akufa mu zolakwa zathu. Koma tinapulumutsidwa mwachisomo. 6Ndipo Mulungu anatiukitsa pamodzi ndi Khristu ndi kutikhazika pamodzi ndi Iye mmwamba mwa Khristu Yesu, 7ndi cholinga chakuti mʼnthawi imene ikubwera, Iyeyo adzaonetse chuma choposa cha chisomo chake, choonetsedwa mwa kukoma mtima kwake kwa ife mwa Khristu Yesu. 8Pakuti mwapulumutsidwa mwachisomo, kudzera mʼchikhulupiriro ndipo izi sizochokera mwa inu eni, koma ndi mphatso ya Mulungu, 9osati ndi ntchito, kuti wina aliyense asadzitamandire. 10Pakuti ndife ntchito ya Mulungu, olengedwa mwa Khristu Yesu kuti tichite ntchito zabwino, zimene Mulungu anazikonzeratu kale kuti tizichite.
Umodzi mwa Khristu
11Chifukwa chake kumbukirani kuti poyamba inu amene munali anthu a mitundu ina mwachibadwa ndipo munkatchedwa “osachita mdulidwe” ndi amene amadzitcha okha “a mdulidwe” (zimene zinachitika mʼthupi ndi manja a anthu). 12Kumbukirani kuti nthawi imene inu munali wopanda Khristu, simunkawerengedwa ngati nzika za Israeli ndipo munali alendo pa pangano la lonjezo, wopanda chiyembekezo ndi opanda Mulungu mʼdziko lapansi. 13Koma tsopano mwa Khristu Yesu, inu amene nthawi ina munali kutali, mwabweretsedwa pafupi kudzera mʼmagazi a Khristu.
14Pakuti Iye mwini ndiye mtendere wathu, amene anachita kuti awiri akhale mmodzi ndipo anagumula chotchinga, khoma la udani lotilekanitsa, 15pothetsa mʼthupi lake lamulo pamodzi ndi zolamulira zake ndi malangizo. Cholinga chake chinali chakuti alenge mwa Iye mwini, munthu mmodzi watsopano kuchokera kwa abwino, motero nʼkupanga mtendere, 16ndi kuyanjanitsa onse awiriwa mʼthupi lake kwa Mulungu, kudzera pa mtanda, umene Iye anaphapo udani wawo. 17Iye anabwera ndipo analalikira mtendere kwa inu amene munali kutali ndi mtendere ndiponso kwa iwonso amene anali pafupi. 18Pakuti mwa Iye, ife tonse titha kufika kwa Atate mwa Mzimu mmodzi.
19Kotero kuti, inu sindinunso alendo ndi adani, koma nzika pamodzi ndi anthu a Mulungu ndiponso a mʼbanja la Mulungu. 20Ndinu okhazikika pa maziko a atumwi ndi a aneneri, pamodzi ndi Khristu Yesu mwini ngati mwala wa pa ngodya. 21Mwa Iyeyo, nyumba yonse yalumikizidwa pamodzi ndipo yakwezedwa kukhala Nyumba yoyera mwa Ambuye. 22Ndipo mwa Iye, inunso mukamangidwa pamodzi ndi ena onse kukhala nyumba yokhalamo imene Mulungu amakhala mwa Mzimu wake.
God Has Given Us New Life Through Christ
1You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. 2You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don’t obey God. 3At one time we all lived among them. Our desires were controlled by sin. We tried to satisfy what they wanted us to do. We followed our desires and thoughts. God was angry with us like he was with everyone else. That’s because of the kind of people we all were. 4But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. 5So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you. 6God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom. That’s because we belong to Christ Jesus. 7He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can’t be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us. He was kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. 9It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. 10We are God’s creation. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do.
God’s New Family of Jews and Gentiles
11You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “circumcised.” But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands. 12Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world. 13At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. This has brought you near to God.
14Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and Gentiles into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us. 15Through his body on the cross, Christ set aside the law with all its commands and rules. He planned to create one new people out of Jews and Gentiles. He wanted to make peace between them. 16He planned to bring both Jews and Gentiles back to God as one body. He planned to do this through the cross. On that cross, Christ put to death their hatred toward one another. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near. 18Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.
19So you are no longer outsiders and strangers. You are citizens together with God’s people. You are also members of God’s family. 20You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building. 21The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord. 22And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.
