(Acts 19:8–12; Revelation 2:1–7)
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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus,(a) the faithful in Christ Jesus:
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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings
(Romans 8:28–34)
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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
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For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
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He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
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to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
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In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
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that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
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And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ
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as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.
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In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
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in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.
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And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
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who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.
Spiritual Wisdom
(1 Corinthians 2:6–16)
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For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
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I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
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that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
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I ask that the eyes of your heart (b) may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
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and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,
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which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
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far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
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And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
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which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Footnotes