1 For this reason I, Paul,och. 4:1; Acts 23:18; Phil. 1:7; [ch. 6:20] a prisoner for Christ Jesuspver. 13; Col. 1:24 on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard ofqch. 1:10; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:4 the stewardship ofrver. 7; ch. 4:7; See Acts 11:23; Rom. 1:5 God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 sActs 22:17, 21; 26:16-18 how the mystery was made known to met[Dan. 2:29]; See Rom. 16:25; 2 Cor. 12:1 by revelation,u[ch. 1:9, 10] as I have written briefly. 4 v[2 Cor. 11:6] When you read this, you can perceive my insight intowCol. 4:3 the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles arexSee Gal. 3:29 fellow heirs,ych. 2:16 members of the same body, andzch. 5:7 partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 aCol. 1:23, 25 Of this gospel I was madebSee 2 Cor. 3:6 a minister according to the gift ofcSee ver. 2 God's grace, which was given med[ver. 20]; See ch. 1:19 by the working of his power. 8 To me,eSee 1 Cor. 15:9 though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given,fSee Acts 9:15 to preach to the Gentiles theg[Job 5:9; Rom. 11:33] unsearchablehSee ch. 1:18; Rom. 2:4 riches of Christ, 9 andiSee ver. 2, 3 to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mysteryjCol. 1:26 hidden for ages in1Or by GodkRev. 4:11; [ch. 2:10] who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifoldlRom. 11:33 wisdom of Godm[1 Pet. 1:12] might now be made known tonch. 1:21; [ch. 6:12] the rulers and authoritiesoSee ch. 1:3 in the heavenly places. 11 This waspSee ch. 1:11 according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we haveqHeb. 4:16; 10:19 boldness andrSee ch. 2:18 access withs2 Cor. 3:4 confidence through ourtMark 11:22; Phil. 3:9 faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am sufferinguver. 1 for you,v[2 Cor. 1:6] which is your glory.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whomwSee ch. 1:10, 21 every family1Or fatherhood; the Greek word patria is closely related to the word for Father in verse 14 in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according toxSee ver. 8 the riches of his gloryy1 Cor. 16:13; [ch. 6:10; Phil. 4:13; Col. 1:11] he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his SpiritzSee Rom. 7:22 in your inner being, 17 a[ch. 2:22] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, beingbCol. 2:7 rooted andcCol. 1:23 grounded in love, 18 may have strength tod[John 1:5] comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length andeRom. 8:39; [Job 11:8, 9] height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christf[Phil. 4:7] that surpasses knowledge, thatgCol. 2:10 you may be filled with allhch. 1:23 the fullness of God.
20 iRom. 16:25; Jude 24 Now toj[2 Cor. 9:8] him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,k[ver. 7] according to the power at work within us, 21 lSee Rom. 11:36 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.