3 Let us give thanks to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us
by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.
4 Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us
to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without
fault before him. Because of his love
5 God had
already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children—this was
his pleasure and purpose.
6 Let us
praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear
Son!
7 For
by the blood of Christ we are
set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God,
8 which he gave to us in such large
measure! In all his wisdom and insight
9 God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had
already decided to complete by means of Christ.
10 This plan, which God will complete when the time is
right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth,
with Christ as head.
11 All things are done according
to God's plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with
Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very
beginning.
12 Let us, then, who were
the first to hope in Christ, praise God's glory!
13 And you also became God's
people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you
salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by
giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised.
14 The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what
God has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete
freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!
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