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I, Paul, am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. I am in prison because of my work among you who are Gentiles. 2 I am sure you have heard that God appointed me to share his grace with you. 3 I'm talking about the mystery God showed me. I have already written a little about it. 4 By reading about this mystery, you will be able to understand what I know. You will know about the mystery of Christ. 5 The mystery was not made known to people of other times. But now the Holy Spirit has made this mystery known to God's holy apostles and prophets. 6 Here is the mystery. Because of the good news, God's promises are for Gentiles as well as for Jews. Both groups are parts of one body. They share in the promise. It belongs to them because they belong to Christ Jesus.
7 I now serve the good news because God gave me his grace. His power is at work in me. 8 I am by far the least important of all the Lord's holy people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the Gentiles about the unlimited riches that Christ gives. 9 God told me to make clear to everyone how the mystery came about. In times past it was kept hidden in the mind of God, who created all things. 10 He wanted the rulers and authorities in the heavenly world to come to know his great wisdom. The church would make it known to them. 11 That was God's plan from the beginning. He has fulfilled his plan through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Through him and through faith in him we can approach God. We can come to him freely. We can come without fear. 13 So here is what I'm asking you to do. Don't lose hope because I am suffering for you. It will lead to the time when God will give you his glory.
3:1–13 Paul was in prison even though he hadn't done anything wrong. He had been put in prison for the work he was doing as an apostle. God sent Paul to preach the good news about Jesus to Gentiles. This was part of how God was accomplishing his plan for the world. God's plan was to bring together all things in creation under Christ. This had always been God's plan but people hadn't understood it. Spiritual beings in the heavenly world hadn't understood it either. That is why Paul called it the mystery of Christ. The mystery was that all people can be near to God through Jesus. God gave Paul grace and power to share this message. People had put Paul in prison for preaching it faithfully. But Paul didn't lose hope even though he was suffering. Paul trusted that God would share his glory and unlimited riches with him in the future. Paul wasn't speaking about receiving money but about spiritual blessings.
14 I bow in prayer to the Father because of my work among you. 15 From the Father every family in heaven and on earth gets its name. 16 I pray that he will use his glorious riches to make you strong. May his Holy Spirit give you his power deep down inside you. 17 Then Christ will live in your hearts because you believe in him. And I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have a strong foundation. 18 May you have power together with all the Lord's holy people to understand Christ's love. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is. 19 And may you know his love, even though it can't be known completely. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you.
20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. 21 Give him glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. Give him glory through all time and for ever and ever. Amen.
3:14–21 In chapter 2 Paul described how believers are near to God. Paul's prayer shows how near God is to believers. The Holy Spirit's power is deep down inside of believers. Christ lives inside their hearts. And they are filled with everything God has for them. One of the things that God fills believers with is his love. Paul described the love of Christ as something that is wide, long, high and deep. God's love has no end and can't be measured. Paul made bold requests in his prayer for the believers. Paul knew that God could do much more than what he asked. For this, Paul praised God and gave him glory.