от Veren1И съживи вас, които бяхте мъртви във вашите престъпления и грехове,2в които сте ходили някога според вървежа на този свят, според княза на въздушната власт, на духа, който сега действа в синовете на непокорството,3между които и ние всички сме живели някога в своите плътски страсти, като сме изпълнявали волята на плътта и на помислите, и по естество сме били деца на гнева, както и другите.4Бог обаче, който е богат на милост, поради голямата любов, с която ни възлюби,5въпреки че бяхме мъртви в престъпленията си, ни съживи заедно с Христос – по благодат сте спасени –6и като ни съвъзкреси, ни сложи да седим заедно с Него в небесни места в Христос Иисус,7за да показва през идните векове изобилните богатства на своята благодат чрез добрината си към нас в Христос Иисус.8Защото по благодат сте спасени чрез вяра, и то не от сами вас – това е дар от Бога –9не чрез дела, за да не се похвали никой.10Защото сме Негово творение, създадено в Христос Иисус за добри дела, които Бог отнапред е наредил, за да ходим в тях.11Затова помнете, че вие, някога езичници по плът, наричани необрязани от тези, които се наричат обрязани – с обрязване на плътта, което се извършва с ръце –12в онова време бяхте без Христос, отлъчени от израилевото гражданство и чужди на заветите на обещанието, без да имате никаква надежда и без Бог на света.13Но сега в Христос Иисус вие, които някога сте били далеч, сте поставени близо чрез кръвта на Христос.14Защото Той е нашият мир, който направи двете едно и събори средната стена, която ги разделяше,15като в плътта си унищожи враждата, тоест закона със заповедите му изразени в постановления, за да създаде в Себе Си от двата един нов човек и така да въдвори мир,16и в едно тяло да примири и двата с Бога чрез кръста, като уби на него враждата.17И като дойде, благовества мир на вас, далечните, и мир на близките.18Защото чрез Него и едните, и другите имаме достъп в един Дух до Отца.19И така, вие не сте вече странници и чужденци, а сте съграждани на светиите и членове на Божието семейство;20защото сте съградени върху основата на апостолите и пророците, като Сам Христос Иисус е крайъгълен камък,21в когото сглобено, цялото здание расте за свят храм в Господа,22в който вие също се вграждате заедно в Духа за Божие обиталище.
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 as 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 boast 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 towards 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.