от Bulgarian Bible Society1И вас, мъртвите поради вашите престъпления и грехове, (Кол 2:13)2в които живяхте някогаш според живота на тоя свят, съгласно с княза на въздушната власт, сиреч на духа, който сега действува в синовете на неверието, (Йн 12:31; 1 Кор 6:11; Кол 3:7)3сред които и ние всинца живяхме някогаш според плътските си похоти, изпълнявайки желанията на плътта и на помислите, и по естество бяхме, както и другите, чеда на гнева, –4Бог, богат с милост, поради голямата Си любов, с която ни обикна, (Рим 2:4)5макар да бяхме мъртви поради престъпленията, оживотвори с Христа (по благодат сте спасени), (Рим 8:11)6и възкреси с Него и постави на небесата в Христа Иисуса,7за да яви на бъдещите векове преизобилното богатство на Своята благодат в доброта към нас чрез Христа Иисуса. (Еф 3:8)8Защото по благодат сте спасени чрез вярата; и това не е от вас – Божий дар е; (Д А 15:11)9не е от дела, за да не би някой да се похвали. (Рим 3:20)10Защото Негово творение сме ние, създадени в Христа Иисуса за добри дела, що Бог е предназначил да вършим. (Ис 44:21; Тит 2:14; Евр 13:21)11И тъй, помнете, че вие, някогаш езичници по плът, които бяхте назовавани необрязани от тъй наричаните обрязани с плътско обрязване, извършвано с ръце,12че вие бяхте тогава без Христа, отстранени от израилското общество, чужди към заветите на обещанието, лишени от надежда и безбожници в света; (Неем 2:20; Ез 13:9; Рим 9:4; Кол 1:21)13а сега в Христа Иисуса вие, които някогаш бяхте далеч, станахте близки чрез кръвта Христова. (Д А 2:39)14Защото Той е нашият мир, Който направи от двата народа един и разруши преградата, що беше посред, (Ис 9:6; Йн 16:33)15като с плътта Си унищожи враждата, а с учението – закона на заповедите, за да създаде в Себе Си от двата народа един нов човек, въдворявайки мир, (2 Кор 5:17)16и в едно тяло да примири двата народа с Бога чрез кръста, като на него уби враждата;17и като дойде, благовести мир на вас, далечни и близки, (Ис 57:19; Зах 9:10)18защото чрез Него и едните и другите имаме достъп при Отца, в единия Дух. (Йн 14:6; Рим 5:2; Евр 10:19)19И тъй, вие не сте вече чужди и пришълци, а съграждани на светиите и свои на Бога,20като се утвърдихте върху основата на апостолите и пророците, имайки Самия Иисуса Христа за краеъгълен камък, (Ис 28:16; 1 Пет 2:4)21върху който цялото здание, стройно сглобено, възраства в храм свет чрез Господа, (Кол 2:19)22върху който и вие се съзиждате в жилище Божие чрез Духа. (2 Кор 6:16)
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.