Efeserne 2
1 Også eder har han gjort levende, I som var døde ved eders overtredelser og synder,2 som I fordum vandret i efter denne verdens løp, efter høvdingen over luftens makter, den ånd som nu er virksom i vantroens barn,
3 blandt hvilke også vi alle fordum vandret i vårt kjøds lyster, idet vi gjorde kjødets og tankenes vilje, og vi var av naturen vredens barn likesom de andre.
4 Men Gud, som er rik på miskunn, har for sin store kjærlighets skyld som han elsket oss med,5 gjort oss levende med Kristus, enda vi var døde ved våre overtredelser(-)av nåde er I frelst(-)6 og opvakt oss med ham og satt oss med ham i himmelen, i Kristus Jesus,7 forat han i de kommende tider kunde vise sin nådes overvettes rikdom i godhet mot oss i Kristus Jesus.8 For av nåde er I frelst, ved tro, og det ikke av eder selv, det er Guds gave,9 ikke av gjerninger, forat ikke nogen skal rose sig.
10 For vi er hans verk, skapt i Kristus Jesus til gode gjerninger, som Gud forut har lagt ferdige, at vi skulde vandre i dem.
11 Kom derfor i hu at I som fordum var hedninger i kjøttet og blev kalt uomskårne av den såkalte omskjærelse på kjøttet, den som gjøres med hånden,12 at I på den tid stod utenfor Kristus, utelukket fra Israels borgerrett og fremmede for paktene med deres løfte, uten håp og uten Gud i verden;
13 men nu, i Kristus Jesus, er I som fordum var langt borte, kommet nær til ved Kristi blod.
14 For han er vår fred, han som gjorde de to til ett og nedrev gjerdets skillevegg, fiendskapet,15 idet han ved sitt kjød avskaffet den lov som kom med bud og forskrifter, forat han ved sig selv kunde skape de to til ett nytt menneske, idet han gjorde fred,16 og forlike dem begge i ett legeme med Gud ved korset, idet han på dette drepte fiendskapet.17 Og han kom og forkynte fred for eder som var langt borte, og fred for dem som var nær ved;18 for ved ham har vi begge adgang til Faderen i en Ånd.19 Så er I da ikke lenger fremmede og utlendinger, men I er de helliges medborgere og Guds husfolk,20 I som er bygget op på apostlenes og profetenes grunnvoll, mens hjørnestenen er Kristus Jesus selv,21 i hvem hver bygning føies sammen og vokser til et hellig tempel i Herren,
22 i hvem også I bygges op med de andre til en Guds bolig i Ånden.
EPHESIANS 2
From Death to Life
1 t In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God.
3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.
4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God's gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.t This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.
10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.United by Christ
11 Don't forget that you are Gentiles. In fact, you used to be called “uncircumcised” by those who take pride in being circumcised. 12 At that time you did not know about Christ. You were foreigners to the people of Israel, and you had no part in the promises God had made to them. You were living in this world without hope and without God,
13 and you were far from God. But Christ offered his life's blood as a sacrifice and brought you near God.
14 Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body 15 t to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace. 16 t On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peacet between us and God by uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body. 17 t Christ came and preached peace to you Gentiles, who were far from God, and peace to us Jews, who were near God.
18 And because of Christ, all of us can come to the Father by the same Spirit.
19 You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. 20 You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. 21 Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. 22 And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God's own Spirit to live.