DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY DECEMBER 3:
DAILY BIBLE READING
Ephesians 1-3New King James Version (NKJV)
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Redemption in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to
adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure
of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us
accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in
all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the
dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one
all things in Christ, both[a] which are in heaven and which are on earth-in
Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined
according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the
counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to
the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise, 14 who[b] is the guarantee of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[c] being enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of
the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding
greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of
His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the
dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above
all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all
things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills
all in all.
By Grace Through Faith
2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which
you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and
were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together
with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together,
and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in
the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of
works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them.
Brought Near by His Blood
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh-who are called
Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by
hands- 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who
once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Christ Our Peace
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down
the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity,
that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in
Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might
reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to
death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar
off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by
one Spirit to the Father.
Christ Our Cornerstone
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having
been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being
fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also
are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The Mystery Revealed
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles- 2
if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was
given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the
mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you
may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other
ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by
the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be
fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ
through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of
the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Purpose of the Mystery
8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to make all see what is the fellowship[d] of the mystery, which from
the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things
through Jesus Christ;[e] 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of
God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in
the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He
accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and
access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do
not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Appreciation of the Mystery
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,[f]
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He
would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened
with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length
and depth and height- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in
the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Footnotes:
a.Ephesians 1:10 NU-Text and M-Text omit both.
b.Ephesians 1:14 NU-Text reads which.
c.Ephesians 1:18 NU-Text and M-Text read hearts.
d.Ephesians 3:9 NU-Text and M-Text read stewardship (dispensation).
e.Ephesians 3:9 NU-Text omits through Jesus Christ.
f.Ephesians 3:14 NU-Text omits of our Lord Jesus Christ.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James VersionR. Copyright C 1982 by Thomas
Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
