Ephesians 1

Paul, an Apostle of AL-MASIH1 ‘ISA2 through the will of God3, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in AL-MASIH ‘ISA: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH.

3Praise be to the God and Father of our LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in AL-MASIH; 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; 5having predestined us for adoption as children through ‘ISA AL-MASIH to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favour on us in the Beloved One. 

7In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in AL-MASIH, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him.

11In him also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will; 12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in AL-MASIH. 

13In him you also, having heard the Word of the truth, the Injil4 of your salvation,—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit5 of promise, 14who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory. 

15For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the LORD ‘ISA which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 17that the God of our LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; 18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might 20which he worked in AL-MASIH, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. 

22He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the congregation6, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

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  1. 1:1 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH.  Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
  2. 1:1 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  3. 1:1 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
  4. 1:13 Injil, this Arabic word is derived from Euangel (Greek) and means “good news” or “Gospel” (old English for ‘good news’). Depending on context, Injil can refer to, 
    1. the whole Christian New Testament containing 27 books, 
    2. the first 4 books of the New Testament, that is, the Injil according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or,
    3. the message or “good news” of forgiveness of sins through ‘ISA AL-MASIH, revealed in the holy Injil (or New Testament). ↩︎
  5. 1:13 Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God; not an angel or created being, but the uncreated, eternal Spirit of God himself who was present and active at the creation of heaven and earth (see Genesis 1:2), and today lives inside of every follower of ‘ISA AL-MASIH, empowering them to live in a way pleasing to God. ↩︎
  6. 1:22 congregation, that is the community of followers of ‘ISA AL-MASIH, traditionally, the church. ↩︎