1FOR this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of 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 by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

1For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Iesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2If ye haue heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is giuen me to youward:

3How that by reuelation hee made knowen vnto me the mysterie, (as I wrote afore in few words,

4Whereby when ye reade, ye may vnderstand my knowledge in the mysterie of Christ.)

5Which in other ages was not made knowen vnto the sonnes of men, as it is now reueiled vnto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit,

6That the Gentiles should be fellow heires, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ, by the Gospel:

7Whereof I was made a Minister, according to the gift of the grace of God giuen vnto mee, by the effectuall working of his power.

8Unto mee, who am lesse then the least of all Saints, is this grace giuen, that I should preach among the Gentiles the vnsearchable riches of Christ,

9And to make all men see, what is the fellowship of the mysterie, which from the beginning of the world, hath bene hid in God, who created all things by Iesus Christ:

10To the intent that now vnto the principalities and powers in heauenly places, might be knowen by the church, the manifold wisedome of God,

11According to the eternall purpose which he purposed in Christ Iesus our Lord:

12In whom we haue boldnesse and accesse, with confidence, by the faith of him.

13Wherefore I desire that yee faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

14For this cause I bow my knees vnto the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ,

15Of whom the whole family in heauen and earth is named,

16That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to bee strengthened with might, by his Spirit in the inner man,

17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that yee being rooted and grounded in loue,

18May be able to comprehend with all Saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height:

19And to know the loue of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that yee might bee filled with all the fulnesse of God.

20Now vnto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly aboue all that wee aske or thinke, according to the power that worketh in vs,

21Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Iesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

 

1 Because of this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ (Jesus) for you Gentiles -  2 if, as I suppose, you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit, 3 (namely, that) the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier. 4 When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, 6 that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this I became a minister by the gift of God's grace that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power. 8 To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light [for all] what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness of speech and confidence of access through faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over my afflictions for you; this is your glory. 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

v 1. Because here and early in his ministry Paul had preached God’s grace to Gentiles and their union with Jews in Christ, he was imprisoned in Rome.
v 2. Dispensation notes on 1:10. God had given to Paul the administration of this method of dealing with mankind which we call the Church Age. Sentence ends v 13.
v 3-5. The secret of this age of grace was given to Paul by direct revelation from God and the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor: 1-4 and he had briefly mentioned the mystery in Eph. 2. It was unknown to all the Old Testament prophets, Daniel jumped from the 69th to the 70th week,  but is to N.T. apostles and prophets. 
v 6. It was not a mystery that Gentiles would be saved. The new thing was that      a. Gentiles would be fellow heirs of God’s riches  b. Jews and Gentiles would be one body, the church  c. Sharing the same promise of Christ the Messiah, that through the gospel we become spiritual seed of Abraham. (Notice the “mystery” in v 3, 6 and 9)
v 7-9. Paul was privileged, by God’s grace, to be a minister of this gospel even though he felt insignificant. While he preached to Jews, his main function was:
a. Preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
b. Make plain to all mankind the administration of this mystery.
Christ  was creator, Jn. 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb. 1:2  though all of Trinity was involved.
v 10-12. God used this mystery of the Church for a magnificent display of His wisdom before the angelic beings in heaven. This was part of His eternal plan which was carried into effect by Christ,whom by faith we have unreserved approach to God.
v 13. Paul did not want them to be despondent but count it an honor that he had suffered on their behalf.
v 14-15. “For this reason” picks up the thought from v 1, God’s grace and His great plan for the union of Jews and Gentiles. Paul bowed his knees in prayer before the Father, the true original Father from which every human family derives it’s name. Also there is one heavenly family, even angels being sons of God by Creation  as we by adoption.
v 16-21. Paul’s prayer included:
a. Strength in the inner man (strong in our profession.
b. Christ might be permanently at home in our hearts, dominating our lives.
c. We be continuously rooted like a plant and established like a building in love.
d. With all saints we might grasp the immensity of God’s love, make it a part of ourselves, not merely understand, but applied in our lives. .
e. Know  experientially the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge. We can never fully understand even though we experience knowledge. (I may read about T V, I may watch it, but it is still beyond my present knowledge and understanding.)
d. Be wholly filled with the Divine Presence, even as Christ, Col 2:9.  
e. In doxology thanked God that beyond our imagination, He had the power to make Jew and Gentile function together as one body (and many other things).
f. That unto Christ there might be glory in the Church forever.