Ephesians 1:18

An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

I pray that your minds will be enlightened so that you will know what the hope is, to which God has called you, and what the glorious abundance is, of God’s inheritance in the saints [Note: Paul wanted them to appreciate the value God placed on them],

Cross References

Acts 26:18

to open their eyes [to the truth] so they will turn from darkness to light and from the power [i.e., the influence] of Satan to God. [Then] they can receive the forgiveness of sins and the inheritance [of never ending life], along with [all] those who are set apart [for God] by trusting in Me.’

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said [Gen. 1:3], “Light will shine out of darkness,” has [also] shone in our hearts to provide [us with] the light of the knowledge of God’s splendor [as it shines] on the face of Christ. [Note: This allusion to “splendor shining on Christ’s face” may be a continuation of the analogy used in 3:13].

Luke 24:45

Then He opened their minds [miraculously (?)] so they would understand the Scriptures.

Ephesians 1:7

In [fellowship with] Christ we have redemption [i.e., we have been bought back from Satan] through His blood, and have forgiveness of sins according to the abundance of God’s unearned favor,

Ephesians 5:8

for you people were once darkness [i.e., when living in sin], but now you are light in [fellowship with] the Lord. [So], live like people who belong to light [i.e., who live godly lives],

Ephesians 3:16

[I pray] that, according to God’s glorious abundance, He would empower you to become [spiritually] strong through His Holy Spirit in your inner person,

Ephesians 4:4

There is [only] one body [i.e., church] and one Holy Spirit, just as God also gave you one hope when He called you [See Titus 3:7].

Titus 3:7

[This was] so that, being made right with God by His unearned favor, we could have the hope of [possessing our] inheritance of never ending life [in heaven].

2 Thessalonians 1:11

This is why we always pray for you also, so that our God will consider you worthy to be [i.e., to have been] called [into the kingdom] by Him, and will fulfill, by His power, every good purpose [or, “desire for goodness”] of yours and every act produced by [your] faith.

Ephesians 4:1

I urge you, therefore, as a prisoner of the Lord, to live in a way that measures up to [the standard required by] God when He called you.

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good battle of the faith; take hold of never ending life, to which you were called [i.e., by the Gospel. See II Thess. 2:14], [when] you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. [Note: This “confession” probably refers to a person’s acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord and Christ prior to his immersion. See Acts 2:36; Rom. 10:9-10].

1 Peter 5:10

And the God who bestows every unearned favor [upon His people], who invited you to partake of His eternal splendor through Christ Jesus, will restore, confirm, strengthen and stabilize you people [in the faith], after you have gone through a brief time of suffering.

Ephesians 1:11

It is in [fellowship with] Christ that we [Jewish Christians] also were selected as [God’s] inheritance [i.e., to receive His never ending blessings], having been predetermined according to the plan of God, who works out everything in harmony with what He wants.

Hebrews 10:32

But remember the earlier days when, after you were enlightened [to the truth], you endured a difficult struggle by having to suffer [much].

1 Thessalonians 2:12

and urging you to live up to the standards of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and splendor.

2 Corinthians 4:4

For the god of this world [i.e., Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they would not see the light of the Gospel of the splendor of Christ, who is the image of God.

Titus 2:13

while looking forward to the blessed hope [i.e., the hope that produces blessings] and the coming splendor of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:16

Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us never ending encouragement and good hope through [His] unearned favor,

1 Thessalonians 5:8

But, since we belong to the daytime [i.e., are enlightened], we should be sober. We should put on the “flack jacket” of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of being saved.

Ephesians 3:8

This favor of preaching the unfathomable riches of Christ to the Gentiles was given to me [even though] I am the least significant of all saints [i.e., God’s holy people].

Matthew 13:15

For these people’s minds are dull, and their ears have difficulty hearing, and they have shut their eyes. For if this were not the case, they would perceive what they see with their eyes, and comprehend what they hear with their ears, and understand with their minds and would turn [back to God] again so I would heal them [from their sins].’

1 Peter 3:9

Do not repay a wrong action with [another] wrong action, nor abusive [language] with [additional] abuse, but rather be a blessing [to one another]. For the purpose of your being called [by God] was so that you could receive a blessing [from Him eventually].

Hebrews 6:4

For it is impossible to get people who were once enlightened [by the Gospel message], and who had experienced the gift from heaven [i.e., forgiveness, never ending life, etc. See Rom. 6:23], and who had partaken of the [indwelling] Holy Spirit [See Acts 2:38],

Colossians 3:15

You should let the peace given by Christ rule in your hearts, since you people were called [to be at peace] in one body [i.e., the church]; and you should be thankful.

Colossians 1:23

[This will happen] if you continue in the faith [Note: This means either “continue to observe God’s teaching” or, “continue to believe”], firmly grounded and established, and not moved away from the hope offered by the Gospel message, which you have heard and which was preached to people throughout the entire created world under heaven. I, Paul, was made a minister of this Gospel.

Colossians 1:5

[You have these qualities] because of the hope stored up for you in heaven, which [hope] you previously heard about through the message of truth when the Gospel

Ephesians 2:12

[Remember] that you were at that time without Christ; [you were] excluded from citizenship in the nation of Israel; [you were] foreigners regarding the Agreements of [God’s] promises. You had no hope and were without God in the world.

Galatians 5:5

For we are waiting for the hope [to be fulfilled] of being made right with God by [the power of] the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 1:3

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to be praised for being so merciful as to have given us a new birth, which provides for us a hope of never ending life through the means of Jesus Christ’s return from the dead.

Acts 16:14

A certain woman named Lydia, from the town of Thyatira, who sold purple cloth [for a living], was there. She was a worshiper of God and when she heard us [telling about salvation through Christ], the Lord opened her heart to respond to the message being spoken by Paul.

Philippians 3:14

I am pushing onward toward the goal for the prize of the upward call [i.e., to heaven] from God in [fellowship with] Christ.

Mark 10:17

As Jesus was leaving to go on His way, a man ran to Him and kneeled down in front of Him and asked, “Good Teacher, what should I do in order to possess never ending life?”

Romans 2:4

Or, do you despise the abundance of God’s kindness and tolerance and patience [toward you], not realizing that His kindness is intended to cause you to repent? [i.e., to change your hearts and lives].

Romans 11:29

For God does not change His mind about the gifts He gives and the people He calls [to Him].

Colossians 1:12

[May you] give thanks to the Father who has enabled you to share [i.e., eventually] in the inheritance of the saints [i.e., God’s holy people] in [the kingdom of] light.

Colossians 1:27

He was pleased to make known to these people the wealth of His splendor among the Gentiles; this hidden secret, which is Christ among you, [is] the hope of being honored [i.e., in heaven].

Colossians 2:2

[I do this] so that their hearts will be encouraged [while] being united in [mutual] love, [and] so that they will have the wealth of a fully assured understanding, in order to fully know about God’s hidden secret, [which is] Christ.