THE WRONG PATH TO FOLLOW
19We all know the things our weak and broken human ways lead us to do, things such as walking in impure ways, giving in to dark desires, 20following after spirit-images, and participating in witchcraft. Also hostile ways such as fighting, jealousy, lashing out in anger, arguing and making trouble, and dividing into opposing groups. 21Our broken ways also lead us to want what belongs to others, to become drunks, and to participate in wild parties. It is things like this that I am warning you about. For I have already warned you that the ones who walk in these ways will not share in the blessings of Creator’s good road.
THE FRUIT OF WALKING WITH THE SPIRIT
22On the other hand, if we follow the guidance of the Spirit, our lives will bear good spiritual fruit. The Spirit will grow in us the fruit of love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and goodness, faithful hearts, 23gentle ways, and self-control.
Our tribal law has nothing to say against those who walk in these ways. 24For the ones who belong to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One have nailed their weak and broken humanity to his cross. This puts to death all their wrong desires and broken ways.
25Since our life comes from the Spirit, let us dance in step with the Spirit and follow the Spirit’s guidance. 26In this way we will not become big-headed troublemakers who are jealous of each other.
CALLED TO BE BURDEN BEARERS
1My sacred family members, if someone among you has given in to broken ways, you who are guided by the Spirit should lead this person back to the right path in a spirit of gentleness. But keep a close eye on yourselves, for you may be tempted to do the same kind of thing. 2Bear each other’s heavy burdens, this way you are walking a path that brings full meaning and purpose to the law of the Chosen One. 3The people who see themselves as something when they are nothing have become their own trickster.
4Each one of you should take a good look at your own deeds. Then you can feel honor in the good you have done without comparing yourself with others. 5For all of us have our own burden basket to carry.22
GOOD AND BAD SEED PLANTING
6The ones who are instructed in the message of the Chosen One should share all good things with their teacher.
7Let no one mislead you. You cannot make a fool of the Great Spirit. Whatever you plant is what you will harvest. 8If you plant the seeds of your own broken humanity, you will harvest only death and decay. But if you plant the seeds of the Spirit, then from the Spirit you will harvest the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. 9Never grow tired of doing what is good. For when the time is right, we will reap a harvest of good things as long as we do not let our hearts fall to the ground. 10So then, whenever we are able, we should do good to everyone, and most of all to the members of our sacred family.
FINAL WORDS TO REMEMBER
11Take a good look at the large letters I use to write to you with my own hand! 12These men who try to force you into participating in the cutting of the flesh ceremony do so for the wrong reasons. They do not teach the full meaning of the cross of the Chosen One out of fear of being hunted down and harmed by their own Tribal Members. 13For even those who have participated in the cutting of the flesh ceremony do not themselves keep our tribal law. They only want you to participate in the ceremony so they can brag to others about what they did to your body.
14May I never brag except in what our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, has done by dying on the cross. For I was nailed to the cross with the Chosen One. That is how I died to the ways of this world and how the ways of this world died to me. 15So it no longer matters whether one participates in the cutting of the flesh ceremony or not. What matters is that you are a new creation in the Chosen One.
LAST WORDS
16May peace and mercy rest on all who walk true to this way of seeing and thinking, and on the people of the Great Spirit who together form the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).
17Last of all, let no one trouble me any longer, for on my body I bear the scars that mark me as a follower of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
18My sacred family members, may the gift of the great kindness of our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, guide your spirit on the road of life.
Aho! May it be so!
SMALL MAN TO THE SACRED FAMILY IN VILLAGE OF DESIRE
EPHESIANS
GREETINGS
1From Small Man (Paul), chosen by the Great Spirit to be a message bearer for Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
To the Great Spirit’s holy people who live in Village of Desire (Ephesus), who walk the good path following the Chosen One.
2Great kindness and peace to you from the Father above and from our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who is the Chosen One.
CHOSEN FOR GREAT KINDNESS
3All blessings belong to the Great Spirit, who is the Father of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). From the spirit-world above he has gifted us with all spiritual blessings found in the Chosen One.
4In the same way, before he made all things and because of his great love, the Maker of Life chose to make us pure and holy in his eyes. 5He also decided ahead of time, through Creator Sets Free (Jesus), to take us into his family, fulfilling his purpose and making his heart glad. 6This great kindness he has shown us brings honor to him and gives us a highly honored place, together with his much-loved Son.
7-8By paying the highest price, offering his own lifeblood, the Chosen One released us from a great captivity caused by our bad hearts and broken ways. He poured out all of this overflowing kindness on us, showing how wise and understanding he is.
HIDDEN WISDOM MADE CLEAR
9It makes Creator’s heart glad to show us the hidden wisdom of his plan for all of creation, now made clear through the Chosen One. 10This is how Creator brings all things to completion. He makes all things in the spirit-world above and on the earth below come together and find their full meaning and original purpose in the Chosen One.
11-12The Chosen One has shared with us all that he has been given. This was Creator’s plan that he decided long ago to accomplish. A wise and powerful vision he saw within himself. Creator is working out all the details, fitting everything into his purpose, so that we, who are from the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), who have first put our hope in the Chosen One, will bring praise and honor to him.
13And now, not only we but all other Nations who have heard the truth of this message can participate in his plan. This is the good story that sets all people free.
When we trusted in the Chosen One, he marked us as his own by giving us his promised Holy Spirit. 14He did this to make sure that we, the people he paid a great price for, will receive all that he has planned for us. This brings great praise and honor to him.
SENDING UP PRAYERS
15Ever since I heard of the trust you have in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and your deep love for all of his holy people, 16I have never stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you when I send my voice to the Great Spirit.
17I pray that the Father of honor and beauty, who is the Great Spirit of our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), will gift you with a spirit of wisdom to know him deeply and understand his mysterious ways.
18I am asking him to shine his light into your hearts so you can clearly see the hope he has chosen us for and the beautiful treasure he has in us, his holy people.
19I pray he will show how much greater his power is for all who put their trust in him. 20This is the same power he used when he brought the Chosen One back to life from the dead and gave him the seat of honor at his right hand. 21This is a high spiritual place greater than all rulers, authorities, and powers. It is a place higher and stronger than all names that can be named, not only in this world but also in the one that is coming.
22This is how he brought all things, seen and unseen, under his loving power and made him the elder1 of his sacred family. 23This sacred family is his body on earth, made whole by the one who
gives everything and everyone their full meaning and purpose.
A DARK PATH
1We all once walked a dark and crooked path that led us to death. 2Our broken ways caused us to miss the mark and wander from the good path, following the worthless ways of this world.
We all once walked the dark path of the evil one who rules the spiritual atmosphere of this world, that evil spirit who is at work in human beings who have lost their way. 3This is how all of us once lived when we followed our uncontrolled emotions fed by bodily desires and dark thoughts. These broken ways became our natural condition, and, like the rest of humankind, we were children deserving of Creator’s anger.
FROM DEATH TO LIFE
4But the Great Spirit, who is kind and forgiving, because of his deep love, 5raised us up from spiritual death. Even though we were walking the road of death, he made us alive again with the Chosen One. This is what it means to be rescued by the gift of his great kindness.
6He lifted us up with him to the highest place in the spirit-world above and put us on a seat of honor alongside the Chosen One. 7He did this to show us the overflowing greatness of his kindness and mercy, not only in this age but in the many ages to come—all because of what the Chosen One has done.
A GREAT GIFT
8It is by trusting in the gift of his great kindness that we have been made whole. It is not because of any good thing we have done, but only by accepting a gift that we could never earn. 9In this way, no one can brag or boast about themselves, but only humbly give thanks. 10We are like clay in his hands, molded from the Chosen One, made to be like him, and walking the ancient pathways he originally created us for.
OUTSIDERS AND INSIDERS
11You Nations must not forget that before you knew the Chosen One you were not natural-born2 members of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). You were called “the outsiders”3 by the ones who call themselves “the insiders.”4 But remember, the sign that marks them as insiders is cut into their flesh with human hands.
12You Outside Nations did not share in the promises or the peace treaty that the Great Spirit made with those tribes. You were out from under their special care and protection—unaware of and apart from the Chosen One. You shared no common hope and were outside the help Creator gave to them in this world.
HE IS OUR GREAT PEACE
13But no more! Even though you Outside Nations were far away, you have now been made close by the lifeblood offered by Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One. 14He is our great peace, who has brought the people of all Nations together with the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), making them into one new people by removing the barrier that separated us.
15In his own human body he removed the hostility between us when he did away with the rules and requirements of our tribal law that separated us. This is the way he recreates people—making one new humanity out of the two. This brings us all together on the path of peace.
A CLEAR PATH
16Even though we behaved like enemies, we are now friends with the Great Spirit and with one another. When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) died on the cross, those things that made us enemies died with him. We are now joined together as one people in one body. 17He brought this good story of peace and harmony to people who were far away from him and to people who were close to him. 18Because of him we both have a clear path, through one Spirit, to the Father from above.
A NEW SACRED LODGE
19Now we are all his holy people and members of one new nation. No one is on the outside of this great family that our Father is creating. We are all related to one another and initiated into Creator’s lodge that is built together with wooden poles— 20the message bearers and prophets of old. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) is the main pole binding us together, 21like branches being weaved into his sacred lodge. 22Joined together in this way, we become a dwelling place for his Spirit.
A GREAT MYSTERY REVEALED
1Because I, Small Man (Paul), follow the Chosen One and represent you Nations in this way, I have been arrested and put in chains. 2I am sure you have heard how the Great Spirit chose me, because of his great kindness, to be a wisdomkeeper to all Nations. 3Creator chose me, by a sacred vision, to make known this hidden wisdom that I have already spoken about.
4When you hear this message, you will understand how I see the mystery of the Chosen One. 5This mystery was not made known to the generations of humankind that walked before us in the same way his Spirit has now told it to his holy message bearers and prophets.
6This mystery is that the people of all Nations have equal share in the blessings promised to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). They have full membership in the same body and are included in the promise through the Chosen One as told in the good story.
CHOSEN TO TELL THE GOOD STORY
7The gift of Creator’s great kindness came to me in a powerful way and created in me a desire to serve this good story. 8Even though I am small and weak among his holy people, he still chose me to tell all Nations about the mysterious treasures he has hidden in the Chosen One 9and about the unfolding of this ancient plan—a great mystery that was hidden away for many ages in Creator’s heart. 10So that now, through his sacred family, his great wisdom, which is like a rainbow with many colors, will be made known to the powers and rulers in the spirit-world above.
11This good story gives full meaning to the ancient purpose he planned before he created all things. This purpose has now been made clear though the Chosen One, Creator Sets Free (Jesus). 12Our trust in him opens the way and gives us strong hearts to move close to the Great Spirit. 13So do not become weak of heart when you hear about how much I am suffering for you, which is proof of your great worth.
A HUMBLE PRAYER
14This is the reason I bow down on my knees and humble myself before the Father above, 15from whom all families, clans, and tribes, in this world and in the spirit-world above, are named.
16My prayer for you is that from the great treasures of his beauty, Creator will gift you with the Spirit’s mighty power and strengthen you in your inner being. 17In this way, the Chosen One will make his home in your heart.
I pray that as you trust in him, your roots will go deep into the soil of his great love, 18and that from these roots you will draw the strength and courage needed to walk this sacred path together with all his holy people. This path of love is higher than the stars, deeper than the great waters, wider than the sky. Yes, this love comes from and reaches to all directions.
I pray that you would feel how deep the Chosen One’s great love is. 19It is a love that goes beyond our small and weak ways of thinking. This love fills us with the Great Spirit, the one who fills all things. 20I am praying to the Maker of Life, who, by his great power working in us, can do far more than what we ask for, more than our small minds can imagine.
21May his sacred family and the Chosen One bring honor to him across all generations, to the time beyond the end of all days. Aho! May it be so!
A HUMBLE PATH
1Because I walk the road with our Honored Chief, I have been made a prisoner. I now call on you to join me in representing him in a good way as you follow the path he has chosen for you. 2Walk with a humble and gentle spirit, patiently showing love and respect to each other. 3Let his Spirit weave you together in peace as you dance in step with one another in the great circle of life.
4In this circle we are joined together in one body, by one Spirit, chosen to follow one purpose. 5There is only one Honored Chief, one common faith, and one purification ceremony.5 6There is one Great Spirit and Father of us all, who is above all, and who works in and through all.
THE HEADDRESS OF THE CHOSEN ONE
7His great kindness has gifted each of us from the headdress6 of the Chosen One. 8That is why it is said, “When he was lifted up on high, he captured many warriors, took their spoils of war, and gave them back to the people.”7
9What does “he was lifted up” mean? It could only mean that he had to first come down, into
the lowest parts of the earth, 10so he could be lifted up, to the highest place, and be the one who would restore all things.
WALKING IN HARMONY
11He gifted us with message bearers, prophets, tellers of the good story, and wisdomkeepers, who watch over us like a shepherd watches over his sheep. 12These gifts were given to prepare Creator’s holy people for the work of helping others and to make the body of the Chosen One strong 13until we all follow the good road8 in harmony with each other because we know and understand who Creator’s Son is.
We will then be like the Chosen One—mature human beings, living and walking in his ways, and fully reflecting who he is. 14No longer will we be like children who are tossed about by the waves and follow every voice they hear in the wind. We will no longer listen to the ones who behave like tricksters with their forked tongues.
First Nations Version Page 60
