*Ephesians 1:3-23
In Christ, God blesses believers with spiritual gifts, reveals their predestined adoption, and explains the surpassing power of Christ.
- Spiritual Blessings in Christ:
- Paul begins by praising God for the spiritual blessings bestowed in Christ, emphasizing that believers are chosen in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless.
- He speaks of God’s grace that destined believers for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, according to His pleasure and will.
- Redemption and Knowledge of God’s Will:
- Believers have redemption through Christ’s blood, which includes the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace.
- God made known to them the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ.
- Inheritance and Sealing of the Holy Spirit:
- Believers were chosen to be God’s possession and to praise His glory; they first hoped in Christ and were marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit is described as a deposit guaranteeing their inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.
- Paul’s Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation:
- Paul prays for the Ephesian believers that God may give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so they may know Him better.
- He prays for the eyes of their heart to be enlightened to know the hope to which He has called them, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for believers.
- Exaltation of Christ:
- The passage underscores God’s mighty strength which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms.
- Christ is placed above all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
- Christ as Head Over All for the Church:
- God placed all things under Christ’s feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body.
- The church is described as the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.