Ephesians 1
CHAPTER 1
Our exalted status in Christ
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus.
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 in that He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love. 5 Having foreordained us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the beloved. 7 In whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished on us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in him, 10 in a plan which runs to the fullness of the times: To sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth.
11 In whom also we were made His heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who does all things after the counsel of His will, 12 so that we who had first hoped in Christ should be for the praise of His glory. 13 In whom you also believed, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 which is a guarantee of our inheritance, of the final redemption of God's own possession, for the praise of His glory.
Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians
15 For this cause, I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love which you show toward all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; so that you may have 18 the eyes of your mind enlightened, that you may appreciate what is the hope of His calling, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of His might 20 which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead and had him sit at His right hand in heaven, 21 far 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. 22 And He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to us to be head over all things in the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.
Commentary
1:3 We are “in Christ” by baptism into Him (Rom. 6:3-5). He is now in Heaven, and so we are in a spiritual sense ‘in the heavens’ (Eph. 2:6). This situation has been brought about by Christ, and so we could say that He is the creator of a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), of heavenly places for us. This theme of Paul’s has been misunderstood badly by those who mistakenly believe that we go to Heaven on death (rather are we unconscious until Jesus returns and then we will be resurrected); or that Jesus created the literal Heavens (God did, not Jesus).
1:4 We didn’t physically exist before the foundation of the world; neither did Jesus. Both He and us existed in God’s purpose and plan.
1:16 Paul writes this about many people. For it to be true, he would have spent much of his available time in prayer for various brothers and sisters throughout the Mediterranean world. How long do we spend in prayer for others each day?
1:20-22 The exalted position of Christ is only because God resurrected Him and gave Him such authority and glory; clearly God and Jesus are separate, and God is greater than Jesus.
