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As in any person’s life who seeks after the things of God, for Paul there was a growing understanding of the revelation of Jesus Christ within. Ephesians was one of the very last general church epistles (as opposed to those written to individuals) he wrote, which means his revelational understanding of Christ was at its greatest, as far as we know, when he wrote Ephesians.
In the first 14 verses of the first chapter of Ephesians, Jesus Christ is either mentioned or referred to 15X. The term “in Christ”, either directly or indirectly (ie: “in him”), is seen 11X. Do you think Paul thought Christ was important? To him, Jesus Christ was not simply a starting off point in our quest for the things of God. To Paul, Christ is our relationship with God.
In the first 7 verses covered in this first part of the study, we’ll discover that in Christ:
-We are blessed with every spiritual blessing
-We were chosen by God before He laid out the functioning order of the cosmos
-We are made into the very nature of God’s grace
-We are restored to usefulness and fruitfulness
1:1: Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus (1);
Many texts read “an apostle of Christ Jesus.” Why is the order of the names important? Because emphasis is given to the first name. “Jesus” was his earthly name, and emphasizes his manhood and its abilities (the ability to believe, trust, work, etc.). “Christ” is his messianic stature, and emphasizes his Father’s doing (salvation, defeat of death, exposing Satan, dwelling in God, etc.).
The phrase “the faithful in Christ Jesus” is not indicating a second group of people, but rather is carrying on the very Hebraic manner of emphasis in writing by saying the same thing twice, but in slightly different ways. “The saints who are at (in) Ephesus” are “the faithful in Christ Jesus.” “Saints” emphasizes the God-provided pure nature of the life which dwelt within them, “faithful in Christ Jesus“ indicates their continued response to that provision by walking in its presence and power on a regular basis.
1:2 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Grace” was a common greeting of the Greeks. “Peace” was a common greeting among the Jews. In Christ, all people of the earth are made one.
In the phrase “the Lord Jesus Christ“, “the” is not in the texts. This makes the reference to his lord much more intimate. When the word “lord“ is put first, it emphasizes mastery and dominion, also relationship. If Jesus, the Christ, is Lord, then others are subject to him. Here Paul puts relational emphasis on the two beings he brings greetings from. Our Father, God……and our Lord, Jesus Christ. Again reference is made to both the life we received from God, as having fathered us; and also to our continued response to that life, by being subject to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (2).
To “bless” is to add to something or someone. You’re blessed when you’re walking up the up escalator. Your effort is added to. You’re cursed when you’re walking down the up escalator. Your effort is subtracted from.
God is indicated as being the Father of the Lord, Jesus Christ, just as He’s our Father. That makes our Lord also our brother!
“All spiritual blessings“ is more accurately translated “every spiritual blessing.” The heavenly (spiritual) blessings are not one big single lump. They are many individual blessings.
“Heavenly places“ is a single Greek plural adjective, preceded by the definite article. Thus, it is literally translated, “in the heavenly…..”. The same device is used in the following statement. “We had to choose between blue curtains or green curtains, we chose the green.” The last “green” is an adjective only, with no noun, but the noun “curtains” is understood from context. Here in Ephesians, there is no noun referenced, leaving it up to the readers to supply it themselves. “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly….places, realms, states of being, reality, ……. in Christ.”
1:4 According as He has chosen us in him (3) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love;
“According” indicates the source and supply. This verse lays out the source and supply of every spiritual blessing mentioned in verse 3.
“That we should be“, which seems to indicate a conditional result, is better translated “for us to be“, which indicates an absolute result. This verse is not saying that God did what He did with the desire that we should respond in a way that made us holy and without blame. That puts the emphasis on us. Rather, God chose us in Christ before He ever laid out the functioning order of the cosmos, the end result being that we are holy and without blame before Him.
1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
This predestination does not mean God predetermined everything that would happen. Is that what it says? No. He predetermined what the gift of the life of His son, Jesus Christ would provide to those who believe….that is, adoption as sons of God.
Jesus was born the son of God. What made Jesus the son of God was that God fathered him. God impregnated Mary (by giving life to the egg in her body), making Him the father of Jesus. Jesus came out of the womb God’s son. But unlike Jesus, we were originally fathered by men, and not God. That is why we had to be adopted into sonship with God. You’ll notice that the instigating reason, or source and supply, of this adoption was “the good pleasure of” God’s will. It gives God goosebumps to make you His child!
1:6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved.(4)
“To” indicates immediate and accomplished result. The immediate and accomplished result of God’s good pleasure being done by adopting you as His child is that the glory of His grace (generosity) is praised. Stop thinking about how you don’t deserve it, and focus on God’s generosity in providing it for you!
“Accepted“ is the adjective of the word “grace,” and could be translated “favored.” God’s generosity gives us the very nature of that generosity. His grace bestowed on us the very nature of His grace. “In the beloved” (Christ), God made us objects of His grace…full of generosity. When you come into contact with water, you take on its nature….you become wet. When a metal object comes into contact with electricity, it becomes electrified. So it is with God’s generosity toward us. In Christ we become generous beings.
1:7 In whom (5) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;
“Redemption” is the functioning result of “forgiveness.” (They both have the same root). Redemption means to be restored to usefulness or fruitfulness, and can only occur when that which hindered the usefulness is removed or remedied. To forgive means to untie and release from being bound. Sin (that which is counterproductive) was bound to us; it was in our very nature. Christ released us from being bound to that which caused us to fail. In Christ, we have been released from sin, which held us down, and restored to flight… to usefulness, to success.
Again, what accomplished this, what caused this to happen, was not our doing. It’s never our doing. It’s when we stop doing and give up; when we surrender to what God wants to do, that we begin to thrive in this life. We cannot become wet until we come into contact with water. We cannot thrive until we come into contact with God’s generosity.
All of God’s generosity is fulfilled toward us…..in Christ!
We’ll continue with the final 7 verses in the next study.
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Other related studies:
IN CHRIST – what does it mean?
On Grace, Gifts and Thankfulness
