Spiritual Blessings In Christ – Ephesians 1: 1-23
Key Verse 3: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
The theme of the book of Ephesians is Paul’s encouragement for the church. According to the lectionary season after Pentecost, summer is a time for scripture readings related to Christian discipleship, the formation of the church, evangelism, and missions. In our post-pandemic times, cultural shifts have greatly affected the church globally, and caused many Christians to ask, what does God expect the 21st century church to look like? These are good reasons to study Ephesians.
The book of Ephesians is the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus, but it was also distributed to other churches, and continues be part of the Holy Scriptures that are addressed to us also. Paul spent three years at the church in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Ephesians was a commercial center in the Roman Empire, and Paul used this setting to talk about spiritual treasures. Ephesians is a very rich text, in which every verse could be a key verse. I have highlighted a few words in each passage just to focus on a few spiritual nuggets. Verses 1-2 read, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The phrase “holy people” in the NIV is translated as “saints” in the ESV. When I hear the word “saint”, I think of great heroes and role models of faith. This is true. However, according to the New Testament, God views all Christians as “saints”. We may not look very much like saints, because of our sins. But through the saving work of Christ on the cross, God views us as “saints”, which means “sanctified” or “set apart”, and eventually God’s view of us will become our new nature.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ (Verses 3-14)
Let’s read our key verse 3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Christians might not necessarily have earthly wealth. However, we have an abundance of spiritual treasures. How do we acquire these spiritual treasures? We receive them in Christ. Paul repeated the phrase “in Christ”, or “in him” thirteen times in the first fourteen verses of this chapter. What does it mean to be in Christ? In John 15:5 Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Recently, I trimmed some vines in my dad’s yard. After several days, the cut vines had withered up. God chooses to bear fruitful blessings through us. However, we need to receive spiritual nourishment from Christ like a vine grows from a branch for our own spiritual survival, and in order to bear those blessings.
Let’s look at verses 4-6, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” The paradox of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility is difficult to understand. The important thing to know is that God’s saving us by his predestined plan means that there’s no pride in our efforts when it comes to knowing God. On the other hand, it does not leave us in determinism or fatalism. Because of our sins, we were spiritually poor. But being adopted by God gives us all the privileges and blessings as a child of the wealthiest father. It reminds me of the musical, orphan Annie. By being adopted, we not only have a great inheritance, but more importantly we have a place of belonging and acceptance. There is a story of a wealthy businessman who sent his agents around the world to find several rare art treasures worth millions of dollars. They returned to tell him that they found the treasures in his own warehouse. He had forgotten that he already had the treasures. Like this man, sometimes we are so focused on our problems that we forget how many spiritual treasures we already have received from God. And our Father God loves us and continually showers us with more blessings.
Let’s look at verses 7-8, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,” I think of redemption and forgiveness as being similar to mercy and grace. God’s forgiveness, or mercy, is like filling in the deep well of sin and guilt that we had fallen into and taking away the judgment that we deserved. However, God did not just withhold judgment and walk away. Instead, he lavished his grace on us like a mountain of blessings. Redemption means that God brought us back into a relationship with him. Since the industrial revolution, our culture has been focused on productivity. This leads to job stress for many of us. Market-driven values and ethics provide temporary wealth which does not last very long. Even honestly-gained earthly treasures fade. 1 Peter 1:3,4 reads, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.” Our adoption by Christ gives us eternal treasures that will last forever.
Look at verses 9-10, “he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” The gospel was a mystery with many clues given through the prophecies of the Old Testament. I enjoy watching mystery movies, in which clues are gathered until the mystery is fully revealed at the end of the story. The mystery of the Old Testament is fully revealed in Christ, who fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies. The centerpiece of the gospel mystery is Christ’s death and resurrection. But God’s purpose is much larger than our own personal salvation, as important as that is. God has a larger plan to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Christ brings unity to all Christians, which is much needed in our adversarial society. More than this, Christ will bring unity to the earth, which is encouraging when we read about many ecological problems in the news. Full restoration of the earth may not occur until after Christ’s return, when God makes a new heaven and a new earth. However, as Jesus told us to pray, “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, we can see glimpses of God’s restoration in the world even in the present time.
Read verses 11-14, “ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit gives us the blessing of assurance of our salvation. Beyond the unity of the heavens and earth, God’s ultimate plan is for the praise of his Glory. We can praise God with prayers and songs of worship. We can also praise him by reflecting his image and character in our daily lives.
Thanksgiving and Prayer (Verses 15-23)
Verses 15-18 read, “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,”. Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. Yet, he was so joyful and thankful when he wrote to the Ephesians. We can see that Paul valued his heavenly treasures more than his earthly treasures. Paul gives three prayer topics in these verses and one more in the next verse. Paul’s first prayer topic for the Ephesians (and for us) is that we may know Christ better. Each Christian already knows Christ. However, since God is infinite we cannot know him completely. Yet, we continually need to know him more, as the praise song goes, “I want to know you, I want to know you more.” According to verse 17, we can know Christ better through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation when we Study God’s words in the Bible. Paul’s second prayer topic is to know the hope of his calling. Just as we often want to find our career paths for our lives, each Christian has a unique calling from God for his/or her life. God may not tell us his entire plan for our lives all at once, but we should pray for God to reveal his calling for us day by day. Paul’s third prayer topic is to know the riches of Christ’s glorious inheritance. We learned about the spiritual riches of Christ earlier in this passage. However, we need the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened in order to know God’s riches so that we can use them and share them with others.
Verses 19-21 continue, “and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” It is encouraging to know that God is omnipotent (all-powerful). Romans 8:28 tells us that no power can separate us from the love of God. Ephesians 6 explains in more detail how we can be equipped in the armor of God’s power. It’s also encouraging to know that God who is all-powerful is also all-loving. So, he is neither a dictator nor merely a sentimentalist. Faith in God’s power helps us to feel physically and emotionally secure.
Verses 22-23 read, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” As mentioned earlier, the theme of Ephesians is about the church. We have learned about God’s blessings and Paul’s prayers for the church. There is much more to learn about the church, which we can talk more about next time.
May God help us to see his many spiritual blessings for us in Christ, especially his forgiveness and redemption through Christ’s death and resurrection. May he enable us to know him better, to know the hope of God’s calling, the riches of his inheritance, and the greatness of God’s power. Amen.
Bible Study Questions
- Read verses 1-2. How did Paul describe himself and this letter’s recipients? What difference does it make to see one’s life and work from God’s point of view? What does to mean to be a saint?
- How many times is the phrase “in Christ” repeated in the first 14 verses? What does it mean to be “in Christ”? (Jn 15:5) Read verses 3-6. What does it mean to be blessed “in the heavenly realms”? (1:3, 1:20, 2:6). What are the spiritual blessings mentioned here? When and why did he choose and predestine us? What is the value of adoption? How does this show his love? (1 Peter 1:3,4)
- Read verses 7-8. How has he lavished his grace on us? How costly is his grace (to himself and to us)? What does “redemption” and “forgiveness” suggest about our former state?
- Read verses 9-10. What is the mystery? (Romans 16:25-26). What is God’s great purpose and plan? (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). What is our true hope?
- Read verses 11-14. What is God’s larger purpose in choosing us? What does “for the praise of his glory” mean? (12b,14b) Who is included in Christ? What is the Holy Spirit’s work? What is our inheritance?
- Read verses 15-23. Think about Paul’s human situation. Why is he thankful? What are his prayer topics for us? What is the source of power at work in us? What is our glorious hope? (18, 22-23). What is the church? (23).
