Ephesians 1
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus,[a] the faithful[b] in Christ Jesus:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3Praise 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. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
11In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also 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 the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Footnotes:
[a] Ephesians 1:1 Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus.
[b] Ephesians 1:1 Or believers who are
[c] Ephesians 1:5 Or sight in love. 5 He
[d] Ephesians 1:9 Or us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he
[e] Ephesians 1:11 Or were made heirs
[f] Ephesians 1:17 Or a spirit
4 comments:
Eph 1:
Pretty amazing start to a letter. Paul sums up all the amazing things God has done for us:
3Praise 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. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
What truly makes this an awesome God and demonstrates grace greater than any we will ever know is the following. There is only one thing in this chapter, in life, that we need to do in exchange for all of these amazing gifts:
13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. HAVING BELIEVED, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.
All we had to do/have to do is believe. That is truly amazing grace.
Father, thank You for your grace and all the gifts you have given us, from the worldly items that we share this season, our families, our health. But thank you most of all for Your Son, who died so that we could be imperfect but still meet you Father. How easy it truly is to believe, but being human, we still fall short of trusting you completely. Thank you for your forgiveness. In Jesus' amazing name,
Amen
crb
I agree crb, you pretty much got thenhigh points. How amazing to know that he knew us before the earth was even created.
This is my prayer for us from verse 18:
18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called.
In Christ,
cas
Blessed in Christ with EVERY spiritual blessing!
And yet I struggle with discontent. Ha, I trade the treasure of Christ for trash so often. In '06 I need to get back to contentment in Christ again.
I love vs. 18-19...to know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance, and His power beyond all things imaginable for us (His believing children)...
I need to run to Him first, not all of my coping schemes.
May the Lord strengthen our hearts and minds this year and anchor our lives in Him so that we are strong men for His glory.
In Christ,
ER
Hey ER,
Me toooooooooooo! Discontentment is probably one of my biggest struggles. It is very difficult for me to keep my focus where it is supposed to be. I to need to relearn for 50,000,000 time to run to Him.
In Christ,
cas
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