Ephesians 1:3-14

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 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, ⁹ having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, ¹⁰ that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. ¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ¹² that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Commentary

Vs. 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,"

The Apostle Paul now begins a glorious exposition on our position In Christ, in what the Believers Bible Commentary describes an act of grand worship and adoration of God, saying:  "the apostle lifts his voice in a magnificent hymn of praise, soaring into some of the sublimest heights of NT worship."

Now this magnificent hymn of praise and thanksgiving begins by first blessing the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, "who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ". Now just as it begins in praise so it will end in praising God who has glorified His Name in His Son by what He has done for us all (vs. 14). And so not a trace of cold and dead theology is ever found in it, or heard through it. Rather life giving and nourishing Words Inspired and brought to life by God's Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, so that all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be nourished and bountifully fed and blessed by them. Because it is one thing to know the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, it is quite another to know what we all possess in Him and through Him because of what He has done. And so knowing what we all have in Christ, the Apostle Paul being filled with the Spirit of God in all wisdom and knowledge and truth cannot contain his joy and thankfulness to God for all these things. And yet when Paul declares and reveals these things to us, he will govern it all with a holy reverence, because in declaring and bringing to light true knowledge of God, reverence before God is not only essential to having it, but also acquiring it (consider Lev 10:3; Luke 8:18). To begin then, having been reconciled back to God the Father by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ His Son, we who believe have now been blessed by God through His Son with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Now these blessings are spiritual blessings given us through God's Holy Spirit, in the heavenly places In Christ. And as such refer to everything the Holy Spirit has given us in Christ.  All which began with our first being brought to Spirit life and united with Christ, (and each other), the moment we believed In the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the baptism of the Spirit of God, by which we are conveyed or transferred (lit. transformed, Louw Nida 13.64) into Christ (Col 1:13), and thus into the Body of Christ, where all of Christ's blessing flow too. And so by the Lord Jesus Christ's Crucifixion death, Resurrection from the dead, and Ascension back to heaven, we have been by the Holy Spirit indwelling us brought into eternal life and united with Christ in these events (Rom 6), which is also the cause of our being renewed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit down here, so that God by His Spirit sanctifying us down here is making of us fit for an eternity up there with Himself in heaven. And so not only are we now alive with the Lord Jesus Christ down here, by His Spirit indwelling and transforming us down here; but we have also died to all that was previously our unregenerate state; and so we are more and more experiencing the fullness and riches of Christ as we comprehend and apprehend these things for ourselves. 

Therefore the spiritual blessings being referred to here are all of God's Spiritual blessings that we have In Christ, both His Life, His Spirit gifts, His fruits of His Spirit, His grace (Heb. 4:14-16), His promises, all which makes for an abundant and enriched and liberated life while we are alive down here in the body; but will also make us to abound in the riches of God's Presence when we take up our permanent place in the heavenly realms with Him (and each other) forever (2 Peter 1:1-11). And so what we have and experience down here is only a mere foreshadow and taste of all the riches and spiritual blessings that we will all fully share with Christ up there (1 Cor. 2:9). And so praising God here is not just for His giving us remission of our sins and everlasting life, or giving us His Spirit gifts and purposes for our lives, or His giving us His love too both enjoy and share, but also for the everlasting joy and eternal inheritance that we have and will all share with Christ up there (Rev. 21:4). Thus the Apostle Paul can now joyfully praise God for all these things because though we are not yet perfected here in the mortal body, we are day by day drawing nearer and nearer to day when we will all be at home in heaven with Christ, and each other, perfected forever (Phil 3:12; 1 Cor 15:42-55).  

Vs. 4 "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,"

The Apostle Paul now looks back on how we all got to this redeemed and glorious state that we who believe all have and share In Christ. Blessing God then for what we now have In Christ, and what is coming to us all In Christ, is now only going to be being surpassed by how we all got here In Christ. For it was God the Father Himself who chose us in In Christ before the foundation of the world. Make no mistakes about it, long before there was a Sun and moon and stars and earth, God the Father had it in His heart to chose us for His salvation and redemption which He has now brought to us through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:37). Now God's expressed purpose in choosing us was so that He could set us apart for Himself as His own special people, who would be holy and without blame before Him in love. And so having been chosen by God to be In Christ before the foundation of the world (which is also referred to as election, and thus we who believe being called the elect of God (see Isaiah 65:9, 22; Matt. 24:24, 31; Mark 13:22, 27; Luke 18:7; Rom 8:28-30; 9:11, 14-33; 11:7; 1 Thess 1:4; 2 Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 2:10; Titus; 1 Peter 1:2, 5:13; 2 John 1, 13 etc.), God did so that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (consider Col 3:12-14). Therefore as the redeemed children of God we need to practice and pursue, holiness and blamelessness and love, because God has chosen us for Himself, as His people, for that expressed purpose.

Vs. 5 "having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will," 

God not only chose us before the foundation of the world, God followed through and predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Therefore it was God's will; not one's own will, or someone else's will, but God who according to the good pleasure of His own will, accomplishes all of these things for us (consider John 1:12-13). Therefore no one comes to God (and thus into His salvation) of their own accord, rather God must first draw them to Himself through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:44, 6:55), which itself is the merciful saving work of God that He Himself does according to the good pleasure of His will. 

Vs. 6  "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."

Now God our Father has done all these things so that He might be praised and glorified because of His amazing grace which is given us all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord His Beloved Son and our Beloved Savior. Therefore it is through God's glorious grace that we who believe have been made accepted in the Beloved; that is we who were once unacceptable to Him because of our sins and transgressions have now been made accepted through the Son of His love who suffered Crucifixion death to make us all who believe in Him acceptable to Himself. And so just as God the Father loves and accepts His Son, so now He also accepts us all who believe in Him. Being then accepted by God does not come through the works of man, it comes by faith in His Son (Eph 2:8-9).

Vs. 7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace,"

In Him (that is In Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His (God's) grace. Notice first that our redemption from sin and death has come only through the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son, the Sacrificial Lamb of God, who by His suffering Crucifixion death has redeemed us who believe in Him from sin and death. Make no mistakes about it, without Jesus Christ's blood being shed unto death to atone for all of our sins; no one would be forgiven or redeemed by God (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:14-15, 22; 1 Peter 1:18-21). Now this happened because it was God's Will for Him to do so, so that He could bestow the riches of His grace on everyone who believes in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

Vs. 8 "which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,"

God has not only chosen us, predestined us, and redeemed us through Christ's blood, and thus has made us accepted in the Beloved Son. But through Jesus Christ, God made His grace abound towards us in all wisdom and prudence. That is God has also now revealed to us by His Spirit what His plans are for all of us who believe in Christ Jesus His Son. And so God through the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has now brought to light His plans for both believing Jew and Gentile, as well as His plans for the redemption of His bride, the church, at the end of this present age (Rev 19:1-22:21). 

Vs. 9-10 "having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him." 

Therefore God in first electing, predestining and now redeeming us has not left us ignorant of His Will. For through the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles He has clearly made known His will for us all through His Word. And so in the O.T. we have the Promise of God's Redemption through His Son, the Christ, being extended to both believing Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:6, 9-13; 52:13-15, 53:1-12; Hosea 1:10; 2:23 etc.). Yet it is not until the Lord Jesus Christ becomes the Mediator of the New Covenant that we are told of God's plans in redeeming both believing Jews and Gentiles is so that He could gather us all In Christ His Son (Rom 9-11; 15:7-13; 21 etc). That is what the Apostle Paul is referring to when he says, "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him."

And so in one sense the fullness of times initially is referring to the Gospel era by which God is gathering both believing Jews and Gentiles In Christ. Now though the era almost exclusively belongs to the Gentiles being redeemed, until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Then there will be at the end of the age when all of God's elect in Israel will be gathered to Himself (Rom 9-11). All which must take place before the Lord Jesus Christ has His Millennial Reign, where He will rule over everything in heaven and earth. And so the Apostle Paul in declaring as much is not just seeing his own age, or era, in which the Gospel first came to life and light, and through which the church came into being, but he is also considering the end of the age when God gathers all of His redeemed, both which is in heaven and on earth in Christ. And so with that glorious future in mind believing Gentiles do not now become practicing Jews under the Old Covenant (See Acts 15). Instead both are now united In Christ and are under the New Covenant, not Moses and the Old (Heb. 8:7-13). Yes there is a still a future fulfillment of the purposes of God for Israel during the Millennial Reign of Christ (Zechariah 14:16-21), but no one, either Jew or Gentile should ever return to the Law and circumcision while seeking to be justified by Christ (Gal 5:1, 4-5; Phil. 3:1-11 etc.). For by works of the Law no flesh will be justified in the sight of Christ (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16). Therefore our Sovereign Supreme God Lord King Creator and Sustainer of Everything has not only redeemed us through His Son (not Moses) according to the good pleasure of His Will, but he is also He making us who believe in His Son one special people set apart for His own purposes (1 Peter 2:9-10). 

Vs. 11-12 ¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ¹² that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 

Having announced the gathering of all of God's redeemed in heaven and earth In Christ, the Apostle Paul now personalizes this, saying In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. Now the we Paul is referring too is himself and those believers with him who also first trusted in the Living and Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, (of course this includes all of the Apostles and early disciples whether Jews, Samaritans, or now Gentiles). For they were the first to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ so that they should be to the praise of His glory. That is through them God would make known His Glorious Grace, Love, Redemption and Power In Christ to one and all.

Vs. 13-14 ¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

The Apostle Paul now extends this to us all who have also believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, saying "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise," Notice first that it was when we first trusted In Christ, through the Word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation, that we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. First then salvation begins the moment one believes; that is trusts in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done by His Crucifixion death and Resssurection from the dead to save them from our sins and transgressions, and thus the wrath to come. Second salvation is a permanent, irrevocable state. That is what is being stated when the Apostle says we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise the moment we believed. For God doesn't make mistakes in His election and predestination of us, nor does He renege on His promise of salvation to one and to all who believe/trust exclusively in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. For that is what is being declared in verse thirteen and is also backed up in verse fourteen, where it is stated of the Holy Spirit that He is, "the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." And so having believed we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise (that is the Promise Jesus Himself gave of His coming into everyone who believes in Him (John 7:38-39; 14:15-18, vs. 17). Now we are not just secured forever by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14; 2 Cor 1:21-22; Eph 4:30 etc.), but as the word translated sealed here indicates we are also permanently marked by Him as belonging to God. And so the world though not personally knowing God, will all know that we who believe now belong to God, and thus don't belong anymore with them. So don't be surprised when the world hates or rejects you, because they also hate and reject Gods Son (John 15:18-25). Third the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has exclusively purchased our redemption, both as individuals, as well as a Body of believers in Christ in every generation. Something which no man could do for himself, or anyone else (consider Psalm 49:6-9). Therefore our first loyalty must always be with and for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not family, not friends, not even our own lives (Matt. 10:21-23, 34-39; Luke 12:49-53; 21:10-19). Fourth our salvation having been purchased by the will of God (vs. 5-6) through the Blood of Christ, is too the praise of His glory, (vs. 6, 12, 13). So that God might make known the riches of His glory on us all who believe in Him (Rom. 9:23). Therefore we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ being sealed with His Holy Spirit of promise are not only the fragrance of His Person in every place wherever we go (2 Cor 2:14-17), but we are the means by which God also manifests His glory to one and to all. And so we are, as Jesus said, a light set on a hill which cannot be hidden, by which God manifests His grace and His glory, in first redeeming and then indwelling once sinful, broken and alienated people from Himself, and then manifesting His grace, glory, and power to salvation through the same, which again is being done to the praise of His glory.  

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Additional Resources Consulted 
Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.


Vs. 8 Believer’s Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995