You Are Blessed!!- Brief exegesis of Ephesians 1:3-14

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ1 before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,2 having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this3 is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:3-14 (NRSV)

In this brief introduction to the Ephesians, which is aptly considered the “crown” and “quintessence” of Paulinism (Bruce, 229), Paul lays out for the community at Ephesus the blessings and richness we have in Christ Jesus. Paul extols the richness and lavishness of the inheritance we have in the Kingdom of God through the shed blood, forgiveness and redemption in Christ. We have been adopted into the family of God, through the good pleasure of our Creator from the beginning of time. This passage prepares the community at Ephesus for the instruction, both theological and practical, that is to follow in this book.

Date and Authorship

There is debate amongst current scholars over the genuine authorship of Ephesians. The style and content of the letter is not in line with those letters considered to be genuinely Pauline; Galatians, Romans, to name a few. Some reasons given anti- Pauline authorship are: it’s impersonal style, references to post-apostolic time, too general a letter (Barth, 10-11), there are many expressions that are unique from Paul’s other writings, and heavy dependence on Colossians. (Lincoln and Wedderburn, 84) However, the traditional authorship of Paul still has many supporters and posses a strong case as well. Pro- Pauline authorship proponents claim that the letter was accepted as written by Paul by the earliest church fathers, additionally pseudonymous authors of the time would not deprecate the person whose authority they are claiming, as this author has (Eph 3:1) nor would a pseudonymous author knowingly fabricate events in the author’s life that would be meant to deceive as would be the case in Eph 4:1 and 6:20, especially when the underlying message of the book is instruction on ethical and righteous living. (O’Brien, 42-43) Paul was an incredibly skillful and educated writer and was certainly able to write this book in the manner of what was needed at the moment it was written. I will side with Pauline authorship. It was probably written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome around 62AD.

Cultural Context

Ephesians is the most general and least situational of all of Paul’s letters. (O’Brien, 49) There is not an urgent need that Paul is addressing. What can be understood of the community from our passage is that they have been blessed with every spiritual blessing; they are saints who believe and understand the personal blessing of God, though they may not know Paul personally. (O’Brien, 50) They are called saints, fellow citizens, brothers and sisters, adopted, and members of the body. Since these classifications are true for all Christians, this indicates the universality and generality of this letter. Paul assumes the community knows him, is familiar with his knowledge of the mystery of God, and knows about his suffering and imprisonment. (O’Brien, 51) It is implied that these are new Gentile Christians that have some familiarity with the Old Testament Jewish laws and customs. (Lincoln, xxiii)

Form, Style and Movement

Ephesians overall is an Epistle. More specifically, the style of Ephesians has been called “pleonastic” which is characterized by lengthy sentences connected with relative clauses. (O’Brien, 6) Our passage falls into this category. It uses synonyms placed side by side, such as “wisdom and insight” in 1:8, for a rhetorical effect. The piling up of terms for God’s purpose is used to great effect in our passage particularly. (O’Brien, 7) This presents our passage in eulogy form, as an extended benediction and prayer. The purpose of which undergirds God’s accomplishment and unification of all things in Christ, to His eternal purposes. There is a strong liturgical character to our selected passage. (Bruce, 241) Paul is using this benediction to layout out the message and topics that he will expound upon throughout the rest of this letter.

Detailed Analysis

The overall message of our passage is one of blessing and gratitude for our election and adoption into God’s family. Verses 3-6 are full of words of praise for our election and adoption. (Bruce, 251) Interestingly enough, in verse 3 we see the name of God, as God and Father. This is the only mention of God by name, although the rest of the passage is full of parental imagery. (Barth, 101) The structure of this blessing is in eulogy format, or a berakah, which is a long, single sentence that starts with “Blessed be…” and is an instrument of blessing and praise to our creator. (Bruce, 252) This long sentence runs the extent of our passage through v14. We are to praise God for our call and adoption. We are given all spiritual blessings; there is no mention of material blessing, there is also no mention of spiritual blessings that are held back. Our blessings are “in the heavenly places”, not in the present world. The word “heavenly” occurs 5 times in the course of this letter. This shows us the magnitude and scope of how we’re blessed, blessed above all things. (Bruce, 253) And since we are already enjoying these blessings we see implied references to the inaugurated eschatology of the here and now (this age and the age to come). Christ will sum up all things in the end, but as believers and adopted members of Christ’s family we are already enjoying the partial fruits of our salvation. (Bruce, 254) And this adoption and acceptance of the gifts of the Kingdom are chosen “before the foundation of the world”. This reference to the eternal selection of God is only found here in all the works of Paul. (Bruce, 254) I believe this gives us an understanding of the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresence and immutability of God. Our election is not accomplished by man, but rather by an all loving God. I believe this is what the Reformers of the 16th and 17th century viewed as the Doctrine of Election, and what led Calvin to regard Ephesians as one of the paramount books of the NT. (Bruce, 255) This adoption and election is only possible through Jesus Christ, it is His mission that allowed us to attain this gift. (O’Brien, 97) Our responsibility for this gift is to remain holy and blameless. (Lincoln and Wedderburn, 121) With all hope and in love our response to an all loving God, is to put on His image as His adopted children. We are now heirs of the Kingdom, children of promise. We should therefore behave accordingly. As is stated in this passage, God adopted us for His pleasure and His purpose. And Paul sums this up in the phrase “to the praise of His glorious Grace” in v6. This phrase occurs 3 times in the book of Ephesians (all in our passage) and sums up the thrust of the overall message of the book. (Barth, 101, Lincoln and Wedderburn, 113)

In verses 7-10 we begin to see how those who are chosen in Christ before the beginning of the world are redeemed over the course of history through the act of Christ’s shed blood. This redemption implies a release and liberation, as if from imprisonment. (O’Brien, 106) It is this liberation that goes hand in hand with our forgiveness through the shed blood, the sacrifice, of Jesus Christ. God not only gave us this gift, He lavished us with the richness of His Grace. This was something of worth, of value; for that reason it is expressed in terms of wealth. (Bruce, 259) The use of words that imply wealth (inheritance, riches), as well as the use of the word ‘lavished” convey to the reader that words cannot begin to describe the magnitude of the Grace and gifts we are inheriting as a result of our election in Christ. (O’Brien, 107) Not only are we given these gifts, and adopted in God’s family, we then go on in v8 to also receive wisdom and understanding. This is done so that we can understand, comprehend and cultivate the gifts we have received. (Bruce, 260) It is this wisdom and understanding that we will need in order to live the life we are called to in the previous verse. It is with wisdom that we may understand the position we are given and what is needed to live as an heir to the Kingdom. V9-10 then unifies everything under Christ. God has made known to us the mystery of his plan so that everything can be completed in Jesus Christ. The “mystery” of v9 is God’s love and Grace for us. (Barth, 127) An inheritance of love the likes which he derives pleasure to share with us through His Son. Jesus Christ then comes and completes this love by gathering all things and peoples, Jews and Gentiles, to himself as they have been called. (Bruce, 261, O’Brien, 107) Jesus Christ becomes the ultimate source that restores harmony to all things, to all creation. (Lincoln and Wedderburn, 110)

Moving to v 11-14, we see the praise of the believers for the assurance that we have in Christ. The language now begins to shift from “we” to “you also”, which indicates the movement towards the reconciliation of all things under Christ. (O’Brien, 114) We progress from a Jewish first reference in “we who first placed our hope”, to “you who were also sealed”. We see the progression of Christ reconciling all things under his authority. This indicates that all believers are adopted, elected and blessed through their belief in Christ. (Bruce, 264, O’Brien, 115) All is unified, God’s family is one. United and in harmony, “to the glory of His praise”, which is the second time this phrase occurs in the passage, v12. (Barth, 113) Paul goes on to state that we are sealed with the Spirit; the word “sealed” in its Semitic origins is rendered “guarantee”. (O’Brien, 121, Bruce, 266) This shows the permanence, the immutability of God’s purpose. (Barth, 118) This verbiage for the guarantee of the Holy Spirit is only found in the works of Paul in the NT. (O’Brien, 120) This reference goes beyond just the promise of the Spirit, because Paul is clear that we are already experiencing a portion of it today, in the here an now. The promises of God are already partially enjoyed by those which have believed and are called. We see this because Paul declares that we are sealed with the Spirit now, not in the future. (O’Brien, 120) The entire passage is summed up in v14, where for the 3rd time Paul declares “to the praise of his glory”. We are summed up in that act of praise, for the glory of God, which has permeated the entirety of this passage. (Barth, 113)

Synthesis/Conclusion

The key points, Christological focus and character of this passage are God’s intention to bring harmony to all people and creation through Christ, to emphasize the divine grace of God, and the calling of God’s people to himself. First and foremost, this passage magnifies that God is the praise of God; in this passage the theology is a doxology. (Barth, 143) God acts in paramount love as a caring and liberating father. In form, the passage is a eulogy (berakah) that sets up as a “talking points memo” for the rest of letter. From this point Paul sets the tone, style and main ideas that will continue to recur throughout the epistle and provides an introduction into the instruction that will follow. (O’Brien, 123) We see our relationship to God as one of father and son, we note Jesus’ ultimate power to unify all things under himself, this provides our blessing and partially realized inheritance, and ultimately we have the seal (guarantee) of the Spirit.

Reflection

This eloquent and beautifully crafted passage of Paul should give all believers comfort and joy in knowing what a majestic and secure eternal blessing we have through Christ Jesus. In summary, what this passage tells us is that we have been blessed, chosen and redeemed through Jesus Christ. It gives God great pleasure to adopt us as children and to be heirs to the Kingdom. What a message for believers 2,000 years ago and today. I don’t think our culture, or any culture since these words have been penned, truly grasps the profundity of the message of Paul. We are children of God, the King eternal. We are in position of nobility, enjoying the blessings bestowed on us from the heavenlies. It is a message of hope, of spiritual prosperity! An inheritance of wealth unimaginable that is not only bestowed, but lavished upon us. In seeking to apply this message to our culture today, the question should be; do we realize where this treasure comes from? The claim to fame for Ephesus back in 60 AD was a huge temple to Artemis which has long since been destroyed. (Freedman, 413) On the other hand, the inheritance we are provided, besides being eternal, is without measure; lavished upon us by God. In our culture TV ads quickly point out that “The King is Good” referring to Burger King, or “Have all you want, we’ll make more!” talking about Tostitos; but here in Ephesians we see that the King is good, and our inheritance is without limit, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And the more reassuring aspect is that we have a guarantee on our inheritance, unlike those innumerable souls that invested themselves in the worship of Artemis. Furthermore, in keeping with the abundance of God’s immutable decrees, we owe a debt of gratitude that we are to exhibit by living as those worthy of call. (Lincoln and Wedderburn, 149) This is where I think the church needs to focus today; are we as a church living worthy of our call? I think we need to be reminded, as the Ephesians were later in this epistle, “That is not the way you learned Christ” (Eph 4:20). Unfortunately, we may have learned Christ this way through our churches. But Paul is clear in his teaching that from, through, and in God and Jesus Christ we have blessing upon blessing. We can use this passage of Ephesians to instruct us not only on the blessings and inheritance we have in Christ, but also in the way we are to praise him continually.