Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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, 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, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:1-6 NKJV

Verse 1:1 Paul was sent (of; that is commissioned by) the throne (governmental) anointing of Jesus, that is, sent by God to the faithful who are in Christ. This is an authoritative, canonized, and faithful apostolic teaching given to the whole Church to strengthen our knowledge of God and our faith in God.

1:2 Too often read as an empty greeting, the apostolic blessing of grace (Greek: charis) and peace (Greek: eirene) is likened unto the commanded blessing of Psalm 133. Grace to you! Church, possess the charis of God! That is, be filled with the effectual and inner working of God’s power to live by the Spirit. Peace to you! Church, possess the eirene of God! Peace in this instance can mean quietness and rest. However, as an exhortation the more likely use of this word is to express a command, which is to be “joined together as one whole”. Peace, in this particular greeting conveys God’s gift of wholeness and communal welfare among the saints of God, as well as the overthrow of societal havoc and disunity within the body of Messiah.

1:3 Blessed (Greek: Eulogetos); God, the Father of our anointed Lord and King/Priest, is highly adored and worthy in praise. He is truly blessed. Out of the possessive estate of God’s blessing, He has bestowed upon us and spoken over us every multitude (a myriad/many- see Psalm 139:17-18) of precious, non-carnal, and regenerative adulation and praiseworthy thought which exists in the mind of God. Each of these blessings and thoughts are possessed by God who dwells in the heights of the heavens, from whom every blessing in the heavenly places flows. Special contextual note in regards to heavenly places/ realms: As members of the body of Messiah, we have been “spoken well of” past tense by God, in the heavenly realm, to those in the heavenly realm (angels; principalities; the cloud of witnesses; the rulers and powers of the air). We have been blessed by the declaration of our Creator God who speaks good things into existence. Good things which are established by His word which cannot be moved, reversed, or shaken. Not only that, but He has commanded the blessing to us in every possible way that God is capable of doing so in the heavenly realm, and has done so by invoking the throne name of His Son. Here is an important side-note. I believe part of the ministry of prayer is to intercede in agreement with His blessings by calling forth these blessings (which exist already in Heaven) to manifest on earth in whatever manner of fullness it is possible during the present age. I also believe that the book of Ephesians, as we will read, will clue us into these blessings more specifically.

1:4 “Just as” = In a similar manner to Paul’s previous statement. Our creator God, who speaks good things (earthly & heavenly) into existence by His voice, chose/elected us as the focus of His holiness and love BEFORE the foundation of the world. This means that before day one of the creation story, the body of Messiah was the main object of our triune God’s holy and loving affection. In the mind of God, before “day one” had even begun, the plan for the Father to have sons from among Adam’s descendants, the Son to have a bride, and the Holy Spirit to have a temple within human frame, was not only in motion but already decided. In this manner, we are called to be holy (set apart) for God, and without blame (free from accusation).

1:5 In holiness and love we are predestined (grammar is very important here). The word predestined is in the aorist active tense. This means it was initiated in the past tense, but it does not necessarily indicate completion or continuation. While I don’t want to get into side debates, I do feel it is important here to note, for in this particular context former “predestination” does not guarantee future “destination”. That is, while we were predestined before creation as the object of God’s election, love, favor, adoption, and holiness, our response is required. To us it has been given the honor (by God Himself we have been given this honor and no one can take away the honor) to walk in holiness, love, and adoption. All of this was accomplished according to the good pleasure of His will, which provides unshakable confidence that God enjoys this plan and it is firmly established as an unchanging and irreplaceable truth. We must be willing to receive spiritual blessings, adoption, and the good pleasure of God. We must also be willing to respond rightly to God’s free gift, and if we do, our access to a full inheritance in Christ is not limited.

1:6 The adoption of the believer by Jesus Christ to Himself praises the glory of His grace. Let’s think about this for a minute. Glory in this instance alludes to the great and precious value of the object of praise. In this instance, the object of praise is the grace of Jesus. Throughout the New Testament, and in much of Paul’s writings, the word grace is used to denote unmerited favor and unmerited effective working power. Grace is the gift/favor itself as well as the ability to receive, utilize, and thrive in the gift/favor. God’s grace is praiseworthy and glorious. It is the means by which we are accepted (possessing exceeding honor) in the Beloved. By verse six we see the idea of effective grace and exceeding honor glorifying Jesus in the life of the Church. It might be tempting to think this is looking too hard and reading too much into the text, however this theme is weaved throughout the entire epistle of Ephesians. I believe Paul was setting up his readers and hearers. Grace will be the defining characteristic of those who are effective in the purposes of God. Honor will be the defining characteristic of those who are unified among the people of God. Grace and honor will together reveal the love of God in and through believers.

Supplemental Reading:

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard—Aaron’s beard— coming down on the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion. For there Adonai commanded the blessing — life forevermore!

Psalm 133 TLV

How precious are Your thoughts, O God! How great is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand! When I awake, I am still with You.

Psalm 139:17-18 TLV