The Word Made Fresh
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will, to the saints at Ephesus who have faith in Jesus Christ:
2Grace and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
3The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with spiritual gifts from heaven, 4having chosen us in Christ even before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame before him in love. 5God planned to adopt us through Jesus Christ, and was pleased to do so. 6And so we praise God’s glorious grace that was given to us through Christ the beloved. 7We are redeemed through Christ’s blood, and our sins have been forgiven through the grace 8he offered to us with wisdom and foresight. 9God has revealed to us the mystery of his will, and through his good pleasure has given us Christ. 10This was God’s plan, that in the future all things in heaven and earth will be gathered to him. 11In Christ we also received an inheritance which was planned as God wished. Everything is done according to God’s counsel and will 12so that we, the first generation to hope in Christ, may live to praise his glory. 13When you heard the truth of the good news of your salvation and believed in Christ, you were branded with a seal that was promised by the Holy Spirit. 14This is the promise of the inheritance we have received, redeemed to God’s glory as God’s own people.
15I have been told of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for the saints. That is why 16I am constantly thankful for you, and remember you in my prayers. 17I pray for you that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you wisdom and teach you to know him 18so that when your hearts are enlightened you will receive the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his inheritance with the saints, 19and the greatness of his power for all of us who believe. 20This power was revealed in Jesus Christ when he was raised from the dead, and was given a seat in heaven at God’s right hand. 21He is far above every rule and every authority and every power and every dominion. He is above every name that is given in this time and in the time to come. 22And God has put all things under his feet, and made him the head of the church. 23The church is now his body and will complete his fullness that we all may be filled with him.
Commentary
Ephesus was located at the western end of Asia Minor (Turkey) on the Aegean Sea. Paul’s visit there is described in Acts 19. He stayed for about 3 years (Acts 20:31), longer than in any other place. Still, owing to certain vocabulary differences, many scholars doubt that this letter was written by Paul. Further, there is manuscript evidence that the original letter was addressed generally to “the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus,” and not specifically to the church in Ephesus. All this speculation aside, it is a well-crafted treatise which beautifully describes what it means to be a Christian. In a sense, it is more a sermon than an epistle. We note also that it was written from prison (see 3:1, 4:1 and 6:20), a circumstance that certainly fits with Paul’s career.
1-2: A typical salutation pronouncing the grace and peace of Christ for its readers, including us.
3-14: A summary of the theology presented in the letter, that through Christ we are adopted as God’s children, forgiven and redeemed through his blood, and have become partners with God in the redemption of all things.
15-23: This section of thanksgiving mirrors that in Romans 1:8-15 and 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. Paul follows his thanksgiving for them with his prayer that they will grow in wisdom and knowledge and power to do God’s will, which is to redeem the world under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Takeaway
We accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior not to insure that our souls will be saved, but so that we will be given the wisdom and courage and strength to seek the redemption of the world through the way we live as followers of Jesus.