There is great blessing to all who study the riches of Ephesians 1:3–14. Paul begins by blessing God for His every blessing in Christ to us (Eph 1:3). Then, he elaborates those blessings (Eph 1:4–14). As he elaborates these blessings, He identifies each Person of the Trinity in one way or another.
What follows is a summary of each section of this passage to bring out this Trinitarian emphasis, simply using the language of the passage itself and not necessarily providing definitions of what these divine actions may be.
Ephesians 1:3–6 focuses on the role of the Father.
We bless the Father because He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. The Father chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless before Him. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Christ, and thus to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. He did so with a view to the praise of the glory of His own grace, a grace He bestowed on us through His beloved Son.
Ephesians 1:7–12 focuses on the role of the Son.
It is in Christ that we have redemption. He shed His blood and gave His life to redeem us from the penalty of our sins. This redemption and forgiveness in Christ stem from the riches of the Father’s grace. This message of grace is made known to us, thanks to the Father’s kind intentions that He purposed towards us in His Son. Not only do we hope in Christ in this life, but this hope looks forward to a future administration of God in which Christ is central to all things, the Millennium and thereafter. We are an inheritance to the Father in Christ.
Ephesians 1:13–14 focuses on the role of the Spirit.
As we listen and believe in the message of truth, the gospel of our salvation, so also are we sealed with the Holy Spirit, promising great things to come. The Spirit Himself is the pledge of our coming inheritance. He is also savingly within us for our full redemption as God’s own possession.
Every spiritual blessing is to us from the Father, in the Son, and by the Spirit. Blessed be our God for the glory of His saving grace!
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David Huffstutler is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Troy, MI. He blogs here, where this article also appeared. It is published here by permission.
Image by Marion Wellmann from Pixabay
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