Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 1:3

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ:

3 14. Ascription of Praise, in view of the Election and Redemption of the Saints

3. Blessed be the God, &c.] The same Benediction occurs (verbatim in the Greek, nearly so in A. V.), 2Co 1:3; 1Pe 1:3. Observe the different motive of the same phrase in each case. The word rendered “Blessed” occurs eight times in the N. T., and always of a Divine Person. In Mar 14:61 “The Blessed” appears without an explicit Name, as often by the Rabbis.

For the sacred Formula “the God and Father of, &c.” cp. further Rom 15:6 (where the Greek, though not the A. V., is the same); and see Joh 20:17; Heb 1:8-9; and note below, on Eph 1:17.

who hath blessed us ] Better, Who blessed us. The reference is to the heavenly world and the eternal purpose of God towards the saints. See just below, on “ before the foundation, &c.” This Benediction on the New Creation may be illustrated by that on the Old; Gen 1:22; Gen 1:28; Gen 9:1. It is the utterance (in whatever way) of a fixed Divine purpose of good. “When we bless God, we speak well of Him; when He blesses us, He powerfully confers blessings on us” (Scott). “ Us ”: the members of the New Race; “the saints and faithful;” those who “are Christ’s.”

with all spiritual blessings ] Better, with (lit. in) all spiritual blessing. “ Spiritual: ” the Benediction supremely affected the “ spirit ” of its objects, not merely their externals. It bore upon their spiritual Birth (Joh 3:6); Life (Rom 8:9-10); and Consummation (Rom 8:11; 1Co 15:44).

in heavenly places] Lit., “ in the heavenlies ”; an adjective without a noun. So below, Eph 1:20, and Eph 2:6, Eph 3:10, Eph 6:12. The noun is rightly supplied in A. V. The region of utterance of the Blessing was heaven; the eternal abode of the Covenant-Head of the blessed ones is heaven; and the final issue of the blessing will be their own abode there “in glory.” See Heb 11:16. The form of the adjective suggests not only a heavenly origin, or nature, but a heavenly locality.

in Christ ] as the Covenant-Head, Root and Source of Life, and Representative, of the saints. Cp. 2Ti 1:9.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – This commences a sentence which continues to the close of Eph 1:12. The length of the periods in the writings of Paul, is one cause of the obscurity of his style, and renders an explanation often difficult. The meaning of this phrase is, that God has laid a foundation for gratitude for what he has done. The ground or reason of the praise here referred to, is that which is stated in the following verses. The leading thing on which the apostle dwells is Gods eternal purpose – his everlasting counsel in regard to the salvation of man. Paul breaks out into the exclamation that God is worthy of praise for such a plan, and that his eternal purposes, now manifest to people, give exalted views of the character and glory of God. Most persons suppose the contrary. They feel that the plans of God are dark, and stern, and forbidding, and such as to render his character anything but amiable.

They speak of him, when he is referred to as a sovereign, as if he were tyrannical and unjust, and they never connect the idea of that which is amiable and lovely with the doctrine of eternal purposes. There is no doctrine that is usually so unpopular; none that is so much reproached; none that is so much abused. There is none that people desire so much to disbelieve or avoid; none that they are so unwilling to have preached; and none that they are so reluctant to find in the Scriptures. Even many Christians turn away from it with dread; or if they tolerate it, they yet feel that there is something about it that is especially dark and forbidding. Not so felt Paul. He felt that it laid the foundation for eternal praise; that it presented glorious views of God; that it was the ground of confidence and hope; and that it was desirable that Christians should dwell upon it and praise God for it. Let us feel, therefore, as we enter upon the exposition of this chapter, that God is to be praised for all his plans, and that it is possible for Christians to have such views of the doctrine of eternal predestination as to give them most elevated conceptions of the glory of the divine character. And let us also be willing to know the truth. Let us approach word after word, and phrase after phrase, and verse after verse, in this chapter, willing to know all that God teaches; to believe all that he has revealed; and ready to say, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for all that he has done.

Who hath blessed us – Who does Paul mean here by us? Does he mean all the world? This cannot be, for all the world are not thus blessed with all spiritual blessings. Does he mean nations? For the same reason this cannot be. Does he mean the Gentiles in contradistinction from the Jews? Why then does he use the word us, including himself, who was a Jew? Does he mean to say that they were blessed with external privileges, and that this was the only object of the eternal purposes of God? This cannot be, for he speaks of spiritual blessings; he speaks of the persons referred to as having redemption and the forgiveness of sins; as having obtained an inheritance, and as being sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. These appertain not to nations, or to external privileges, or the mere offers of the gospel, but to true Christians; to persons who have been redeemed. The persons referred to by the word us, are those who are mentioned in Eph 1:1, as saints, – hagiois – holy; and faithful – pistois – believing, or believers.

This observation is important, because it shows that the plan or decree of God had reference to individuals, and not merely to nations. Many have supposed (see Whitby, Dr. A. Clarke, Bloomfield, and others) that the apostle here refers to the Gentiles, and that his object is to show that they were now admitted to the same privileges as the ancient Jews, and that the whole doctrine of predestination here referred to, has relation to that fact. But, I would ask, were there no Jews in the church at Ephesus? See Act 18:20, Act 18:24; Act 19:1-8. The matter of fact seems to have been, that Paul was uncommonly successful there among his own countrymen, and that his chief difficulty there arose, not from the Jews, but from the influence of the heathen; Act 19:24. Besides what evidence is there that the apostle speaks in this chapter especially of the Gentiles, or that he was writing to that portion of the church at Ephesus which was of Gentile origin? And if he was, why did he name himself among them as one on whom this blessing had been bestowed? The fact is, that this is a mere supposition, resorted to without evidence, and in the face of every fair principle of interpretation, to avoid an unpleasant doctrine. Nothing can be clearer than that Paul meant to write to Christians as such; to speak of privileges which they enjoyed as special to themselves; and that he had no particular reference to nations, and did not design merely to refer to external privileges.

With all spiritual blessings – Pardon, peace, redemption, adoption, the earnest of the Spirit, etc., referred to in the following verses – blessings which individual Christians enjoy, and not external privileges conferred on nations.

In heavenly places in Christ – The word places is here understood, and is not in the original. It may mean heavenly places, or heavenly things. The word places does not express the best sense. The idea seems to be, that God has blessed us in Christ in regard to heavenly subjects or matters. In Eph 1:20, the word places seems to be inserted with more propriety. The same phrase occurs again in Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; and it is remarkable that it should occur in the same elliptical form four times in this one epistle, and, I believe, in no other part of the writings of Paul. Our translators have in each instance supplied the word places, as denoting the rank or station of Christians, of the angels, and of the Saviour, to each of whom it is applied. The phrase probably means, in things pertaining to heaven; suited to prepare us for heaven; and tending toward heaven. It probably refers here to every thing that was heavenly in its nature, or that had relation to heaven, whether gifts or graces. As the apostle is speaking, however, of the mass of Christians on whom these things had been bestowed, I rather suppose that he refers to what are called Christian graces, than to the extraordinary endowments bestowed on the few. The sense is, that in Christ, i. e. through Christ, or by means of him, God had bestowed all spiritual blessings that were suited to prepare for heaven – such as pardon, adoption, the illumination of the Spirit, etc.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Eph 1:3

Blessed he the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

Blessed be God

Observe well, that the same word is used in reference to our wish towards God and Gods act towards us: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us. It is a very striking thing that our poor pebble stones of wishes should be valued so much that the same word should be used in reference to them as in reference to the priceless diamonds of grace which the Lord hath bestowed upon us. We bless God because He blesses us. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Now, it is easy to understand how the Father of mercies, from whom every good and perfect gift proceeds, really blesses us; but how can we be said to bless Him?–and what is the distinction between that and praising Him? For there is such a distinction, since we read, All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord, and Thy saints shall bless Thee. Praise rises even from lifeless objects, as they display the power and wisdom of their Creator; but intelligence, will, and intent are needful for blessing God. Praise is the manifestation of our inward reverence and esteem: it adores and magnifies; but in blessing God we think well of Him, and wish well to Him, and desire that others may do the same. In blessing God there is the desire to do good to God even as He doth to us, if it were possible for us to do so. We fail in the power wherewith to accomplish such a desire, but it is well that it is in our hearts. When we wish other men to love and serve the Lord, and do Him homage, we are blessing Him. When we desire to love Him more ourselves, and feel our hearts burn with aspirations after fellowship with Him, we are blessing Him. When we are zealous to make known the truth of the gospel which glorifies God, and to make known His Son in whom especially He is revealed, we are blessing God.

I. Here we have, first of all, God the Father viewed aright. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. When the Divine Father is viewed aright He becomes the object of our gratitude, not of our dread. Instead of trembling before Him as before an austere judge, we rejoice in Him as a tender Father.

2. Next, if we would view the Father aright we must regard Him as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful title. It is blessed to view God as the God of Abraham, but how much more as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus, after His resurrection, called Him My Father, and your Father: My God, and your God.

3. The text title is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which may respect the double filiation of Christ. First, as to His Godhead: there is that mysterious sonship which we cannot understand, but which is nevertheless clearly revealed. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as Jesus is God. And then there is that second sonship which belongs to Christ as man, in which again He is said to be the Son of God. God sent forth His Son, made of a woman. The Father thrice said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Even as Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh because of his love to Joseph even so the great Father lays His mighty hand in benediction upon all His chosen, and blesses the very least believer as He blesses His Son Jesus.

II. We come, secondly, to notice the blessing which comes from the Father as viewed by faith. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

1. The blessing of God even the Father has fallen from all eternity upon all who are in Christ, and that in the most copious manner, for the one blessing includes all spiritual blessings. This is a very pleasant thing to me, because there can be no blessing like that of God. I wet, said one of old, whom He blesseth is blessed. Satan may curse you; you may already be suffering the curse of the Fall; but, if God blesses you, what of all this? The blessing of God maketh rich, safe, happy.

2. I would call your attention very particularly to the fact that it is here stated that God has already given the blessing. Strictly speaking, I suppose it should be read, God blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus; and He continues still to do the same. Like as when the Lord blessed Abraham He gave him the land of Canaan, so has He given to you all covenant blessings.

3. These blessings are ours personally, for He hath blessed us. It is not upon the clouds that the blessing falls, but upon individuals. He loved me, and gave Himself for me. The Lord hath said to His people, Ye are the blessed of the Lord and your offspring with you. Personal appropriation is the main thing that we need; all else lies ready to our hand.

4. Furthermore, note well that our heavenly Father has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Spiritual blessings are heavenly things; they come from heaven, they lead to heaven, they are of a heavenly nature, and are such as are enjoyed in heaven itself. It is a wonderful thing that, even here on earth, the saints enjoy and experience heavenly blessings; for a new nature is a heavenly thing, and love, and joy in God, and rest, and safety, and acceptance in the Beloved are all heavenly things. When God made the covenant with Abraham which gave to him the land of Canaan, Abraham had not yet a foot of land that he could call his own, and when he died he only possessed a cave for burial; but yet, in truth, according to the decrees of heaven, the land of Canaan belonged to Abraham and his seed; forbad not the Lord said, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates? They had the title deeds of it, though for a while the Canaanites held it as tenants upon lease. Now, all the spiritual blessings which belong to the heavenly estate at this moment are the property of the heirs of heaven, and God hath said to each one el them, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

All blessings derived from and ascribed to God

1. A good heart must be ready, on consideration of Gods benefits, to break forth into praise. St. Paul cannot speak or think of them, but his heart and mouth glorify God.

2. Every Christian heart is to magnify God, in that He has been the God of Christ our Lord.

3. The sense and knowledge of God blessing us is that which makes Him bless us again.

4. God blesses all His children, and bestows on them many gifts.

5. The faithful ones and sanctified are they who are blessed of the Father.

6. Spiritual blessings make the regenerate man thankful.

7. All our blessings are given us in the heavens.

(1) There they are first framed.

(2) From thence they come to us.

(3) There the consummation of them is reserved.

(4) How secure, then, they are.

(5) This should stir up our hearts heavenward.

(6) A great ground of patience.

8. God deals liberally with His children, giving them all kinds of spiritual blessings.

(1) Good things conferred;

(2) evil things warded off;

(3) election, predestination, etc.

9. We come to be blessed in and through Christ our Lord.

(1) To Christ, then, we must give praise for all we have received.

(2) We must strive to attain closer communion with Christ. (Paul Bayne.)

Spiritual blessings from the Father

I. The apostle begins with blessing; three times in the one verse does he use the same word: God is the blessed one who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Our condition as fallen creatures is cursed; the vengeance of a violated law is suspended over us; and the original malady, spreading like a poison through all the members of our race, and through all the fountains of our being, hath laid us under the law of the curse; so that death must feed upon us, and sin and Satan have triumphed over us, because we are cursed. He that created alone can deliver. The blessing of the Creator was pronounced over us at the beginning (Gen 1:28), and the stability of the new creation stands only in the blessing of God (1Pe 1:5). How beautiful and natural is this word of the apostle: Blessed be the God who has blessed us! He is the ocean source from which all blessings flow, and the ocean home to which all holy and blessed creatures must return with their songs of gratitude and praise. He is the Blessed God, because He is the universal Blesser.

II. The name of God is here contrasted with the Old Testament name, which is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; but in this name there is no paternity. He is their God, and they are His people; their Creator, King, and Preserver, whom they are bound to worship and obey. But His name in relation to the Gentile Church is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

III. But what are those spiritual blessings with which He has blessed us? These are the gifts and graces, and manifold operations of the Holy Spirit (Rom 1:11; Rom 15:29; 2Co 9:5; Gal 3:8-9; Act 3:16); they are in Christ as their centre, and descend to us from the heavenly regions or abodes. All our glories are concentrated there. (W. Graham, D. D.)

Spiritual blessings

You will observe that the word places is printed in italics. It has no existence in the original, and, as the margin suggests, we may read either heavenly places or heavenly things; and heavenly things seems to be, upon the whole, the better rendering here. And the word heavenly probably has reference more to character than to locality. He hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things; that it to say, spiritual heavenly blessings, as contrasted with the earthly and temporal blessings. He hath blessed us with all these spiritual heavenly blessings–with all of them. Now, friends, there are some earthly temporal blessings with which God does not bless. Do not let us grumble, or be unthankful at all; but I suppose that every man feels that there is something in his temporal lot that gives him dissatisfaction. He knows that God has some good gift in this world that He has not bestowed upon him. He would like a little more bodily health and strength; he would like a little more money–everybody would, or nearly everybody I have met with, when he is honest; and this and that we should like to have this and that that we do not possess, and more of this and that that we do possess. But no; God will not give us all the temporal and earthly blessings, and undoubtedly for very good reasons, for He knows, and every man of common sense also knows, that it would be the easiest thing in the world to spoil him utterly by giving him a very large amount of this worlds good. So He does not bless us with all temporal blessings; but when it comes to the spiritual blessings there is no need of His dealing scantily and carefully here–no need of His withholding any one of them; and He does not withhold any one of them, but He has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings. There is not one of these that can do us any harm; there is not one of these but must do us good. And so God gives them all, and with a right royally liberal hand. (H. S. Brown.)

Counting the blessings

There is a story of an American scholar of high character and strong mind who finally became eminent, that in early life he went with his bride to a remote and unattractive part of the country to enter on his profession, both of them leaving behind great social advantages, a brilliant group of friends, charming homes, beautiful scenery, and fine libraries. Both of them were homesick. One calamity after another fell upon them–ill-health, loss of eyesight, the death of a child, poverty. Some months of discouragement and depression had passed, and the courage, patience, and cheerfulness of the delicately bred and desolate young mother were nearly gone. One evening, after a peculiarly hard day, the husband called his wife into his darkened room, where he was lying with his eyes bandaged, and said to her, as she sat down by him dejected and complaining, My dear, suppose we try together to make out a complete list of our mercies. They went about it; it lengthened a good deal beyond their expectations; and the result was what everybody sees it must have been. In that family, and in a somewhat wider circle, it has become a maxim repeated in trying times, Lets count our blessings.

Through Jesus Christ

The disciple–the true believer–stands to Christ in the relation of at once a faithful subject and a younger brother. But God above is the God and Father of Jesus Christ. This relation is also indissoluble. He is Gods Christ. He is the Fathers Eternal Son. We are not called on to deal with God, in the first instance, as the absolute Jehovah, or to approach to Him in any case in our own right or name. But coming to Christ, as sinners yet in faith, and then through Him to God–our prayers, our praises, our whole service ascends to His Father and to ours, to His God and to ours. That this is not a mere idea, or one that has no practical significance, might be shown from the most familiar experiences in life. Do you not consider that the relatives of those who are related to you are from this very circumstance rendered accessible at all times, and more particularly when any emergency arises, and you need their help? Nay, suppose you could claim with the sovereign a connection of only a very distant sort, through some one intermediate between you width whom you are more nearly connected, and that you desired for some purpose to engage the sovereigns interest in your behalf, would not the fact of such a connection at once embolden you in your errand, and form a prevailing motive on the part of the sovereign to admit you into his presence, and grant your request? In like manner (to illustrate things Divine by things human), when you are animated with the spirit of praise or the spirit of prayer–when you either come with your offering to God or would secure from God the desire of your hearts–then the fact that He is the God and Father of your Lord Jesus Christ must both encourage you, and must move towards you the Divine regards, and render you acceptable. Your prayers, your praises, are accepted in the Beloved. (W. Alves, M. A.)

Spiritual blessing

The expression with all spiritual blessings would be better translated with all spiritual blessing–this word being in the singular in the original. The idea is a comprehensive one; it being evidently intended not merely to indicate a diversity or multiplicity of blessings which, as believers, we receive from God, but also to denote the totality of such blessings in a single word. It is the blessing of the covenant of grace in all its parts–salvation from its origin to its consummation, for which Paul here blesses God, in the name of each true believer. The various privileges, honours, and possessions, of a spiritual nature which God confers on us in Christ, all hang together–one is not without the rest–and all together make up one blessing. He who has received a part may be sure of the whole. There are two senses in which the term spiritual may be understood, as descriptive of the nature of the blessing. It may either be taken as referring to that department of our being which is undoubtedly chiefly affected by the blessings of salvation, namely, our spirit or soul; or it may be taken as referring to the source or origin of these blessings, namely, that Holy Spirit of God, who takes of the things that are Christs, and bestows them on us. In the former of these senses the blessings of salvation would be extolled on the ground that they do not principally or mainly refer to the body and its necessities and wants, which are of a lower and more earthly character, but to the soul or spirit, which is the nobler pair of us, and whose wants and necessities are of a vastly higher order. This is indeed true. But the word spiritual generally describes that which is produced by the Spirit of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. It leads our minds to that blessed Divine agent as the author of a gracious work in the soul of each redeemed sinner, when He comes and takes up His abode there, and produces all the peaceable fruits of righteousness to the praise and glory of God. In this view, which is the true meaning of the passage, we are not called on to make any distinction between our souls and bodies, as if the blessings of salvation affected the former only, and not at all the latter. The blessing is spiritual because it comes from, and is applied by, the Holy Spirit of God; and we are blessed just as we are, and in whatever may we live and move and have our being. We are brought body as well as soul under the blessing. We are justified, sanctified, glorified, soul, body, and spirit. The body participates in the redemption of Christ. It also will at last become a spiritual body–adapted to, and fitted for, the exercises of a perfected soul. Even now it is the temple of the Holy Ghost; and, as affected directly or indirectly by His indwelling presence, it is less or more a spiritual body. Everything is here included, whether it relate to that nobler and higher part–the soul, or to that gross and earthly tabernacle, that body–provided only it come from the Spirit of God, whose nature is holy, and whose work must also be holy. (W. Alves, M. A.)

Seven blessings of being in Christ

I. The first blessing is deliverance from the deadly curse which sin entails. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. The sentence of eternal death is removed from every one who accepts Christ, in faith, as an atoning Saviour. Such an one is no longer under the law to be eternally punished, but under grace he is a forgiven man.

II. Of this life Christ is the single source. Paul addresses the Church at Rome as alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Master said, Because I live ye shall live also. At the very acme of his assurance the great apostle could say no more than It is not I, but Christ that liveth in me. If the nurseryman inserts the graft of a golden pippin into an apple tree, that graft might say truly, It is not I that live, but the whole tree liveth in me; the trunk itself is pledged to send me sustaining sap. The reason why so many of our Church members are such poor, stunted, sapless creatures is that they are trying to keep alive out of Christ.

III. So Divine a thing is this life of holiness in its origin, that it is described as a new creation. Man can construct out of materials at his hand; God alone can create out of nothing. If any man be in Christ he is a new creature. And this word new signifies also what is fresh, and unimpaired, and unworn, like a bright garment from its makers hands.

IV. A fourth blessing is acceptance in the beloved. If we are received into favour, it is solely for Christs sake.

V. Peace is the fifth blessing in this casket of jewels. The peace of God which passeth comprehension shall guard your hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. Happiness beyond the reach of outside disturbance is assured to the believer, and harmony with God.

VI. The next blessing is fulness of spiritual supply. Paul writes to his Colossian brethren, Ye are complete in Him. Dean Alfords reading is a happy one–Ye are filled full in Christ. This is the pleroma, the inexhaustible reservoir which no giving doth impoverish. Why need I hunger when in my Fathers house and in my Saviours heart are such wealth beyond a whole universe to drain?

VII. After reviewing all these priceless blessings, the exultant believer shouts–Thanks be unto God who always causeth us to triumph in Christ! This is the believers battle cry and paean of victory. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)

Spiritual blessings in Christ

There is a blessing from God in the health of our bodies and in the comforts of our homes, in the bounty of the seasons and the variety of our pleasures; but believers in Christ tenderly and adoringly acknowledge far other blessings than these. Our earthly blessings are but the shadows of blessings. Corruption and vanity attach to them all. They cannot abide with us. They comfort us, much as the gourd did Jonah: but there is a worm at the root of them all. They win upon our hearts, we are held by them, as in a delicious snare; but while we dream of delights and delights, the withering season has already commenced, and the hour hastens which will see us stript and broken hearted. Our Heavenly Fathers blessings in Christ Jesus will never wither, nor leave us. Has Christ a glorious body? has He an incorruptible kingdom? will He reign in life and glory forever? His blessedness and ours are the same. The glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given them The kingdom of the Incarnation is a universality. It includes all things. (John Pulsford.)

In the heavenlies

The key word of this Epistle. Found nowhere else in Scripture. It stands in four different connections; and in all the four it denotes a place; an ideal locality; a sphere of action, experience, and discovery; a stage, a platform, or arena, on which different movements are going on, and different scenes of interest are enacted.

I. In the heavenlies you have a blessed home; a home in which you are greatly blessed, and bless Him who blesses you. The blessings are the Spirits. And they are in Christ.

1. He has chosen you to be the objects of His eternal, sovereign, pure, and holy love.

2. He has predestinated or appointed you unto the adoption of children to Himself.

3. You are accepted in the Beloved.

4. You have redemption.

5. You become members of the great family of all the faithful in heaven and on earth.

6. You obtain an inheritance in Christ.

7. You have a present seal and earnest of the inheritance; a foretaste of future glory.

II. A seat of lofty eminence (See Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6).

1. God quickens you together with Christ.

2. He raises you up together.

3. As the result of His thus quickening you together with Christ, and raising you up together, God makes you sit together at His own right hand.

III. A theatre, or place of exhibition (See Eph 3:10). The holy inmates of heaven see, as it were, a dramatic movement, illustrating the manifold wisdom of God. What can this movement mean, but the history of the Church? Not its outer history of events merely, but its inmost history of spiritual experiences.

IV. A field of battle (See Eph 6:12). Paradise was once the heavenlies. The eyes of the pure angels were riveted on that spot. With interest wound up to the highest pitch, they watched the experiment of the garden. But alas! the eyes of fallen angels also were attracted thither. Satan sought and found an entrance into the heavenlies; disguised probably as an angel of light. He came; and paradise was gone. The heavenlies, however, were again set up on the earth. This world was still to have in it what might furnish a platform, on which a refuge might be provided for the weary, needing to be blessed; on which a tower might be reared, rising and raising them to the very throne of God. Holy angels look on and sympathise, and rejoice to see the manifold wisdom of God. But the heavenlies now are not, any more than the heavenlies before the Fall, secure from the invasion of the spoiler and the foe.

Application:

1. Consider what is your position in the heavenlies in respect of privilege and duty. A very high and a very holy life. Alongside of the risen Christ–seeing things from His point of view, judging by His standard, your heart as His heart. Your home with Him in God.

2. Consider your position with reference to the other spiritual intelligences who take an interest in you and in your experience. On the one hand, is it not an animating and spirit stirring thought that you live your spiritual life as forming part of that great Divine drama by means of which, through the Church, the holy principalities and powers have male known to them in the heavenlies the manifold wisdom of God? Nor is the effect of this high thought diminished by the fact that over against these benevolent and sympathising onlookers from above, coming up from below, frown the pit, a dark host is mustered by the prince of darkness; crowding all earthly scenes and circles, and invading even the heavenly places themselves. Be not unduly afraid of them. But be not ignorant of their devices. Especially remember always their double character. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)

Spiritual blessings unrecognized

If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my eyes, and search for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them; but, let me take a magnet and sweep through it, and it would at once draw to itself the most invisible particles by the mere power of attraction. The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no underlying blessings; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day; and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find in every hour some spiritual blessings hitherto unrecognized; only the iron in Gods sand is gold. (Holmes.)

All spiritual blessings in Christ

How little of the sea can a child carry in his hand! As little do I take away of my great sea, the boundless love of Christ. I am pained with wondering at new opened treasures in Christ. Our best things have a worm in them; our joys, besides God, in the inner half are but woes and sorrows. Christ, Christ is that which our love and desires can sleep sweetly and rest safely upon. Christ hath made me content with a borrowed fireside, and it casteth as much heat as my own. How sweet is the wind that bloweth out of the airth where Christ is. Every day we may see some new thing in Christ: His love hath neither brim nor bottom. Oh that I had help to praise Him. (Rutherford.)

We must appropriate spiritual blessings

Going to church is like going shopping: you generally get what you go for: no more, no less. A woman will go into a store with a hundred thousand dollars worth of goods all around her, buy a paper of pins, and walk out; that is all she came for. I have seen the storehouse of Gods grace packed from cellar to ceiling, and I have seen men go in and gather up an expression of the preacher and go home. Let us take a broader view of these things. (S. Jones.)

Origin and nature of redemption

I. The origin of the great system, and all the blessings of the economy of redemption.

1. It is the office of the Father to devise the plan.

2. It is His prerogative to provide the means.

3. It is His province to select the objects of deliverance.

4. It belongs to Him to determine the benefits to be conferred, their nature and extent, and the degree in which every one, who is a saved object of the Redeemers work; shall enjoy the blessing of that work.

5. It is the part of the Father to receive the highest and ultimate glory of the plan.

II. The design of this part of the heavenly economy.

1. To impress on us the entirely heavenly origin of the whole system of Christianity.

2. He impress on us the fact, that the blessings of this great redemption cannot be enjoyed as the reward of human merit.

3. To show us that this scheme cannot be frustrated by human opposition or indifference. (W. Orme.)

In Christ

The union of believers and Christ is–

I. Ideal. The Divine mind in eternity made the destiny one.

II. Legal. Their debts and merits are common property.

III. Vital. The connection with Christ supplies the power of a holy life.

IV. Moral. In mind and heart, character and conduct, Christians are like Christ. (James Stalker, M. A.)

Every spiritual blessing comes through Christ

When Paul wrote this Epistle, five and twenty or thirty years had passed by since Christ appeared to him near Damascus. They had been very wonderful years. None of them had been wasted. It is evident from his Epistles that his religious thought was constantly extending its control from one region of truth to another, as well as constantly securing a firmer hold of the truth which he had already mastered; and with the growth of his religious knowledge there was a corresponding growth of his religious life.

1. He attributes to Christ the whole development of his spiritual life. The larger knowledge of God and of the ways of God, which came to him from year to year, had come from Christ; and he felt sure that whatever fresh discoveries of God might come to him would also come from Christ. Faith, hope, joy, peace, patience, courage, zeal, love for God, love for men–he had found them all in Christ.

2. He defines the blessings with which God has blessed us in Christ as spiritual blessings. He does not intend simply to distinguish them from material, physical, or intellectual blessings; he means to attribute them to the Spirit of God. Those who are in Christ receive the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Whatever perfection of righteousness, whatever depth of peace, whatever intensity of joy, whatever fulness of Divine knowledge reveal the power of the Spirit of God in the spiritual life of man, every spiritual blessing has been made ours in Christ.

3. These blessings have been conferred upon us in heavenly places in Christ. To the apostle the visible order of human life was merely temporary, and was soon to pass away. Cities, empires, the solid earth itself, sun and stars, had for him no enduring reality. But the blessings which God has conferred upon us in Christ have their place among unseen and eternal things.

4. These blessings were ordained for the elect before the creation of the universe. The elect are those who are in Christ; being in Him they enter into the possession of those eternal blessings which before the foundation of the world it was Gods purpose to confer upon all Christians. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)

Blessing through Christ

Blessings given in, and obtained by Christ, for all true believers. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, etc. (Eph 1:1; Eph 1:12-13; Eph 1:15).

I. The Spirit (Eph 1:13-14; Joh 16:7-11).

II. Remission of their sins (Eph 1:7).

III. Reconciliation with God (Rom 5:10).

IV. Access to God (Eph 2:18; 1Pe 3:18).

V. Adoption of sons (Eph 1:5; Joh 1:12).

VI. The ministers and ordinances of the gospel (Eph 4:7-12; 1Co 3:1).

VII. Supplies of grace (Php 4:19).

VIII. The conversion of curses into blessings (Rom 5:3; 1Pe 1:6-7; 2Co 4:1).

IX. Victory over death (1Co 15:1). X. Heaven (Rom 6:1-23). (H. Foster, M. A.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 3. Blessed be the God] 2Co 1:3, where the same form is used.

With all spiritual blessings] With the pure doctrines of the Gospel, and the abundant gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, justifying, sanctifying, and building us up on our most holy faith.

In heavenly places] . In heavenly things, such as those mentioned above; they were not yet in heavenly places, but they had abundance of heavenly things to prepare them for heavenly places. Some think the word should be understood as signifying blessings of the most exalted or excellent kind, such as are spiritual in opposition to those that are earthly, such as are eternal in opposition to those that are temporal; and all these in, through and by CHRIST. We have already seen, on Ga 4:26, that the heavenly Jerusalem, or Jerusalem which is from above, is used by the Jews to signify the days of the Messiah, and that state of grace and glory which should follow the Levitical worship and ceremonies; and it is possible that St. Paul may use the word , heavenly things, in this sense: God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things, or in this heavenly state, in which life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel. This is apparently the preferable sense.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

3. The doxologies in almost allthe Epistles imply the real sense of grace experienced by the writersand their readers (1Pe 1:3). Eph1:3-14 sets forth summarily the Gospel of the grace of God: theFATHER’S work of love, Eph1:3 (choosing us to holiness, Eph1:4; to sonship, Eph 1:5;to acceptance, Eph 1:6):the SON’S, Eph1:7 (redemption, Eph 1:7;knowledge of the mystery of His will, Eph1:9; an inheritance, Eph1:11); the HOLYSPIRIT’S, Eph1:13 (sealing, Eph 1:13;giving an earnest of the inheritance, Eph1:14).

the God and Father of . . .Christand so the God and Father of us who are in Him (Joh20:17). God is “the God” of the man Jesus, and”the Father” of the Divine Word. The Greekis, “Blessed us,” not “hath blessed us”;referring to the past original counsel of God. As in creation (Ge1:22) so in redemption (Gen 12:3;Mat 5:3-11; Mat 25:34)God “blesses” His children; and that not in mere words,but in acts.

usall Christians.

blessingsGreek,“blessing.” “All,” that is, “everypossible blessing for time and eternity, which the Spirithas to bestow” (so “spiritual” means; not “spiritual,”as the term is now used, as opposed to bodily).

in heavenly placesa phrase five times found in this Epistle, and not elsewhere(Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6;Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12);Greek, “in the heavenly places.” Christ’sascension is the means of introducing us into the heavenly places,which by our sin were barred against us. Compare the change made byChrist (Col 1:20; Eph 1:20).While Christ in the flesh was in the form of a servant, God’speople could not realize fully their heavenly privileges as sons. Now”our citizenship (Greek) is in heaven” (Php3:20), where our High Priest is ever “blessing” us. Our”treasures” are there (Mat 6:20;Mat 6:21); our aims andaffections (Col 3:1; Col 3:2);our hope (Col 1:5; Tit 2:13);our inheritance (1Pe 1:4). Thegift of the Spirit itself, the source of the “spiritualblessing,” is by virtue of Jesus having ascended thither (Eph4:8).

in Christthe centerand source of all blessing to us.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,…. God, the first person in the Trinity, is the God of Christ, as Christ is man and Mediator; he chose and appointed him to be the Mediator, and made a covenant with him as such; he formed and prepared an human nature for him, and anointed it with the Holy Ghost above measure, and supported it under all his trials and sufferings, and at last glorified it: and Christ, as man, prayed to him as his God, believed, hoped, and trusted in him as such, and loved him as in such a relation to him, and cheerfully obeyed his commands. And the same is the Father of Christ, as Christ is God; as such he is the Son of God; not by creation, as angels and Adam, nor by adoption, as saints, but by natural generation; he being the only begotten of the Father, his own proper Son, of the same nature and perfections with him, and equal to him. Now to “bless” God is neither to invoke nor confer a blessing on him; for there is none greater than he to be called upon; nor does he need anything, nor can he receive anything from his creature; but it is either to congratulate his greatness and goodness, to ascribe blessing, glory, and honour to him, or to give thanks unto him, both for temporal and spiritual mercies. And the reasons why he is blessed, or praised by the saints as the God and Father of Christ, are; because these are his New Testament titles, under which he is more clearly made known, and in which he delights; and because he is their God and Father in Christ; nor can they come to him in any other way, but through him; and because it is through him that all their blessings come to them, and therefore all their praises must go this way, as follows:

who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: God is the author and giver of all blessings; and he blesses his people with them, as he is the God and Father of Christ, and as he is their covenant God and Father in Christ; and he only can bless; if he blesses not, none can; and if he blesses, they are blessed indeed: the “us” that are blessed, are such who deserve, according to the tenor of the law, to be cursed; and are not all men, but some distinct from others; and who are before described as saints, and faithful in Christ Jesus; and include both Jews and Gentiles, who belong to the election of grace. And the blessings such are blessed with are spiritual, so called to distinguish them from temporal blessings. The Jews have the like distinction of

, “temporal blessings”, and , “spiritual blessings” d; which latter are solid, substantial, and lasting blessings; and which concern the good of the soul or spirit of man; and are agreeable to, and desired by a spiritual man; and are applied by the Holy Spirit of God; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, “with every blessing of the Holy Spirit”: and which are very comprehensive, and take in all the fulness of grace in Christ; all the blessings and sure mercies of the everlasting covenant; all things pertaining to life and godliness, such as justification, peace, pardon, adoption, sanctification, and eternal life: and with these the saints are blessed “in heavenly” places; God that blesses them is in heaven, and so is Christ, in whom they are blessed; and the completion of their blessedness will be in heaven, where their hope is laid up, and their inheritance is reserved: and this phrase may denote the safety of them, being out of the reach of any enemy, sin, Satan, or the world, to deprive them of them, as well as the nature of them; for it may be read, “in heavenly things”, and so distinguishes these blessings from such as are of an earthly kind; and points at the original of them, being such as descend from above, come down from heaven; and also the tendency of them, which is to heaven; and being what give a right unto, and a meetness for the kingdom of heaven: and these they are blessed with “in Christ”; as he is their head and representative, and as they are members in him, and partakers of him; through whom, and for whose sake, they are conveyed unto them, and who himself is the sum and substance of them. Agreeably to this way of speaking, the Targumist, Jonathan ben Uzziel, on Nu 6:27 paraphrases the last clause thus, “I will bless them”, , “in my word”. The date of these blessings, “hath blessed us”, may respect either first conversion, when the discovery and application of the blessings of grace are made to God’s people; or the making of the covenant with Christ, their head, to whom all grace was then given, and to them in him, and their election was in Christ, as follows.

d Tzeror Hammor, fol. 79. 2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Praise for Spiritual Blessings.

A. D. 61.

      3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:   4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:   5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,   6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.   7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;   8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;   9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:   10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:   11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:   12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.   13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,   14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

      He begins with thanksgivings and praise, and enlarges with a great deal of fluency and copiousness of affection upon the exceedingly great and precious benefits which we enjoy by Jesus Christ. For the great privileges of our religion are very aptly recounted and enlarged upon in our praises to God.

      I. In general he blesses God for spiritual blessings, v. 3, where he styles him the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for, as Mediator, the Father was his God; as God, and the second person in the blessed Trinity, God was his Father. It bespeaks the mystical union between Christ and believers, that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is their God and Father, and that in and through him. All blessings come from God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. No good can be expected from a righteous and holy God to sinful creatures, but by his mediation. He hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings. Note, Spiritual blessings are the best blessings with which God blesses us, and for which we are to bless him. He blesses us by bestowing such things upon us as make us really blessed. We cannot thus bless God again; but must do it by praising, and magnifying, and speaking well of him on that account. Those whom God blesses with some he blesses with all spiritual blessings; to whom he gives Christ, he freely gives all these things. It is not so with temporal blessings; some are favoured with health, and not with riches; some with riches, and not with health, c. But, where God blesses with spiritual blessings, he blesses with all. They are spiritual blessings in heavenly places that is, say some, in the church, distinguished from the world, and called out of it. Or it may be read, in heavenly things, such as come from heaven, and are designed to prepare men for it, and to secure their reception into it. We should hence learn to mind spiritual and heavenly things as the principal things, spiritual and heavenly blessings as the best blessings, with which we cannot be miserable and without which we cannot but be so. Set not your affections on things on the earth, but on those things which are above. These we are blessed with in Christ; for, as all our services ascend to God through Christ, so all our blessings are conveyed to us in the same way, he being the Mediator between God and us.

      II. The particular spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in Christ, and for which we ought to bless God, are (many of them) here enumerated and enlarged upon. 1. Election and predestination, which are the secret springs whence the others flow, Eph 1:4; Eph 1:5; Eph 1:11. Election, or choice, respects that lump or mass of mankind out of which some are chosen, from which they are separated and distinguished. Predestination has respect to the blessings they are designed for; particularly the adoption of children, it being the purpose of God that in due time we should become his adopted children, and so have a right to all the privileges and to the inheritance of children. We have here the date of this act of love: it was before the foundation of the world; not only before God’s people had a being, but before the world had a beginning; for they were chosen in the counsel of God from all eternity. It magnifies these blessings to a high degree that they are the products of eternal counsel. The alms which you give to beggars at your doors proceed from a sudden resolve; but the provision which a parent makes for his children is the result of many thoughts, and is put into his last will and testament with a great deal of solemnity. And, as this magnifies divine love, so it secures the blessings to God’s elect; for the purpose of God according to election shall stand. He acts in pursuance of his eternal purpose in bestowing spiritual blessings upon his people. He hath blessed us—according as he hath chosen us in him, in Christ the great head of the election, who is emphatically called God’s elect, his chosen; and in the chosen Redeemer an eye of favour was cast upon them. Observe here one great end and design of this choice: chosen–that we should be holy; not because he foresaw they would be holy, but because he determined to make them so. All who are chosen to happiness as the end are chosen to holiness as the means. Their sanctification, as well as their salvation, is the result of the counsels of divine love.–And without blame before him–that their holiness might not be merely external and in outward appearance, so as to prevent blame from men, but internal and real, and what God himself, who looketh at the heart, will account such, such holiness as proceeds from love to God and to our fellow-creatures, this charity being the principle of all true holiness. The original word signifies such an innocence as no man can carp at; and therefore some understand it of that perfect holiness which the saints shall attain in the life to come, which will be eminently before God, they being in his immediate presence for ever. Here is also the rule and the fontal cause of God’s election: it is according to the good pleasure of his will (v. 5), not for the sake of any thing in them foreseen, but because it was his sovereign will, and a thing highly pleasing to him. It is according to the purpose, the fixed and unalterable will, of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (v. 11), who powerfully accomplishes whatever concerns his elect, as he has wisely and freely fore-ordained and decreed, the last and great end and design of all which is his own glory: To the praise of the glory of his grace (v. 6), that we should be to the praise of his glory (v. 12), that is, that we should live and behave ourselves in such a manner that his rich grace might be magnified, and appear glorious, and worthy of the highest praise. All is of God, and from him, and through him, and therefore all must be to him, and centre in his praise. Note, The glory of God is his own end, and it should be ours in all that we do. This passage has been understood by some in a very different sense, and with a special reference to the conversion of these Ephesians to Christianity. Those who have a mind to see what is said to this purpose may consult Mr. Locke, and other well-known writers, on the place. 2. The next spiritual blessing the apostle takes notice of is acceptance with God through Jesus Christ: Wherein, or by which grace, he hath made us accepted in the beloved, v. 6. Jesus Christ is the beloved of his Father (Matt. iii. 17), as well as of angels and saints. It is our great privilege to be accepted of God, which implies his love to us and his taking us under his care and into his family. We cannot be thus accepted of God, but in and through Jesus Christ. He loves his people for the sake of the beloved. 3. Remission of sins, and redemption through the blood of Jesus, v. 7. No remission without redemption. It was by reason of sin that we were captivated, and we cannot be released from our captivity but by the remission of our sins. This redemption we have in Christ, and this remission through his blood. The guilt and the stain of sin could be no otherwise removed than by the blood of Jesus. All our spiritual blessings flow down to us in that stream. This great benefit, which comes freely to us, was dearly bought and paid for by our blessed Lord; and yet it is according to the riches of God’s grace. Christ’s satisfaction and God’s rich grace are very consistent in the great affair of man’s redemption. God was satisfied by Christ as our substitute and surety; but it was rich grace that would accept of a surety, when he might have executed the severity of the law upon the transgressor, and it was rich grace to provide such a surety as his own Son, and freely to deliver him up, when nothing of that nature could have entered into our thoughts, nor have been any otherwise found out for us. In this instance he has not only manifested riches of grace, but has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence (v. 8), wisdom in contriving the dispensation, and prudence in executing the counsel of his will, as he has done. How illustrious have the divine wisdom and prudence rendered themselves, in so happily adjusting the matter between justice and mercy in this grand affair, in securing the honour of God and his law, at the same time that the recovery of sinners and their salvation are ascertained and made sure! 4. Another privilege which the apostle here blesses God for is divine revelation–that God hath made known to us the mystery of his will (v. 9), that is, so much of his good-will to men, which had been concealed for a long time, and is still concealed from so great a part of the world: this we owe to Christ, who, having lain in the bosom of the Father from eternity, came to declare his will to the children of men. According to his good pleasure, his secret counsels concerning man’s redemption, which he had purposed, or resolved upon, merely in and from himself, and not for any thing in them. In this revelation, and in his making known unto us the mystery of his will, the wisdom and the prudence of God do abundantly shine forth. It is described (v. 13) as the word of truth, and the gospel of our salvation. Every word of it is true. It contains and instructs us in the most weighty and important truths, and it is confirmed and sealed by the very oath of God, whence we should learn to betake ourselves to it in all our searches after divine truth. It is the gospel of our salvation: it publishes the glad tidings of salvation, and contains the offer of it: it points out the way that leads to it; and the blessed Spirit renders the reading and the ministration of it effectual to the salvation of souls. O, how ought we to prize this glorious gospel and to bless God for it! This is the light shining in a dark place, for which we have reason to be thankful, and to which we should take heed. 5. Union in and with Christ is a great privilege, a spiritual blessing, and the foundation of many others. He gathers together in one all things in Christ, v. 10. All the lines of divine revelation meet in Christ; all religion centres in him. Jews and Gentiles were united to each other by being both united to Christ. Things in heaven and things on earth are gathered together in him; peace made, correspondence settled, between heaven and earth, through him. The innumerable company of angels become one with the church through Christ: this God purposed in himself, and it was his design in that dispensation which was to be accomplished by his sending Christ in the fulness of time, at the exact time that God had prefixed and settled. 6. The eternal inheritance is the great blessing with which we are blessed in Christ: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, v. 11. Heaven is the inheritance, the happiness of which is a sufficient portion for a soul: it is conveyed in the way of an inheritance, being the gift of a Father to his children. If children, then heirs. All the blessings that we have in hand are but small if compared with the inheritance. What is laid out upon an heir in his minority is nothing to what is reserved for him when he comes to age. Christians are said to have obtained this inheritance, as they have a present right to it, and even actual possession of it, in Christ their head and representative. 7. The seal and earnest of the Spirit are of the number of these blessings. We are said to be sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, v. 13. The blessed Spirit is holy himself, and he makes us holy. He is called the Spirit of promise, as he is the promised Spirit. By him believers are sealed; that is, separated and set apart for God, and distinguished and marked as belonging to him. The Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, v. 14. The earnest is part of payment, and it secures the full sum: so is the gift of the Holy Ghost; all his influences and operations, both as a sanctifier and a comforter, are heaven begun, glory in the seed and bud. The Spirit’s illumination is an earnest of everlasting light; sanctification is an earnest of perfect holiness; and his comforts are earnests of everlasting joys. He is said to be the earnest, until the redemption of the purchased possession. It may be called here the possession, because this earnest makes it as sure to the heirs as though they were already possessed of it; and it is purchased for them by the blood of Christ. The redemption of it is mentioned because it was mortgaged and forfeited by sin; and Christ restores it to us, and so is said to redeem it, in allusion to the law of redemption. Observe, from all this, what a gracious promise that is which secures the gift of the Holy Ghost to those who ask him.

      The apostle mentions the great end and design of God in bestowing all these spiritual privileges, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ–we to whom the gospel was first preached, and who were first converted to the faith of Christ, and to the placing of our hope and trust in him. Note, Seniority in grace is a preferment: Who were in Christ before me, says the apostle (Rom. xvi. 7); those who have for a longer time experienced the grace of Christ are under more special obligations to glorify God. They should be strong in faith, and more eminently glorify him; but this should be the common end of all. For this we were made, and for this we were redeemed; this is the great design of our Christianity, and of God in all that he has done for us: unto the praise of his glory, v. 14. He intends that his grace and power and other perfection should by this means become conspicuous and illustrious, and that the sons of men should magnify him.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Blessed (). Verbal of , common in the LXX for Hebrew baruk (Vulgate benedictus) and applied usually to God, sometimes to men (Ge 24:31), but in N.T. always to God (Lu 1:68), while (perfect passive participle) is applied to men (Lu 1:42). “While points to an isolated act or acts, describes the intrinsic character” (Lightfoot). Instead of the usual (Col 1:3) Paul here uses , elsewhere only in 2Co 1:3 in opening, though in a doxology in Rom 1:25; Rom 9:5; 2Cor 11:31. The copula here is probably (is), though either (imperative) or (optative as wish) will make sense.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ( ). is genuine here, though not in Col 1:3. The one article () with links them together as in 1Thess 1:3; 1Thess 3:11; 1Thess 3:13; Gal 1:4. See also the one article in 2Pet 1:1; 2Pet 1:11. In Eph 1:17 we have , and the words of Jesus in Joh 20:17.

Who hath blessed us ( ). First aorist active participle of , the same word, antecedent action to the doxology ().

With (). So-called instrumental use of though

in is clear.

Every spiritual blessing ( ). Third use of the root (verbal, verb, substantive). Paul lovingly plays with the idea. The believer is a citizen of heaven and the spiritual blessings count for most to him.

In the heavenly places in Christ ( ). In four other places in Eph. (Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12). This precise phrase (with ) occurs nowhere else in the N.T. and has a clearly local meaning in Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10, doubtful in 6:12, but probably so here. In 2:6 the believer is conceived as already seated with Christ. Heaven is the real abode of the citizen of Christ’s kingdom (Php 3:20) who is a stranger on earth (Phil 1:27; Eph 2:19). The word (heavenly) occurs in various passages in the N.T. in contrast with (the earthly) as in John 3:12; 1Cor 15:40; 1Cor 15:48; 1Cor 15:49; Phil 2:10, with (country) in Heb 11:16, with (calling) in Heb 3:1, with (gift) in Heb 6:4, with (kingdom) in 2Ti 4:18.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Blessed [] . Placed first in the clause for emphasis, as always in the corresponding Hebrew in the Old Testament. The verb is commonly omitted – blessed the God. In the New Testament used of God only. The perfect participle of the verb, eujloghmenov blessed, is used of men. See on 1Pe 1:3. The word differs from that used in the Beatitudes, makariov. which denotes character, while this word denotes repute. Lit., well – spoken of.

God and Father of our Lord, etc. Some object to this rendering on the ground that the phrase God of Christ is unusual, occurring nowhere in Paul, except ver. 17 of this chapter. Such render, God who is also the Father, etc. But Christ of God is found Mt 27:46; and my God, Joh 20:17; Rev 3:12. Compare, also, 1Co 3:23; and the phrase is undoubted in ver. 17.

Hath blessed [] . Kindred with eujloghtov blessed.

Spiritual [] . Another leading word. Spirit and spiritual occur thirteen times. Paul emphasizes in this epistle the work of the divine Spirit upon the human spirit. Not spiritual as distinguished from bodily, but proceeding from the Holy Spirit. Note the collocation of the words, blessed, blessed, blessing.

In the heavenly places [ ] . Another keyword; one of the dominant thoughts of the epistle being the work of the ascended Christ. Places is supplied, the Greek meaning in the heavenlies. Some prefer to supply things, as more definitely characterizing spiritual blessing. But in the four other passages where the phrase occurs, Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12, the sense is local, and ejpouraniov heavenly, is local throughout Paul ‘s epistles. The meaning is that the spiritual blessings of God are found in heaven and are brought thence to us. Compare Phi 3:20.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

THE BELIEVER’S POSITION IN SALVATION AND THE CHURCH

1) “Blessed be the God” (eulogetos ho theos) “Well spoken of (let be) the trinitarian God;” or “let God be eulogized, be highly esteemed, or be spoken of on a high plane or respect, or be praised,” Luk 24:52-53; 2Co 1:3-4; Psa 67:3; Psa 67:5; Luk 2:13-14.

2) “And Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (kai pater tou kuriou hemon lesou christou) “Even Father of the Lord of us, Jesus Christ;” Paul believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God the Father, not begotten of Joseph. Joh 1:14 declares that He was the “only begotten of the Father,” See also Joh 3:16; Heb 5:5; Psa 2:7; 1Jn 4:9.

3) “Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings (ho eulogesas hemas en pase eulogia pneumatike) The one having blessed us with all (kinds of) spiritual blessings.”

Among our spiritual blessings are seven Christian virtues to be cultivated, 2Pe 1:4-8; Rom 8:32; 1Co 3:21-23; Col 1:12-13. All of these things are given to the children of God, through the three spiritual gifts,

faith, hope, and love, 1Co 13:13.

4) “In heavenly places in Christ:” (en tois epouraniois en’ Christou) “in the heavenly things in Christ,” or in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. All kind of heavenly things, spiritual blessings, are given to believers in Christ Jesus.

Am I in Christ Jesus .. saved, sealed, secured? This is the greatest question of life. All true believers are in Him!! The true Vine, Joh 15:4-9; 2Co 5:17, safe, sealed, and secure!! Eph 1:13-14.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

3. Blessed (108) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lofty terms in which he extolls the grace of God toward the Ephesians, are intended to rouse their hearts to gratitude, to set them all on flame, to fill them even to overflowing with this thought. They who perceive in themselves discoveries of the Divine goodness, so full and absolutely perfect, and who make them the subject of earnest meditation, will never embrace new doctrines, by which the very grace which they feel so powerfully in themselves is thrown into the shade. The design of the apostle, therefore, in asserting the riches of divine grace toward the Ephesians, was to protect them against having their faith shaken by the false apostles, as if their calling were doubtful, or salvation were to be sought in some other way. He shews, at the same time, that the full certainty of future happiness rests on the revelation of his love to us in Christ, which God makes in the gospel. But to confirm the matter more fully, he rises to the first cause, to the fountain, — the eternal election of God, by which, ere we are born, (Rom 9:11,) we are adopted as sons. This makes it evident that their salvation was accomplished, not by any accidental or unlooked-for occurrence, but by the eternal and unchangeable decree of God.

The word bless is here used in more than one sense, as referring to God, and as referring to men. I find in Scripture four different significations of this word. 1. We are said to bless God when we offer praise to him for his goodness. 2. God is said to bless us, when he crowns our undertakings with success, and, in the exercise of his goodness, bestows upon us happiness and prosperity; and the reason is, that our enjoyments depend entirely upon his pleasure. Our attention is here called to the singular efficacy which dwells in the very word of God, and which Paul expresses in beautiful language. 3. Men bless each other by prayer. 4. The priest’s blessing is not simply a prayer, but is likewise a testimony and pledge of the Divine blessing; for the priests received a commission to bless in the name of the Lord. Paul therefore blesses God, because he hath blessed us, that is, hath enriched us with all blessing and grace.

With all spiritual blessings. I have no objection to Chrysostom’s remark, that the word spiritual conveys an implied contrast between the blessing of Moses and of Christ. The law had its blessings; but in Christ only is perfection found, because he gives us a perfect revelation of the kingdom of God, which leads us directly to heaven. When the body itself is presented to us, figures are no longer needed.

In heavenly. Whether we understand the meaning to be, in heavenly Places, or in heavenly Benefits, is of little consequence. All that was intended to be expressed is the superiority of that grace which we receive through Christ. The happiness which it bestows is not in this world, but in heaven and everlasting life. In the Christian religion, indeed, as we are elsewhere taught, (1Ti 4:8,) is contained the “promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come;” but its aim is spiritual happiness, for the kingdom of Christ is spiritual. A contrast is drawn between Christ and all the Jewish emblems, by which the blessing under the law was conveyed; for where Christ is, all those things are superfluous.

(108) “As to the accumulation of cognate terms in εὐλογητὸς εὐλογήσας and εὐλογία, it may be observed, that in composition such was by the ancients, especially the early writers, rather sought after as a beauty than avoided as a blemish.” — Bloomfield.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

Eph. 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father.The Hebrew form for hallowing the Name was, The Holy One, blessed be He. The Prayer Book version of Psalm c. gives, Speak good of His name. Who blessed us.When old Isaac pronounces the blessing uttered on Jacob unwittingly to be irreversible, he depends on God for the carrying out of his dying blessing: the divine blessing makes whilst pronouncing blest. In the heavenly places.Lit. in the heavenliesso, as A.V. margin says, either places or things. Perhaps the local signification is best; relating to heaven, and meant to draw us thither (Blomfield).

Eph. 1:4. Even as He chose us in Him.Whatever be the manifestation of the divine goodness, it is in Christ that it is made. This sentence traces back the state of grace and Christian piety to the eternal and independent electing love of God (Cremer). There is always the connotation of some not chosen. Before the foundation of the world.St. Paul, like Esaias, is very bold. His Master had only said from, not before, the foundation (Mat. 25:34), reserving the before for the dim eternity in which He was the sharer, with the eternal Spirit, of the Fathers love (Joh. 17:24). Without blemish (R.V.), or, in one word, immaculate. A sacrificial term generally; used by St. Peter (1Pe. 1:19) to describe that Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. This word serves to guard holy, just before it; a separated (holy) people must also be a spotless people.

Eph. 1:5. Having predestinated us.By pointing as the R.V. margin does, we get Love divine as the basis on which our foreordination rests. There is no respect of persons with God, and no arrire pense in the invitation, All that labour and are heavy laden. Unto adoption as sons.The end, as regards man. Perhaps St. Johns word goes more deeply into the heart of the mystery, That we should be called the children of Godborn of God. Through Jesus Christ.Mediator of this and every implied blessing. According to the good pleasure of His will.The word for good pleasure characterises the will as one whose intent is something good; the unhampered working of the will lies in the expression too. The measure of human privilege in the adoption is according to the divine Graciousness.

Eph. 1:6. To the praise of the glory of His grace.The ultimate end, that God may be all in all. Wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.The change in the R.V., considerable as it seems, turns on the rendering of one word, the meaning in the New Testament being to bestow favour. Compare Luk. 1:28 and the A.V. marginal alternative much-graced. Chrysostoms beautiful interpretation must not be lightly rejected, to make love-worthyjust as if one were to make a sick or famished man into a beautiful youth, so has God made our soul beautiful and love-worthy for the angels and all saints and for Himself.

Eph. 1:7. In whom we have redemption.Release in consideration of a ransom paiddeliverance effected through the death of Christ from the retributive wrath of a holy God and the merited penalty of sin (Grimm). Through His blood.St. Paul quite agrees with the author of Hebrews (Heb. 9:22) that, apart from the pouring out of blood, the putting away of sin cannot be brought about. The forgiveness of our trespasses.Another way of stating in what the redemption consists. Notice the forgiveness as compared with the passing over (Rom. 3:25, R.V.). The one is the remission of punishment; the other the omission to punish sin that has been observed, leaving it open in the future either entirely to remit or else adequately to punish them as may seem good to Him (Trench).

Eph. 1:8. In all wisdom and prudence.Wisdom embraces the collective activity of the mind as directed to divine aims to be achieved by moral means. Prudence is the insight of practical reason regulating the dispositions (Meyer).

Eph. 1:9. The mystery of His will.Mystery is here to be taken not so much as a thing which baffles the intellect as the slow utterance of a long-kept secret, which the fulness of time brings to birth.

Eph. 1:10. The fulness of times.The word for times denotes time as brings forth its several births. It is the flood in the tide of affairs. To sum up all things.To bring together again for Himself all things and all beings (hitherto disunited by sin) into one combined state of fellowship in Christ, the universal bond (Grimm). It is the mystery of Gods will to gather all together for Himself in Christ, to bring all to a unity, to put an end to the worlds discord wrought by sin, and to re-establish the original state of mutual dependence in fellowship with God (Cremer). The things which are in heaven and which are on earth.

The blood that did for us atone
Conferred on them some gift unknown.

Eph. 1:11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.R.V. were made a heritage. The Lords portion is His people, Jacob is the lot of His inheritance, sang dying Moses. The verbal paradox between A.V. and R.V. is reconciled in fact. All are yours, and ye are Christs (1Co. 3:22-23). Before the Parousia an ideal possession, thereafter a real one (Meyer). After the counsel of His own will.The counsel preceding the resolve, the will urging on to action (Cremer).

Eph. 1:12. That we should be to the praise.R.V. to the end that we should be. Causa finalis of the predestination to the Messianic lot (Meyer). We in antithesis to you in Eph. 1:13We Jewishyou Gentile Christians.

Eph. 1:13. In whom ye also, etc.The word trusted, supplied by A.V., is dropped by R.V. It seems best to regard the words after ye also as one of the frequent breaks in the flow of the apostles language, the second ye taking up the first. In whom ye were sealed. The order of conversion was: hearing, faith, baptism, reception of the Spirit (Meyer). Ye were sealed.This sealing is the indubitable guarantee of the future Messianic salvation received in ones own consciousness (Meyer).

Eph. 1:14. Who is the earnest.The guarantee. The word represented by earnest was derived from the Phnician merchants, and meant money which in purchases is given as a pledge that the full amount will be subsequently paid (Grimm). The word is found in the Hebrew of Gen. 38:17-18, and means pledge. F. W. Robertson makes a distinction between pledge and earnestthe grapes of Eshcol were an earnest of Canaan. He who receives the Holy Spirit partakes the powers of the age to come (Heb. 6:4-5). Until the redemption.The final consummation of the redemption effected by the atonement of Christ. The until is faulty, the earnest being something towards the redemption. Of the purchased possession.R.V. of Gods own possession. The whole body of Christians, the true people of God acquired by God as His property by means of the redeeming work of Christ (Meyer).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Eph. 1:3-14

Praise for the Work of the Trinity in the Gospel of Grace.

These verses are an outburst of descriptive eloquence that even the ample resources of the Greek language seem too meagre to adequately express. The grandeur and variety of ideas, and the necessary vagueness of the phrases by which those ideas are conveyed in this paragraph, create a difficulty in putting the subject into a practical homiletic form. It may help us if we regard the passage as an outpouring of praise for the work of the Trinity in the gospel of grace, the part of each person in the Trinity being distinctly recognised as contributing to the unity of the whole.
I. The gospel of grace originated in the love of the Father.

1. He hath chosen us to holiness. Blessed be the God and Father who hath chosen us that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:3-4). The love of God the Father gave Christ to the world, and in Him the human race is dowered with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. The blessings from heaven link us to heaven, and will by-and-by bring us to heaven, where those blessings will be enjoyed in unrestricted fulness. Before time began, in the free play of His infinite love, God the Father, foreseeing the sin and misery that would come to pass, resolved to save man, and to save him in His own way and for His own purpose. Man was to be saved in Christ, and by believingly receiving Christ; and his salvation was not to free him from moral obligation, but to plant in Him principles of holiness by which he could live a blameless life before God. He chose us for Himself that we might love Him, and find our satisfaction in the perpetual discovery of His great love to us. The true progression of the Christian life is a growth of the ever-widening knowledge of the love of God. Love is the essence and the crown of holiness.

2. He hath ordained us to sonship.Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Christ Jesus Himself (Eph. 1:5). The sonship is not by natural right of inheritance, but by adoption. It is an act of divine grace, undeserved and unexpected. It is said that, after the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon adopted the children of the soldiers who had fallen. They were supported and educated by the State, and, as belonging to the family of the emperor, were allowed to attach the name of Napoleon to their own. This was not the adoption of love, but as a recognition of service rendered by their fathers. None can adopt into the family of God but God Himself, and it is an act on His part of pure, unmerited love. He raises us to the highest dignity, and endows us with unspeakable privileges, when He makes us His children; and our lives should be in harmony with so distinguished a relationship.

3. He hath accepted us in Christ.Wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). Christ, the beloved One, is the special object of the Fathers love, and all who are united to Christ by faith become sharers in the love with which the divine Father regards His Son. It is only in and through Christ that we are admitted into the divine family. God loves us in Christ, and the more so because we love Christ. We are accepted to a life of holiness and a service of love. Christ is the pattern of our sonship and the means of our adoption. The love of God to the race finds an outlet through the person and gracious intervention of His Son.

II. The gospel of grace was wrought out by the sufferings of the Son.

1. In Him we have forgiveness of sins. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:7). How little do we realise the greatness and blessedness of the pardon of sin! It may seem difficult to explain how the forgiveness of sins is connected with the sufferings and death of Christ; but there is no fact in the New Testament writings more clearly revealed or more emphatically repeated than this. The death of Christ was an act of submission on behalf of mankind to the justice of the penalties of violating the eternal law of righteousnessan act in which our own submission not only received a transcendent expression, but was really and vitally included; it was an act which secured the destruction of sin in all who, through faith, are restored to union with Christ; it was an act in which there was a revelation of the righteousness of God which must otherwise have been revealed in the infliction of the penalty of sin on the human race. Instead of inflicting suffering God has elected to endure it, that those who repent of sin may receive forgiveness, and may inherit eternal glory. It was greater to endure suffering than to inflict it (Dale). The forgiveness is free, full, and complete.

2. In Him we have the revelation of the mystery of the divine will.Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known to us the mystery of His will (Eph. 1:8-9). The will of God is to advance the ultimate glorious destiny of the whole creation. This sublime purpose was for ages an unrevealed mystery, unknown to the prophets, psalmists, and saints of earlier times. In the depths of the divine counsels this purpose was to be carried out by Christ, and it is revealed only through and in Him. The believer in Christ discovers in Him, not only his own blessedness, but also the ultimate glory of all who are savingly united to the great Redeemer. The abounding grace of God bestows wisdom to apprehend a larger knowledge of the ways and will of God, and prudence to practically apply that knowledge in the conduct of life.

3. In Him we enjoy the unity and grandeur of the heavenly inheritance.That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, that we should be to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:10-12). The fulness of times must refer to the gospel age and the glorious ages to follow, in which the accomplishment of the divine purpose will become more apparent. That purpose is to heal up the estrangement of man from God, and to restore moral harmony to the universe, which has been disordered by the introduction of sin. The great agent in the unifying and harmonising of all things is Christ, who is the centre and circumference of all. The angels who never sinned, and the saints who are made such by redeeming mercy, will share together the inheritance of bliss provided by the suffering and triumphant Christ. Our final glory will consist, not in the restoration of the solitary soul to solitary communion with God, but in the fellowship of all the blessed with the blessedness of the universe as well as with the blessedness of God.

III. The gospel of grace is confirmed and realised by the operation of the Holy Spirit.

1. By Him we hear and understand the word of truth. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation (Eph. 1:13). The gospel is emphatically the word of truth; it is reliable history, not romancea revelation of truths essential to salvation. It is the function of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the mind by the instrumentality of the truth, to apply the word to the conscience, and to regenerate the heart. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us, and the vision leads on to a spiritual transformation.

2. By Him we are sealed as an earnest of possessing the full inheritance of blessing.Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14). The work of the Spirit broke down all class distinctions. The Jewish Christians discovered that the exclusive privileges of their race had passed away. All believers in Christ Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, received the assurance of the Spirit that all the prerogatives and blessings of Gods eternal kingdom were theirs. The seal of the Spirit is the divine attestation to the believing soul of its admission into the favour of God, and the guarantee of ultimately entering into the full possession and enjoyment of the heavenly inheritance.

Lessons.

1. The gospel of grace is the harmonious work of the blessed Trinity.

2. The grace of the gospel is realised by faith.

3. Praise for the gift of the gospel should be continually offered to the Triune God.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

Eph. 1:3-6. The Doctrine of Predestination.Neither Calvinism nor Arminianism has solved the problem presented in this chapter. Like difficulties meet us in Gods providential dealingsay, in the workings of His natural laws; for, as a brilliant author has said, Nature is a terrible Calvinist.Lange.

Election.It is above logic and philosophy and even technical theology, even as on many, and these, the most important subjects, the heart is a better teacher than the head. In these matters I am so fearful that I dare not speak furtheryea, almost none otherwise than the text does, as it were, lead me by the hand.Ridley.

Mystery of election.Those who are willing are always the elect; those who will not are not elected. Many men are wrapped up in the doctrines of election and predestination; but that is the height of impertinence. They are truths belonging to God alone; and if you are perplexed by them, it is only because you trouble yourself about things which do not concern you. You only need to know that God sustains you with all His might in the winning of your salvation, if you will only rightly use His help. Whoever doubts this is like a crew of a boat working with all their might against the tide and yet going back hour after hour; then they notice that the tide turns, while at the same time the wind springs up and fills their sails. The coxswain cries, Pull away, boys! wind and tide favour you! But they answer, What can we do with the oars? dont the wind and tide take away our free agency?H. W. Beecher.

Eph. 1:3. Spiritual Blessings.

I. They are accommodated to our spiritual wants and desires, they come down from heaven, prepare us for heaven, and will be completed in our admission to heaven.The influences of the Spirit are heavenly gifts, the renovation of the heart by a divine operation is wisdom from above, the renewed Christian is born from above and becomes a spiritual man, the state of immortality Christ has purchased for believers is an inheritance reserved for them in heaven, in the resurrection they will be clothed with a house from heaven, with spiritual and heavenly bodies, and they will sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

II. The blessings granted to the Ephesians are tendered to us.He offers us the honours and felicities of adoption and the remission of all our sins through the atonement of His Son. He has proposed for our acceptance an inheritance incorruptible in the heavens. We have happier advantages to become acquainted with the doctrines and precepts of the gospel than the primitive Christians could enjoy. If they were bound to give thanks for their privileges, how criminal must be ingratitude under ours! We must one day answer before God for all the spiritual blessings He has sent us.Lathrop.

Eph. 1:4-6. The Nature, Source, and Purpose of Spiritual Blessings.

I. God chose and predestinated these Ephesian Christians before the foundation of the world.We must not so conceive of Gods election and the influence of His grace as to set aside our free agency and final accountableness; nor must we so explain away Gods sovereignty and grace as to exalt man to a state of independence. Now, so far as the grace of God in the salvation of sinners is absolute and unconditional, election or predestination is so, and no farther. If we consider election as it respects the final bestowment of salvation, it is plainly conditional. To imagine that God chooses some to eternal life without regard to their faith and holiness is to suppose that some are saved without these qualifications or saved contrary to His purpose. God hath chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

II. Consider the spiritual qualifications to which the Ephesians were chosen.To be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:4). Holiness consists in the conformity of the soul to the divine nature and will, and is opposed to all moral evil. Love is a most essential part of the character of the saint. Charity out of a pure heart is the end of the commandment. Without charity all our pretensions to gospel holiness are vain.

III. Consider the adoption to which believers are predestinated (Eph. 1:5).Our sonship is not our native right, but the effect of Gods gracious adoption.

1. It implies a state of freedom in opposition to bondage. Believers are free as being delivered from the bondage of sin, and as having near access to God and intimate communion with Him. Children are usually admitted to that familiar intercourse which is denied to servants.

2. Adoption brings us under the peculiar care of Gods providence.

3. Includes a title to a glorious resurrection from the dead and to an eternal inheritance in the heavens. If believers are the children of God, then their temper must be a childlike temper, a temper corresponding to their relation, condition, and character.

IV. That all spiritual blessings are derived to us through Christ (Eph. 1:5-6).

V. The reason of Gods choosing believers in Christ and predestinating them to adoption is the good pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:5).If we admit we are sinful, fallen creatures, unworthy of Gods favour and insufficient for our own redemption, then our salvation must ultimately be resolved into Gods good pleasure. There is no other source from which it can be derived. If death is our desert, our deliverance must be by grace.

VI. The great purpose for which God has chosen and called us is the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6).God has made this display of His grace that unworthy creatures might apply to Him for salvation. We are to praise the glory of Gods grace by a cheerful compliance with the precepts and thankful acceptance of the blessings of the gospel, by a holy life, and by encouraging others to accept that grace. Believers will, in a more perfect manner, show forth the praise of Gods glorious grace in the future world.Lathrop.

Eph. 1:5-6. The Glory of Divine Grace

I. Is the sublime outcome of the divine will.According to His will (Eph. 1:5).

II. Is a signal display of joyous benevolence.According to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:5).

III. Demands profound and grateful recognition.To the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6).

Eph. 1:5. The Adoption of Children by Jesus Christ.Explain the nature of the privilege.

I. Its greatness.

1. From the Being by whom it is conferred.
2. From the price at which it was procured.
3. From the inheritance which it conveys.
4. From the manner in which it is bestowed. The new birth.

II. Its benefits.

1. The spirit of adoption.
2. Divine care and protection.
3. Divine pity and compassion.
4. Overruling all trials for spiritual good.

III. The evidences of its possession.

1. The image of God.
2. The love of God.
3. The love of the brethren.

IV. Its appropriate duties.The children of God ought

1. To walk worthy of their high vocation.
2. To be subject to their Fathers will both in doing and in suffering.
3. To be mindful of what they owe to their spiritual kindred.
4. To long for their heavenly home.G. Brooks.

Eph. 1:6. The Adopting Love of God.

I. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Beloved of the Father.From eternity during the preparatory dispensation in the days of His flesh; now; for ever. An ineffable love.

II. The Fathers love of believers is on account of the Lord Jesus Christ.He accepts them for the sake of Christ as united to Christ. Acceptance distinct from pardon.

III. The Fathers acceptance of believers is an act of sovereign grace.Irrespective of their merit. Neither the necessity of the atonement nor the obligation of faith is inconsistent with acceptance by grace.

IV. The Fathers acceptance of believers for the sake of Christ promotes His own glory.His glory is the end of all things. Implore all to seek acceptance with God through Christ.G. Brooks.

Eph. 1:7-8. Redemption through Christ.

I. The subjects of this redemption.Redemption, though offered without distinction to all who hear the gospel, is actually bestowed only on those who repent of their sins and believe on the Saviour.

II. The nature of this redemption.There is a twofold redemptionthe redemption of the soul from the guilt of sin by pardon, and the redemption of the body from the power of the grave by the resurrection. The former of these is intended. But these two privileges are connected. The remission of sin, which is a release from our obligation to punishment, is accompanied with a title to eternal life.

III. The way and manner in which believers become partakers of this privilege.Through the blood of Christ. The death of Christ is the ground of our hope. Jesus Christ, through whose blood we obtain forgiveness, is the Beloved. This character of Christ shows the excellence of His sacrifice and displays the grace of God in giving Him for us.

IV. Observe the foundation from which our redemption flows.The riches of His grace. Every blessing bestowed on sinners is by grace; but the blessing of forgiveness is according to the riches, the exceeding, the unsearchable riches of grace.

V. In this dispensation of mercy God has abounded to us in all wisdom and prudence.The most glorious display of Gods wisdom is in the work of our redemption. Here the perfections of God appear in the brightest lustre and most beautiful harmony. In this dispensation there is a door of hope opened to the most unworthy, believers have the greatest possible security, and it holds forth the most awful terrors against sin and the most powerful motives to obedience.Lathrop.

Eph. 1:7. Pardon an Act of Sovereign Grace.This free and gracious pleasure of God or purpose of His will to act towards sinners according to His own abundant goodness is another thing that influences forgiveness. Pardon flows immediately from a sovereign act of free grace. This free purpose of Gods will and grace for the pardoning of sinners is that which is principally intended when we say, There is forgiveness with Him; that is, He is pleased to forgive, and so to do is agreeable to His nature. Now the mystery of this grace is deep; it is eternal, and therefore incomprehensible. Few there are whose hearts are raised to a contemplation of it. Men rest and content themselves in a general notion of mercy which will not be advantageous to their souls. Freed they would be from punishment; but what it is to be forgiven they inquire not. So what they know of it they come easily by, but will find in the issue it will stand them in little stead. But these fountains of Gods actings are revealed that they may be the fountains of our comforts.John Owen.

Eph. 1:8. The Harmony of Christianity in its Personal Influence.

I. The wisdom and prudence of the gospel are manifested by showing with equal distinctness the divine justice and mercy.Justice does not arrest the hand of mercy; mercy does not restrain the hand of justice. They speak with a united voice, they command with a united authority, they shine with a united glory. Neither excels. The one does not overbear the other. Their common splendour is like the neutral tint, the effulgent colourlessness of the undecomposed ray.

II. By exhibiting the incarnate Son as alike the object of love and adoration.

III. By insisting most uniformly on divine grace and human responsibility.

IV. By the proposal of the freest terms of acceptance and the enforcement of the most universal practice of obedience.

V. By inspiring the most elevated joy in connection with the deepest self-abhorrence.

VI. By displaying the different conduct pursued by the Deity towards sin and the sinner.

VII. By combining the genuine humility of the gospel with our dignity as creatures and our conscientiousness as saints.

VIII. By causing all supernatural influence to operate through our rational powers and by intelligent means.

IX. By resting our evidence of safety and spiritual welfare upon personal virtues.

X. By supplying the absence of enslaving fear with salutary caution.

XI. The actual existence of our depraved nature and the work of sanctification in us pressing forward to its maturity tend to that regulated temperament of mind which we urge.

XII. Certain views of personal conduct are so coupled in the gospel with the noblest views of grace that any improper warping of our minds is counteracted.

XIII. While the distinctive blessings and honours of the Christian might tend to elate him, he is affected by the most opposite motives.

XIV. God abounds in this wisdom and prudence towards us by most strongly abstracting us from the things of earth and yet giving us the deepest interest in its relations and engagements.All the truths of revelation are only parts of one system, but their effects upon the believing mind are common and interchangeable. There is no extraneous, no irreconcilable, no confusing element in Christianity. It is of One; it is one. And if we be Christians, our experience will be the counterpart of it. As it works out from apparent shocks and collisions its perfect unity, so shall our experience be wrought in the same way. In obeying from our hearts its form, whatever of its influence may seem to interfere with each other, they will all be found to establish our heart; as the opposing currents often swell the tide and more proudly waft the noble bark it carries, as the counterbalancing forces of the firmament bear the star onward in its unquivering poise and undeviating revolution.R. W. Hamilton.

Eph. 1:9-12. The Mystery of the Gospel.

I. The sovereign grace of God in making known to us the mystery of His will.

1. The gospel is called the mystery of Gods will, the mystery which from the beginning was hid in God, and the unsearchable riches of Christ. Not that these phrases represent the gospel as obscure and unintelligible, but that the gospel scheme was undiscoverable by the efforts and researches of human reason, and could be made known to men only by the light of divine revelation. There are many things in the gospel which are and will remain incomprehensible to human reason; but though we cannot fully comprehend them, we may sufficiently understand them.

2. God has made known to us His will according to the good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.Though the reason of His administration is not made known to us yet all His purposes are directed by consummate wisdom. He is Sovereign in the distribution of His favours; His goodness to us is no wrong to the heathen.

II. The purpose of God in making known to us the mystery of His will (Eph. 1:10).

1. The gospel is called the dispensation of the fulness of times. It was introduced at the time exactly ordained in the purpose, and expressly predicted in the word of God, and in this sense may be called the dispensation of the fulness of times.

2. One end of this dispensation was that God might gather together in one all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10).To form one body in Christ, to collect one Church, one great kingdom under Him.

3. The gospel is intended to unite in Christ all things both which are in heaven and which are in earth.The Church of Christ consists of the whole family in heaven and earth. Here is a powerful argument for Christian love and for Christian candour.

III. In Him we have obtained an inheritance that we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ.The believing Jews were the first who trusted in Christ. They, with the believing Gentiles, were made heirs of God, not only to the privileges of His Church on earth, but to an inheritance also in the heavens. As they had first obtained an inheritance and first trusted in Christ, so they should be first to the praise of Gods glory.Lathrop.

Eph. 1:10. Christ and Creation.If the divine purpose of salvation was regulative for the creation of the world, then must salvation as well as creation be grounded on the original Mediator. But that all creation should be thus grounded in Him includes a twofold ideathat not only were all things created by Him, but also for Him, who is to bring to completion both the saving purpose of God as also the whole development of the world which tends towards the realisation of the purpose of God. And because the world has not yet reached this goal, then all things have progressively their existence in Him; and it cannot fail, because the goal of the world established in Him must be realised. But how this goal of the world is conceived of, this verse shows, when it is mentioned as the final goal of the institution of Gods grace that all things may be gathered in Christ as in a centre. He has been appointed to be this central point of the universe, as the universe was created in Him; but here it is pointed out that He must again become so, because a dislocation in the original constitution of the world has taken place by sin, whose removal again the dispensation of grace must have in view. The goal of the world is no longer regarded as the perfected kingdom of God, in which the absolute, universal Lordship of God is realised, in contrast to the earthly, mediatorial Lordship of Christ, which the latter gives back to the Father, and that the exaltation of Christ is extended over everything which has a name both in this world and in the future. One cannot think of the goal of the world without Him in whom even creation has its root.Weiss.

Eph. 1:11-12. Christ the Inheritance of the Saints.

1. Christ the Mediator is that person in whom believers have this heavenly inheritance, as they have all their other spiritual blessings leading to heaven in Him. Every believer hath already obtained this glorious inheritance, though not in complete personal possession.
2. As God is an absolute worker, sovereign Lord of all His actions, His will being His only rule, so His will is always joined with and founded upon the light of counsel and wisdom, and therefore He can will nothing but what is equitable and just.
3. It is no small privilege for any to be trusters in Christ before others. It is a matter of their commendation; it glorifies God in so far as their example and experience may prove an encouraging motive to others. It carries several advantages; the sooner a man closes with Christ, the work will be done more easily, he is the sooner freed from sin, the sooner capacitated to do more service to God, and his concernments are the sooner out of hazard.Fergusson.

Eph. 1:13. The Gospel of your Salvation.

I. The import of the salvation proclaimed in the gospel.It is deliverance from all the evils that have been brought on us by the Fall.

1. From ignorance, not of science, but of God.
2. From guilt, or the penalty which the law inflicts.
3. From the power of sin, of which we are slaves.
4. From the sorrows and calamities of life, which it does not remove, but alleviate and transform.
5. From the power and fear of death.
6. From everlasting perdition.

II. The persons to whom this view of the gospel is specially applicable.

1. To the unconverted. It teaches them what they are.
2. To the awakened. It teaches them what they need.
3. To believers. It awakens their gratitude, it reproves their lukewarmness, it stimulates their charity.

III. The reflections to which this view of the gospel gives rise.How precious in our estimation should be

(1) the gospel,
(2) the Saviour,
(3) the Saviours work,
(4) the Saviours ordinances,
(5) the Saviours servants and people,
(6) the Saviours second coming.G. Brooks.

The Truth and Divinity of the Christian Religion.

I. It is reasonable to suppose that God should at some time or season fully and clearly reveal unto men the truth concerning Himself and concerning them as He and they stand related to each other, concerning His nature and will, concerning our state and duty.Argued from

(1) His goodness,
(2) His wisdom,
(3) His justice,
(4) His divine majesty.

II. That no other revelation of that kind and importance has been made, which can with good probability pretend to have thus proceeded from God, so as by Him to have been designed for a general, perpetual, complete instruction and obligation of mankind.

1. Paganism did not proceed from divine revelation, but from human invention or diabolical suggestion. All the pagan religions vanished, together with the countenance of secular authority and power sustaining them.

2. Mohammedanism an imposture.

3. Judaism was defective.

(1) This revelation was not generalnot directed, nor intended to instruct and oblige mankind.
(2) As this revelation was particular, so was it also partialas God did not by it speak His mind to all, so did He not therein speak out all His mind.
(3) It was not designed for perpetual obligation and use.

Conclusion.No other religion, except Christianity, which has been or is in being, can reasonably pretend to have proceeded from God as a universal, complete, and final declaration of His mind and will to mankind.Barrow.

Eph. 1:13-14. The Assurance of the Christian Inheritance.By the first act of faith the whole tendencies of mans life are reversed. Until then the present has been his world and the earth his place of rest; then, by the inspiration of the cross, a spiritual world dawns upon his view, that everlasting region becomes his home, and life assumes the character of a pilgrimage. We need to have the deep assurance of the immortal kingdom in order to live an earnest life in a world like this.

I. The nature of the assurance.The voices of promises in the Christians soulthe longings, aspirations, hopes, rising from the Spirit of God within usare more than promises; they are earnests, i.e. most certain assurances of the inheritance to come. This inheritance of spiritual life consists of three great elementslove, power, blessedness.

II. The necessity of the assurance.The inheritance is given, but not reached. Between the gift and its attainment there lies a long path of conflict in which the old struggle between the flesh and the Spirit reveals itself in three forms:

1. Sense against the soul;
2. The present against the future;
3. Steadfast work against the roving propensities of the heart.E. L. Hull.

The Holy Spirit and the Earnest of the Inheritance.

I. The character of the inheritance.The teaching of the passage is that heaven is likest the selectest moments of devotion that a Christian has on earth. Heaven is the perfecting of the life of the Spirit begun here, and the loftiest attainments of that life here are but the beginnings and infantile movements of immature beings.

II. The grounds of certainty that we shall ultimately possess the fulness of the inheritance.The true ground of certainty lies in this, that you have the Spirit in your heart, operating His own likeness and moulding you, sealing you, after His own stamp and image.

1. The very fact of such a relation between man and God is itself the great assurance of immortality and everlasting life.
2. The characteristics that are produced by this Holy Spirits indwelling, both in the perfectness and imperfection, are the great guarantee of the inheritance being ours.
3. The Holy Spirit in a mans heart makes him desire and believe in the inheritance.A. Maclaren.

The Faith of the Early Christians.

I. The object of their faith.The word of truth and the gospel of salvation. It is the word of truth. It contains all that truth which concerns our present duty and our future glory. It comes attended with demonstrations of its own divinity. It is the gospel of our salvation. It discovers to us our ruined, helpless condition, the mercy of God to give us salvation, the way in which it is procured for us, the terms on which we may become interested in it, the evidences by which our title to it must be ascertained, and the glory and happiness it comprehends.

II. The forwardness and yet the reasonableness of their faith.They trusted in Christ after they heard the word. They acted as honest and rational men: they did not trust before they heard it, nor refused to trust after they heard it. They did not take the gospel on the credit of other men without examination; nor did they reject it when they had an opportunity to examine it for themselves. Their faith stood not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

III. The happy consequence of their faith.They were sealed with the Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance. They became partakers of such a divine influence as sanctified them to a meetness for heaven, and thus evidenced their title to it.

1. The sealing of the Spirit.Sealing literally signifies the impression of the image or likeness of one thing upon another. A seal impressed on wax leaves there its own image. Instruction is said to be sealed when it is so impressed on the heart as to have an abiding influence. So the sealing of believers is their receiving on their hearts the divine image and character by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. The word of truth is here considered as the seal, the believing heart as the subject, the Holy Spirit as the agent or sealer, and the effect produced as a divine likeness. By a like metaphor Christians are represented as cast in the mould of the gospel. The same idea is conveyed by the metaphor of writing the word on the heart.

2. The earnest of the Spirit.The Spirit, having sealed believers or sanctified them after Gods image, becomes an earnest of their inheritance. The firstfruits were pledges of the ensuing harvest; earnest-money in a contract is a pledge of the fulfilment of it. So the graces and comforts of religion are to Christians the anticipations and foretastes of the happiness which awaits them in heaven.

(1) The virtues of the Christian temper, which are the fruits of the Spirit, are to believers an earnest of their inheritance because they are in part a fulfilment of the promise which conveys the inheritance.
(2) They are an earnest as they are preparatives for it.
(3) The sealing and sanctifying influence of the Spirit is especially called an earnest of the inheritance because it is a part of the inheritance given beforehand. It is the earnest till the redemption of the purchased possession. When we actually possess the inheritance the earnest will be no longer needed.

Lessons.

1. All the operations of the Spirit on the minds of men are of a holy nature and tendency.

2. We are strongly encouraged to apply to God for the needful influences of His grace.

3. We can have no conclusive evidence of a title to heaven without the experience of a holy temper.

4. Christians are under indispensable obligations to universal holiness.Lathrop.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(3) It may be noted, as bearing on the question of the general or special character of this Epistle, that (with the single exception of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, which may be looked upon as virtually a continuation of the First Epistle) all St. Pauls Epistles addressed to particular churches pass at once from the salutation to refer to the particular circumstances, gifts, and needs of the Church, generally in the form of thanksgiving and prayer, sometimes (as in Gal. 1:6) in rebuke. In St. Peters First Epistle, on the other hand, addressed to those scattered through many churches, we have an opening exactly similar to the opening of this Epistle. There is, indeed, here a thanksgiving below (Eph. 1:15-22), but it is entirely general, belonging to the whole Church.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.On this phrase (used in Rom. 15:6; 2Co. 1:3; 2Co. 11:31; 1Pe. 1:3) see Note on Rom. 15:6. It is, however, to be noted here, that in the Vatican MS. the words and Father are omitted, and that the phrase the God of our Lord Jesus Christ occurs below in Eph. 1:17.

Blessed be . . . who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings.The frequent phrase Blessed be God (Luk. 1:68; Rom. 1:25; Rom. 9:5; 2Co. 1:3; 2Co. 11:31; 1Pe. 1:3) is here used with an unique antithesis. We can bless God only in thanksgiving of heart and voice, with which He deigns to be pleased, as He rejoices over the works of His hands. God blesses us in real and life-giving spiritual blessing, i.e., blessing of the gift of the Spirit, for which we can return nothing except thanksgiving. So in Psa. 116:12-13, the natural question of the thoughtful soulWhat shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me?is answered simply by the words, I will receive the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

Who hath blessed us . . . in heavenly-places.It should be, who blessed us (once for all), in the election and predestination spoken of in the next verse. If this be noted, the sense of the phrase in heavenly places becomes far clearer. It has been doubted whether we ought to supply the word places or things (as in Joh. 3:12) in rendering this phrase, which is peculiar to this Epistle, and used in it no less than five times. In three out of the other four places (Eph. 1:20; Eph. 2:6; Eph. 3:10) the local sense is manifest; in the fourth (Eph. 6:12) and in this it might be doubtful. But (1) it is altogether unlikely that so unique a phrase would be used in two different senses; (2) the original word for heavenly has most properly and most usually a local meaning; (3) the transference of the thoughts to heaven above suits especially the whole tone of this Epistle and the parallel Epistle to the Colossians; and (4) the local sense agrees best with the context here, for the Apostle is speaking of the election before the foundation of the world as made by the foreknowledge of God in heaven, where Christ is in the beginning with God.

It has been noticed here that we have one of those implicit references to the Holy Trinitythe blessing from God the Father, in Christ, and by the Spiritwith which St. Pauls Epistles abound.

In Christi.e., in the unity with Christ, which is the life eternal, ordained for us in the foreknowledge of God, and viewed as already existing. (See the whole of John 17, especially Eph. 1:21-23.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

(3) In Eph. 1:15-23, this introductory chapter ends in a prayer for the enlightenment of the readers of this Epistle, that they may understand all the fulness of the blessings of the gospel. In accordance with the heavenward direction of the thought of the whole Epistle, these blessings are viewed in their future completeness of glory and power, of which the present exaltation of the risen Lord to the right hand of God, as the Lord of all creatures, and the Head of the Church His body, is the earnest and assurance.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

THE DIVINE SIDE OF THE PROCESS OF FOUNDING A HOLY, GLORIOUS CHURCH, Eph 1:3 to Eph 3:21.

I. ITS ETERNAL DIVINE ORIGINATION IN PURPOSE, Eph 1:3-23.

1. An eternal election of all believers, Eph 1:3-8.

St. Paul opens by an affirmation of God’s abounding goodness in that he has chosen us to, (Eph 1:4,) predestinated us to, (Eph 1:5-8,) and made revelations to us of, (Eph 1:8-9,) the grand final summation of all things in Christ (Eph 1:10).

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

3. Blessed First emphatic word and keynote to the rich and joyous tone of the whole paragraph. As the Greek word in both the New Testament and Septuagint is applied to God alone, so it signifies blessed, as God alone is blessed, divinely blessed. This eucharistic word the apostle uses to indicate, with holy gratitude, that the election for which he gives thanks is based in the eternal nature of God. For God does eternally, by his very nature and affinity, prefer and elect that which is holy, or freely consents to become so. See our note on “the true doctrine of the Church” touching election, vol. iii, p. 349.

God of Christ Ellicott decides that most probably Father is only applied to Christ, and not God God and the Father of, etc.

Blessed us Alford well says, that “God’s blessing is in facts, ours only in words.”

Heavenly places Places is not in the original, but is supplied by the translators, as is shown by the italics. The Greek adjective , signifying pertaining to the heavenly regions, may imply either places or things: in Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12, places is required. The same Greek adjective in Mat 18:35 (which in the Lord’s prayer, Mat 6:9, is rendered “who art in heaven”) includes the entire comprehension of God’s omnipresence. In Php 2:10, it implies the heavenly inhabitants, the angels. In 1Co 15:48 it twice designates those from heaven who are heavenly in nature. In 2Ti 4:18, it denotes the heavenly kingdom, and in Heb 3:1, heavenly calling. So in Heb 6:4; Heb 8:5; Heb 9:23, the adjective presupposes things heavenly in nature, origin, or relation, yet earthly in place.

The adjective may, therefore, imply place, that is, the heavenly region; or it may mean things on earth that are redolent of that place. As place, the word as variously used by St. Paul is very generic in its applications, embracing, if we collect all its uses, the entire spirit-world, all that is super-mundane or superhuman. So Eph 1:20, it implies the highest heavens, the right hand of God. In Eph 3:10, the angelic abodes. In Eph 6:12, it takes in the aerial battlefield with demoniac powers: that is, the air of Eph 2:2, where see note. In this verse it means clearly things on earth which are heavenly in quality. Hence, differing from Alford, Ellicott, and others, we think that here the phrase should be rendered heavenly things. For surely it was not in supermundane localities that the Ephesians enjoyed their spiritual blessings. They lived and enjoyed on earth.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Panorama of the Gospel (1:3-14)

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.’

As Paul considers the words he is about to say, the blessings he is about to reveal, he can only call down blessing on the name of the One from Whom they will all come.

‘Blessed.’ Worshipped, honoured, held in esteem, given the glory due.

‘Be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Paul is about to inform us of the blessings that are ours in Jesus Christ, bought with His blood and supplied to us in ‘grace’, that is through God’s infinite, active, undeserved favour. And he wants us to know of its source in His God and Father, Who planned, and through the ages brought into reality, the glorious fulfilment of what the Gospel is all about. That He is God and Father of such a One as our Lord Jesus Christ exalts Him beyond measure.

The title ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ contains three elements. Firstly He is ‘the Lord’ (kurios), the One Whose Name is above every name, Yahweh the God of Creation and history, God Himself (Php 2:9). To the Jew and to Paul the Name above every name was Yahweh, the God of Israel, and in the Greek Old Testament Yahweh is represented by kurios. He is also elsewhere the great ‘I am’ (Joh 8:58, compare Exo 3:14), another name for Yahweh, and thus ‘the Word’, Who existed in the beginning, through Whom God created the worlds (Joh 1:1-3; Heb 1:1-3; Psa 33:6; Psa 33:9), the Lord of all.

Secondly He is ‘Jesus’. He became flesh and dwelt among us (Eph 1:14). He was truly man and yet in His manhood epitomised all that man was meant to be. He hungered as a man (Mat 4:2). He grew thirsty as a man (Joh 4:7; Joh 19:28). He suffered as a man. And His death was the death of a man, and yet it was of more than a man, for He was ‘the Lord’. He was ‘the Christ (Messiah)’. And the name Jesus means ‘Yahweh is salvation’. He is called Jesus because He will save His people from their sins (Mat 1:21).

Thirdly He is ‘the Christ.’ By His death and resurrection He is declared to be ‘both Lord and Christ’ (Act 2:36). He is the expected King Messiah, the One appointed to eternal Rule (2Pe 1:11; compare Psa 145:13; Dan 4:3; Dan 4:34; Dan 7:14), the One Who both sits on His own throne and also uniquely shares His Father’s throne (Rev 3:21), the One before Whom every knee shall bow (Php 2:10).

But because of this He is the powerful One (Rom 1:4). He is the One worthy of worship and honour (Rev 1:6; Rev 5:11; Rev 5:13). He is the Lord of glory (1Co 2:8; Jas 2:1).

‘Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.’ How great and good is God the Father. He has blessed us by providing for us in Christ every possible spiritual blessing, and these will now be outlined in depth. He has chosen us to be holy and without blemish before Him, foreordained us to be adopted as sons, redeemed us through the blood of His Son, forgiven us all our trespasses, and granted us a glorious future inheritance when all things are summed up in Christ. We are blessed from start to finish.

‘Spiritual blessing.’ That which is not of this mundane world, that which is dispensed by His Spirit, that which works within our spirits making us one with Him (1Co 12:13) and true children of God (Rom 8:15-16; Gal 4:5-6), that which makes the truth known within us (1Co 2:12-15) that which is ‘of the Spirit’, resulting in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:16-25), that which lifts us into another plane of existence (Col 3:1-3), that which is our final inheritance when we shall be with Him on His throne (Rev 3:21), and will be like Him and see Him as He is (1Jn 3:2). This is the inheritance of the saints in light (Col 1:12).

‘In the heavenlies.’ This is a theme of the epistle. In Christ we have been ‘raised’ into the heavenlies (Eph 2:6), into a spiritual realm where we know Him, and walk with Him, and draw continually on His life and power. And even as we live out our lives on this earth we do so as those whose citizenship is in Heaven (Php 3:20), as those whose spirits are continually in communion with Him there (Heb 4:16; Heb 10:19), as those whose potential is heavenly and who are watched over by Heaven.

Modern man can have some faint conception of this in that it is now possible for a man in some far off place to enter into his computer room and there soon ‘see’ and be in close touch with family, friends and neighbours, sharing in the benefits of the home country, and be almost for a time as though he was at home. Furthermore even when he leaves his computer he can carry his mobile phone around for instant communication. Thus can the Christian live His life in this world, seemingly far off from his real home in Heaven and yet be in full communion and contact with Heaven, enjoying something of the blessing of Heaven, and bring Heaven with him to earth, and take Heaven with him wherever he goes. He can live in heavenly places.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Predestination and Calling: The Father Planned the Church Eph 1:3-6 reveals how God the Father planned the Church, having foreknown and predestined it before the foundation of the world. Other passages on the Father place a difference emphasis upon His office and ministry. For example, the Gospel of John emphasizes the Father’s fellowship with the Son. In 2 Corinthians, He is the God of All Comfort. The epistle of Philippians emphasizes the Father’s provision to those who give to the work of the ministry. In 1 Thessalonians, He is the God of Peace who sanctifies us wholly. In James, He is the Father of Lights who never changes to those tossed about with the troubles of life and He rewards those who seek Him in faith.

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father” Comments The epistle of Ephesians offers a view of our redemption from the aspect of God the Father. Thus, Paul opens this epistle by acknowledging the blessings imparted unto the Church by the Father.

As God’s children come to know God the Father’s manifold blessings, that are being revealed in this life, and throughout eternity, we instinctively respond by praising Him with blessing, and glory, and honor, and power. Paul had visited the heavenly realm and received a glimpse of these spiritual blessings bestowed upon the church, which man cannot describe in natural words because of the magnitude of their glory, so he writes, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom 11:33).

Eph 1:3 “of our Lord Jesus Christ” – Comments – The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, His deity and Godhead as a part of the Trinity, is the foundation of the Christian faith. This doctrine was severely attacked for the first few centuries of the early church. Here, Paul bases his epistle on this foundation, which is the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which was the result of His resurrection from the dead.

We see the adversity that Jesus faced by calling God His Father in Joh 5:18, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”

Eph 1:3 “who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ” Word Study on “with all spiritual blessings” The words in the Greek text are singular ( ); thus this phrase can be translated, “with every spiritual blessing.”

Word Study on “in heavenly places” Strong says the Greek word “in heavenly places,” which is one word in the Greek text, ( ) (G2032) literally means, “above the sky.” BDAG says it is used as a “periphrasis for heaven” in the epistle of Ephesians. Thayer says, “in heavenly regions.” Goodspeed reads, “in the heavenly realm.” The Enhanced Strong says it is found 20 times in the New Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “heavenly 16, celestial 2, in heaven 1, high 1.” This word is used five times in the epistle of Ephesians alone.

Eph 1:20, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places ,”

Eph 2:6, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

Eph 3:10, “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,”

Eph 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places .”

Comments – There is a natural, earthly realm, and there is a spiritual, heavenly realm that influences the natural realm. The phrase “in the heavenlies” refers to those things that exist and take place in heaven or in the heavenly regions that have the potential to affect the earthly realm.

In the Greek text of Eph 1:3, the adjective (heavenly) is neuter plural with an implied noun. The sources of blessings will come from God in heaven. Thus, many scholars believe that this phrase is not referring to Heaven exclusively, but rather it is used in a broader sense to refer to the spiritual realm that exists around us in this life. This broader meaning is supported by its use in Ephesians where it refers to “spiritual wickedness in high places,” which clearly refers to the spiritual realm where both God and His angels do battle with the spiritual forces of darkness.

The entire epistle of Ephesians reflects the heavenly realm, where God the Father is orchestrating His divine plan of redemption for mankind. These same blessings are described in Philippians from a natural, earthly perspective, stating that God supplies all of our needs (Eph 4:19).

Php 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Comments (1) – “who hath blessed us” God’s blessings always come with responsibility; for there is no business manager on earth who gives his staff resources without holding them accountable for the stewardship of those resources; and so it is with divine resources. They are abundant made available to every believer, but not every believer is given them until they “qualify” as being ready to manage such precious gifts. The last chapters of this epistle will teach us about how to manage and use these blessings, or resources, in a way that pleases God and benefits them also. This is why Paul opens this section by saying, “Ibeseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”

The examples of King Saul and King David show good and bad stewardship of God’s blessings. Both were given a kingship, but both did not use these blessings in a manner that pleased God. King Saul quickly lost his blessing and anointing as a king because he was not seeking it. Saul was seeking donkeys when he was given the kingship. He did not desire it nor appreciate it when it was given. Therefore, he easily mismanaged it and God took it away. On the other hand, King David received this blessing and anointing many years before he actually became king. Therefore, he longed for it to come and deliver him from his hardships in exile. David appreciated his blessing while Saul despised his gift.

Another example is the story of Elijah’s departure and the mantle. His servant Elisha desired his master’s anointing (2Ki 2:9). But Elijah did not simply give it to him; for Elisha had to pay a cost for such an anointing. Elisha had to pursue his master Elijah, which simply means that he pursued the “presence” of God. This is where we as ministers and children of God miss the anointing. We are busy building our little kingdom and ministry and fail to pursue intimacy with God; for it is only in His presence that such precious gifts are given. As God’s children, we are daily loaded with His benefits, but the most precious gifts are reserved for those who seek intimacy with God.

Comments (2) – “who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ”- It is interesting to meditate upon the phrase “who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). The phrase, “who hath blessed us” means that God has already assigned these blessings to us. The phrase “with all” reveals that everything we need to walk in abundance and peace and prosperity in this life has been made available to us, just as Adam walked in the Garden of Eden with every need provided to him before the Fall. The word “spiritual” reveals how these blessings are imparted to us. They are imparted into our spirit by the work and operation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We see Paul referring the work of the Holy Spirit imparting spiritual wisdom unto us in the phrase “the spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Eph 1:17). Paul refers to the Holy Spirit’s impartation of inner strength to us in the phrase, “to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Eph 3:16). The word “blessing” is the Greek word , which literally means, “a good thing”. In other words, God has made provision for us to partake of everything that is good in His creation. The phrase “in heavenly places” literally means, “that which is above”. In other words, these spiritual blessings originate from the throne of God the Father . We see a similar phrase used by Jesus when He tells Nicodomus, “You must be born from above.” (Joh 3:7). James uses a similar phrase when he says, “the wisdom that is from above,” (Jas 3:17). The phrase “in Christ Jesus” tells us that all of these spiritual blessings in heavenly places, which have already been set apart for us to partake of, can only be received through our relationship with Christ Jesus , as we abide in Him and walk in love, which walk will be discussed in the last half of this epistle, chapters 4-6. It is for this reason that Paul will first describe for us the man who is walking in this world without these spiritual blessings as he describes the Gentiles before their salvation (Eph 2:1-12). Thus, we see within this short phrase the offices and ministries of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit in sanctifying the believer.

Kenneth Hagin says that these spiritual blessings include everything Jesus Christ did for mankind in his redemptive work on Calvary. He has blessed us so that we can fulfill His plan of redemption upon earth. [82]

[82] Kenneth Hagin, Knowing What Belongs to Us (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1989), 2.

Eph 1:3 Comments Historical Background of Paul in Ephesus – Paul spent about three years in the city of Ephesus. During this time, he observed the thousands of “religious pilgrims” who attended and worshiped in the great temple of Diana. They sat in this open-air temple and meditated upon their gods, even gazing up at the heavens at night wondering how their Greek mythological gods interacted with man. These poor and ignorant people sought the blessings from these gods while fearing their wrath. They sought the same things that every human being desires, which is health, peace and prosperity. They believed that their good works would bring them divine rewards. Thus, we can see a contrast drawn in Eph 1:3 when Paul declares that all blessings come from God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. This also meant to the Ephesians that these Greek gods, particularly Diana, were no gods at all.

Comments – The Secondary Theme of Ephesians Eph 1:3 reveals the secondary theme of Ephesians. The first three chapters of Ephesians teaches us how God the Father has planned all things and equipped the Church with all spiritual blessings necessary to fulfill the Father’s divine plan of redemption (Eph 1:3). The role of the Church is revealed in the last three chapters by exhorting the Church to be strong in the Lord so that it can carry out the Father’s will upon the earth (Eph 6:10).

Eph 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”

Eph 6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

Comments Spiritual Blessings Are for Today As Well As for Eternity – When we get to heaven there will be many spiritual blessings that we will enter into and experience for eternity; but even today, God has provided many of these heavenly blessings for us to experience now, even before we enter Heaven. The purpose of these spiritual blessings in this earthly life is for the Church to walk in the fullness that it was created by God to do. These blessings are made available to us so that we can walk in the spiritual, mental, physical, and financial fullness that God first intended for mankind when He created us. Although these blessings are spiritual, they can bring earthly possessions. So, the poor man who knows Christ Jesus is richer and more blessed than all the lost rich men in the world. Though it does not appear in the physical that we are blessed to the world’s view, in God’s perspective we overflow with blessing and riches. It does not matter what our job, finances, future on earth looks like, every child of God is blessed. Praise God.

However, these blessings must be appropriated in our lives as we walk the worthy walk of our high calling in Christ Jesus, which Paul will exhort the Ephesians to do in the last three chapters of this epistle. As we place ourselves in the body of Christ and begin to put on the new man, stay filled with the Holy Spirit, and walk in submission with one another, we position ourselves to enter into spiritual warfare and break the power of Satan from our lives and allow these spiritual blessings to abound in our lives. We must learn to walk in a place of authority and serve the Lord as these spiritual blessings begin to abound in and through us for the edification of the body of Christ. The prophet Malachi testifies of these heavenly blessings being poured out from Heaven when he says, “I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Mal 3:10) Under the old covenant, God’s blessings were poured forth based upon men’s performance of the Law. Under the new covenant, God’s blessings are given to the saints as they yield their lives to walk by faith in God’s Word, positioning themselves for divine blessings. God’s blessings originate from Heaven and come down upon us on earth as we live by faith. Paul will expound upon this “worthy walk” of faith in the last three chapters of the epistle of Ephesians.

Mal 3:10, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Illustration – Note a similar praise in the Doxology hymn written by Thomas Ken in 1674: [83]

[83] Thomas Ken, Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymns (London: Daniel Sedgwick, 1864), iii.

“Praise God from whom all blessing flow

Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host

Praise fathers, son and Holy Ghost, Amen.” [84]

[84] Thomas Ken, Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymns (London: Daniel Sedgwick, 1864), 7.

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Eph 1:4 “According as” Comments – BDAG says the Greek word , used in Eph 1:4, means, “since, in so far as.” So, Eph 1:4-14 explains how and why we are blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

Eph 1:4 “he hath chosen us in him” Comments – This shows how the distinction is made between those called and those chosen, “sanctification belief”:

Mat 20:16, “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen .”

Mat 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Luk 23:35, “And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God .”

Act 9:15, “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me , to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:”

Rom 8:29-30, “ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Rom 9:11, “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth ;)”

Rom 11:5, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

2Th 2:13, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”

1Pe 1:2, “ Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father , through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

2Pe 1:10, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure : for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”

Rev 17:8, “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world , when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

Rev 17:14, “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful .”

Illustration – As children in school, we may be the last person chosen to be on somebody’s team, or to play a game. It does not matter in God’s sight, God has already chosen us long before. We have been picked first, not last, in God’s eyes.

Scripture References – Note similar verses:

Joh 15:19, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world , therefore the world hateth you.”

Act 13:17, “ The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers , and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.”

The basis of this selection:

1Co 1:26-27, “ For ye see your calling, brethren , how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”

Jas 2:5, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

God’s selection was not a random choice by chance, but He used guidelines.

Eph 1:4 “before the foundation of the world” Paul moved us into the heavenly realm in the previous verse (Eph 1:3), a place where time does not exist, a place where God dwells in eternity, and a place that Paul visited on several occasions (2Co 12:1-5). This suggests that the phrase “before the foundation of the world” refers to eternity. Therefore, Paul is speaking from a heavenly perspective when describing our salvation. Although from an earthly perspective, our role was to accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour, from a heavenly perspective, God had already chosen us as His children. Jeremiah (Jer 1:5) and Paul (Gal 1:15) both speak of their divine calling from an eternal aspect.

Jer 1:5, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

Gal 1:15, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,”

Eph 1:4 “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” Comments – Within the context of Eph 1:3-14, Paul gives us a summary of God’s divine plan of redemption. Thus, the phrase “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” means that in Christ Jesus we become holy and blameless, rather than something we achieve by our own efforts. This is why Paul opens his epistles by addressing them as “saints.” The moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are holy and blameless in God’s sight. However, the second half of the epistle of Ephesians will exhort us to a life of holiness, as we serve the Lord because of what He has done for us.

Eph 1:4 Comments – Eph 1:4 describes the first blessing:

1. What it is – God hath chosen us in Him.

2. When it comes Before the foundation of the world.

3. Why it is given – That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Note:

1Pe 1:15, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;”

Eph 1:4 Comments – What was God doing before He created the heavens and earth in Genesis? Eph 1:4 tells us that He was busy planning all things from the beginning of time until the end of time. The phrase “in love” tells us that all of His plans were motivated by His love. If we refer to Rom 8:29-30 we get a glimpse into God’s divine plan of redemption for mankind, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Paul says in this passage of Scripture that the destination, or purpose, of every believer is to become like Jesus Christ. To bring this about, we will need to follow this divine plan. It begins with the Father’s foreknowledge, which has two phases: predestination and calling. We then move into justification as we hearken unto this calling and believe in the redemptive work on Calvary. We are kept in this position of justification as Jesus now serves as our Great High Priest making intercession for the saints. Thus, justification has two phases; our initial salvation and our daily cleansing. The next step is not mentioned, but it is the role of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification. This involves indoctrination, calling into a position into the body of Christ, and perseverance. The reason is that Rom 8:17-39 places emphasis upon the glorification of the Church, which is the underlying theme of this passage. Thus, this passage of Scripture brings us into the final phase our redemption, which is glorification. This is essentially the steps of divine election that Paul has laid out in Rom 8:29-30. It serves as a summary of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom 1:16-17), which was given to us by God to take us through His divine Plan of Redemption.

Now as we refer back to Eph 1:4, we must keep in mind that the underlying theme of this epistle is the Father’s foreknowledge of the church. Thus, Paul uses the word “chosen” to refer to the Father’s role of predestining and calling the Church.

The Father has been working for us and divinely intervening in the affairs of mankind in our behalf since the foundation of the World. He had glorious plans for mankind prior to creating him. He predestined us to be conformed unto the image of His Son. He called us when we heard the preaching of the Gospel. He is still divinely intervening in our lives every day. Jesus Christ was determined to be crucified for our sins from the foundation of the world. He came and died for us on Calvary to bring justification to us, and is now at the right hand of the Father interceding for us so that we can maintain our righteous standing before God. The Holy Spirit was working in God with wisdom and power from the foundation of the world to give the Father insight into how to bring you to salvation and through the process of sanctification. He now lives in us and is at work in us day by day and moment by moment. What love God has for us!

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Eph 1:5 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself” Comments – Eph 1:5 reveals God the Father’s role in predestination. In the Greek, this phrase “having predestined” is the aorist participle, meaning that God predestined us, or decided before hand, or before the selection came. In other words, God made the decision to redeem us, and then He made the selection (Rom 8:30, 1Co 2:7).

Rom 8:30, “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

1Co 2:7, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:”

Eph 1:5 “according to the good pleasure of his will” Comments – The phase, “according to the good pleasure of his will” reveals the sovereignty of Almighty God in orchestrating His creation as He wills.

Scripture References – Note similar verses God’s sovereignty:

Psa 115:3, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

Psa 135:6, “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.”

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Eph 1:6 Comments The “Beloved” mentioned in Eph 1:6 is Jesus Christ, the Beloved Son of God the Father. The Greek text literally reads, “to the praise of the glory of His grace [ ], which He bestowed upon [ ] us in the Beloved” Thus, Paul uses the noun and its verb form together. Because of God’s grace, we have been made acceptable to Him because of the work in redemption on the Cross by His Most Beloved Son.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Introduction: The Father’s Calling Revealed In the opening passage of Ephesians, Paul declares the great spiritual blessings given to the Church in order to fulfill God the Father’s divine plan of redemption (Eph 1:3-23). Eph 1:3-14 is a summary and thanksgiving to God for His blessings upon us though Jesus Christ. In this passage, Paul is expressing in words the inexpressible depths and riches of God’s blessings towards us. This passage is full of vivid, deep, meaningful words, which try to express the unsearchable riches of God’s grace towards us. Eph 1:15-23 serves as a prayer that we may grow in the understanding of these blessings that are revealed in Eph 1:3-14. [80]

[80] Jay Smith uses a method he calls “exegetical outlining” to identify this breakdown of Ephesians 1:3-14, describing its subsections as the Father’s choice (election) (1:3-6), the Son’s redemption (1:7-12), and the Spirit’s sealing (1:13-14). See Jay E. Smith, “Sentence Diagramming, Clausal Layouts, and Exegetical Outlining,” in Interpreting the New Testament Text, eds. Darrell L. Bock and Buist M. Fanning (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2006), 131.

These blessings are bestowed upon the Church through the work of the Father who planned our redemption (Eph 1:3-6), and by the Son who redeemed us (Eph 1:7-12) and by the Spirit who seals and indwells the Church (Eph 1:13-14). Each of these three passages ends with a similar phrase, “to the praise to His glory.” Paul then prays for the saints to come into the revelation of these great truths (Eph 1:15-23). In this prayer Paul refers to three aspects of these blessings; the Father’s blessings give us the hope of our calling through His predestination; the Son’s blessings give us the riches of our glorious inheritance through justification; and the Spirit gives us the power through sanctification, “until the redemption of the purchased possession,” which refers to our glorification. Paul then takes chapters 2 and 3 to expound upon these three blessings in light of God’s high calling of allowing Him to work in and through us to bring men unto redemption.

Eph 1:3-14 will list for us the manifold blessings that God the Father has made available to His children. This passage of Scripture is structured as a progressive series of events in the life of the believer. These blessings of God begin before a child of God is baptized. God chose us and predestined us to be His children before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3-6). When Jesus died and was resurrected, we were redeemed and our sins were forgiven. When we believe in Jesus, we receive this redemption and forgiveness (Eph 1:7-12). God then begins to reveal to us His will for our lives, which is a plan that fits into His overall plan of redemption for all of mankind. This plan includes being sealed with His Holy Spirit, which is a foretaste of His wonderful inheritance that He has waiting for us in heaven (Eph 1:13-14). Each of these three sections in this great passage end with the phrase, “to the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:6; Eph 1:12; Eph 1:14). [81]

[81] Jay Smith describes these three ending phrases as “refrains” in a “hymnic poetic passage.” See Jay E. Smith, “Sentence Diagramming, Clausal Layouts, and Exegetical Outlining,” in Interpreting the New Testament Text, eds. Darrell L. Bock and Buist M. Fanning (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2006), 94.

Thus, we see revealed by Paul in the opening passage of this great epistle the three-fold offices of God the Father (Eph 1:3-6), Jesus Christ the Son (Eph 1:7-12) and God the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14) as it relates to the Father’s eternal plan for the Church. There are many aspects of the offices of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, but this passage refers to their offices as it particularly relates to the fulfillment of God’s divine plan for His Church. Therefore, it refers to the forgiveness of their sins through Jesus Christ and being sealed by the Holy Spirit so that the believer is able to walk in God’s plan for his life. Note that all of these blessings come by God’s grace and not by anything that mankind deserves.

The epistle of Ephesians is structured so that if we will follow its path, God’s Word will take us on a journey of obtaining these spiritual blessings referred to in Eph 1:3. Therefore, in the following passage (Eph 1:15-23) Paul will pray that the saint will come to the revelation of these three great blessings that proceed from the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In this prayer, Paul refers to these three blessings as “that ye may know:

(1) The Father – what is the hope of his calling, and

(2) The Son – what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and

(3) The Holy Spirit – what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe.

Paul will then expound upon these blessings in chapters 2-3.

(1) The Father’s Blessings – The Hope of Our Calling (Eph 2:1-22)

(2) The Son’s Blessings – The Riches of Our Glorious Inheritance (Eph 3:1-13)

(3) The Spirit’s Blessings – The Power Given to Every Believer (Eph 3:14-21)

Paul then proceeds to tell the saints how to fulfill the purpose and plan for each of their lives in chapters 4-6. If they will follow the path of sanctification laid out in these chapters, then they will be able to enter into spiritual warfare (Eph 6:10-18) so that each of them might fulfill their individual callings. God will bring their calling to pass only as they pray for Paul to fulfill his purpose and plan (Eph 6:19-20).

Finally, it is interesting to note that within this passage of Eph 1:3-14, the phrases, “in Christ,” “in the beloved,” “in Himself,” “by Jesus Christ,” and “in whom,” are used twelve times in this one passage of Scripture.

Outline Here is a proposed outline:

1. Predestination and Calling: The Father Planned the Church Eph 1:3-6

2. Justification: The Son Redeemed the Church Eph 1:7-12

3. Sanctification: The Spirit Sealed the Church Eph 1:13-14

4. Paul’s Prayer to Know these Three Blessings Eph 1:15-23

Comparison of Introductory Passages within the Epistle of Ephesians – Just as Eph 1:3-23 serves as an introductory passage to the exposition that follows (Eph 2:1 to Eph 3:21), so does Eph 4:1-16 serve as an introductory passage to the exposition that follows (Eph 4:17 to Eph 6:9). Just as Eph 1:3-23 introduces the offices of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is followed by a more detailed exposition on this topic in Eph 2:1 to Eph 3:21, so does Eph 4:1-16 introduce the believer’s worthy walk and is followed by a more detailed exposition of this topic in Eph 4:17 to Eph 6:9.

Comparison of Introductions to Ephesians, Colossians, and 1 Thessalonians We can compare the introductory passages of Ephesians, Colossians and 1 Thessalonians and see how they share a common function. These three epistles emphasize the role of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in God’s plan of redemption. Ephesians focuses upon the Father, Colossians focuses on the Son, and 1 Thessalonians focuses on the Holy Spirit. Just as Eph 1:3-23 serves to introduce the Father’s role in redemption, before expounding upon each role of the Trinity, so does Col 1:3-11 introduce the Son’s role, and 1Th 1:2-10 introduces the role of the Holy Spirit. We see in all three epistles how Paul follows this introductory passage with an exposition of the role of the Trinity in redemption.

Scripture References – Note similar verses in Paul’s other epistles expressing God’s boundless grace as expressed in Eph 1:3-14:

Rom 11:33, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

1Co 2:9-10, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Doxology to God for the blessings of His love and grace:

v. 3. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ;

v. 4. according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love;

v. 5. having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

v. 6. to the praise of the glory of His grace.

Few passages in the Bible surpass these verses in lofty and sustained solemnity. The apostle’s words are arrayed in stately grandeur: Blessed the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. That is the attitude of the believers at all times, that God is to be praised, that He is worthy of all praise and honor for the manifold manifestations of His redeeming love in Jesus Christ. For it is of God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that we and all believers think. See Rom 15:6; 2Co 1:3; 1Pe 1:3. Through Jesus Christ, the God-man and Redeemer of mankind, God has entered into the relation of Father to us and to all believers: in Jesus, who was born from eternity out of the essence of the Father, who Himself is therefore true God, we have free access to the heart of the Father. We praise and bless God because He has blessed us, His blessings, however, not consisting in words of good, but in deeds of grace, not in a mere pious wish, but in a transmission of heavenly benefits. With every spiritual blessing God has remembered us, with blessing that agrees in kind with the Spirit of God, that is divine and heavenly. The spiritual blessings of the Christians are in the heavens, have their origin in heaven, as the dwelling-place of God. The blessings of the higher, of the perfect, of the future world are ours in Christ; Christ, as the Mediator between God and the lost world, has brought us the benefits and gifts which the Father intended for us in Him, through Him, on His account, by reason of His perfect merit. “In Him lay the cause that God blessed us with every spiritual blessing, since His act of redemption is the meritorious cause of this divine bestowal of blessing. ” (Meyer.)

Of the wonderful blessings of God in Christ Jesus the apostle now enumerates those of the eternal election of grace: Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. God chose us, He picked us out, He selected us, He set us aside for Himself; it was a free act on His part. It was, however, not an act of God’s absolute power, but He chose us in Christ. The spiritual blessings have been appropriated to us on the basis of Christ’s work, but the election took place before the foundation of the world. It was an act which was done before the beginning of time, before the world was called into existence. “Before we were in existence, even before the foundation of the world was laid, God thought of us in grace; in His thoughts, in His counsel and determination He took us out of the lost and condemned generation of men (out of the total mass of men for whom the redemption of Christ was made); He firmly decided that we should be His own forever and live with Him in eternity. ” For the object of his choosing was: That we should be holy and without reproach before Him in love. By virtue of our relation to God, into which we have entered in consequence of His call, we should he found in the state of sanctification before Him, pure and blameless, set aside from all impurity. Holiness, moral purity, and love are the fundamental characteristics of the Christian life. That is the interest which God has in us, that is the object for which He set us apart.

This aim of God includes still more: By determining us in advance for sonship through Jesus Christ toward Himself. The counsel and determination of God existed before the persons were created that were to become the recipients of His bounty. The counsel of election includes the predetermination to the relation of children to God by adoption, Rom 8:15-16. This sonship was actually brought about by Jesus Christ, whose work of atonement changed us from children of wrath to children of grace and mercy. This is our new relation to God, by virtue of which we have something of the manner, of the mind of the heavenly Father in ourselves, God’s holiness and love being reflected in our lives. And God’s only motive in this predetermination unto the sonship was: According to the good pleasure of His will. It was a resolution of God’s gracious will. “God’s fore-ordination of us unto adoption is not due to any desert in us or anything outside God Himself, but is an act of His own pure goodness, originating only and wholly in the freedom of His own thoughts and loving counsel. ” And its final end is: To the praise of the glory of His grace. See vv. 12 and 14. In the blessedness of His elect the blessedness of God is enhanced. As His wonderful design is manifested to the astonished eyes of the Christians, they recognize His grace with grateful adoration, and they laud and magnify His name because of this revelation of His grace.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Eph 1:3. The two first verses contain St. Paul’s inscription, or introduction, to his Epistle; and thence to Eph 1:14 he proceeds to thank God for his grace and bounty to the Gentiles; wherein he so sets forth both God’s gracious purpose of bringing the Gentiles into his kingdom under the Messiah, and his actual bestowing on them blessings of all kinds in Jesus Christ, for their complete re-instation in that his heavenly kingdom, that there could be nothing stronger suggested to make the Ephesians, and other Gentiles, converts, give up all thoughts of the Mosaic law; and that much inferior kingdom of his, established upon theMosaic institution, and adapted to a little canton of the earth, and a small tribe of men; as not necessary to be retained under this more spiritual institution, and celestial kingdom, erected under Jesus Christ;a kingdom intended to comprehend men of all nations, and to extend itself to the utmost bounds of the earth, for the greater honour of God, or, as St. Paul speaks, to the praise of his glory.

Blessed be the God, &c. The sentence before us runs through twelve verses; a length of period remarkable even in St. Paul’s writings, which are frequently difficult to be fully understood on that account. Under the words us and we, in this period, the Apostle doubtless includes the Ephesians, to whom he wrote,the greatest part of whom were Gentile converts,as sharing with him and the Jewish Christians in their evangelical privileges; and by thus beginning his Epistle with ascribingthanks to God for his mercies to them, he at once declares his firm persuasion of the calling of the Gentiles, and his hearty joy for it. We have before observed, that it is frequent with this Apostle, to make use of the same words in the same sentence in a different sense from that in which they occurred before. Thus, the word bless, in the beginning of this verse, signifies to praise; and in the next clause, to do good, or, “to confer a blessing upon:”and for this reason,that both of them are the effects of a benevolent mind. All spiritual blessings principally refer, not to extraordinary and miraculous gifts, but to the sanctifying and saving graces of the Spirit; such as justification by grace, the adoption of children, the illumination of the Spirit, and all the graces of the Christian life: these are blessings in the heavenlies, , or, in heavenly things, as it should be rendered, rather than places; as they are things which have a manifest relation to heaven, and a tendency to fit us for it.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Eph 1:3 . ] praised ( ), sc. . Comp. Rom 9:5 ; 2Co 1:3 ; Luk 1:68 ; 1Pe 1:3 ; 1Ki 15:29 . It is prefixed here, since, as in most doxologies (see on Rom 11:5 ), in keeping with the emotion of the heart which breaks forth in songs of praise, the emphasis lies on it. Where the stress in conformity with the context rests upon the person, this is prefixed, as at 1Ki 10:9 ; 2Ch 9:8 ; Job 1:21 ; Psa 68:20 ; Psa 112:1-2 ; Rom 9:5 . The second Epistle to the Corinthians begins also with an ascription of praise to God, and the general character of that now before us cannot, in view of the general contents of the Epistle (comp. 1Pe 1:3 ff.) appear un-Pauline (in opposition to de Wette), especially as the thanksgiving which has reference to the readers comes in afterwards in Eph 1:15 f.

. . .] God, who at the same time is the Father of Jesus Christ. See on Rom 15:6 ; 1Co 15:24 ; 2Co 11:31 ; Theodore of Mopsuestia in Cramer’s Catena. Jerome, Theodoret, Theophylact, and others, including Michaelis, Koppe, Rckert, Olshausen, Schenkel, Bleek, have incorrectly attached also to . It is true, indeed, that there is no objection to the idea “the God of Christ” in itself, and before would not be at all necessary, as Harless thinks (see Eph 4:6 ; 1Pe 2:25 , al.); but against it stands the fact that , even without a genitive, was a stated Christian designation of God (comp. on Rom 15:6 ), in which case only, and not , requires a complementary genitive (v. 20; 1Co 15:24 ; Jas 1:27 ; Jas 3:9 ). Moreover, the expression the God of Christ stands so isolated in the N.T. (see on Eph 1:17 ), that we may not attribute to it any such currency, as it must have had, if it were contained in the formula . . .

] Aorist: by the work of redemption. Observe the ingenious correlation of the passive and the active , as well as the dilogia, by which the former denotes the blessing in word, and the latter the blessing in deed (comp. Rom 15:29 ; 2Co 9:5 f.; Gal 3:8-9 ; Gal 3:14 ; Act 3:26 ). applies to the Christians generally, not to Paul (Koppe), against which view the unsuitableness of such a thanksgiving of the apostle for himself at the head of the Epistle, as well as the actual plurality of persons in the whole context (Eph 1:4 ; Eph 1:11-12 ), and , Eph 1:15 , are decisive.

] instrumental: by His imparting to us every spiritual blessing (comp. Test. XII. Patr. p. 722: . ); none has He withheld from us. This, however, is not to be explained as blessing, which concerns our spirit (Erasmus, Michaelis, Morus, Rosenmller; Koppe and Rckert are undecided), but: proceeding from the Holy Spirit, because the distinctively Christian benefits are meant, and these are . Comp. Rom 1:11 ; Rom 15:29 ; 1Co 12:1 ff. This blessing is wrought by God from heaven through the communication of the Spirit (Eph 1:13 ; Gal 3:5 ; 1Co 12:6 , and elsewhere), hence God is praised for it. We may add that a contrast to the earthly benefits promised to the Jews in the Old Testament (Grotius and others, including recently Holzhausen), or to the typical blessings of the Jews and the empty possessions of the Gentiles (Schttgen), is foreign to the context. Paul denotes the matter in a purely positive form as it is, according to its characteristic nature; hence there is not in any contrast to merely sporadic blessings in the O. T. The consists in the most varied expressions, as in grace, truth, peace, joy, love, hope, consolation, patience, and all Christian virtues as the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22 ; Rom 5:1 ff.). Compare , Phm 1:6 .

] local: in the heavenly regions, in heaven. Comp. Eph 1:20 ; Eph 2:6 ; Eph 3:10 ; Eph 6:12 . Against the instrumental rendering, according to which it is understood, as a more precise definition of the spiritual blessing, of the heavenly possessions [93] (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Oecumenius, Luther, Castalio, Piscator, Vorstius, Homberg, Michaelis, Zachariae, Morus, Flatt, Bleek, and others), we may urge, not the article (in opposition to Rckert, Harless, Olshausen), which would very appropriately denote the category , but the fact, that Paul has not added or , just because in our Epistle is constantly a designation of place . [94] The local is referred , either to God , so that heaven appears as the seat where the divine blessing is being prepared (Beza, Boyd), but how idle and self-evident that would be! or to , so that heaven, as the seat of our (Phi 3:20 ), would be the scene of the divine blessing. So Pelagius, Beza (who leaves a choice between the two views), Grotius (who says that the blessings place us et spe et jure in coelo ), Baumgarten, Koppe, Rckert, and others. The aorist would not be at variance with this view, since the matter might be set forth proleptically in accordance with an ideal mode of looking at it (comp. Eph 2:6 ). But the whole explanation is far-fetched and opposed to the context; for shows that Paul has not thought of our having received this blessing in the heavenly , seeing that the Holy Spirit is received on earth as the present earnest of the heavenly heritage (Eph 1:13-14 ). Accordingly, the third reference remains the only correct one, under which is attached as a local definition to : with every spiritual benefit in heaven , so that, because the Holy Spirit is in heaven, as is God Himself ( 2Ma 3:39 ), the blessings also of the Spirit are regarded as to be found in heaven and brought down from thence to us. See Heb 6:4 .

] for in Christ lay the ground of that accomplished in our case; not out of Christ, but in Him lay the cause that God blessed us with every spiritual blessing, since His act of redemption is the causa meritoria of this divine bestowal of blessing. Comp. Eph 1:4 .

[93] These would not be possessions, which have reference to the heavenly life, but possessions which are to be found in heaven and are imparted to us. For always means “ to be found in heaven .” See Wetstein, I. p. 417; Bleek on Heb 3:1 , p. 375. Comp. , ver. 10.

[94] The expression , which occurs five times in this Epistle and nowhere else in the N.T., is surprising. In the case of any writer, no doubt, a phrase not in current use with him at other times may be accidentally and temporarily suggested to him, the use of which he involuntarily appropriates and soon again as involuntarily abandons; yet it remains a surprising fact that the expression is not also used in the Epistle to the Colossians written at the same time, where there was no lack of opportunity (Eph 1:5 ; Eph 1:16 ; Eph 1:20 ) for the use of the expression, although the two Epistles exhibit so much verbal affinity.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

II. PART FIRST
THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST

13

A. The ground and goal of the church

Eph 1:3-23

1. Grateful praise of the decree of grace

(Eph 1:3-14)

3Blessed be the God and Father15 of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath [omit hath]16 blessed us with [, in] all spiritual blessings [blessing]17 in [the] heavenly places in 4Christ: According [even] as he hath chosen [he chose] us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him [;] in love: [omit the colon]18 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children [unto adoption] by [through] Jesus Christ to [unto] himself,19 according to the good 6pleasure of his will, To [Unto] the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted [which20 he freely bestowed upon us] in the beloved: 7In whom we have [the or our] redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins [our transgressions],21 according to the riches22 of his grace; 8Wherein he hath abounded 9[Which he made to abound] toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto [to] us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which 10he hath [omit hath] purposed in himself: [,] That in [Unto]23 the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one [to gather up together] all things in Christ, both [omit both and supply the things]24 which are in heaven, and 11[the things] which are on earth; even in him: [,] In whom also we have obtained an [In whom we were also made his]25 inheritance, being [having been] predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own [omit own] will: 12That we should be to [unto] the praise of his glory, who first trusted [we who have before hoped]26 in Christ [or the Christ]. 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard [In whom ye also, having heard]27 the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed [in whom I say having also believed], ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise [the 14Spirit of promise, the holy One], Which [Who]28 is the earnest of our inheritance until [unto] the redemption of the [his] purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Summary.It is clear that Eph 1:3 opens the section with thanksgiving and praise for the blessing of Redemption. But in this wonderful chain of clauses (Eph 1:4-14), so interwoven and intertwined, the divisions and groupings are not easily perceived, so that expositors hold very different opinions. But it is evident, that the three times repeated: unto the praise of the glory of his grace (Eph 1:6), unto the praise of his glory (Eph 1:12), unto the praise of his glory (Eph 1:14), form conclusions, receiving, it is true, in the flow of language in Eph 1:6; Eph 1:12, qualifications for amplification and transition. Accordingly we find in Eph 1:4-6, the first foundation for praise: the election of eternal mercy; in Eph 1:7-12, the second: the carrying out of the eternal decree; Eph 1:13-14, the third: the personal appropriation of salvation. Our view is directed to the Father before all time, the Son in time, the Spirit in eternity. So Stier, who, however, artificially divides each section again into three parts, according to ground, course and goal.

[Alford, who follows Stier, gives this summary: The preliminary idea of the Church, set forth in the form of an ascription of praise, Eph 1:3-14 :thus arranged: Eph 1:3-6, the Father, in His eternal love, has chosen us to holiness (Eph 1:4), ordained us to Sonship (Eph 1:5), bestowed grace on us in the Beloved; Eph 1:7-12, in the Son, we haveredemption according to the riphes of His grace (Eph 1:7), knowledge of the mystery of His will (Eph 1:8-9), inheritance under Him the one Head (Eph 1:10-12); Eph 1:13-14, through the Spirit we are sealed, by hearing the word of salvation (Eph 1:13), by receiving the earnest of our inheritance, to the redemption of the purchased possession (Eph 1:14).Dr. Hodge is less satisfactory, see Eph 1:4 for his exhaustive analysis of Eph 1:4-6.R.]

Harless: 1. The objective act of God, a) in the eternal decree of the Redemption of believers, b) actualized through the death of His Son (Eph 1:1-7 : ); 2. The revelation of this act in the word (Eph 1:7-10); 3. The subjective actualization of this act in the Redemption of individuals (Eph 1:11-14).Meyer takes the salvation (Eph 1:3) as a) foreordained (Eph 1:4-5), b) effected (Eph 1:6-7), c) made known (Eph 1:8-10), d) actually appropriated (Eph 1:11), by Jews (Eph 1:12), as well as by those who had been heathen (Eph 1:13-14).Others otherwise, always with an overlooking of the incisa so readily perceived.[Dr. Lange, who suggests the frequent occurrence of liturgical forms in Pauls Epistles, finds in these verses the most striking example. See his liturgical reading, Romans, p. 26.R.]

Eph 1:3. General opening.

Blessed be [].29First of all, we must notice the play upon the words: . The words and have a two-fold meaning, as in benedicere and benedictio, to bless and blessing, () , to praise, to laud and to endow, all to be traced back to one sense, to speak or promise good. So , Luk 1:64 ( ); comp. Luk 24:53 ( ); Jam 3:9 ( ); , Rom 16:18 ( ), decora oratio, praise, Gal 3:8-9; Gal 3:14; Heb 6:7. The German word Segen, blessing, is derived from signum, sign, i.e., the sign of the cross in pronouncing the blessing; from this is derived segnen, to bless (see Juetting, Bibl. Wrterbuch, p. 171 ff.), and this means not only to wish well (Psa 10:3; Isa 65:16) in coming (1Sa 13:10) or in going (Act 20:1), but to praise, to thank (1Co 14:16; 1Co 10:16) and also to assign or impart good or goods (Gen 12:2; Gen 27:34; Gen 27:36). The meaning, to praise, to thank, does indeed become the prominent one, where it is applied to men with regard to God, since man has only words, can only ; as does that of allotting good or goods, where Gods dealings towards men are in question, since with God there is no resting in words, His words are or become deeds. Bengel: Antanaclasis: aliter benedixit Deus nobis, aliter nos benedicimus illi. Theodoret: , , , . It is otherwise, when Jethro says of God: (Exo 17:10), or Laban to Eliezer, (Gen 24:31): thou blessed of the Lord (comp. Gen 26:29; Mat 25:34, where Jesus as Judge will say to His own: Come, ye blessed of my Father; Luk 1:28, where Mary is called , highly favored, in the same sense). Both meanings appear here in our passage, where the Apostle praises and blesses God (), who has blessed us ( ).

The form here chosen should be noticed, , which is always applied to God,30 not , since for Him there is no time when He was not and will not hereafter be blessed, so that God is (Mar 14:61). Nor is this=worthy of praise, to be praised, but like in a purely passive sense, as the promiscuous use of both forms requires. The position of the words also, at the beginning, shows that the emphasis rests upon it; in Rom 9:5 the Person is put first for the same reason. [So Ellicott.] On the sense of it may be remarked, that Paul begins nearly all his Epistles with praise and thanksgiving to God, and that too with a reference to the churches and persons to which, the circumstances in which, and the purpose with which, he is writing; with as here, only in 2Co 1:3 (so 1Pe 1:3), usually with , Rom 1:8; 1Co 1:4; Php 1:3; Col 1:3; 1Th 1:2; 2Th 1:3; Phm 1:4, with 2Ti 1:3. As the received grace is returned again in thanksgiving, so is the received from the Lord, in the from the praising creature: God is saluted, never blessed, with His own blessing (Stier).

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ .Exactly as in 2Co 1:3; 1Pe 1:3. Comp. Rom 15:6; 2Co 11:31; Col 1:3; Rev 1:6. It is most natural, since the passage does not read: , , to join the genitive , of our Lord, with , God, as well as with , Father (Jerome, Theophylact, Rueckert, Stier), as the genitive is not necessarily required as an explanatory addition to . It is found without any qualification, in Eph 1:20; 1Co 15:24 : ; Eph 6:23; 2Ti 1:2; Gal 1:1 : ; 1Th 1:1 : . Besides in Eph 3:14 many MSS. read: (though . A. B. C. omit the genitive), while the established reading in Eph 1:17 is: , so that the Apostle, as this very Epistle shows, could join this qualifying phrase to God as well as to Father. On this account Meyer is incorrect, in applying the genitive to , and not to , on the ground that the former idea alone demands such complementing, and not the latter; nor should he have laid so great weight upon the notion, that the expression: the God of Christ, as an isolated one, has not obtained that currency, which it must have done, had it been found in this solemn formula also, since Christs word on the cross (Mat 27:46 : , ) and on the day of His resurrection (Joh 20:17 : ; comp. Rev 2:7; Rev 3:12) suffice to justify this expression and this connection in our solemn formula. We find too in B. the reading , . . . Nor can it be asserted, with Harless, that if the following genitive belonged to the first substantive also, the reading should necessarily be: ; Meyer refers very properly to 1Pe 2:25. Kai binds what is homogeneous; adds something accessory (Winer, pp. 404, 408); conjungit, adjungit, as Hermann says.31 To be God and to be Father are not ideas which exclude each other, nor do they appear as two, but as a unity; He is here praised, who is not only the God of the Incarnate One, but is also the Father of this Lord, of the. Only Begotten, whom He has given; thus is indicated the God-man by whom the blessings of Redemption are mediated. It was not necessary for Theodoret to say: , , . Practically this generally Christian formula has taken the place of the Jewish: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even if it were not so intended by the Apostle or Apostles, as Rueckert supposes.

Who blessed us [ ].The active, over against the passive () denotes efficient, active blessing, the aorist the historical fact in the existence and condition of the Church.32 Hence us should be taken in its wider meaning and applied to Christians, and should not be limited to the Apostle (Koppe), who afterwards (Eph 1:15 : ) begins to speak of himself and his experiences, nor to the Jewish Christians, who are first thought of in Eph 1:11 (comp. Eph 1:13); so strong rather is the feeling of the fellowship under the blessing of God, that the Apostle, as the genuine Apostle to the Gentiles, includes with himself and the Apostles as his people, all men, who have become or will become Christians.

With all spiritual blessings, .This denotes the sphere into which He in blessing has transferred them; He has so placed us in blessing, that we are surrounded, overflowed thereby, and . According to Winer (p. 105) this means every blessing; would be the whole blessing; see the instructive passage, Rom 3:19. There is no variety of blessing, which God has not bestowed upon us, but the entire fulness of the blessing, so that we have nothing more receive, has not yet been conferred upon us. Comp. Rom 15:29 : in the fulness of the blessing of Christ.

The adjective spiritual limits the manifold variety to the domain of the spiritual, to what the Holy Spirit effects and imparts. It is recalled also in what follows respecting the adoption (Eph 1:5) the redemption and forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), the revelation (Eph 1:9) and thus is expounded the riches of that spiritual blessing, which we already possess, but which we ever need yet more. There is no manner of occasion for supposing an antithesis to the earthly blessings and promises of the Israelites (Chrysostom, Grotius and others), or to their typical possessions and the vain ones of the heathen (Schttgen); nor should spiritual be explained as=qui ad animum pertinet (Erasmus, Rosenmueller); our spirit of itself still belongs to the . [See Romans, p. 234 f.]33 The Apostle is treating of the blessings promised in Joe 3:1, which are no longer merely promised, since their fulfilment is expressed in who hath blessed us.

In heavenly places, .

1. Besides this passage the phrase is found in Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12, and in all, even in the last named, with a local sense; in the domain of the heavenly; hence in accordance with the nature of the matter, it is not to be taken in any coarse, sensuous signification as measurable, limitable space, but as domain, region.

2. The word itself has in the preposition a local reference, like (1Co 15:40), but as this is to be distinguished from , (Php 2:10), so is the former from .

3. at all events is not to be taken as= , or= , but designates more indefinitely, in general, what belongs to heaven in contrast with what belongs to and is on earth, as appears from Eph 6:12, where the contest with the powers of darkness in heavenly places is spoken of in antithesis to the contest with flesh and blood.

4. The connection of the phrase with is demanded by the fact that the latter is joined with and dependent on it, and hence the latter cannot belong to the verb as a closer qualification of the act of blessing. Accordingly this added phrase says, that every spiritual blessing, which we have received, springs from a higher world, is to be sought in a heavenly region and thence to be obtained. [Ellicott with his usual exactness presents the view here upheld and now generally received; he takes the phrase as defining broadly and comprehensively the region and sphere where our true home is (Php 3:20), where our hope is laid up (Col 1:5), and whence the blessings of the Spirit, the (Heb 6:4) truly come. We may add from Alford: Materially we are yet in the body: but in the Spirit, we are in heavenonly waiting for the redemption of the body to be entirely and literally there.R.]

Accordingly it is incorrect:

a) To understand by bona not loca, with Chrysostom, Theodoret, Luther and many others; the idea of possessions is already found in (against Rueckert, Stier). Nor is Calvin right in saying: Non multum refert, subaudias locis an bonis; tantum voluit indicare prstantiam grati, qu per Christum nobis confertur, quia scilicet non in mundo, sed in clo et vita terna nos faciat bonos.

b) Grotius is in error, in referring it, to a place indeed, but to the clum summum in contrast to the regio astrifera.

c) The rendering and explanation: in heaven (Meyer, Rueckert, Harless, Stier, Schenkel and others), is not exact, passes beyond the word itself; still less is it admissible to refer it to the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven on earth, the church (Ernesti, Teller and others). [With more definiteness it is explained by Hodge: clum grati, the kingdom of grace here on earth, the heavenly state into which the believer is introduced; a view to which Eadie inclines.R.]

d) To follow Beza in joining the phrase to God, is as unjustifiable and inadmissible, as to accept with Koppe the aorist for the future, because the believers walk in heaven already in a certain sense (Php 3:20, to which Jerome and Beza refer), or quia non in mundo, sed in clo et vita terna nos faciat beatos (Calvin), or quia hc (dona) nos et spe et jure in clis collocant (Grotius). The explanation of Homberg, that it is= is altogether arbitrary and groundless.

In Christ, , indicates the mediation of the blessing (Segnen) which consists in spiritual blessing (Segen). Comp. 2Co 5:18 f. It is not propter Christum (Morus, Flatt, Meyer: in Him was contained the ground why God blessed us, which is after all equivalent to: for Christs sake). Schenkel: Outside of the fellowship with the Son there is no part in the spiritual blessing of the Father (Rom 8:9 f.). It cannot be overlooked in this Epistle, that this phrase: , is the centre and heart beat of the Apostles view. It is repeated in Eph 1:4; Eph 1:6-7; Eph 1:10-13 ff.; with the Apostle it stands in the same category as: in Adam, in Abraham. Herein ( ) is to be found the difference between the Christian and Jewish Churches, the New Testament and Old Testament people of God. In the case of the former, the blessing was not wanting, nor the spiritual, for the law is spiritual (Rom 7:14); even the every was not lacking, since Gods Word was there, the forgiveness of sins, though in incipiency, in types, in shadow (Heb 8:5 : , Col 2:17); nor yet is , heavenly places, altogether new, as though the New Testament first found place and voice there, first established itself there, while the Old Testament pointed only to the earthly Canaan (against Stier).

[Alford follows Stier, in accepting a reference to the Trinity in the threefold , but Ellicotts treatment of the phrases seems more exact: contains the predication of time (Donaldson, Gr. 574 sq.), . . the predication of manner, more exactly defined by the local predication , while is that mystical predication which, as Stier well observes, is the very soul of this Epistle, and involves all other conceptions in itself. This accords well with Braunes view, that it expresses the distinctively Christian character of the blessing here spoken of,R.]

The first foundation of the praise; Eph 1:4-6 :

The Election of eternal mercy. [Dr. Hodge thus analyzes these verses: Of these (spiritual gifts for which the Apostle blesses God) the first in order and the source of all the others is election, Eph 1:4. This election Isaiah 1. Of individuals. 2. In Christ. 3. It is from eternity. 4. It is to holiness, and to the dignity of sons of God. 5. It is founded on the sovereign pleasure of God (Eph 1:4-5). 6. Its final object is the glory of God, or the manifestation of His grace, Eph 1:6. This agrees with Braunes view, except that he substitutes the church for individuals under (1), viewing the church as an organism made up of individuals. See below and also Doctr. Note 3.R.]

Eph 1:4. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world [ ]. marks a relation, indeed a conformity of two facts, which correspond to one another: the has taken place in conformity with the ; He has blessed entirely as He has decreed in the choosing, the election. So Meyer also. That analogy is in question, according to which from the fact of the blessing a conclusion may be drawn with respect to the election. It is not merely indicated that there is an internal connection between the election and the blessing, but it is definitely stated that this carrying out corresponds to the eternal decree of God. Bengel: electio respondet, et eam subsequitur, benedictio, et patefacit. Hence is not used here as a designation of causality (Morus, Rueckert) [Hodge: because], as it is in other passages (Winer, p. Eph 417: [quoniam] quippe, siquidem); Harless takes it as an argumentative particle (=inasmuch) and says that it is related to , the latter however designating the causa, the former the modus (Rom 1:28; 1Co 1:6). [Meyer takes it as argumentative; Alford and Ellicott as explaining and expanding the foregoing, the latter admitting its causal force at times; Eadie is most exact: These spiritual blessings are conferred on us, not merely because God chose us, but they are given in perfect harmony with His eternal purpose. However true it may be that election is the cause or source of all subsequent benefits (Hodge), it is hardly safe to found such a statement on the particle .R.]

=He chose us out for Himself;34 Paul uses it only three times elsewhere (all in 1Co 1:27-28). The verb corresponds entirely to the Hebrew , as =. In the middle form it designates, both in the Old and New Testaments, an act of God, by virtue of which some rather than others especially belong to God (Harless). Although Hofmann (Schriftbeweis I. p. 223 ff.) will only admit, that in this word respect is had to that on account of which one is chosen, or respect to him who on that account is chosen or accepted, and that the stress is laid each time upon that which the chosen one thus becomes, and not upon the antithesis to those who do not become this, yet he perceives in the preposition a preference, even if only a preference above a mass to which he would otherwise belong. He refers to (1Ti 5:21), (Luk 9:35), (Luk 23:35), remarking, that the angels are thus designated as taken by God into His service, and that Christ is not elected out of the sum of humanity, to become what the rest should not become, but chosen to be, what the rest are not. , does then still mark a preference, a distinction from others, who are not what the chosen are, even if not an opposition to those, who do not become this.35 Respecting the others, in preference to whom the elect belong to God, nothing is indicated here,whether they are not chosen after all, or no longer do or can belong to the elect; just as it is not said concerning the elect, that they cannot fall away from such a relation to God. Since in 1Pe 1:1, the church is termed elect and in the conclusion (Eph 5:13) the Church at Babylon elected together with you, and elect of God (Col 3:12), for the elects sakes (2Ti 2:10), Gods elect (Rom 8:33), etc., are applied to individual Christians, because and in so far as they are members of the Church of Christ, it may be concluded, that the act of election does not concern individuals as its immediate objects, as Hofmann thinks. It is true that the , out of which they are Chosen (Joh 15:19), is not a sum of individuals, a multitude; it is rather an ethical conception. Still less is the Church a plurality, a colluvies, it is an organism, a whole. Yet God does have regard to the individuals, with Him the individual, the member, is not lost in the whole. Accordingly the explanation of Harless is to be sustained, only it must be remembered, that the individuals are not to be thought of as without connection, severed, by themselves alone, or the others as those who may not and shall not belong to God. Hofmanns opposition is right only against this unjustifiable interpolation. It is evident that Paul could apply the word chosen only to himself and the members of the Church, because only in the case of these was this fact cognizable, and must be, or at least could be, perceptible to individuals. Hence we should here, with Frank (Theologie der Form. Con. 4 p. 177), think of the world merely, out of which Christians are taken by virtue of their effectual calling, as in 1Pe 1:1; Jam 2:5; 1Co 1:27 f., not however of the totality of those called, from whom the elect, as more numerous (Mat 20:16; Mat 27:14), are to be distinguished. See further in Doctr. Note 3. Inadmissible, therefore, is the explanation: prcipuo in nos amore Deus fuit, because is also=imprimis amare vel imprimis beneficiis ornare (Morus). Comp. 2Th 2:13. It is very erroneous to suppose (Rueckert), that Paul transferred the faith of his nation, respecting the preference of their race to all the nations of the earth, to those who accepted Christianity with joy, and regarded these as the number chosen by God.

The position of the verb emphasizes this electing act of God as the main thing. It is then further defined.

First, there is added a designation of the objects, , US. By this is meant the Church of Christ, the congregatio sanctorum, the saints, who at the time make up the people of God, in whom the election, consummated in the calling, is perceptible and manifest. About the conduct of individuals, their faith, its degree or perfection, nothing is said, just as little as was expressed or indicated in (Eph 1:1). Accordingly the reference is not to individuals in themselves, to the sum of individuals at that time, but to the Church and its growth externally and internally, yet in such a way that each individual may refer it to himself.36 Richter, therefore, correctly remarks: God chooses for Himself, out of all, before others and for others. But it is also correct to say: Sic nos quoque in Christo eramus, priusquam mundus fieret, vigore scilicet electionis lern (Musculus).

Second qualification: definition of modality, in Him, , viz., Christ. By this our election is more closely defined and limited: Christ the Person, in whom we are chosen, the life-sphere, the life-element, in which we are the objects of the Divine election. Harless may be correct, in saying that it is first stated in what follows, how He has chosen us in Him, but he is incorrect in rejecting all closer definitions of expositors here as interpolated, even if they correspond with what follows. Beza (in ipso videlicet adoptandos) is very near the true explanation, but his view is more limited than the subsequent context authorizes. Our union, our external and internal connection, with Christ is marked as the modality of our election. But the act of choice is asserted as a fact: in Him He has chosen us, so that as humanity was made in Adam, as the people of Israel was separated in Abraham, so the Church was chosen in Christ; not, however, that He has merely determined to choose us. Accordingly it is entirely improper to read (Alex., Morus, Holzhausen), nor is it= (Ethiop. Vers.), or= , (Theophylact and others), or per Christum et Christi merita prvisa (A-Lapide, Bullinger), or propter Christum (Glassius, Flatt). Finally, it is arbitrary and incorrect to join with , since is wanting and follows.

[Olshausen, Ellicott: In Christ, as the head and representative of spiritual, as Adam was the representative of natural humanity. In the proper and final sense this can be said only of His faithful ones, His Church, who are incorporated in Him by the Spirit. But in any sense, all Gods election is in Him only (Alford)). Hodge: In Christ, i.e., as united to Him in the covenant of redemption; on the ground of the federal union which precedes the actual union. So Eadie. Meyer is less exact: The divine act of our election has in Christ its determining ground. Outside this connection of the divine decree of election with Christ we would not be chosen; but in Christ there lay for God the causa meritoria of our election. This is really equivalent to propter Christum.R.]

Third qualification: a temporal definition, before the foundation of the world, . Used by Paul only here, but found in Joh 17:24; 1Pe 1:20. In Mat 25:34; Luk 11:50; Heb 3:4 : and ; Mat 13:35 : . The preposition denotes that the election took place before the creation, and, since designates the foundation, the groundwork, before the beginning of the carrying out of the well-ordered plan of creation. Thus the reference to the eternity preceding time is made very strong,37 stronger than in (1Co 2:7; comp. 2Ti 1:9; Rom 16:25; Col 1:26; Eph 3:9; Eph 3:11). The election precedes the creation: the fulfilment of the former is justified in creation and its history, in the history of the world. Harless: The plainest parallel is 2Ti 1:9 : who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Olshausen (with Stier also) properly rejects the idea of a real, individual existence of believers before the creation in the Divine mind, but Christs existence with the Father before the creation of the world is unmistakably indicated (Stier). Bengel: Hc prsupponunt ternitatem filii Dei, namque filius, ante mundum factum erat objectum amoris paterni non futurum tantummodo, sed jam turn prsens, Joh 17:5; Joh 17:24. [Alford (after Stier): How utterly irreconcilable pantheism is with this, Gods election before laying the foundation of the world, of His people in His Son.R.]

That we should be holy and without blame before him [ ].The infinitive adds a supplement to the previous clause, to the phrase in particular, and is to be taken as epexegetical (Winer, p. 298), giving prominence to the end, purpose and result of the election. The position of marks the existence, the actualized reality aimed at in the pretemporal, eternal choice. Eph 3:4; Eph 3:6 ( , . . .) is similar.

Whether we are to understand the then present realization, just begun, or the consummation, begun in the church militant, or the completed reality in the church triumphant, cannot be determined from the adjectives holy and without blame, but must be found in the phrase , before Him. It is not necessary to write , with Harless, Stier and others. Bengel has remarked (App. ad Mat 1:21), and Tischendorf [Prf. N. T., p. 58 f. ed. 7], corroborates it, that before , we constantly find , , , , , never , , , , , so that in the New Testament the reflexive form is never used, but in its stead . Thus too it happens that is referred in quick succession to different subjects, as Mar 8:22; Mar 9:27-29 (Winer, pp. 141, 14338). From the Apostles point of view is quite correct, and to be understood of God, even though refers to Christ. To the phrase corresponds the Hebrew , coram Deo. According to this we must accept a reference to the present life, and not to the Judgment. The context at all events gives no support for the reference to the Judgment, which He will hold at the end of days. The parallel passage, Col 1:22 : to present holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight, as well as the now (Eph 1:21), and if at least ye continue (Eph 1:23) refer definitely to the present state.39 This is confirmed by a comparison with Jude 24: to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. We must evidently apply this to the Judgment before God in eternity, but the expression is modified in accordance with this meaning. Hence Stier is mistaken in regarding our passage as applicable to the last flaming glance of the holy Judge, who can and will be the perfectly righteous and eternal beatifying God alone (Heb 12:23). Schenkel too is not satisfied with the reminder that He is the knower of hearts, but refers to His great Judgment day.

[Meyer renders this phrase: judice Deo, in connection with his view of the forensic reference of the adjectives holy and without blame. But the reference to sanctification is to be preferred, and hence if before Him does not refer to the last Judgment, it must mean: vere, sincere (Beza, Ellicott; so Eadie). Alford: In the deepest verity of our being, thoroughly penetrated by the Spirit of holiness, bearing His searching eye; but at the same time implying an especial nearness to His presence and dearness to Himand bearing a foretaste of the time when the elect shall be , Rev 7:15.R.]

With our view then holy and unblamable cannot of course mean the complete holiness, which is the original end of the first choosing, as its attained goal before the throne of God, as Stier thinks, or humanity cleansed from all the defilements of sin, which, according to Schenkel, is the end of the Divine election. , holy, can scarcely be taken in any other sense than that of Eph 1:1, designating one consecrated to God. The distinction between its meaning here and Eph 1:1 is to be found in the qualifications: . This state of consecration is therefore a reality, not merely a being called, a name (although even this latter is not a mere sound, a non-entity), a reality too before God, and not merely before men. Accordingly here must in some way mark the internal effects upon the subject, connected with this state of consecration; so that is very naturally added.

corresponds to the Hebrew , unblemished, and is to be rendered neither irreprehensus (Morus) nor irreprehensibilis (2Pe 3:14; Php 2:15, where the form is ), even though this is the original meaning (Passow sub voce). It is applied strictly to the sacrificial animal (1Pe 1:9) which is also consecrated to God.40 The two words are joined together elsewhere (Eph 5:27; Col 1:22); in the first passage they are used of the church (not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing), in the latter, which is parallel to our verse, is added. Hence we are reminded of Rom 8:33 : Who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods elect? It is God that justifieth, and have to do with those who are transferred (Eph 1:5), who are partakers of redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), among whom all this is inward, living truth, the vital beginning of a glorious conclusion, so that advance is ever made toward holiness (1Pe 1:15-16), and the saying in the Apocalypse (Rev 22:11) is verified: he that is holy, let him be holy still, which indeed finds a further verification in eternity. Thus both a condition, a subjective, state, and more especially a position, which is to be and has been occupied, a station into which they have come and live, are meant, and not merely a judgment. The words of Koppe, which Harless recalls, are apt: non tum ad virtutis studium, quam potius ad dignitatem Christianorum, qua tanquam homines innocentes sibique caros Deus eos tractat, est referendum, idem quod alias in epp. Pauli est . Accordingly without further qualification does not refer to inward, actual sanctification (Stier). Such limitations as: nisi confecto nostro stadio (Calov.), quantum quidem hujus in mortali vita per Dei ipsius gratiam et carnis nostr infirmitatem fieri potest (Calixtus), are as inadmissible as the explanation of Baumgarten-Crusius, that the final end of the matter of Christianity is found in moral worth, or Rueckerts opinion, that it was the Apostles peculiarity, to idealize everything.

[Modern English commentators accept the distinction of Meyer respecting these two words: the first presents the positive, the second the negative side; but there is an unusual agreement among them against the reference to justification, which Braune, Meyer, Olshausen, Harless, Koppe and others favor. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Calvin, Stier, Hodge, Eadie, Ellicott, Alford and others, apply the adjectives to sanctification. And with good reason: For an ultimate result is here spoken of, and Paul who had stamped the technical sense on so many Greek words before this Epistle was written, would have made the other meaning plain by using such words here. Dr. Hodge deduces very properly these statements: If men are chosen to be holy, they cannot be chosen because they are holy. Holiness is the only evidence of election.R.]

In love, .Of course, His, Gods love. This phrase, at the close of Eph 1:4, must be connected grammatically with the following participle, thus standing in emphatic position. The Greek is much freer in the position of words than the German; where the latter must help out the meaning with particles, the former requires only change of position; still it never goes beyond bounds in this respect. It cannot be connected with chose (Oecumen., Thomas, Flacius, Baumgarten, Flatt, and others), since it stands entirely too far and too decidedly removed from that verb; and must be regarded as trailing after it. Nor yet is the connection with holy and blameless (Ambrosiaster, Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Beza, Grotius [evangelii, is in love], Wolf, Rueckert [dubiously], Morus, Matthies, Heubner [E. V., Alford, Hodge], admissible; although (Jud 1:24) and (2Pe 3:14) occur, yet it is in such close union as to form one idea; the phrase could be separated from its adjective by before Him, only in case the latter were adopted to be included with the adjective as one idea, which was to be qualified; but Paul uses without any qualification (Eph 1:27; Col 1:22), and the proper exposition excludes this connection, which has mainly subserved the Romanist and Rationalistic view. Accordingly most (from the Peshito to Tischendorf) have upheld the conection with as the only admissible one.

[The connection with the adjectives favors the reference to sanctification in those words, giving this sense: we are chosen to be placed in a state of moral excellence which consists in love (Hodge). But this author is as little justified in saying that the reference to sacrificial purification occasioned the connection with the following participle, as Braune is, in affirming that the connection with the adjectives has mainly subserved the Romanist and Rationalistic view. Neither of these statements affect the question. Alford has an able defence of the ordinary connection. Besides arguing that throughout this long sentence the verbs and particle precede their qualifying clauses, since the verbs are emphatic, giving prominence to Gods act, not His attribute, he holds that this qualification is highly appropriate: , that which man lost at the Fall, but which God is, and to which God restores man by redemption, is the great element in which, as their abode and breathing-place, all Christian graces subsist, and in which, emphatically, all perfection before God must be found. All which is true, but not sufficient to overcome the grammatical objections to this view. Dr. Hodge says that predestinated has a subsequent qualification, hence it would be tautological to join in love, to it, but as Ellicott intimates, the two qualifying phrases point to two different attributes; one to the loving mercy, the other to the sovereign power of God. The view of Braune, is that of the Peshito, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Augustine, Jerome, Bengel, Koppe, Storr, Harless, De Wette, Olshausen, Holzhausen, Stier, Turner, Eadie, Ellicott, Meyer, Bleek; also Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann, Tischendorf. The list might be enlarged, but is long enough to sustain the last remark of Braune against Hodges assertion that the majority of commentators adopt the construction followed by our translators.R.]

Eph 1:5. In love having predestinated us [ ]., to determine beforehand; points out, that the determination existed before the thing or person to be destined, and is to be more closely defined only by the context: before the foundation of the world (Harless, Stier, Meyer, and others), hence beforehand, not before others (Baumgarten). The participle is associated with : , or . Thus the Greek expresses it, not indicating a chronological sequence; the temporal relation is not touched upon. The aorist indeed denotes the concluded action without reference to the past or present; the matter spoken of is before time. Similarly Eph 1:8; Eph 1:11; Eph 1:13; Eph 1:20. The participle denotes, therefore, not priority of fact, but only the attendant manner (Harless). Homberg is incorrect: postquam nos prdestinavit adoptandos, elegit etiam nos, ut simus sancti. In that case we should have found at all events, . When the Apostle says (Rom 8:30): whom he did predestinate, them he also called, without mentioning the election, we must find the latter included in the first ante-temporal act, not in the other act of accomplishment, taking place in time. Nor can it be inferred from Rom 8:29 : whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, that the predestination was preceded temporally by a particular act, that of foreknowing, quite as little as the two notions are to be confounded.

[As regards the relation of priority, Alford and Stier, take the election as antecedent to the predestination, the former regarding the in this passage as ranking with the in Rom 8:29. On the other hand Hodge implies just the reverse, that the election is based on the preceding predestination. Ellicott too regards the participle as temporal, not modal, and its action as prior to, not synonymous with, that of . He takes it as=quum prdestinavit, after He had, & c., but Meyer says that predestinatio is never elsewhere distinguished from electio, as antecedent to it. Eadie too takes the participle as synchronous with the verb, which is safest where there is no grammatical necessity for insisting on the temporal qualification (see, however, Winer, p. 321). It is not well to dogmatize about the order in the Divine mind, especially on so slender a basis as that afforded by the Greek aorist participle.R.]

The phrase in love, coming first, marks with special emphasis the motive of the predestination. In hac epistola regnat amo, amor, amatus; ipsi principio epistol congruit (Bengel). This precedence is like Eph 3:18 : . What is thus demanded by the thought, and confirmed by the form of language, is certainly not contradicted, as will appear, by what follows: , which is not added tautologically, as some (Matthies and others) suppose.

, us, is the object, as in Eph 1:4; but it must be noticed, that we have here, not or some such collective notion, but . Hence it cannot be said with Schenkel: The predestination applies to the whole of the Divine decree of salvation, the election to the individual persons in whom it is accomplished. So much only is correct, that the thought does not respect individuals as such, a colluvies, a multitude, but the church and its members, or the individuals as members of an organism, but in the predestination, just as in the election (Eph 1:4). Comp. Rom 8:29 f. Eadie makes a far better distinction between and : The end pre-appointed, is implied in the one; the mass out of which the choice is made, is glanced at by the other. So Ellicott.R.]

Unto adoption, . This designates, in distinction from (1Ti 2:15), adoption ( , ); we are not children by nature, like Christ, but only by grace. Adoption is a rich conception, not at all a simple matter, and its actualization has a very significant history; it did not come to maturity at once, but has a development from primary stages, preceded by grand preparatory stages, unto its completion in eternity. To the Old Testament Israel belonged the adoption (Rom 9:4, to which are added the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of the sanctuary, the promises); even the Christians are waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body (Rom 8:23). An explanatory parallel to our verse is found in Rom 8:29 : He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren; Rom 8:30 (he also glorified) however points yet deeper, so that we must recall the bold words of Peter (2Pe 1:4): that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, as well as those of Paul (Rom 8:17): If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. Comp. Gal 4:5-7; 1Th 2:12; 2Th 2:14; 1Jn 3:2. Hence it is not a formula solemnis ad Christianam religionem adducere (Koppe), nor to be referred in general and indefinitely to the benefits, which distinguish Christians from other men (Flatt), nor yet futura beatitate ornari, adeo amari Deumque redamare (Morus), nor can it be said: veni peccatorum morte Christi part certa spe verissime constat (Tittmann).

[Hodge: Sonship in reference to God includes,1. Participation of His nature or conformity to His image. 2. The enjoyment of His favor, or being the special objects of His love. 3. Heirship, or a participation of the glory and blessedness of God. Sometimes one and sometimes another of these ideas is the most prominent. In the present case it is the second and third. Meyer has a good note in loco on .R.]

Through Jesus Christ unto himself, .Against the reading , see the close of Eph 1:4. with the genitive retains the meaning per, through, marking the mediator, cannot therefore be: propter (Moldenhauer). Comp. Joh 14:6. The person of the Lord must be regarded as that of the mediator. Even though we find in Gal 3:26 : , there the subjective mediation which proceeds from the Object of faith, the mediator, is marked, here the objective, to which the former will not be wanting. We take as referring to God; should Jesus Christ be meant, the reading must be, . Hence the explanation is incorrect: in conformitatem ejus (Christi) per fidem et bonos mores (Anselm and others). But the preposition must retain the sense unto or into Him, as is required by those passages cited in the last paragraph, which indicate the final end of the . Hence it is not so much an explanatory addition (Harless), as an adjoined supplement (Stier). The explanation: ad gloriam grati su (Piscator, Morus), is in any case insufficient. It is impossible to take as=the Hebrew , sibi (Grotius, Wolf, Koppe following the paraphrase of Bucer: Qui prdestinavit pridem nos, ut in filios sibi per Jesum Christumadoptaret). Passavant weakens it into: up to God. Nor is it= (Calvin, Beza, Calixtus); and just as little a circumlocution for the genitive , qualifying (Rueckert). Meyer is excellent: How rich and entirely Grecian Paul is precisely in his prepositional expressions, by which he never represents a mere relation of case.

[Among the various opinions respecting , and the shadings of signification attached to it, the view of Ellicott seems most satisfactory: In these deeper theological passages the preposition seems to bear its primary (= Donaldson, Cratylus, 170) and most comprehensive sense of to and into (see Rost u. Palm. Lex. s. v.); the idea of approach ( , Theophylact) being also blended with and heightened by that of inward union; comp. notes on Gal 3:27. We may thus paraphrase, God predestinated us to be adopted as His sons; and that adoption came to us through Christ, and was to lead us into, and unite us to God,R.]

According to the good pleasure of his will, . can indeed mean good will, as in Luk 2:14; Php 1:15; Php 2:13; 2Th 1:11, or wish, arbitrium, or Mat 11:26; Luk 10:21. Here however it is equivalent to , Eph 1:11 : , and the sense is that what was ordained in love, He ordained according to () the determination of His will. As (Eph 1:4) denotes the principle of the ordaining, here cannot mean good will. It is the substantive answering to (frequentative from , Ion., ), to seem good, as Act 15:22; Act 15:25; Act 15:28=beneplacitum, and is distinguished from (, the inclinational41 act of willing (while designates the ethical act), only in this, that it refers more to deliberation, choice. Comp. Tittmann, Syn. I. p. 124 ff. Hence the interpretations of Theodoret ( ), Suidas (from Theodoret ad Psa 5:12; ), Beza (benevolentia), Luther, Morus (pro benevolo suo consilio), Harless, (according to the kindness of His will), Olshausen, Heubner [Eadie, not Meyer as the German indicates,R.] and others, are incorrect.

[The two meanings of here under discussion are: 1. beneplacitum, mere good pleasure; 2. benevolentia. Undoubtedly in this case Gods good pleasure was also His benevolentia, but to which does the Apostle here refer? The usage of the LXX. favors the latter meaning, but in the New Testament both occur. The context must decide. It favors meaning (1), for (a) the idea of benevolence in the highest degree was already introduced as a qualification in , admitting that the phrase is to be joined with this verse. (b) The phrases occurring afterwards in Eph 1:9; Eph 1:11 point to this meaning, especially (Eph 1:11). (c) The reference being to the actor exclusively and not to the objects of the action, this meaning brings them less into view (Ellicott, after De Wette). The proper safe-guard against the notion of bare arbitrary decree is found in . So substantially but with an occasional tendency to press the sense too far, Grotius, Erasmus, Calvin, Bengel, Flatt, Rueckert, De Wette, Meyer (the free self-determination independent of all human desert is here meant), Bleek, Hodge, Alford, Ellicott. Nor does this view make the ground for thanksgiving the less, as Eadie implies.We accept here in the simple sense of will, reserving the discussion of its precise meaning for a subsequent page.B.] The explanation of Chrysostom ( , ) is to be rejected.

Eph 1:6. Unto the praise of the glory of his grace, . points to the , who now praise, as those who have been blessed by the sonship and heirship, and renders prominent, that Gods ultimate aim is the blessedness of His creatures, of His Own. For is to be taken in connection with as forming the conclusion; it reaches unto the praise from him who has been pardoned. The object of the praise is the glory, but not glory in itself, or Gods glory, but of his grace ( not , see on Eph 1:4). is , the latter is however more general, the former more special, marking love, which condescends, like the German Gnade (see on Eph 1:2), or which acts upon , , making or being (lovely). This then is, principally, the object of the praise, which lauds indeed the glory of the grace. This glory is the object of the praise, Eph 1:12; Eph 1:14, where we find: . It is remarkable that the article is omitted here before ; but is not the main idea, but , and we should render (according to Winer, p. 179): To the praise of His glory in grace (Gnadenherrlichkeit), so that forms one conception. Still it is altogether inadmissible to explain the genitive as a Hebraism for the adjective ; Paul was acquainted with that adjective (Eph 5:27; 1Co 4:10) and did not select it here. This is equally true, whether it be joined with , as meaning: to glorious praise (Grotius, Estius), or to : to the praise of His glorious grace (Luther, Beza, Morus, Koppe, Flatt, and others).

[Meyer: The glorifying of the Divine love (which however is here designated, according to its definite peculiarity, as grace, because it concerns what is sinful, Eph 2:1 ff) is the final end of the Divine predestination. Ellicott: As Chrysostom appears rightly to have felt, is a pure substantive, and serves to specify that peculiar quality or attribute of the which forms the subject of the praise.R.]

Which he freely bestowed upon us [ ]On the attraction for according to the well-known expression , see Winer, p. 154, and the Textual Note6. Similar cases, Eph 4:1; 2Co 1:4. =gratia aliquem afficere; but gratia may be taken in the subjective or objective sense, so that this means either: He has made lovely, pleasing, or: He has dispensed grace, favor. The word occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in Luk 1:28 (the salutation of the angel to Mary: , where either meaning may be accepted, or both combined (Stier in loco.) [The objective sense is certainly to be preferred in Luk 1:28; for to take the other view involves at least a quasi support of very untenable dogmas. On the force of Greek verbs in , see Eadie, Harless, Ellicott.R.] It also occurs in the LXX. (Sir 9:8; Sir 18:17), and in the first sense. The reading supports the first view; the reading the other. For the former was evidently accepted in the Syriac version, and aptly reproduced: quam effudit super nos, so that His grace has not remained and does not remain fruitless. So the Vulgate: gratificavit. Chrysostom: , ; Theodoret, Theophylact, cumenius to the same effect. A-Lapide: Gratiosos nos reddidit, scilicet gratiam suam nobis communicando et infundendo. Luther: Angenehm gemachi, made pleasant. Beza: Gratis nos sibi acceptos reddidit; so Stier and others. The second view is held by Bengel (gratia amplexus est), Baumgarten, Koppe, Flatt, Harless, Rueckert, Schenkel and others. At all events with the perspective reaching unto the praise of the glory of His grace, we must not leave out of view the result of pardoning, the effect of the on the , who become ; here, where the Apostle closes his first circle of thought (Stier), there is at the same time a reference to the goal aimed at from the pardon. Accordingly us applies not merely to Paul and his readers or contemporaries, but to all believers.

[The subjective sense may be involved, but the other seems decidedly preferable. Alford says the subjective meaning of does not seem to occur in the N. T., certainly not in St. Paul. He very properly argues for the other meaning, from the indefinite aorist, referring to an act once past in Christ, not to an abiding state which He has brought about in us. Also from the context which is all of Gods grace. So Ellicott, Eadie, Meyer, Hodge. The Romanist expositors find in the other sense a support for their doctrine of justitia inhrens.R.]

In the beloved, .This contains a reference to , Bengel aptly says: Autonomasia, opportuna. Amor plus significat, quam gratia. 1Pe 2:10 : ubi de iis, qui misericordiam consecuti sunt, ea dicuntur, supra qu , amatus longe eminet; necessario prsupponit prviam miseriam, sed amor non item. The Beloved, , (Col 1:13; Mat 3:17), by God the Father, not ab omnibus (Pelagius), is the Only Begotten, the Son of God by nature, Christ; He is the object of the love () of the Father, not needing , as we; only through the grace of God in Christ do we become objects of His love; as . Accordingly this distinction is not to be made use of in favor of the second meaning of , as is done by Harless. The preposition must be retained as marking our fellowship with Christ, who is our life-sphere; hence it is not= , propter (Grotius and others). We are rather reminded of the verse: Vor dir sonst nichts gilt, als Dein eigen Bild. [Before thee nothing passes current but thine own image.] In Him, the image of God, we have, not only objectively, but subjectively also, the grace, that we are well-pleasing to God.

[Eadie: We, as adopted children, are indeed loved, but there is another, the Son, the own Beloved Son. It was not, therefore, affection craving indulgence, or eager for an object on which to expend itself, that led to our adoption. There was no void in His bosom, the loved One lay in it.R.]

second foundation of the praise; Eph 1:7-12. The carrying out of the eternal decree.

Eph 1:7. In whom we have the [or our] redemption through his blood [ ].Comp. Col 1:14. We have, the first present tense of the whole discourse, and very emphatic (Stier). Hence it immediately follows , in whom. With this a new circle of thought begins, pointing to the already experienced accomplishment of the Divine eternal decree, even though just begun. The preposition is to be taken in its strict meaning: for only within the Person of the Beloved, Christ, are we in the possession and enjoyment of redemption. Christs work is inseparable from His Person; we have redemption, not in His work without His Person, but in His Person, which with His work is a living unity (Olshausen). Hence it will not suffice to explain: in fellowship with Him (Winer, p. 364, note 7), while it is altogether incorrect to take it as= , (Flatt, Koppe), even though the phrase through His blood be adjoined, and the explanation be: cujus morti cruent debeo; so Morus: propter quem. Schenkel appears to interpolate per in his explanation: by means of the fellowship with Him through faith. [Hodge seems to have lost the force of the phrase, weakening it into, i.e., not in ourselves, and then taking by his blood as explanatory. Ellicott, Eadie, Alford all catch more or less of the true view so aptly expressed by Olshausen.R.]

We are having! Believers, Christians are in possession of a property. The possession is marked, not the receiving, or having received; hence is not=assecutum esse, or assequi.

[Eadie is still better: We are ever needing, and so are ever having it. The objective sense, there is for us, adopted by Alford, following Harless, underlies the expressed and emphatic subjective one; the latter is not merely an implied import, but the prominent thought.R.]

The subject treated of is a bonum novi testamenti (Bengel)42 . This word points to a redemption through ransom. This idea is a prevalent one, even in the New Testament, where our Lord so uses it (Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45 : to give His life a ransom for many), and Paul, 1Ti 2:6 : , Tit 2:14 : 1Co 6:20; 1Co 7:23; Gal 3:13 : , Act 20:28 : . Still the expiation, indicated in the Lords saying, appears also, as in Rom 3:23-25. Manifesto satis eam mortis vim indicat, qu sacrificio confertur piaculari (Fritzsche). Here indeed the thought of an expiatory sacrifice seems to be the prominent one, since through his blood is added (comp. Lev 17:1, Harless). We may however take the blood of Christ as the ransom price. The powers and evils, indicated in the preposition , from which believers are and shall be snatched, are according to Stier, the wrath to come (1Th 1:10), the present evil world (Gal 1:4), the power of darkness (Col 1:13), all unrighteousness (Tit 2:14), vain conversation after the ways of their fathers (1Pe 1:18); indeed the extirpation and compensation of all the evil in which we have involved ourselves with our transgressions (Pfenninger). Though the word may have in passages, such as Eph 4:30; Rom 8:23; 1Co 1:30, a more general signification, the original reference being supplanted or obliterated, here this is marked by the context. Harless indeed is correct, in maintaining against Romanist expositors (such as A-Lapide), that it designates not merely a subjective condition; but he should not have based on the presence of the article the statement that abstract nouns without the article merely designate that the generic notion has become real as a subjective possession.

Through his blood, .Meyer regards this as entirely like (Eph 2:13), remarking that Paul was very fond of prepositional variations (2Co 3:11). The former, however, describes rather the mediation, which may be in constant movement, as here; while the latter points to an existing life-sphere or fact, in which indeed that mediation must be consummated. Hence the Apostle is not influenced by likings or beauty of diction, etc., but by a shading of the thought.In the Person of Christ as the Only Begotten, is given to us, as to all believers, Redemption by means of His blood, as an offering and ransom-price, and now we are having such a gift. Though Heb 9:12-14 is to be compared with our passage, still we may not introduce here, as is done by Koppe, the sacrificial worship of the ancient nations, according to which through a sinless offering past sins were extirpated and the angered divinity reconciled, as though Paul had made use of this.

[Alford: It is a noteworthy observation of Harless here, that the choice of the word, the Blood of Christ, is of itself a testimony to the idea of expiation having been in the writers mind. Not the death of the victim, but its Blood, was the typical instrument of expiation. I may notice that in Php 2:8, where Christs obedience, not His atonement, is spoken of, there is no mention of His shedding His blood, only of the act of His Death. This was the price, . As Eadie well says: The nexus we may not be able to discover fully, butthe death of Christ has governmental relations, has an influence on our salvation totally different in nature and sphere of operation, from its subjective power in subduing the heart by the love which it presents, and the thrilling motives which it brings to bear upon it.R.]

The forgiveness of our transgressions, .Luther joins this with the foregoing thus: namely, the forgiveness of sins, thus taking it, and correctly, as epexegetical (Winer, p. 492). [So the E. V. in the parallel passage, Col 1:14.R.] This implies, that the more comprehensive expression, redemption, is to be limited, contains more than is involved in the context, ; the forgiveness of transgressions renders emphatically prominent one principal element, on which indeed another depends. Accordingly it cannot be said, that the Apostle defines the nature of the redemption with this epexegetical addition (Harless) [Meyer]. It is just as erroneous to extend the epexegetical phrase on account of the first expression, and to explain forgiveness of transgressions as taking away of sins (Berlenb. Bible). Paul now takes out as chief the first thing: the forgiveness of sins (Stier). Fritzsche aptly remarks (Rom 3:25) on the distinction between and :43 Conveniunt in hoc, quod sive illa, sive hc tibi obtigerit nulla peccatorum tuorum ratio habetur; discrepant eo, quod hac data facinorum tuorum pnas nunquam pendes, illa concessa non diutius nullas peccatorum tuorum pnas lues, quam ei in iis connivere placuerit, cui in delicta tua animadvertendi jus sit. Further the genitive of refers only to individual facts, and, since these can neither be undone or extirpated, we must understand pardon alone; Olshausen is incorrect in laying no weight upon the form , (Col 1:14), and including also the sinful condition, the inborn sinfulness, understanding here absolutely all that is sinful.44 Although he is correct in saying that the appropriation of this forgiveness of sins as a fact cannot be conceived of, without the transformation of the man proceeding from it as a consequence, yet we must still maintain that nothing is said here about the latter, but only that redemption, like the forgiveness, has its complete objective reality entirely irrespective of the subjective state of the individuals (Harless). [Accepting this view, which is that of Hodge, Eadie and others, we must deny Alfords remark, that this phrase is not to be limited, but is at least equipollent with .R.]

According to the riches of his grace. evidently designates the grace of God, not of Christ, as the ultimate ground of the fact of Redemption, and corresponding () to the depth and importance of the same in its riches. Similarly Eph 2:7 : , Rom 2:4 : , Rom 9:23; Col 1:27; Eph 3:16 : . Hence it is not=gratia liberalissima (Koppe). Instead of attested by . and B., and to be retained here, more frequently occurs. [Comp. Textual Note3.] Passavant aptly says: We have in this grace not only deliverance from misery and curse, not only forgivenesswe find in it the freedom, the glory, the heritage of the children of God, the crown of eternal life.

[Alford is not correct in saying this clause of itself prevents the limitation of to mere forgiveness. Eadie seems to catch the spirit of the passage best. Atonement is not in antagonism with grace. For the opulence of His grace is seen not only in its innumerable forms and varieties of operation among men, but also in the unasked and unmerited provision of such an atonementas the blood of the Beloved One.R.] With the forgiveness of sin we gain access to all the treasures of Divine grace (Gerlach). Hence the Apostle continues as in the following verse.

Eph 1:8. Which he made to abound toward us[ ]., referring to , which is imparted, not parted, cannot be, as in Luk 15:17 : , a partitive genitive (Erasmus: de qua ubertim nobis impartivit); but is here an attraction for , since the is to be rendered, transitively in accordance with the context (Eph 1:9 : ), and with the accusative like 2Co 9:8 ( ; comp. Eph 4:15; 1Th 3:12). Theophylact aptly says: . It is not in accordance with the language or context to take it as instead of (Vulgate: qu superabundavit) or (Calvin: qua redundavit). [So E. V., but such an attraction of the dative is not found in the New Testament, while the attraction of the nominative (Vulgate) is scarcely possible.R.] , into us He has caused His grace to flow abundantly.

In all wisdom and prudence [ 45].The word , without the article, designates every one there is (Winer, p. 105). Comp. Eph 1:2; Col 4:12. sets forth the multiplicity, fulness, always extensiveness, never intensity, force (Harless); hence it is not=summa (Wahl, Rueckert). cannot be taken as exact synonymes (Koppe), nor so distinguished, that the former is used de prterito et prsenti, de his, qu Deus facit (Eph 1:17), the latter de futuro, de his, qu nos faciemus (Anselm, Bengel). Wisdom designates rather a normal state of the mind in the centre of intelligence, prudence the special turning of the same in different directions; (Pro 10:23); the latter is subordinate to the former. Besides this formal distinction, the material difference must be considered: Wisdom grasps Gods doings, perceives and understands His counsels of grace, prudence is directed to what we have to do, looks at our problem and how to solve it; the former clearly sees the relations ordered by God, the latter regulates our conduct accordingly. Thus every kind of wisdom and prudence is indicated by all, and in marks that God has caused His grace to flow abundantly into us, in the gift of all wisdom and prudence. So also in the parallel passage, Col 1:9 : . Accordingly this is not to be taken as=manifold wisdom (Eph 3:10), and, as in (Eph 1:5), to be joined with the following (Jerome, Chrys., Semler, [Eadie], and others), nor to be applied to God, to whom indeed (1Ki 3:28; Jer 10:12) may be ascribed, but not in such a way as to mean that not only is all wisdom and prudence in Him, but that He acts, does this or that in all wisdom and prudence (Harless).

[The view here defended is also that of Harless, Meyer and Ellicott, the three most exact commentators on this Epistle. Comp. the note of the last named on the meaning, reference and connection of these words. Alford follows De Wette in referring them to God, taking the same view of the connection as given above, while Eadie refers them to man, but connects them with . Hodge joins this phrase to the object of the verb instead of to the verb itself, and inexactly renders the preposition : in connection with, together with; his view of is also objectionable.R.]

Eph 1:9. Having made known to us. denotes, as in Eph 1:4-5, the manner of the (Winer, p. 322), explaining in all wisdom and prudence. The verb means to make known, without stating any thing as to the means used. Comp. Eph 3:3; Eph 3:5; Gal 1:12; Col 1:25. [The perfect participle in English is indefinite, and serves best to express the idea of the Greek aorist participle, which here denotes an act coincident, and terminating synchronously with the finite verb (Meyer, Ellicott). The best paraphrase would be: in that He made known (Alford).R.].Us means Christians, believers, not merely Paul or the Apostles.

The mystery of his will, .[The genitive is that of the object: the mystery concerning His will (Meyer, Ellicott, Alford and now Eadie). On see Eph 1:11.R.] This mystery is the object made known. He terms it of Christ in Eph 3:10, because He is the Mediator of the same; of the gospel, Eph 6:19, because it is thereby proclaimed; of faith, of godliness, 1Ti 3:9; 1Ti 3:16, because it is comprehended and preserved only by faith, and the fear of God in faith; here of his will, because it is willed by God. It is the decree of Redemption in Christ. In Eph 3:9; Col 1:25-26; Rom 16:25-26; 1Co 3:7-10, its depth and concealment as well as its revelation are described. This decree, a secret from all eternity in the fullest sense for the Gentiles, hinted and adumbrated in Israel by prophecies and types, is now manifest in Christ, to those only, however, who are true believers (1Co 3:12), to those who are lost, it remains concealed (2Co 4:3). It is a secret which has become public, ceasing henceforth to be a secret, yet ever having and still retaining in itself what surpasses all reason (Harless, Stier).

According to his good pleasure, , defines more closely the , having made known.Comp. Eph 1:5. [The making known is thus defined as having taken place in strict dependence, both in time and manner, on the will of God (Alford, Ellicott). Eadie retains here the meaning benevolentia, which is quite inadmissible, more so than in Eph 1:5.R.]

Which he purposed in himself, .The determination is thus marked as an internal one, so as to give prominence to its freedom; hence we should read (Harless, Tischendorf), not (Meyer). [The latter reading is adopted by Alford, Eadie, Ellicott, all of them claiming that if the pronoun refers to God (and we cannot well accept any other reference) the reflexive form is necessary. In Eph 1:5, they urge, another idea had intervened, hence was there sufficiently explicit, but here the immediate connection with the verb and its subject requires the form . This is opposed to the theory advanced in Eph 1:5, that this reflexive form never occurs in the New Testament; but it is safer to accept this reading than to refer the pronoun to Christ.R.]

In the compound verb , sibi proponere (Bengel, Passow sub voce), the preposition is local (Meyer): to put before ones self, not temporal=beforehand. So also in , ver.11; Rom 1:13; Rom 3:25; Act 3:20 (); 2Co 9:7 (). Accordingly is not=good pleasure (Luther), gracious purpose (Harless), and is not to be referred to Christ (Chrysostom, Luther: hervorgebracht durch Ihn, Bengel), nor is =ante constituit (Anselm), apud se retinuit (Calvin). [As Meyer remarks, this purpose is to be regarded as taking place before the foundation of the world, but the preposition does not express this.R.]

Eph 1:10. Unto the dispensation of the fulness of times [ ].This verse follows, setting forth the goal, of the . designates the tendency, the aim, as in Eph 4:30; Gal 3:17; Gal 3:23 (Winer, p. 371), with a view to which He purposed in Himself; hence it is to be closely joined with , not with (Bengel), which is too remote. Of course is not=in (Vulgate), nor usque ad (Erasmus, Calvin), for which , , would be used. [Hodge and Eadie: with reference to, a view of the preposition which Meyer often favors, but which fails to bring out its full force here.R.]

, from , is stewardship (Luk 16:2); it is transferred to the spiritual sphere in Eph 3:2; Eph 3:6; 1Ti 1:4. The original meaning is modified in two ways, according as the word in its connection designated the activity of a governing or subordinate subject; in the first case: arrangement, disposition, in the second: management, execution (Harless). Thus the context in 1Co 9:17 defines the word in the second sense, of the apostolic office and service. Here God, and that towards which He has formed a purpose, are spoken of; so it here means: unto, with a view to the disposition. Luther correctly renders the of the aim, but limits too much: that it may be preached; so Grotius: ut suo demum tempore publicaret. Theophylact () and the Vulgate (dispensatio) restrict it too much. Rueckerts complaint about the omission of the article is entirely unnecessary, as in Rom 1:1, which is a parallel for cur passage, we read: , unto the gospel of God. The article is wanting on account of the following genitive, which defines our word more fully, and is to be joined most closely with it; so (Php 2:16)=Lebenswort, Word of life, , day of Christ. Comp. Winer, p. 118 ff. According to this, we should take the phrase to mean: fulfilmenteconomy.

The genitive defines then more closely. Verbo et perspe utitur Paulus ad Ephesios et Colossenses (Bengel). According to the well-known investigations of Fritzsche (Ad Romans 2. p. 473, and a Dissertation, Rostock, 1839)although Hofmann (Schriftbeweis, I. 2, p. 118) denies the active and passive senses of the word, seeking to prove that its meaning is: contents, full amount, complement [i. e., the first of the following senses] signifies (1) id quo res impletur [this is often called the active sense, but is not strictly so, see on Eph 1:23.R.], (2) id quod impletur [the strictly passive sense= , that which is filled, or the state of having been filled and continuing so, fulness; this being the more usual meaning of verbals in .R.], (3) implendi actionem [the proper active meaning], the passive sense being more prevalent than the active. According to this view, the second signification is to be accepted here, as in Gal 4:4 : , that which is filled, the state of fulness, the fulness of time.

Between the two passages there is however a difference, occasioned by and . Here definite are spoken of. Although we find in Mar 1:15 : , because one point of time is referred to, yet in 1Ti 2:6, the proclamation of salvation is said to take place , and in Luk 21:24 are mentioned, as in Act 1:7 . And in the passage strictly parallel (Eph 2:7) it is said that , , God would show the riches of His grace toward the congregation of the believers. Hence we must apply the word here to different sections of time, linked on to each other, through which the plan of salvation is unfolded, since God ever revealed what and so much as was requisite, to advance the development of His Kingdom, so soon as the end of one period of time in the history of Redemption arrived, and an epoch had fulfilled its task and passed away; while the passage from Galatians marks these details in their connection as a totality. The fulfilment of these definite periods and points of time, adapted for the required development, is to be understood here: (Theodoret), the point of time, with the entrance of which the pre-Messianic periods are closed and the Messianic ages begin.

The genitive indicates then what belongs to , the external and internal relation to it. Comp. Winer, p. 176 ff. [So Ellicott and Eadie; the former has a capital note on this genitive, which he calls a genitive of the characterizing quality.R.] We have therefore here indicated, that the fulfilling of the times stands under the guidance of God Himself, who has determined and ordered the periods and brings them in according to His purpose. Hence we explain it as: dispensatio propria plenitudini temporum (Calov., Rueckert, Meyer, Matthies, Stier [Hodge, Ellicott, Eadie] and others). Harless takes the genitive as epexegetical, subjoining the special to the general; but , that which is arranged by the Lord, is not explained by , a developing process, nor that mode of action by a fact, such as the latter undoubtedly is. Schenkel accepts a genitive of the object, as though the fulness of the times was the object of dispensation; but while (Gal 4:4) may be predicated of that , cannot be, and has the as the object of its , the result of this being the . Luthers rendering is too limited: dass es gepredigt wrde, da die Zeit erfllt war. It should not be explained, as if we read : tempore exacto (Wolf), or aliquo tempore, suo tempore (Morus); nor should it be referred to extrema tempora (Koppe), still less is it=eorum qu restant temporum, or in reliquis, i.e., novi fderis temporibus (Stier46 and others). Unpauline as well as unbiblical is Usteris explanation, the fulfilling of that time has had its ground in the necessary development of the human consciousness, or of the religious spirit of humanity.47 Gods gracious design applies then to a dispensation, which ordains time and its periods, leading to a point when they are completed. This is still further defined by what follows:

To gather up together all things.[ . Braune: to gather together again for Himself all things.]The verb is derived from , the chief point, and means principally, to gather together in one main point, as Rom 13:9, where it is said of the single commandments, that they are briefly comprehended in the one command of love ( ), summatim comprehendere. But it is acknowledged, that the Apostle, who does not etymologize, but follows general accords (Harless), might readily have chosen the word, in order to play upon the word , the head, which according to Eph 1:22 is Christ (Chrysostom, Theophylact, Luther: comprehended, together under one head, Calov., Wolf, Harless, Stier, Schenkel, Matthies and others). As recapitulare passes over capitulum to caput in its meaning, so too over to . [The play on the word is barely possible. Pauls usage favors it, but the context is against it, since in Christ follows so soon, and the idea of Christ as Head occurs much further on, the reference here being more to His atonement than to His sovereignty. He is regarded as rather than as (Meyer).R.]

Although the meaning of the preposition (, again) does not appear in the verb, Rom 13:9, since it would be too artificial to retain it with Harless, because of an assumed reference to the local position of the law given in detail Exodus 20. and afterwards summed up and repeated, Lev 19:18 (Thilo renders Rom 13:9, repetere), still there is no ground for not retaining it here (see Passow sub voce), where the reference is to a gathering of what was dispersed and a renewal of what was ruined, and not originally so. The word may indeed apply to an entirely new fact, but it still refers back to an original status and beginning (Meyer, Harless, Stier).48 Comp. Col 1:15-17.

Finally the middle form must not be left unnoticed: God will gather together again for Himself (sibi) what He has created for Himself; this supports at the same time the meaning again. Accordingly the following explanations are unsatisfactory: a principio renovare (Syriac), instaurare (Vulgate), giving an explanation of the character of the gathering together; (Raphel), to subject all things at once to Christ; borrowing the phrase from rhetoric, to recapitulate (Jerome, Erasmus, Beza), or from military usage=in unum agmen cogere (Grotius) or from arithmetic=in unam summam redigere (Camerarius, Bucer), although in each of these there is something more or less correct.

The infinitive is to be taken as epexegetical; it brings forward as an explanation the design49 which obtains in the dispensation of the fulness of times (Winer, p. 300): in order to gather together under one head for Himself. But how? In Christ.Nothing further is said; in the resumptive we find an explanation. We must maintain however that refers to the Saviour who appeared in the fulness of time (the article is in any case inserted purposely and for emphasis), thus preparing the way for the statement of the object. What then is to be gathered together? All things.

The things which are in heaven, and the things which are on earth [ . See Textual, Note 10]. is neuter and universal, the more because this explanatory clause is added. No importance is to be attached to the plural (), since we find in Php 3:20 : ; despite its different regions (2Co 12:2 : ) heaven is conceived of as a unity, over against the earth. The well-attested is at all events an error of the transcriber or a provincialism, beside which the established could not appear strange. The repeated article denotes the particularity of what is found in both spheres. Heaven and earth have become places of sin (Eph 2:2; Eph 6:12); indeed heaven was the first theatre of sin, when a part of the angels fell into sin and from God (1Ti 3:6; 1Jn 3:8; Jam 2:19; 2Pe 2:4; Judges 6); thence it came to earth (2Co 11:3), in ever greater dimensions (1Co 10:20-21). Thus the state originally appointed by God and the development He wished to be without disturbance, ceased (Rom 8:18-24), so that a renewing of the heavens and of the earth was taken into view (2Pe 3:13). The centre of this renewal is Christ and His redeeming work (Col 1:20), which, however, has its development also, as before His appearance up to the fulness of times, so afterwards up to His second Advent, when the restitution of all things (Act 3:21), the palingenesia (Mat 19:28), will be introduced. Comp. 2Pe 3:10-13.

It is altogether unmistakable that, in accordance with the views of this Epistle as well as the entire organism of Scripture truth, we must apply this to the totality of the creation (Harless, Olshausen, Matthies, Meyer, Stier, Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, I. 216 ff., Schenkel and others). If we maintain with Bengel: Omnia sub Christo fuerant; per peccatum autem facta erat avulsio et divulsio; atque hc rursum sublata est, then only such a restitution of all things is here treated of, as takes into the account, not the relations of the individual members, of the individuals of the , to each other, nor yet the relations of the same in their diversity over against God and Christ, but rather and only the relation of Christ to the totality. We should neither specialize and restrict too much, as does Hofmann, who excludes good angels and evil men, and others, who apply it only to intelligence, persons,50 nor accept an unspecialized thought (Harless), indefinitely in suspense and admitting of no specialization, respecting a totality. If it could be inferred from the fact of the angels not needing redemption, that they were excluded here, we should be finally obliged to except redeemed men from this and no longer regard them as under Christ, when their redemption was completed. The reconciliation through Christ is to the Apostle a fact, whose effects permeate the universe, which affects alike the conscious and the unconscious creation, whether it be touched by sin, or not, as is the case with the good angels (Olshausen). Here we may certainly apply what Bengel so aptly remarks on Rom 8:19, that pro suo quodque genus captu, and statu may be appended, participate in this Anacephalaiosis, the evil as conquered and rejected opponents, the good angels as participating, ministering friends, the redeemed as accepted children, the rest of creation as subordinate companions, as theatre of the honors. It is precisely the restoration of the harmony of the Universe (Harless), which is aimed at. Chrysostom makes the excellent remark; , . That nothing is said of the restoration of all things, is quite evident. (Sea Doctr. Note 8.)51

Even in him, , is to be joined to things in heaven, and things on earth, as in Christ is with all things, since the two clauses are entirely parallel (Harless). Grotius well says: Sed repetendum censuit, quasi diceret: per ipsum, inquam, unum, non per ullum alium; non hoc factum per Mosen, non per philosophos. Hence it is not a Hebraism or Syriasm (Rueckert, who acknowledges the not feeble repetition), nor to be joined with the following as pleonastic. Thus, then, the person of Christ is noted as the Mediator and middle-point of this comprehensive reuniting, and that without Him such does not and shall not take place. [Re-asseverating with great, solemnity and emphasis (see Jelf, Gr. 658), the only blessed sphere in which this . can be regarded as operative, and apart from which, and without which, its energies cannot be conceived as acting. It forms also an easy transition to the following relative (Ellicott).R.]

It is arbitrary and unscriptural (Meyer) for Calov. and others to assume that Christ is as to His Divine nature the Head of angels, as to His human nature the Head of men. This anacephalaiosis is not to be applied to the completion of the kingdom of God in the resurrection of the body (Theodoret, Jerome), and still less to the moral uniting of antagonistic endeavors (Koppe, Wahl); nor should we determine from Col 1:20, how it is to be conceived of or to take place, but rather confess that our passage says nothing about this.

Eph 1:11. In whom we were also made his inheritance [ ].A comma only is to be placed after in Him; in whom, which refers to it, marks the union with Him (hence not=through whom, Koppe, Flatt) as the way to the obtaining of the inheritance, which is rendered prominent by the ; were the emphasis on the subject we should find here, as in Eph 1:13 : . Incorrect: in quo etiam nos [Vulgate, Erasmus). [The E. V.: in whom also is equally objectionable in connecting with .R.] Prominence is given to the fact, that the plan of God is already in the process of accomplishment, in accordance with the decree and design; is not indeed=really, it joins with , only what is to be inferred from the preceding context: we are destined, and this connection points to the actualization.

is found here only; the compound in Act 17:4. It is derived, not from , but from , lot (Mat 27:35; Act 1:26), portion of an inheritance (Act 26:18; Col 1:14), used in a spiritual sense, and transferred to men, to the church composed of individuals (1Pe 5:3; ). Since this usage is well established, and there is no sufficient reason why the passive sense should not be retained here, we explain: we have become (i.e., of God, as the context requires) in Christ. Bengel: hic loquitur per personam Israelis; eramus facti seu , sors, hereditas domini. Deu 32:9. So also Stier. The context (Eph 1:12 : that we should be, Eph 1:14 🙂 purchased possession supports the requirements of the language. Hence it is not to be explained with Luther: through whom we also have come to an inheritance, nor with most: have become partakers of the inheritance; nor yet accepimus (Morus,) contigit nobis, ut (Koppe).

[The view here taken of the verb is ably defended by Alford and Ellicott, and the ordinary interpretation by Hodge and Eadie. The passive form calls for a passive sense, unless there are very strong reasons to the contrary. It would seem that the other sense is allowable, but the only grounds for adopting it here are (1) the objective character of the whole passage, (2) the parallel passage, Col 1:12. But the sense: we have become an inheritance, is subjective only in form, presenting as it does something which God has become to us, quite as much as what we have become. The other reason is in itself of little weight, for the parallel is inexact in other respects. We adopt the passive sense, rejecting however the allusion to the lot as indicating Gods freedom of choice, and accepting the special meaning given by Bengel.R.]

Finally it is clear that the subject (we) is not put in antithesis to another one, as in Eph 1:14, and that no limitation is indicated either in the verb or in the following participle, so that according to the context and Eph 1:1, we may apply it to the Apostle and his readers, to Christians in general, but not to the Apostle alone (Koppe), nor to him and the Jewish Christians (Grotius, Bengel, Harless, Stier, Schenkel [Hodge] and others). [Barnes restricts it to the ministers of religion. Meyer, Eadie, Alford, Ellicott, agree with Braune.R.]

Having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things [ ].We who have become an inheritance, are predestinated. A comparison with Eph 1:5 : having predestinated us unto adoption, shows us the progress and the distinction. Here it is further defined by the phrase according to the purpose from Eph 1:9 ( ), that the predestinated is grounded in Him, in His design, His will. Accordingly He whose design it is, is termed: ,52 the God, who ordains, prepares and carries forward to its goal the Redemption, who is there in the All efficient, Almighty (Stier); is both what is external and historical in the worlds story, as well as in the life of individuals, and what is spiritual and internal (Gal 2:8; Gal 3:5; 1Co 12:11.)

This working is further defined by the phrase: After the counsel of his will . Similar to this is (1Co 4:5). Harless compares: the desire of my heart, the joy of my eyes, the tears of my sorrow, as examples of the exchange of the simple subject into the activity, or peculiarity, or organ of the subject, which is the ground or means of a mental or sensuous manifestation, in order thus with exactness and definiteness to render prominent the close relation between the two. A similar case is 1Pe 3:17 : . is then the decision, the determination which God forms in His will. See above on Eph 1:5. It is God absolutely free (Matthies), His consilium liberrimum (Bengel). is not

ad id negotium, de quo agitur, adstringendum (Grotius), nor are and mere synonymes, as has been affirmed without ground of and also, nor yet=voluntas liberrima (Koppe).

[The two words and naturally lead to remarks upon the distinction between the verbs from which they are derived and .53 The distinction of Buttmann will not apply in the New Testament. He says (Lexic. sub voce): is confined to the inclination, to that kind of wish in which there lies a purpose or design. But in Mat 1:19, where both words occur, they cannot be thus distinguished; for Josephs inclination was not to expose his wife, and this is expressed by , while his purpose to put her away is expressed by . It is rather in this case, as Alford says: expresses the mere wish, the wish ripened into intention, in favor of which view he cites Buttmann however. Tittmann on the other hand, while seeming to agree with Buttmann, and usually cited as sustaining him, really differs from him. In his Synonym. N. T., p. 134 ff, he says that is simply to will (simpliciter velle), while denotes further the inclination. His citation of Ammonius who remarks that the latter cannot be predicated of brutes, would prove that deliberation also was implied in it. He further adds that he who does anything , does it spontaneously, while he who does it , determines to turn his mind to that matter. So Plato (Laws, v.) opposes and . This distinction would justify the remark of Braune (on Eph 1:5) that is the act of willing joined with inclination, while is the ethical act. Yet Tittmann and others are scarcely justified in denying to any sense of desiring, wishing, etc. With the infinitive such a meaning is common, as in the well-known formula: I would not have you ignorant ( , Rom 1:13, etc.), and in Rom 7:15 ff., where the antithesis is . Besides the spontaneity of will may, after all, indicate an impulse from the side of the desire; who can decide? One thing is certain, we cannot, save by a species of anthropomorphism, apply such distinctions to God, e.g., 1Ti 2:4 : who will () have all men to be saved; 2Pe 3:9 : not willing () that any should perish. We dare not, it seems to me, say that one passage refers to Gods spontaneous will and the other to His inclination. In fact any discrimination between the two words for doctrinal purposes is of doubtful propriety, for there is no conflict in God, such as we find in us. Still we need not hesitate to explain the counsel of His will as meaning, the definite and deliberate volition of Gods free, sovereign, spontaneous will. A pure voluntas on His part involves the accordant desire, purpose, determination and volition, all questions respecting priority being out of place. So Ellicott, whether correct in his distinction or not, is right in saying that our passage solemnly represents the Almighty Will as displaying itself in action: designating the will generally, the more special expression of it. So Meyer, Alford (on 1Ti 5:14) make this general distinction: is the resting inclination of the will, its active exertion, which is valid enough here. On the whole Eadie is most judicious in his remarks, preserving Tittmanns distinction, and yet admitting the idea of desire in . is will, the result of desirevoluntas; is counsel, the result of a formal decisionpropositum. Donaldsons New Cratylus, 463, 464. Here is the ratified expression of willthe decision to which His will has come. The Divine mind is not in a state of indifference, it has exercised will; and that will is not a lethargic velleity, for it has formed a definite purpose, , which it determines to carry out.R.]

Eph 1:12. That we should be unto the praise of his glory [ . The Rec. inserts before on very slight authority.R.]This marks the goal, which is set up for those who are predestinated in the purpose, with the further definition: to the praise of his glory. Comp. Eph 1:6. Here He Himself and His glory are the object of the praise, as in Eph 1:14. This expression, three times repeated, and always used at the close of a circle of thought, must be explained each time in the same way, and so that the emphasis which is laid on it be not lessened; accordingly we must retain its force as a designation of the aim or goal, remembering that precedes it; a being is spoken of, which is attained through a becoming, and this status is that of persons (), who not merely praise with the mouth, in words, but should be themselves a praise. Hence the phrase is not all to be regarded as an incisum or as parenthetical, nor should we join that we should be either with in Christ (Zeltner) or with who before hoped (Knapp, Flatt, Harless, Olshausen and others), as though the thought were: the goal of the predestination is, that we who before hoped, should be in Christ, to the praise and glory of God, or that we to Gods glory, hoped before in Christ. Morus: ut adeo in Christo spem reponere possimus in laudem honoremque Dei. This displaces the proper aim, and what it substitutes cannot be an aim; the hope of the Jews, the faith of the Gentiles.

We who have before hoped in Christ [or the Christ]. =quippe qui antea spem posuerunt (Winer, p. 127);54 it characterizes those who have thus become to the praise of God, by pointing out the way to this. The construction is not singular (1Co 15:19 : ; Rom 15:13; , before in Eph 1:12 : ). In Christ, , marks this vital fellowship with Him; it is not= , towards Him, to Him; He is the ground of the hope.

And now ! It points to the state and the period before attaining the appointed goal, hence to the earthly life; it is a designation of the Christian state in the pilgrimage. Hence Bengel very properly remarks: ante refertur ad tempora V. T., but he is incorrect in referring before to persons as though the Jews were thus indicated (primum nacti sunt Judi deinde gentes, Acts 19:46). So Chrysostom, Erasmus, Harless, Stier, Meyer and others. But is not= (Luk 2:25; Luk 2:28), notwithstanding Act 28:20; Act 26:6-7. This phrase is added to what precedes in order, as in Eph 1:6, to furnish at the same time a point of connection for what follows, a transition; hence at the close (Eph 1:14) no such addition is made.

[The view defended above is that of De Wette,55 and of Eadie (in his first edition). Nearly all modern commentators accept at this point a distinction between and , referring the former to Jewish Christians, the latter to Gentile Christians. (The other view refers the former to Christians in general, the latter to the readers.) I am constrained to differ from Dr. Braune here, and adopt the common opinion. (1) No other view allows to its proper meaning. To refer the participle to the earthly life, seems far-fetched. The word would not be an appropriate characteristic of all Christians in this connection. Nor is the reference to before the time of writing, worthy of the context. (2) The antithetical (Eph 1:13) is well-nigh conclusive, especially if it be taken as the direct subject of the verb . The Jews had in the Messianic prophecies a ground for their hoping before, but a sealing was more prominent in the case of the Gentiles to whom no such promise had come. (3) The form , instead of , is not against this view: to have hoped in Christ was a higher characteristic than to have directed hope towards Christ, and designated them as more worthy exponents of the praise of Gods glory (Ellicott).If this view be accepted, then we can with propriety retain the article in translating: in the Christ, as indeed Braune himself insists on the emphatic force of the article in the similar phrase, Eph 1:10. Any emphasis upon it here would tell against his view.R.]

Third Foundation. Eph 1:13-14 : The personal appropriation of salvation.

Eph 1:13. In whom ye also. , in Christ, viz., ye were sealed, since the repetition of is justified by the added phrase: after that ye heard, etc. Comp. Winer, p. 545, 1. [For a capital defence of this view of the construction, see Ellicott in loc.R.] Evidently neither (Meyer) [Alford], nor (Erasmus, Calvin, Beza [E. V., Estius] and others), nor (Anselm, Koppe, Harless, Olshausen)56 should be supplied. The last is manifestly too remote, the second could only be , and the first is unnecessary. It is impossible to take the participle as a finite verb (Syriac, Luther: have heard) [i.e., as the predicate of ]; just as little should be explained as ideo (Morus).

Ye also refers to the readers, and places them in antithesis to we: that is, the Christians specially addressed, the local church, written to, over against Christendom in general, the church as a whole. There is no ground whatever for the reference to Gentile Christians, which is accepted by nearly all modern expositors, except Rueckert; nor does the context justify it. [See my note on Eph 1:12. The passage is markedly antithetical, and this is a ground for the reference to the Gentile Christians. As for the context: while hearing and believing and sealing belong to all Christians, there was undoubtedly in the previous circumstances of the Gentile Christians, a good reason for emphasizing these facts in their case.R.]

Having heard the word of truth, .This points to the external situation, in which the apostolic preaching came to them, and they accepted it. This is by no means a token that they are Gentile Christians (Stier, Schenkel and others), but is chiefly applicable rather to the Jews. (Act 13:46; Act 18:5-6; Rom 1:16; Rom 15:8).57 That which is imparted, the word of truth, is so termed on account of its contents (2Ti 2:15), as it is called of God, on account of its origin (Act 13:46); of life, 1Jn 1:1, on account of its effect. In Col 1:6 : in the word of the truth of the Gospel (comp. Gal 2:5 : the truth of the gospel) the shading of the thought is somewhat different; here the reference is less to the antithesis in Judaism (the shadow of the O. T.), as Chrysostom, Stier think, or to that in heathenism with its lies (A-Lapide and others), or to both (Grotius), than to Christ, who is the Truth, so that the word as to its contents and origin is (Harless, Schenkel [Eadie, Alford, Ellicott, Hodge] and others). But the phrase is never=doctrina vera (Morus, Koppe), institutio in vera religione (Wahl).

The gospel of your salvation, .This is appositional, defining what precedes, and in such a way that word corresponds to gospel, truth to salvation; the latter word sets forth the power of saving, which is joined to the gospel, which operates through it (Rom 1:16; 1Co 1:18; 1Co 4:20); hence it is the contents to be imparted; salvation is more comprehensive than forgiveness of sins, redemption (Eph 1:7); it is the certain, complete rescuing Stier). [Ellicott distinguishes between the two genitives; taking as genitive substanti, as a genitive of the (spiritual) contents or subject-matter, etc., the gospel which turns upon, which reveals salvation, thus forming one of that large class of genitives of remoter reference.R.]

In whom I say having also believed, ye were sealed [ ]. , in whom, stands in the anaphora and, as in the beginning of this verse and in Eph 1:11, refers to Christ; this is required by , since connects with the preceding : the inward state of being permeated by the word of truth is expressed by the advance from to , they have heard it and at the same time really appropriated it (Matthies); hence both words have the same reference. Although it is grammatically allowable that be connected with and applied to the gospel (Mar 1:15; ); yet as a matter of syntax it should be referred to (Eph 1:12) which is dialectically justified at the same time, because the vital fellowship with Christ is the pre-supposition for the , and faith is only the condition, the subjective means of appropriation. Not in virtue of faith, but by means of faith in virtue of what the word proffers to him who hears and what he apprehends (Delitzsch), comes the new life in Christ.

may be understood, as in Rom 13:11 of the act of acceptance (Rueckert), or taken as= , as in Eph 1:7; ; Eph 3:12 : . Comp. Rom 5:2; 1Co 4:15. [It is best taken absolutely.R.] We may then say with Harless: the notion of the participle as to its temporal occurrence coincides with that of the finite verb. Meyer ought not to separate and sever temporally hearing, believing, baptism, reception of the Holy Ghost, although dialectically they are to be sharply distinguished.

[These aorist participles may express either contemporaneous or antecedent action. The latter relation seems to be most in accordance with the nature of the actions referred to. Alford takes them as indicating the terminus a quo, rendering: since, from the time when ye heard, on your believing, remarking further that the participle is and is not contemporaneous with the verb: it is not, inasmuch as in strict accuracy, faith preceded baptism, and baptism preceded the gift of the Spirit: but it is, inasmuch as on looking back over a mans course, the period of the commencement of his faith includes all its accidents and accompaniments.R.]

is more closely defined by the context. It means in Eph 4:30; Joh 3:33; Joh 6:27; 2Co 1:22, to seal, to confirm, as (Rom 4:11; 1Co 9:2; 2Ti 2:19) is the attesting seal. By means of the faith which is joined with your hearing, ye have been also sealed and certified in Christ; referring to Eph 1:11 : . The moves on to the (Chrysostom); it is not evident, how this should be particularly true of the Gentile Christians, over against the Jewish Christians, among whom Paul reckoned himself.58 There is not merely an intended inheritance and an attestation thereto conceded, but this is presented with a certifying seal; since the heritage is in them, they in it, and it growing into them, they are themselves made sure as heirs, are confirmed and certified in this possession. The immediate meaning is, that they have been assured of this grace for themselves; ye have been assured by the Holy Ghost, as by a letter and seal (Rueckert).

The change of person () marks, that they have been attested in this possession for others also, strongly enough designated, to be recognized as companions. [This is equally true, if we, you, be referred to Jewish and Gentile Christians, for it was precisely the gift of the Holy Ghost (Act 10:47; Act 11:17), which demonstrated to Peter, that the Gentiles should be thus recognized.R.] Theophylact: , .) It is only a sequel and an inference, that they have been secured from future wrath, ruin, loss and condemnation.59 The passive indicates an experience, which does not proceed from themselves, is not developed out of them, but is the act of another, of God. All this is so natural and so accordant with the use of the word, which is a common one in the Old Testament, that there is no reason for supposing here an allusion to heathen customs, such as branding slaves with the name of their master (Flatt), or the stigmata of idolatrous worship (Grotius), or, because the letter is addressed to Ephesus, to the of Diana (Ametius), or to Jewish circumcision (Schoettgen, Wetstein, Tholuck and others). Nor is it equivalent to: the salvation or inheritance (in Rueckert) is sealed to you; since they themselves are attested documents.

With the Spirit of promise, the holy One [ ].The dative , marks that with which they have been sealed, certified; Eph 4:30; , wherein ye are sealed unto the day of redemption, denotes the fellowship with the Holy Ghost. The Spirit is here the attesting seal, that God affixes to those who in fellowship with Christ have heard His word and become believers: designates the subjective means, the objective. In Rom 8:16, without the figure: the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. [With (E. V.) as indicating that the Holy Spirit is the seal, is preferable to by (Alford, Ellicott), which might imply that the Spirit was the Sealer; God is the Sealer, we are the sealed, the Spirit is the Seal.R.]

The phrase compels us to accept a reference to the Holy Spirit; it is added with emphasis, so as to guard against the mistake, that the spirit inherent in the promise was meant.60 But because is emphasized, it comes first; it is otherwise in Joh 7:37 : . Comp. Winer, p. 488 f. Of course we cannot take it as referring to special miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost (Grotius, Estius), as though only those thus endowed were assured of the adoption and inheritance. Nor does it refer to the donum sanctificationis (Pelagius, Romanists) since denotes, not the effect, but the attribute of the Spirit.

The genitive accordingly cannot possibly designate the promise as that in which the Spirit is immanent, inheres, but refers to that the object of which is the Spirit, viz., the Holy Spirit. Bengel is excellent: per verbum promissus erat spiritus sanctus; dato igitur spiritu sancto, ii., qui credidere verbo, obsignati sunt; et qui spiritum sanctum habent, omnem promissionem sibi prstitum iri sciunt. So most expositors: the promised Spirit.61 The promise of the Spirit (Gal 3:14) is the promise which has the Spirit as its aim, or its object. The promise here should not, however, be limited to Christs last words (Luk 24:49; Act 1:4), as is done by Baumgarten Crusius, nor yet to the Old Testament promises (Joe 3:1-5; Isa 32:15; Isa 44:3; Eze 36:25; Eze 39:29), as Harless supposes, following Chrysostom; it includes both what is prophetical and apostolical (Luk 24:44-47). The context definitely decides against the view, that the Spirit brings the promise, or that the notion of a testimonium reddere, obsignare is found in the genitival connection (Theophylact [who, however, also gives this correct explanation: .R.] Calvin, Beza.)

Eph 1:14. Who is the earnest of our inheritance. [ ]. refers, logically to , marking its personality, which the Apostle has in mind, constructio ad sensum), as Mat 28:19 : ; 2Jn 1:2 : . Comp. Winer, p. 133. [A better explanation of , than the constructio ad sensum, is that of its agreement in gender with . So Meyer, Alford, Ellicott. (See Winer, p. 157.) The last named remarks that in its most distinct personal sense is invariably used with the neuter relative.R.] It is not to be referred to Christ (Polycarp); that is too remote (Winer, p. 149) and the sense will not admit of it, since the Spirit is the ; 2Co 1:22 : Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts (Eph 5:5). From the Hebrew (Gen 38:3; Gen 38:17-18; Gen 38:20)=pignus,62 there probably arose through the agency of Phnician traders in Greek, arrhabo and arrha in Latin (without the h also), with the sense of earnest-money, the beginning of the payment which should take place in full afterwards. Hence Hesychius:, Chrysostom: ; Jerome: Arrabo futur emtioni quasi quoddam testimonium et obliga-mentum datur. It is= , Rom 8:23.

What the Spirit promises to vouchsafe to us in the future, in eternity, is indicated by the genitive , of our inheritance. The inheritance which is the necessary consequence of sonship (Rom 8:17; Gal 4:7) is an eternal one (Gal 3:18; Heb 9:15; comp. Eph 5:5; Col 3:24). Thus then believers obtain the certainty that they are heirs and have an inheritance in eternity, not through an assurance from without, but chiefly through the reality of the possession, not at once in its entire extent, but in an earnest (Harless). Our includes the Apostle, his readers and all Christendom (1Co 2:12), because it stands at the end of the paragraph, not Gentile and Jewish Christians (Stier, Schenkel and others.)

Unto the redemption of his purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory, , .These two qualifying phrases, introduced by the same preposition, are to be taken as parallel, the first referring to the objective aim of the church of God, the second to the subjective aim of the redeemed member (Schenkel). Comp. Eph 1:6; Eph 1:12. Hence is to be joined to as well as to (Meyer, Hofmann), who however in Schriftbeweis, II. 2, p. 28, understands it of Christ, when it obviously refers to God the Father, (Schenkel). The preposition marks a goal, which is nearer at hand, more definitely described in the phrase the earnest of our inheritance, than in ye were sealed, so that the connection with the relative clause is more natural than to pass over it back to the verb of the main clause, Eph 1:13 (Meyer, [Hodge, Ellicott] and others). Thus the explanation of as is required. [That is, as in Eph 4:30; Rom 8:23 (comp. my note in loco) the full final redemption, the accomplishment of all that is included in the word (Alford).R.] The context, however, gives a further definition with (.)

=to cause something to remain, to let remain, to deliver; , to cause to remain for ones self, hence to acquire, to gain. The substantive therefore=acquisition, possession. In 2 Thess. 5:9: ; 2Th 2:14 : el; , it is acquisition as the genitives indicate; 1Pe 2:9 : , it is evidently possession (comp. Mat 3:17; Act 20:28; Isa 43:21), hence= as the people of Israel were termed, which is elsewhere designated by (Exo 19:5; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18, , LXX. and Tit 2:14), peculium Dei. Hence the redemption applies to Gods possession, to the people already acquired by Him, and cannot be the first redeeming act, the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Rom 3:24), by which the people are acquired, but must be the completed work, to which the Holy Ghost, as earnest, pledge, points and leads. So most expositors from Theophylact ( ) and cumenius ( ) to Erasmus and the latest time. Hence is not=, usque ad (Morus), nor =mors, liberatio a malo (Morus), nor is the genitive a designation of the effect (Luther: to our redemption, that we become His possession; Stier: to the redemption, that we become and because we are His possession.)

[It rarely occurs that a passage presenting a number of difficulties is interpreted with so great an approach to unanimity as in this case. Modern English and American commentators, almost without an exception take the same view as Braune. Stier, among the Germans, does not reject it, but puts other meanings upon the passage as usual. Eadie gives his Trinitarian division as follows: The Father seals believers, and His glory is the last end; in the Son they are sealed, and their redemption is His work while the Spirit which proceedeth from the Father, and is sent by the Sonis the Seal and Earnest.For a very full discussion of the word , see Harless, whose comments have largely contributed in producing the unanimity respecting this passage among modern interpreters.R.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The importance of the doctrine of predestination. The Apostle speaks in great emotion, as is unmistakably shown by the remarkably complicated structure of his sentences, and with special emphasis, as the repetition and strength of his expressions (Eph 1:4-5; Eph 1:9; Eph 1:11) equally prove. Chemnitz says, in a sermon on Matthew 22 (in Franks Theologie der Form. Concord., iv. 268): Therefore (on account of the contests arising out of the doctrine of election) it has occurred to some, that we ought not to preach at all to Christians in the church about the foreknowledge and choice of God, because it is dangerous to both sides, as it is said, leading either to security or despair; but because God has revealed this very doctrine to us so often and in so many parts of the Scripture, we must not put it under the table, may not and should not say, that it is unprofitable, obnoxious or injurious, yet we must so look into it, as not to run too far or climb too high, but have and hold in all simplicity the true understanding and proper use thereof. [It may well be added, that such use is for Christians alone (Eph 1:5 : us), and that this use will lead on the one hand to trustful security in view of the fixedness of Gods purpose, on the other hand to profound humility in view of the entire freedom of Gods choice irrespective of our merit. Others may, nay some must speculate on this subject, but they find no solution of this problem save so far as Gods word gives one; and this solution can be fully apprehended only by a believing soul; it is above logic and philosophy, and even technical, theology, even as on many subjects, and these the most important, the heart is a better teacher than the head. Still even the most advanced Christian, seeing that Gods word alone gives any solution, may well say with the martyr Ridley: In these matters I am so fearful, that I dare not speak further; yea almost none otherwise than the text does, as it were, lead me by the hand (from Eadie).R.]

2. The starting-point. It must by no means be overlooked, that the Apostle first expresses in praise the consciousness of salvation, though in a summary way, and then passes to predestination. Even the transition (even as he chose us) does not place predestination in the first rank; it only marks the actual relation, and that the possession of salvation becomes our portion according to the election and fore-ordination; yet it still remains true, that from the consciousness of salvation we should look into the eternal will of God, and be lifted up to it. This is done in the confession of the Lutheran church, Form. Concord., article xi. In that symbol we begin with sin and the natural powers of man (i. ii.), then follows Justification and its consequences (iii. iv.), next the means of grace in the Word and the Lords Supper (v. vi. vii.); to these are joined the Christological articles (viii. ix.), and De ceremoniis ecclesiasticis (10) seems to form the conclusion. But last of all there is added further: De terna prdestinatione et electione Dei. See Frank, Theologie, 1:48; 4:138. The Reformed in their confessions (Basle, Belgic, Westminster, Helvetic and others) proceed from the speculative idea of God, which is neither Pauline, biblical, nor advisable. [This objection as regards abstractness does not hold against the Heidelberg Catechism. Still the Lutheran symbols go to the opposite extreme. That the order in the Reformed confessions is Pauline, Dr. Braune unconsciously admits in the order he himself adopts in these notes (Eph 1:4 follows Eph 1:3 very closely, be it observed). If it be Pauline, it is Scriptural, though this Apostle is not alone in putting God and His will so prominently in advance. As to its advisableness: some minds demand the Reformed order, which is at all events that of logical statement, of systematic theology. Others object to it, but the great difficulty is not met by any change of position. If we claim that believing hearts, blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ., alone are competent for the discussion, we have claimed all that our section warrants us in doing. Let each systematize as he will; we cannot make Gods truth dependent on the order of our symbols. Let us be charitable, since some minds are so constituted as to accept or even demand Calvinism, and others prefer to take the difficulty in another form. Let each hold, indeed, that Gods truth is objective truth independent of our subjective statements, and hope for the time when a higher synthesis will reconcile what seems now to be contradictory, all the more because neither Calvinism nor Arminianism has solved the problem presented in this chapter, though one may in its efforts embrace more of the facts of the rule of grace and providence than the other. Comp. the Doctr. Notes on Romans 9 in the Bible work.R.]

3.The object of the predestination is set forth in us (Eph 1:4-6; Eph 1:8-9; Eph 1:12; Eph 1:14) and you (Eph 1:13), and in such a way that no ground for the predestination is to be found in those predestinated, hence nothing indicates a limitation of it. It is rather to be extended as widely as sin reaches, and the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7) is necessary, and the hearing of the word of truth, the gospel of salvation (Eph 1:13) is designed to extend. Hence the whole human race is the object of the predestination, and as the words we and you require, not in a mass, but down to each individual. This is entirely in accordance with 1Ti 2:4 (), with the Lords word, Joh 3:16 ( ), and the saying of Peter (2Pe 3:9 : , ). It is precisely the section before us which marks the Divine will of mercy as directed toward all. We must maintain the universality of grace, universalis voluntas Dei, quod non tantum prdicatio pnitenti, verum etiam promissio evangelii sit universalis, hoc est, ad omnes homines pertineat (Form. Conc. xi. 28). The word (1Ti 2:4) cannot be explained by cujusvis status atque conditionis homines, tam illustres ac potentes in mundo, quam obscuros (Piscator), neither can we understand under (Joh 3:16) the elect, on the ground that God never loved the damned (Beza), nor limit (2Pe 3:9) by nempe credentes (Piscator). Thus the Form. Conc, (xi. 23); et quidem Deus suo illo consilionon tantum in genere salutem suorum procuravit, verum etiam omnes et singulas personas electorumpresciviteligit (comp. ibid. 54). The Lutheran confession, it is true, besides the universality of the grace of God notes also with a reference to this section a particularity of the election of grace, of which not all, good and bad, are the objects, but only the Children of God: terna vero electio seu prdestinatio Dei ad salutem non simul ad bonos et ad malos pertinet, sed tantum ad filios Dei, qui ad ternam vitam consequendam electi et ordinati sunt, priusquam mundi fundamenta jacerentur (xi. 5). Accordingly we should reject here the double predestination to salvation and damnation, which from the first was taught by Luther and Melanchthon (following Augustine, who, however, expressed himself very prudently and only in an infra-lapsarian sense, and Gottschalk in the ninth century with his duplex sive gemina prdestinatio), but in an infra-lapsarian sense, maintained however by Zwingle (see Hahn, Stud. u. Krit., 1837, pp. 765805) and Calvin in a supralapsarian sense, and revived by the Jansenism of the Catholic Church in the 17th century, and by E. W. Krummacher in our day, and also the doctrine of Samuel Hubers, that God has in His Son ordained and elected each and every man to eternal life (see Frank, 4. pp. 165, 281 ff., Hagenbach in Herzogs Real-Enc., 6. p. 293 ff.), a doctrine which Schleiermacher repeats in his discussion of the doctrine of election (Werke Theol. 2. p. 393 f.) and in his Glaubenslehre ( 119, 2), and also the view of Hofmann (Schriftbeweis, I. p. 257 ff.), followed by Luthardt (Compendium der Dogmatik, p. 85), which denies the reference of the decree of grace to a definite number. [Dr. Braune seems to avoid a definite statement. Whatever may be deduced from the other passages referred to, Paul here declares that individual persons are chosen by God, predestinated unto adoption. How many those persons are is a question which when asked of the Son of God led only to personal exhortation. Who they are, manifests itself only in the exercise of faith, though even this is not always manifest to others (nor, as in the case of infants, is this a decisive test). Practically, the question is respecting our personal appropriation of the blessings of redemption, which are according as (, Eph 1:4) the election. Logically and theologically, the fact that some are partakers of blessing and others not, when taken in connection with the statement of Eph 1:4-5, leads to the conclusion, that of Gods free will some have been chosen and others not chosen. The negation is, however, all that any ought to deduce from our passage. The difficulties arising from this conclusion cannot be fully met save by a heart so trustful in its affection to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as to know it to be right because He has so ordered. The same difficulty meets us in Gods providential dealings, aye, in the workings of His natural laws, for as a brilliant author has well said: Nature is a terrible Calvinist. Paul concerns himself here only with the positive side, which presents but one difficulty, viz. that of fully responding in love to the gracious fact.R.]

4. The Subject of the predestination is God, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3), and that, top, in His love (Eph 1:4) according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph 1:5; Eph 1:9), or the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11); reference being made to His grace (Eph 1:11), and the mystery of His will (Eph 1:9) being recognized as the subject of the revelation. A duplex state in God Himself is by no means indicated, but rather excluded. In Him there are not two wills, one revealed, according to which God wills the salvation of all men, and another secret (occulta illa et metuenda voluntas Dei ordinantis suo consilio, quos et guales prdicat et oblat misericordi capaces et participes esse velit), nor do His mercy and justice exist merely beside each other, the latter respecting the damned and the former the elect. It is not that God is gracious, and at the same time just, or just and yet gracious, but in that He provides a satisfaction for His justice, He is gracious, and because He will satisfy His grace, He appeases His justice, so that justice as satisfied is the ground of grace, and grace as to be satisfied is the ground for the satisfaction of justice (Frank, iv. 191). The secret will is not here asserted beside the revealed, nor can the secret will detract aught from the revealed; the latter, as the real, unitedly efficient will, stands constantly over against the apparently contradicting secret will and conditions and controls the reality of the secret will. A secret will in abstracto, not having at the same time in itself as substantial elements the substantial determinations of the revealed will, does not exist (Frank, iv. pp. 198200). The Scriptures, however, teach, that the Providence of God has not such a manner and meaning as if a master cook determines he will strangle some of the pheasants lying before him and let others fly, a figure Gerson uses, but predestination comprises in itself totum decretum redemptionis, vocationis, justificationis, guber-nationis et glorificationis, as Paul throughout the first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians thus treats and expounds this doctrine in detail (Chemnitz in Frank). The omnipotence and executive energy of God is conditioned and bound by His will, by His Nature, as well as by the regulations He has Himself established, which will be spoken of hereafter (notes 6, 7, 8). It is not the Absolute in itself, nor yet the purely Absolute One, but the self-conditioning Unconditioned One. Accordingly the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confession distinguish from the prdestinatio Dei ad salutem, taken as identical with the electio, the prscientia Dei, according to which He prvidet et novit etiam mala, sed non ea ratione, quasi Dei voluntas propitia illa sit, ut fiant (Form. Conc. xi. 6); principium autem et causa mali non sit ipsa Deiprscientia, Deus enim non creat, procurat, efficit aut operatur malum, sed neque illud juvat aut promovel (Ibid. 7).

[The theory of the self-conditioning of God is a favorite one with many German theologians. Such self-conditioning may be assumed as the basis of creation, especially the creation of free moral agents, but the mystery yet remains: an Almighty God from whose freedom none of His creatures dare detract aught, and moral, yet sinful, men, from whose freedom of will God will detract nothing. If foreknowledge be assumed as the basis of the predestination, the difficulty is increased: If God foresaw this faith and holiness, then these qualities were either self-created, or were to be bestowed by Himself; if the former, the grace of God is denied, and if the latter, the question turns upon itselfwhat prompted God to give them the faith and holiness which He foresaw they should possess (Eadie). Braune only hints at this explanation, however. Sir Wm. Hamiltons Philosophy of the Unconditioned encounters the problem63 as directly as Calvinism. Assuming as we must that Gods grace fits men for heaven, but men by unbelief prepare themselves for hell, we still insist: that St. Paul here teaches the entire freedom of choice on the part of God, that choice being in accordance with the nature of the Sovreign Chooser; and at the same time in Eph 1:13 assumes the free faith on the part of those addressed, while the state of blessing which moves his thanksgiving is expressly said to be in accordance with the choice of God. So much a fair exegesis allows, as Dr. Braune himself admits in his exegetical notes. Whether this doctrine be identified with Pagan Stoicism or Mohammedan fatalism, and be rudely set aside, and the world placed under the inspection of an inert omniscience; or whether it be modified as to its end, and be declared to be privilege, and not holiness; or as to its foundation, and that be alleged to be not gratuitous and irrespective choice, but foreseen merit and goodness; or as to its subjects, and they be affirmed to be not individuals, but communities; or as to its result, and it be reckoned contingent, and not absolute; or whether the idea of election be diluted into mere preferential choice:such hypotheses leave the central difficulty still unsolved, and throw us back on the unconditioned and undivided sovereignty of Him of whom, to whom, and through whom are all things,all whose plans and purposes wrought out in the Church, and designed to promote His glory, have been conceived in the vast and incomprehensible solitudes of His own eternity.Eadie.R.]

5. The end of the predestination is defined in a threefold way:

a. For the predestinated: unto adoption (Eph 1:5), in which redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7; Eph 1:14) are given to them in grace (His grace which He freely bestowed upon us, Eph 1:6), so that they as the possession of God (Eph 1:14) become partakers of the inheritance (Eph 1:11), of the salvation which the gospel brings (Eph 1:13) and holy and without blame (Eph 1:4).

b. For the entire world, in the history of which through various periods of development (dispensation of the fulness of times, Eph 1:10), it is accomplished: to gather up together all things in Christ.

c. For God the Lord: unto the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph 1:6), unto the praise of His glory (Eph 1:12; Eph 1:14). The aim is accordingly as much moral as religious, and as much individually-personal as world-historical. The synthesis of the moral and religious factors, which is in the main peculiar to the Sacred Scriptures (Schenkel), appears all the more prominently here, as the emphatic is at once both religious and moral. The same is true of the glory of God and the blessedness of man, and so much so that it is not correct to affirm that the glory of God and it alone is the final and most exalted end of the creation and redemption of the world (Schenkel).

What is world-historical must be combined with what is personal, the individual life with the whole; it is however unmistakable, that the relation of the creature to the Creator is arranged in order to regulate the demeanor of the former, and that the whole is wrought upon by the individual parts becoming the object of activity, as these are wrought upon through the whole, and thus the totality is brought to completion.
6. The Mediator is Christ, our Lord and Saviour (Eph 1:3), the Beloved (Eph 1:6), and it is through His blood (Eph 1:7) thus in conformity to His eternal Person and His relation to God, as well as according to His atoning and redeeming sufferings in time. terna igitur prdestinatio in Christo et nequaquam extra mediatorem Christum consideranda est (Form. Conc. xi. 65). Since then God, who is the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Beloved, formed the decree of redemption in Christ, He must be conceived of as existing before the purpose, and hence the Person of Christ as that eternal person, in whom the Father chose us, as He created us in Him despite the foreseen fall. Accordingly Christ is the causa meritoria of our election, both of the purpose and its accomplishment, to which latter the suffering of death, mentioned in Eph 1:7, especially refers. Although the Reformed agree with the Lutherans in formal statement on this point, all their symbols describing the election of grace as taking place in Christo and propter Christum, yet they deviate from scriptural truth, in regarding Him as the object of the predestination: ut ipse quoque (Helvet. Conf. V.), and not as fundamentum ipsam electionem prcedens, not as causa meritoria. So that they not only refer with propter Christum to the idea of satisfaction, which should not be the causa impulsiva, rather merely the condition chosen by God for the actualization of the predestination in eternal blessedness, but also with in Christo wish to designate only the medium of the accomplishment. According to this view only for those elected by Gods mercy is there a Christ and an atoning death, and it cannot be perceived whence there should then arise any necessity of the atoning act of redemption for the satisfaction of Divine wrath; for the grace has not to be rendered possible, but the determined gracious purpose has only to be carried out. Comp. Schneckenburger, Vergleichende Darstellung, I. p. 192 ff.; Frank, iv. p. 192 ff. [It is scarcely fair to take the strongly partisan work of Heidegger (Formula Consensus Helvetica, 1675, see Biblework, Romans, pp. 191, 192) as a representative of the Reformed Confessions on this point. There has been, since the days of the Reformation, a tendency in the Reformed Church to bald forensic statements on this point, but to-day the full significance of the phrase: in Christ, is perhaps better understood than ever before.R.]

7. The means of grace in carrying out the decree of redemption the Apostle indicates with , having made known (Eph 1:9), and calls them also: the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation (Eph 1:13). To neither designation of the Divine word is there attached any limitation as respects the sphere of its effect, while the genitives describe rather, partly (of truth) an efficient truth, calculated for all, as the purport of this word, partly (of your salvation) the power and effect, which it bears in itself and exercises. At all events we should maintain, as respects this chapter, what is said in the Form. Conc. xi. 16, 29, 33 (where the German version has verleiht, the Latin expressing it more weakly: largiri vult, though meaning quite as much): For it should not be thought, that God spoke thus: Externally through the word I call all of you, to whom I give my word, into my kingdom, but in my heart I do not intend it for all, but only for a certain few; for it is my will, that the greater part of those whom I thus call through my word should not be enlightened and converted, but be and remain condemned, although I declare otherwise respecting them in the invitations of my word. Hoc enim esset Deo contradictorias voluntates affingere (xi. 24). [This is the old difficulty in another form. It is a difficulty of fact, too. For a large portion of those who have the word of God in their hands and hear it, even while it is the Gospel of salvation to those who sit beside them, are not enlightened and converted. Why not? The question is not a merely theoretical one, but comes out of agonized hearts often enough. An answer which charges God with folly, or which accepts His purpose as thwarted, will not satisfy the heart, however theologians may philosophize; the resting place in this strait, as in all others, is in God. He worketh all things after the counsel of His willbut is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.R.]

8. The condition of the saving effect of these means the Apostle marks with , to which he adds with emphasis (Eph 1:13), and with . The Formula of Concord aptly states these thoughts (xi. 17): Decrevit etiam se spiritu sanctu suo per verbum annuntiatum auditione perceptum et memori commendatum velle in nobis efficacem esse, et corda ad veram pnitentiam agendam inflectere et vera fide conservare. There is at least nothing to be derived from these propositions in favor of the Synergism of Melanchthon and his followers. The word of God develops in the hearer that power which he has placed in it, and in this power he apprehends, being himself first apprehended, what is bidden him, and thus gains hope and confidence through the power of the word which has become vital and active in him. But it is indicated definitely enough that man can resist; he is not forced to hear and accept what is proclaimed, nor to believe in it and hope in it. Since God will save only in Christ, and only through the Word will create faith and hope in Him, this does not accord with the statement of the Reformed and the Predestinarians, that God wills nothing which He does not do. If the Ninevites could avert His punitive will by repentance, so His gracious will may be thwarted through resistance. This is Scriptural truth, and it is confirmed by Christian experience, which knows of no necessity for obeying the will of God, but too well of a possibility of resisting it (Frank, iv. p. 205). The gratia irresistibilis of Augustine is a fiction arising from an abstract conception of the purely Absolute. The unconditioned yet self-conditioning Personality of God does not will, as the predestinarians think that He wills, but with a self-restraining almightiness within the sphere of redemption, so that salvation, is not gained without His will, but the proffered salvation is lost through mans own fault against His earnest gracious will, which He offers in His Word. Both must be maintained: God has willingly given men of His will and conditioned Himself, in placing conditions before men in the hearing and believing of His Word, and man has the power of continued resistance, so that an entire apocatastasis of all things, the ultimate salvation of all, although Gods revealed will points thereto, is scarcely conceivable, as Origen, Schleiermacher and others suppose. A final resistance is to be maintained as possible. Nitzsch, System, p. 416.

9. Assurance of election is definitely pointed out in Eph 1:13-14 : ye were sealed with the Spirit of promise, the Holy One, who is the earnest of our inheritance, and although in consequence of faith (), still on the ground of the promise of the Holy Ghost and the resulting bestowal of the samein the means of grace, the word, and baptism (which, though not expressed, is to be understood) and through which Christs merit, that is and suffices for all, is attributed to us. On the ground of the certainty, that Gods word is true, that God has loved the world, that Christ has died for the sins of the whole world, and that God has called you also, must have called you, because He has loved you in Christ, and I have been baptized, accepted as a child, endowed with the Holy Ghost, renewed, regenerated, even though it be but germinally, potentially, I am certain of my election before the foundation of the world, and my inheritance in eternity. [Rightly enough the doctrine of election is for the comfort of believers, but they will derive far more comfort from a more definite conception of the matter. If baptismal regeneration is a ground for the assurance of election, then many thus assured are not sanctified in this world, and such an assurance is not likely to further such a result. The Augustinian view is here the practical one.R.]

10. The possibility of apostasy is indicated by the phrase unto the redemption of the purchased possession. It marks chiefly the goal to which the Holy Ghost, as earnest of our inheritance, points. But the Christian has the consciousness, that his life-development is an ethical, not a physical, process, that he can withdraw himself, can resist the Divine will, can fall and fall away too. God will preserve us to the end and complete His work on and in us, si modo non ipsi nos ab eo avertamus (Form. Conc., xi. 32, 75). Hence the warnings in the hortatory part of this Epistle (chap. 46). Comp. Heb 6:4-6, where the fall of the regenerate is assumed, and only the return of such is called impossible. Accordingly there inheres in the reference to election and the possession of salvation a strong means of incitement to sanctification, on the ground and in virtue of the existing ethical matter of fact in faith. [An earnest is generally a safeguard against failure to fulfil the agreement, nor does the preposition (Eph 1:14), rendered until in the E. V., indicate any possibility of failure, but rather with its strong final sense, and that too in parallelism with unto the praise of his glory, implies the very opposite. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints stands or falls with that of personal predestination, and both are parts of the theological system, which makes His glory the chief end.R.]

11. Concluding remark. A mystery remains here until eternity. It is analogous to a miracle, which is not such in the sight of God nor of the redeemed any longer, but only for those in lower stages. Thus it is with the mystery of Gods will, which is ever dissolving and in the higher degrees of revelation becomes ever more manifest. The completion of revelation like that of the inheritance lies beyond this world. Hence we have not contradictions,64 that inhere in the Scripture or the truth, but only those which belong to human statement, and are such to our understanding. Let us then be humble! [This is the best guard against dogmatism. Especially let those who hold those views of Divine Sovereignty which are most humbling learn the lesson!R.]

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Begin always with thanksgiving to God, and neither forget nor overlook the benefits He has conferred upon you; but above all consider the spiritual gifts with which He has blessed you and yours.The beginning, middle, and end of the Christian life, or its ground, path and goal, is the praise and adoration of God. Before God created men, He willed that they should be His children; it is just in being or becoming Gods children, that we foster the human in us, and we should be Christians, in order to be really men. He who does not fully become a man, is no proper Christian or child of God. The ultimate end of God is His glory; this is attained, when we become holy and blameless. He wills His glory only in our blessedness; the Fathers honor is linked with the childrens blessedness.Everything is to be traced back to the will of God: what is manifest, revealed, experienced is the guide into the secrecy of God and His will; we must let ourselves be led from His revealed will into His secret will.God accomplishes His will, but only according to the purpose of His will; hence not in a physical, chemical, natural process, but in an ethical life-process of men created after His image and for sonship with Him does He effect the desired and determined redemption of the same.In Christ, the Beloved, is the counsel of salvation formed, in Christ it is to be carried out, and in such a way that Christ dies for the sake of sinners as a sacrifice of reconciliation, as an atoning sacrifice, and with the forgiveness of sins is begun that redemption, which leads to the throne and heart of God, since the Spirit of God works on our spirit, and His work not being in vain, confirms us in sonship, in regeneration and renewal even unto the inheritance. The process is from above to beneath, then from within to without, in order to lead from the depths up on high. The mystery of the Divine will is not in itself an incomprehensible, inconceivable enigma, entirely uncomprehended; it is only a mystery for us, rising so far above us, who cannot fathom its depth nor measure its infinitude, considering the majesty and the kindness of the same. For our reason it is a mystery; not contrary to, but above our reason; the reason of man and of God are two very different things. The mystery of the Divine will is only the manifestation of what is conditioned, limited, finite and imperfect in our knowledge, which bears to what in itself is clearest of all the same relation as the eyes of night birds to bright daylight. It is a proof of a Divine revelation, if we seem, when confronted with His will and truth, to be transferred to a shoreless sea, a fathomless depth. That is at once the mystery and the revelation of God. Without revelation knowest thou nothing of God, canst know nothing of Him; whoever rejects the revelation in Christ, in the sacred Scriptures, rejects also the science of God Himself; to him the mystery of God ever becomes a riddle without solution, while the Christian ever knows and feels it with greater joy. It is not unreasonable to believe on the mystery in God, since this disappears ever more and more; like children, we grow into the truth which was at first so mysterious.As Christ is the point of beginning for the Fathers gracious decree in eternity, so He is the middle-point of its accomplishment in history, and the terminal point in its consummation.All things, the creation of heaven and earth, the maintenance and administration of the world are subordinate and subservient to the counsel of Gods grace respecting our redemption in Christ: the Father is concerned for His children, not for His servants and His possessions; these are employed and rightly placed, when the children are cared for.The word of revelation must be proclaimed and accepted: this is the chief duty of men ordered by God.Here believers have no lack of germs, beginnings, earnest; but fruit, completion, full payment come not here, but above.

Starke:The wealth of the elect is inconceivable, indescribable, incomparable.See the final point of this election of grace, and its tokens too. Prove yourselves thereby, ye Christians!Believers have sonship with God through Christ, not from their own worthiness: it brings with it the noblest treasures, yes, the eternal inheritance.The forgiveness of sins is the most glorious fruit of Christs redemption; it is the basis of all other benefits: for where it is, there is life and blessedness.The fountain of grace will never be drained, but is and remains inexhaustible, so that of its fulness we receive grace for grace.Christ is the true ladder whose top touches heaven and its end the earth, thus linking and binding heaven and earth, God and men. Let him, who will be united to God, hold to Christ.Angels and men stand again in friendship through Christ. Hence Christ is concerned with the angels, not that He must gain something for them of which they do not stand in need, but that they may have friendship again with men, when these again attain to grace.The work of our election and salvation is full of wisdom, because it has taken place according to the counsel of Him who is wisdom itself; it is pure grace, because it appertains to an inheritance; infallible, because it is founded on the purpose of the Almighty; full of righteousness, because all comes to us through Christ, the righteous. Excellent tokens of the Divine truth of the Christian religion: it brings that with it, which the whole world cannot give and which makes man blessed, in the germ here in time, in perfection in eternity. This makes believers joyful in all tribulation, even in martyrdom.

Rieger:They shall be blessed is the sum of all the promises of the Old Testament; He has blessed us is the Gospel laud for the fulfilment of these promises in the New Testament. With these spiritual blessings in heavenly places the gospel conquers the whole world and the earthly mind, in which Jews and Gentiles lay captive.In this are the honor of God and our salvation inseparably joined: God seeks His honor or the praise of His glory in us through our pardon.In the Old Testament, it was often said: the Lord do thee good for Abrahams sake, for His servant Davids sake; but now all is in and through the Beloved, who became the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Once obtain in Him the forgiveness of sins, and then all other spiritual blessings flow without ceasing.By the frequent phrase: according to His good pleasure, according to the counsel of His will, the Apostle bows down our mistrustful heart, so apt to strive for the mastery with the Holy One of Israel.In the repeated expressions: through Himself, in whom, in Christ, the Apostle manifests an unusual zeal and care, to bind us ever to Christ, to accustom us to seek and find our glory in this alone, that we belong to Christ and are numbered in His inheritance; we may have reason hereafter to praise more the truth of God, like the Jews, descending from the fathers, whose are the promises; or to magnify rather His mercy, like the Gentiles, who unexpectedly have been favored with the gracious call. It is a word of truth, searched by every one, who is of the truth, concerned about the truth, that thus he may be helped to the truth; it is the Gospel of our salvation, not only bringing us tidings of it, but containing a Divine power for actual blessing, through the faith to which it inclines the heart, giving also the Spirit, which affords what redounds to our own certainty and steadfastness in the truth, serving at the same time as a witness to others, that we have attained a position in true grace, and especially assuring us of our preservation, which we are to enjoy as the redeemed possession of the Lord, but which with the crown thereto appertaining we will lay at the feet of Him, who has accepted us to the praise of His glory.

Bengel:Ultra hoc beneplacitum nobis neque in salutis nostr neque in ullis operum divinorum causis rimandis ire licet. Quid philosopharis de mundo optimo? Cave, ne tute sis malus!

Kleuker:The entire Pauline theology rests mainly on what he calls the Divine mystery, terming its execution the economy of God. No Apostle speaks with such a sweep and fulness of spirit, as Paul, whose revelation is in this economy.

Gerlach:The riches of Divine grace in the forgiveness of sins makes itself known to us chiefly through the illumination, which thus becomes ours, the knowledge of God and our salvation,this we include under wisdom; under prudence especially the insight into our condition and the life of the world, the practical, Christian wisdom for living. In neither should we think merely of the one-sided intellectual knowledge.

Heubner:Christ, the eternal Son of God, has been the ground, why God created the world, and delivered and blessed the fallen world. Christ is the eternal ground of the Divine complacency toward the world, the ground of our blessedness.The highest grace is Redemption. God decreed it, Christ accomplished it, earning it. It is of a purely spiritual character, the forgiveness of sins. That is true redemption, which releases us not from earthly need, but from anxiety and disquietude of conscience, from enmity to God, from incapacity for good and fear of hell. It is the fundamental condition of all other possessions, which we have through Christ. The general decree of God is the basis of the calling of individuals; for God overlooks no one. Man can bring either honor or shame to God, as a child to its parents. Christians should bring honor to God, He desires to get honor through us before the world.The Holy Spirit is the seal of Christians, the stamp which they receive, that they are real children of God, the token by means of which they appear and pass current as Christians before the celestial spirits. Without this character (express image) faith is vain and all Christianity mere sham. How many sham Christians there are, who have not this Seal!This Spirit is to the Christian the strongest proof also of eternal life, because in itself it is something eternal, imperishable.

Passavant:The eternal counsel of the Father respecting the election of souls is first carried out and consummated in the Son and through Him in the course of time. It is a work and miracle of love, unsearchable and unfathomable, carried on at once on earth and in heaven, in a human breast, and in a Divine heart. This election does not rest in man or angel, not in the will of man or angels thought; not in human or angelic holiness or righteousness, purity or greatness or fidelity, not in any virtue, glory or love of the creature.By nature we are not the children of God; even though so many may, flatly and godlessly enough, think and affirm otherwise, calling God Father and All-father.But God now makes us His children; He has exalted us to the joys, the blessednesses, the treasures, the eternities, the glories of the heavenly nature; we are children, beloved children, heirs of God, heirs of heaven! This is the doing of the Lords grace.Nothing makes so poor in all true good and worth and blessing, as sin and all that belongs to and proceeds from sin.The gospel traces our thoughts and feelings back to and into ourselves, so that we perceive the cunning of our hearts and the deceit of sin, and come to the footprints of God, to the springs of what is eternally true and good. It reveals to us, what we were, what we are, and what we should become; what are our deepest needs, the eternal ones; what our internal injury, the worst of all; what our heaviest sorrows might be, here and hereafter. It reveals to us, where the true, certain aid is, where salvation, light, peace, life are, a Divine salvation, an unerring light, an eternal peace, an everlasting life.It is out of this light, that its opponents and enemies have borrowed or stolen all the rays of truth and wisdom, which shine here and there in their proud writings and philosophies.It is the Holy Spirit, who gives man to God in this life, and gives God to man in eternal life; who here sketches the features of the children in likeness to their heavenly Father, and will complete the picture in eternity: who begins their redemption here with their release from the servile yoke of the creature, and will complete it in the unity and love of the Creator.

Stier:An Apostle prays for his church, teaches and exhorts out of the promise and petition of his apostolic prayer, but does not lord it, does not establish eternal forms, does not urge and carry to excess the external phenomena of the church, which is forming itself deeply and inwardly in view of its goal.Each after his manner! As Christ is now our Head in another way than that of the holy angels, so is He in another way Lord and King, and Crown, too, of the material world also. The condemned and evil spirits lie at His feet in another manner than the adoring saints and angelsyet still all really, all finally before Him.

Beecher65:Those who are willing are always the elect, those who will not, are not elected. Many men are wrapped up in the doctrines of election and predestination, but that is the height of impertinence. They are truths belonging to God alone, and if you are perplexed by them, it is only because you trouble yourself about things which do not concern you. You only need to know that God sustains you with all His might in the winning of your salvation, if you will only rightly use His help. Whoever doubts this is like the crew of a boat working with all their might against the tide and yet going back hour after hour; then they notice, that the tide turns, while at the same time the wind springs up and fills their sails. The coxswain cries: pull away boys! wind and tide favor you! But they answer: What can we do with the oars, dont the wind and tide take away our free agency?

Schelling:It is a vacuity of ideas, that ventures to call itself Rationalism. Not to hate ones enemies, not to persecute them, but to do them good, aye, to love them, is above Reason. The supreme commands of a generous morality, exalting humanity, could not be fulfilled, if man could not act above Reason. Why then should not God act above Reason? In tins sense it is by no means irrational to say,the will of God as respects the human race estranged from Him is above Reason. We can, with J. G. Haman, answer the good-natured people who want to have a rational God after their notions: whether they have never noticed, that God is a genius, who asks very little about what they call rational or irrational.

Hofacker:The wide range which Christmas Day opens to our eye of faith: 1) How far back; 2) How high up; 3) How far ahead it teaches us to look.

Ahlfeld:Thank the Lord, who hath blessed thee with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things! 1) For what should I be thankful? 2) How should I thank Him?(Sermon for Whitsunday): The Holy Ghost, as Steward of the possessions of Christ, pours out His treasures upon us. He (1) proclaims, (2) entails, (3) seals to us salvation in Jesus Christ.

Palmer:Our election in Christ: 1) It is an eternal one, but linked to the temporal Incarnation of Christ; 2) It is a mysterious act of God, but each may have a clear consciousness respecting it; 3) It has taken place without our help, but does not permit us to be idle.

Kapff (on St. Thomas Day):What a mighty strengthening of our faith lies in the Divine election! 1) in its goal, 2) in its ground, 3) in the mode of its accomplishment.

[Schenkel:The eternal election of the Christian: 1. A work of Divine love; 2. With the effect of presenting him ever more and more pure and holy before God.Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world: He is (1) the Centre of the worlds history, (2) the Key to the understanding of the mystery of Gods providential rule.How in the Person of Jesus Christ, beginning and end, heaven and earth harmoniously unite.No predestination save unto holiness, no election outside of the Mediator, Jesus Christ.All events in time depend on the decree of God in eternity.The Holy Ghost as the earnest of our heavenly inheritance: 1. A balm of consolation for the weak; 2. A weapon of victory for the strong.R.]

[Eadie:

Eph 1:3. We bless Him because He has blessed us.Christianity is the dispensation of the Spirit, and as its graces are inwrought by Him, they are all named spiritual after Him.

Eph 1:4. The pulsation of a holy heart leads to a stainless life, and this is the avowed purpose of our election.Sovereignty is but another name for highest and benignest equity.

Eph 1:5. The returning prodigal does not win his way back into the paternal mansion. This purpose to accept us existed ere the fact of our apostacy had manifested itself, and being without epoch of origin, it comes not within the limits of chronology. It pre-existed time.Adoption has its medium in Christ: but it has its ultimate enjoyment and blessing in God. Himself is our Father.His household we enterHis welcome we are saluted withHis name and dignity we wearHis image we possessHis discipline we receiveand His home, secured and prepared for us, we hope forever to dwell in. To Himself we are adopted. The origin of this privilege and distinction is the Divine love.

Eph 1:8. A mystery is not to be flung abroad without due discrimination. The revealer of it wisely selects his audience, and prudently chooses the proper time, place and method for his disclosure.

Eph 1:10. This re-capitulation of all things is declared a second time to be in Christa solemn and emphatic re-assertion. His mediative work has secured it, and His mediatorial person is the one centre of the universe. As the stone dropped into the lake creates those widening and concentric circles, which ultimately reach the farthest shore, so the deed done on Calvary has sent its undulations through the distant spheres and realms of Gods great empire.

Eph 1:11. His desire and His decrees are not at variance, but every resolution embodies His unthwarted pleasure.

Eph 1:13. The gospel is wholly truth, and that very truth which is indispensable to a guilty world. And it comes as a word, by special oral revelation, for it is not gleaned and gathered: there is a kind and faithful oracle.The gospel is good news, and that good news is our salvation.That seal unbroken remains a token of safety. Whatever bears Gods image will be safely carried home to His bosom.

Eph 1:14. The earnest, though it differ in degree, is the same in kind with the prospective inheritance. The earnest is not withdrawn, nor a totally new circle of possessions substituted. Heaven is but an addition to present enjoyments. The prelibation will be followed by the banquet.We have redemption so soon as we believe; we are ever having it so long as we are on earth; and when Jesus comes again to finish the economy of grace, we shall have it in its full and final completion.All issues to the praise of His glory, His grace having now done its work. The church receives its complement in extent at the very same epoch at which it is crowned with fulness of purity and blessedness. May it please Thee of thy gracious goodness shortly to accomplish the number of Thy elect, and to hasten Thy kingdom, is an appropriate petition on the part of all saints.R.]

Footnotes:

[15]Eph 1:3.B. omits , . inserts [after , to complete the well-known phrase], which is disapproved by the later reviser [.3].

[16]Eph 1:3.[The aorist here ought certainly to he maintained in translation, as the allusion is to the past act of redemption. The idiom of our language frequently interferes with the regular application of the rule, but it is still no less certain that the English preterite is the nearest equivalent of the Greek aorist. A slavish application of this rule has much marred the version of the Amer. Bible Union. This section presents a number of cases where the proper rendering of the Greek tense is a matter of some delicacy, though rarely of great difficulty.R.]

[17]Eph 1:3.[The singular should be retained, as in the Genevan, Bishops, and Rhemish versions. Alford and Ellicott (following the Syriac version) render: blessing of the Spirit, but this is a correct interpretation rather than a translation. With (E. V.) need not be changed to in, but the English reader should be reminded that the Greek preposition is .R.]

[18]Eph 1:4.[See Exeg. Notes.R.]

[19]Eph 1:5.[Unto adoption through Jesus Christ unto himself; the variations from the E. V. are all necessary; the adoption of children is pleonastic; should, as a rule, be rendered through, and unto. Himself is to be retained, because, although the reading is not but , the reference is to God, and this will not appear if the simple pronoun Him is substituted. Ellicotts rendering is peculiar: having foreordained us for adoption through Jesus Christ into Himself. He justifies the last preposition by the English idiom adopt into.R.]

[20]Eph 1:6.. A. B. have , corrected in the first to , as D. E. F. G. K. L. read; the former is, however, lectio difficilior, and it is more likely that the latter arose from it, than the reverse. [The reading of the Rec. ( ) is found in a great majority of cursives, many versions and fathers; it is adopted by Tischendorf and Ellicott. The other is received by Lachmann, Meyer, Alford. It is very difficult to decide, but the above rendering is based on the reading .R.]

[21]Eph 1:7.[The emphatic article before is best rendered by the possessive pronoun our, as indeed is often necessary in translating the article from the German. Transgressions is more exact than sins, and thus the distinction between this verse and Col 1:14 is maintained.On before see Exeg. Notes.R.]

[22]Eph 1:7.[Instead of (Rec., .3 D.3 K. L.) read (.1 A. B. D.1), which is adopted by Lachmann, Rckert, Tischendorf (see his Prolegg. p. Leviticus 7 th ed.), Alford, Ellicott. Comp. Winer, p. 64.R.]

[23]Eph 1:10.[Among the multitude of emendations suggested in regard to this part of Eph 1:10. I have felt that it was only necessary to adopt this one, which literally translates the preposition . The phrases, for, with a view to, in regard of, with reference to, are not more intelligible than the simple unto providing the pointing be properly altered (as above) to indicate the close connection with purposed. Ellicott omits even the comma.Dispensation was once an improper translation, but is perhaps now the nearest equivalent to the Greek ; fulfilment might be substituted for fulness, and seasons for times, but the gain would be slight. The omission of that requires a change in the finite construction of the remainder of the verse.R.]

[24]Eph 1:10.[The after in the Rec. is to be rejected, having scarcely any support (.3). A much more difficult question is, whether we should read or before . For the first, which is very unusual in this connection, the authorities are: .1 B. D. L. and 40 cursives, accepted by Lachmann, Rckert, Meyer, Alford and others; for the second (Rec.), A. F. G. K., majority of cursives, fathers, accepted by Griesbach, Scholz, Harless, De Wette, Tischendorf, Ellicott, Eadie, Braune. If the former be adopted, it must be as an ; and is so remarkable a one, that we may well incline to the latter, especially as a careless copyist would find so close at hand. Comp. Exeg. Notes.R.]

[25]Eph 1:11.. B. K. L. [all modern editors]: . A. D. E. F. G.: . which is the easier reading. [Braune takes this verb to mean: made an inheritance, not obtain an inheritance, as in E. V.R.]

[26]Eph 1:12.[For a justification of this translation now generally adopted, see Exeg. Notes.R.]

[27]Eph 1:13.[This view of the construction is the simplest, and most defensible. The participles: , are best rendered by the English past participles; after that, etc. (E. V.), is, too, pronounced in its temporal reference.R.]

[28]Eph 1:14. according to . D. E. K. is lectio dificilior over against , A. B. F. [The latter is the reading of the Rec., Lachmann, Rckert, Alford. The former is accepted by Tischendorf, Ellicott, Meyer, who remarks on the readiness with which the latter reading would arise, owing to the neuter .R.]

[29][The verb is usually omitted in this and similar forms of doxology. Understand (Job 1:21; Psa 112:2) or (2Ch 9:8). So Alford, Ellicott. It is from this word that Dr. Lange derives his view respecting Pauls use of liturgical forms; comp. Rom 9:5; and the O. T. passages cited above.R.]

[30][This is true in N. T. usage. In the LXX. it is almost universally true, though in Gen 26:29; Deu 7:14; 1Sa 15:13; 1Sa 25:33 as Ellicott remarks, is applied to man. The distinction is sufficiently marked to justify Dr. Braunes remark. See Harless in loco.R.]

[31][Meyers view: God who is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, would require, if a strict construction be insisted on: , , as Alford intimates. Ellicott admits that there are no grammatical or doctrinal objections to the view defended above, but prefers the other, mainly on the ground that the phrase the God of Christ is singular. Hodge and Eadie join the genitive to both nouns.R.]

[32][Eadie at first took this aorist as marking a customary or repeated act, an interpretation he seems to have given up in his 2d edition, where, however, a trace of it is found in a footnote which has no corresponding number in his text. To take it as having the sense of the present, which Hodge seems to favor (though his view would require the perfect in Greek), is untenable. The aorist participle, retaining as usual its aoristic force, refers to the counsels of the Father as graciously completed in the Redemption.R.]

[33][Alford is fully justified in saying: in the N. T. always implies the working of the Holy Spirit, never bearing merely our modern inaccurate sense of spiritual as opposed to bodily. Hodge apparently accepts both, which is not allowable, even if the correct meaning be given the greater prominence. Eadie concedes the latter meaning in the New Testament, but improperly in every passage cited. He justly opposes the exclusive reference of our passage to charismata (Whitby), alluding to the transitory character of these gifts. Theodoret: The blessings referred to here are, the hope of the resurrection, the promises of immortality, the kingdom of heaven in reversion, and the dignity of adoption.R.]

[34][Alford prefers to render the verb: selected, as best indicating the middle sense, and the choosing out of the world. See Ellicott in loco on this word.R.]

[35][Eadie also discusses Hofmanns view, which is simply this, that the election is only a choosing for and unto something, not a choosing out of. Meyer says most emphatically regarding Hofmanns position: This is impossible from the notion of the word. A reference to others, to whom the chosen ones would still have belonged without the , the verb always has, and as a logical necessity must have it. How true this is, will appear from the unsatisfactory and confusing character of all attempts to explain away this reference.R.]

[36][Ebrard (Christliche Dogmatik, 560) denies the individual reference in the verb ., but, as Eadie well remarks: The choice of a multitude is simply the choice of each individual composing it. That multitude may be regarded as a unity by God, but to Him it is a unity of definite elements or members. On the Divine side the elect, whatever their number, are a unity, and are so described , Joh 6:39; , Joh 17:2a totality viewed by Omniscience as one; but on the human side, the elect are the whole company of believers, but thus individualized , Joh 6:40. Paul says so distinctly that God chose us out, as to put men at their wits end to make Him say anything else.R.]

[37][Ellicott says that this phrase here serves to define the archetypal character of the New Dispensation, and the wide gulf that separated the (2Ti 1:9) of God with respect to Christians, from His temporal of the Jews.R.]

[38][The question respecting the use of is discussed on this page of Winers Grammar. The sweeping assertion that it is never used, is not accepted by Winer. It appears, however, that under the influence of Griesbach, this pointing became too frequent, the tendency now being against it, Ellicott says: The distinction, however, between the proper use of these two forms cannot be rigorously defined.R.]

[39][Dr. Braune seems to refer Col 1:22 to the future Judgment, in his notes on that passage.R.]

[40][As there is here no sacrificial allusion, direct or indirect (comp. Eph 5:27), it seems best to retain the simple etymological meaning: inculpatus (Ellicott).R.]

[41][Braune says: dem gemthlichen Akt des Wollens, thus indicating his acceptance of Buttmanns distinction between and (the former more an act of inclination, the latter of deliberation, choice). On this see Eph 1:11. The word gemthlich has no English equivalent, so far as I am aware.R.]

[42][The article here points to something well known; if the verb has a reference mainly objective, then this means the redemption promised, etc., but if it be subjective, then it means our redemption. So Conybeare. Ellicott objects to this, but sanctions it in the Revision by Four Ang. Clergymen. Such a rendering by no means implies that the is merely subjective.R.]

[43][On this distinction, comp. Trench, Synonymes, N. T., 33; Cocceius has a special treatise, De utilitate distinctionis inter et (Opp. t. vii.) See Schaff, Romans, p. 128, Textual Note8.R.]

[44][On see Dr. Schaffs note (Rom 5:15) p. 182, and the subsequent discussions. The positions taken there forbid any such wide reference as that of Olshausen, Ellicott, while not laying much stress upon the distinction between and , takes the former as pointing more to sins on the side of commission, sinful acts, the latter to sins as the result of a state, sinful conditions.R.]

[45][Ellicott renders this word: discernment or intelligence, adding a very discriminating note.R.]

[46][Alford argues at some length in favor of the reference to the whole gospel dispensation, the giving forth of the gospel under Gods providential arrangements. Against his view, see Eadie.R.]

[47][It is certainly true that God comprehended this development in His plan, and that it was an important factor in carrying out the dispensation of the fulness of times, though its importance has not been recognized until lately by theologians and church historians. Eadie well observes: The is regarded as a vast receptacle into which centuries and milleniums had been falling, but it was now filled. That fulness of the time in which this economy was founded, is the precise period, for the Lord has appointed it; and the best period, for the age was ripe for the event. The view of Dr. Braune is so well stated and agrees so entirely with that of the most exact of modern commentators, that further supplement is needless.R.]

[48][The force of , again, should be retained, it would seem, for Rom 13:9, can include such a notion irrespective of the forced assumption of Harless. Hodge and Alford indeed are timid about admitting it, lest it be turned to an improper use, but there is undoubtedly a restoration implied in Redemption, although restoration falls very far short of the latter idea.R.]

[49][Harless takes it as depending on the mystery of his will. The general idea is the same, but such a connection would give to the intervening words too much of a parenthetical character.R.]

[50][Perhaps the most restricted view is that of Dr. Hodge: The redeemed from among men, some of whom are now in heaven and others are still on earth. This he defends by a number of reasons, all of which I am forced to consider irrelevant. The great mistake is in his giving too wide a scope to the anacephalaiosis, insisting that it means such a gathering together as implies redemption in its fullest sense, for which there is no authority, save the assumed paranomasia in the word. Granting this position, the restriction of follows as a matter of course. It would seem to be a far better method to take in its appropriate sense, all things, even at the risk of limiting a doubtful word like , than to give it the sense of the masculine, which it never has. This restricted view seems to be adopted more from doctrinal than exegetical reasons.R.]

[51][Comp. Meyer in loco. He says: The doctrine of restoration, according to which even those who have remained unbelieving, and finally devils, shall yet attain to blessedness, contrary as it is to the whole tenor of the New Testament, finds no support in our passage either (against Chrysostom and others), where in , etc., the exclusion of the unbelieving and the demoniacal powers and their banishment to Gehenna is self-evident in connection with the Christian consciousness of faith, so that the anacephalaiosis does not apply to every single individual, but to the whole complex of things heavenly and earthly, which, after the anti-christian individuals have been excluded and transferred to hell, shall be joined in unity under God in the renewed world again, as formerly before sin all in heaven and on earth was thus united. Olshausen therefore incorrectly thinks our passage (like Col 1:20) is to be placed in accord with the general type of Scriptural teaching, by finding in the infinitive . the purpose of God, which, in the founding of redemption furnished with unlimited power, has in view the establishment of universal harmony, the restoration of all that is lost. Irrespective of the fact that the infinitive is epexegetical, it is altogether unscriptural to assume that in redemption there is purposed a restoration of all that is lost, even of the devils. For those passages which speak of the universality of redemption and such sayings as 1Pe 4:6; Php 2:10 f., leave entirely untouched the constant doctrine of the New Testament respecting eternal damnation. As regards the devils, the purpose of God in the economy of redemption was to conquer them (1Jn 3:8; 1Co 15:24), and to deliver them to the punishment of eternal torment already passed upon them (Mat 25:41; Judges 6; 2Pe 2:4; Rev 20:1 ff.; comp. Bertholdt, Christologie, p. 223). In the New Testament there is no single thought of the restoration of devils, as this is conceived of as an impossibility in the case of the radically antitheistic spirits. The prince of this world is only judged. No one can accuse Meyer of theological bias, or of ungrammatical exegesis, hence his opinion is quoted entire.R.]

[52][Alford: Energizes; but especially in and among material previously given, as here, in His material creation, and in the spirits of all flesh, also His creation. The same author remarks on the repetition of the notion of predestination: Here first the Apostle comes to the idea of the universal church, the whole Israel of God, and therefore here brings forward again that fore-ordination which he had indeed hinted at generally in Eph 1:5, but which properly belonged to Israel, and is accordingly predicated of the Israel of the church.R.]

[53][In my note on Colossians, p. 35, 1 refer to Dr. Hitchcocks views on this point. While it is a matter of regret as regards this work as a whole that Prof. Hitchcock, owing to ill health, was obliged to abandon his intention to edit Ephesians, it is especially unfortunate that his studies on this distinction could not be incorporated here. His conclusions, however, agree in the main with those of Tittmann, as given above.R.]

[54][Ellicott objects to this as inexact, observing that this would imply a participle Without, not as here with the article. He refers to Donaldson, Cratylus, 304, Grammar, 492 sq. It should be noticed that the perfect participle expresses here as so often a past act continuing to the present, the perfect of permanent state.R.]

[55][It should be noticed, that De Wette, who is the principal supporter of this view, is also the chief opposer of the Pauline origin of our Epistle. Naturally enough the latter opinion would influence his judgment on this point, for one who believes that this verse was written by a pupil of the Apostle Paul, in all probability a Gentile, would fail to see the appropriateness of giving prominence to the antithesis between Jewish and Gentile Christians accepted by most commentators.R.]

[56][So Hodge, who misapprehends the difficulties attending the construction accepted by Braune.R.]

[57][It is difficult to see how these passages prove the correctness of Dr. BrauneS statement. The Jews were the first hearers, but of the, believing also is here predicated, the reference being to the same persons; hence these passages which speak of the Jews hearing and not believing, prove rather that refers to Gentile ChristiansR.]

[58] [The sealing was the same in the case of both, but the antecedents of the Gentile Christians, the fact that they had no previous seal of Gods covenant, makes this prominent in their case, but this does not require us to find here any definite allusion to circumcision.R.]

[59][Hodge combines the three meanings: (1) To authenticate or confirm as genuine and true; (2) To mark as ones property; (3) To render secure.R.]

[60][Meyer well remarks that Paul wishes to give emphatic and solemn prominence to that by means of which the sealing takes place, and hence speaks with a corresponding pathos. This should be preserved in the English rendering as above (so Alford).R.]

[61][Ellicott: The Spirit which came from, i. e., was announced, by promise. Eadie: The genitive is almost that of ablation. Meyer takes it as a genitive of quality, designating the promise as a characteristic of the Holy Spirit. Alford would retain the article in English: the Spirit of the promise.R.]

[62][Pignus, pledge, differs from arra, earnest; the former is restored when the contract has been performed, the latter is a part of the purchase money. The custom of paying earnest-money obtains still in legal transactions, but more especially in the popular usage of most nations.R.]

[63][Eadie, whose notes on this subject are as judicious as they are apt, quotes from Sir Wm. Hamilton (Discussions, etc. p. 598): It is here shown to be as irrational as irreligious, on the ground of human understanding, to deny, either, on the one hand, the fore-knowledge, predestination, and free grace of God, or, on the other, the free will of man; that we should believe both, and both in unison, though unable to comprehend even either apart. This philosophy proclaims with St. Augustine, and Augustine in his maturest writings:If there be not free grace in God, how can He save the world? and if there be not free will in man, how can the world by God be judged? (Ad Valentinum. Epist. 214.) Or, as the same doctrine is perhaps expressed even better by St. Bernard: Abolish free will and there is nothing to be saved: abolish free grace, and there is nothing wherewithal to save. (De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio.) See the list of authors of all opinions given by Eadie, pp. 28, 29.R.]

[64] [The position to be taken is not that the future will reconcile propositions which are contradictory, but which seem to be contradictory, the whole question transcending the limits of human thought.R.]

[65] [This is no doubt Henry Ward Beecher. Dr. Braune gives no further clue to the discovery of the original passage than the single word Beecher, which might apply to any one of a large family. As this is the only American citation in any part of the volume, it is retained, even though at the disadvantage of being a translation of a translation.R.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 2092
THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS SOVEREIGN GRACE AND MERCY

Eph 1:3-12. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

IN our progress through the Holy Scriptures, we are necessitated to investigate, in its turn, every doctrine of our holy religion. There are indeed some doctrines which appear to be almost wholly proscribed: but we do not conceive ourselves at liberty to pass over any part of the sacred records as improper for discussion, provided we enter into it with the humility and modesty that become us. It is undeniable that the Apostles mention occasionally, and without the smallest appearance of hesitation, the doctrines of predestination and election: and therefore we are bound to explore the meaning of the inspired writers in reference to these passages, as well as to any others. We are aware that great difficulties attend the explanation of these doctrines; (though certainly not greater than attend the denial of them:) and we are aware also, that they are open to abuse: but there is no doctrine which has not its difficulties; nor any which has not been abused: and, that we may not be supposed to entertain an undue partiality for these obnoxious tenets, or to wish to establish them on inadequate grounds, we have selected a large portion of Scripture which cannot easily be perverted; and which is indeed so plain, that it speaks for itself. We shall be careful also to bring them forward precisely in the way in which they are declared by the Apostles themselves, that is, not in a speculative and controversial way, but in a practical manner, as incentives to holy gratitude and obedience.
St. Paul, under a deep sense of the mercies vouchsafed to himself and to the whole Church at Ephesus, breaks forth into the devoutest acknowledgments to that God from whom they had flowed, and to whom all possible thanks and praise were due.
In considering his words, we shall shew,

I.

What are those blessings which we have received from our God

He hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
[The Ephesian Church, though chiefly composed of Gentiles,) consisted in part of Jews also [Note: Act 18:19-20; Act 18:24; Act 18:28. with ver. 11, 12, 13. of our text, where the distinction is made between we Jews who first trusted in Christ, and ye Gentiles who believed afterwards. See also Gal 2:16-18.]. And, though it is possible there might be some hypocrites there, as well as in other Churches, St. Paul does not stop to make distinctions of that kind, but speaks of them all in the judgment of charity, as real Christians, and partakers of all the blessings which by their profession they were supposed to possess. As believers, they had been blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly things [Note: See the margin.], widely different from those which were possessed by any natural man, and from those which the earthly and carnal Jews expected their Messiah to bestow. Of these, some of the principal are here enumerated.

God has adopted us into his familydealt with us as childrenand given to us the inheritance of children.

Once the believer was afar off from God, being an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but by an act of rich mercy and grace he has been adopted by God, and made to stand in the relation to him of a child to a father. Though he neither has any thing, nor ever can have any thing, that can recommend him to God, yet is he accepted to the Divine favour, having all Ins past iniquities forgiven, and his soul washed from all its stains, in the Redeemers blood. Being thus brought into the nearest relation to God, he is treated, not as a servant, who knows not what his lord doeth; but as a son, who may fitly be made acquainted with all his Fathers will. To him is that stupendous mystery made known, that, in the time appointed of the Father, the whole intelligent creation of men and angels, who were once of one family, but were separated by the fall of man, shall be brought once more under the same Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, who at first created them, and to whom originally they paid all due allegiance. As to men, there should be no difference between them in this respect: the common Father of all would equally receive all, whether Jews or Gentiles, and incorporate them all into one body, who should equally and without any distinction be partakers of his grace, and heirs of his glory. For all of them without exception, provided only they believe in him, he has provided an inheritance, to which, on the instant that they believe in him, they become entitled, and which, after the period fixed for their abode on earth, they shall possess to all eternity.]
These spiritual blessings are given to us in Christ
[All of them without exception are the purchase of his blood, the fruit of his intercession, and the gifts of his grace. They are all treasured up in him; and when He is given to us, they are made over to us, as the ore in the mine. They were all given to Him, in the first instance, as our head and representative, and can be possessed by us only as we are found in him. Are we chosen? it is in him. Are we predestinated to the adoption of children? it is in him.) Are we accepted? it is in him. Are we forgiven? it is in him. Are we brought into one body? it is in him. Have we obtained an inheritance? it is in him. Are we sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, as the earnest of that inheritance? it is in him. Are we blessed with all spiritual blessings? it is in him, and in him alone. O that we were more sensible of our obligations to Christ in reference to these things! Is it not surprising, that any one can read the passage before us, and overlook Christ, who throughout the whole of it is represented as the All in all? Let this be borne in mind: that, whilst all is traced to the Father as the original source, all must be referred to Christ as the procuring cause, and be received from Christ as the fountain-head: and it is only by receiving Christ himself that we can ever partake of any one of his benefits.]
Having noticed the benefits given to us in Christ, we proceed to shew,

II.

In what way he has communicated them to us

On this depends, in a great measure, the debt of gratitude we owe him. If in the bestowment of them he has been forestalled by earnest solicitations on our part, and been prevailed upon only by the great and meritorious services which we have rendered to him, then, though we have reason to bless him, we have also reason to bless ourselves, and may justly claim for ourselves some part of the honour of our own salvation. But he has communicated these blessings to us,

1.

In a way of sovereignty

[He is a Sovereign; and it is only of his own will and pleasure that he has formed any creature whatsoever. We feel his sovereignty in this respect. Let any man ask himself, Why was I created at all? Why formed a man, and not a beast? Why was I born of Christian, and not of heathen, parents? Why under the meridian splendour of Gospel light, and not in the darker ages of the Church? Why was I preserved in life, whilst millions have closed their eyes upon this world as soon as they were brought into it? Why was I endued with intelligence, whilst so many are in a state of idiotcy, and devoid of reason? To all such questions there is but one answer; Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. And this is the true answer that must be given to all inquiries respecting the spiritual blessings which he has bestowed upon us: they are all the fruit of his free and sovereign grace: He has chosen us from before the foundation of the world, and predestinated us to the enjoyment of them. He has done this purely of his own will and pleasure: and in doing it, he has consulted nothing but his own glory: it has been according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace [Note: ver. 5, 6.]. Yet, whilst his predestination of us is the result of his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself, and can be referred to nothing but his own purpose and grace, we are not to imagine that he is actuated by a mere arbitrary volition; for it is a volition founded in counsel [Note: ver. 9, 11. with 2Ti 1:9.], though the reasons by which he is actuated are unknown to us. Were this doctrine dependent only on a single expression, we should speak of it with the more diffidence: but, in the passage before us, it is as the warp, which pervades the whole piece: it cannot, like the woof, be separated, and made to give way to some more palatable sentiment: it is impossible for any man to read the passage with an unprejudiced mind, and not to acknowledge, that this is its obvious import; and that nothing but the most determined efforts of ingenious and laboured criticism can extract from it any other meaning.]

2.

In a way of holiness

[One ground on which many object to the doctrines of election and predestination is, that these doctrines are hostile to the interests of morality. But for such an objection there is no real foundation. On the contrary, they are the greatest security of a life of holiness, seeing that they have insured to us the attainment of holiness as a preparation for the ultimate possession of glory. God, we are told, has chosen us: but to what has he chosen us? to salvation independent of holiness? No; but to salvation in the way of holiness: He has chosen us, that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love. Here it deserves particular attention, that God has not chosen us because we were holy, or because he foresaw we should become holy, but in order that we might be holy: he has chosen us to holiness as the means, as well as to glory as the end. He has ordained both the means and the end; and the end solely by the means. Hence, wherever election and predestination are spoken of, they are spoken of in this view, as having respect to holiness, and as assuring to us the attainment of holiness: God has chosen us through sanctification of the Spirit, as well as through the belief of the truth [Note: 2Th 2:13. 1Pe 1:2.], and has predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son [Note: Rom 8:29.].

Let this be duly considered, and it will remove the greatest obstruction in our minds to the reception of these deep mysterious truths. When once we see, that they secure infallibly the attainment of holiness in the way to glory, and that no man is entitled to think himself one of Gods elect, any farther than the holiness of his life bears testimony to him, we shall soon renounce our prejudices, and willingly concede to sovereign grace the whole glory of our salvation.]

3.

In a way of wisdom and prudence

[Truly this great salvation is the most stupendous effort both of wisdom and prudence; of wisdom, in its contrivance, and of prudence, in its administration. How wonderfully does it mark Grods indignation against sin, even at the moment that it extends mercy to the sinner; since it shews the sinner, and constrains him to acknowledge, that, if the wrath due to him had not been borne by his Surety, he never could have been saved at all. It shews him farther, that in this way of salvation through the sacrifice of the Son of God, all the Divine perfections are glorified; insomuch that, whilst the claims of justice and mercy appear to oppose each other, they so harmonize together, that justice is exercised in a way of mercy, and mercy in a way of justice. Further, in this way of salvation the soul of the believer is so penetrated with wonder and with love, that he cannot but yield himself up unreservedly to God, and count a thousand lives too little to consecrate to his service, or to sacrifice for his glory. Nor is there less of prudence in the administration of it, than there is of wisdom in its contrivance: for, notwithstanding it is dispensed in a sovereign way altogether according to Gods good pleasure, he never interferes with the liberty of the human will, nor ever draws any one but by the cords of a man. It is by presenting truth to the mind, and motives to the heart, that he overcomes men, and makes them willing in the day of his power. Infinitely various are the ways in which he dispenses his blessings: and even at this time his people are able to see most unsearchable wisdom in the way in which he has dealt with them, so as to make them see in the clearest light the extent of their obligations to him, and to furnish them with songs of praise, which each is ready to think he shall sing the loudest of any in the kingdom of heaven. Moreover, so infallible are the means he uses, that he never failed in any one instance to accomplish in any soul the purposes of his grace, or to carry on and perfect the work he had begun. Well then may it he said, in reference to the riches of his grace which he has dispensed to us, that he hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence.]

Address
1.

Those who are not able to receive these mysterious truths

[We are far from thinking that the doctrines of election and predestination are of primary and fundamental importance. We well know that many eminently pious persons have not been able to receive them: and we have no doubt but that a person may serve God most acceptably, though he should not have an insight into these mysterious truths. We only ask, that you will be content to wave them for the present, and not set yourselves against them, as too many are apt to do. If you have not a preparation of mind for the reception of them, you will only perplex yourselves by dwelling upon them, and give advantage to Satan to distress your minds. Be content to receive for the present the fundamental doctrines of repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; and seek to experience them in their full extent. Contemplate the blessings with which God the Father hath blessed you through the mediation of his Son; and ever bear in mind, that you are indebted for them all to the Father, as the original source of all; to the Son, as procuring them for you by the virtue of his death; and to the Holy Spirit, as the great agent by whom they are communicated to your souls. Enjoy them in this view, and bless God for them in this view, and what else you know not now, you shall know hereafter.]

2.

Those who have embraced them, and found delight in them

[Enjoy them for yourselves; but do not unnecessarily obtrude them upon others. Give milk to babes, and strong meat to those only who are of age to digest it. Be careful too that you do not in any respect abuse them, as the habit of too many is. The decrees of God do not supersede the necessity of fear and watchfulness on your part. The hour that you begin to relax your diligence, from an idea that God will carry on his work in you at all events, you provoke God to abandon you to yourselves, and to give you up to the delusions of your own hearts. It is by your lives only that you can know your election of God [Note: 1Th 1:3-4.]: and if you are not making advancement in holiness, you have no reason whatever to hope that you shall ever attain to glory; seeing it is by the means only that you can ever attain the end. If you would make a legitimate improvement of these doctrines, use them as means of exciting the deeper gratitude to God. Trace up to Gods electing love and predestinating grace every blessing you either enjoy or hope for: and get your hearts more in unison with that of the Apostle, when he burst forth into that song of praise, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ! Then shall you find that these truths, which are a stumbling-block to many, shall to you be as marrow and fatness to your souls.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Reader pause over those verses. The Apostle proposeth to write an Epistle to the Church, but he hath no sooner opened it with a salutation, than he leaves the consideration of the Church, and breaks out into an holy flame of praises to God. His heart was so full, in the contemplation of the divine love, that, like bottles ready to burst, he could no longer contain. Job 32:19 . Oh! how doth this man’s fervor reproach my coldness. Lord! take away this heart of stone of mine, and give me an heart of flesh! Eze 36:26 .

But what was it which inflamed the Apostle’s mind so highly on this occasion ? Perhaps, in part, the recollection that the Lord had blessed his ministry to the Ephesians. His farewell discourse, as recorded Act 20:17 , etc. affords a very high proof how dear this Church was to Paul. But though this might affect the Apostle, in the pleasing recollection, and for which he found cause to bless God; yet higher views were certainly opened to Paul’s mind. God the Spirit intended this Epistle for a blessing to the Church in all ages; and whoever reads it, under the influence of the same Al mighty Teacher, must be led to see, that the Apostle was led out beyond himself, when the Lord directed his heart and pen, in this vast train of thought, here brought before the Church. Oh! that the Lord who caused Paul to write, may be with me to hear what the Spirit here saith to the Churches.

If the Reader will carefully observe what is contained in the opening of this most blessed Epistle, he will find, that the Apostle is celebrating the praises of the Holy undivided Persons of the Godhead, in their several distinct acts of grace, as manifested to the Church, and in giving to each, and to all, the glory due to the Lord Jehovah.

In those verses he begins with ascribing to God the Father, his personal acts of grace and love in choosing the Church in Christ, predestinating the persons of the Church to the adoption of children by Christ, and accepting the Church in Christ to the praise of the glory of his grace. And, as those three glorious acts of God the Father, are all said to be the result of his own good pleasure and will, so are they declared to be before the foundation of the world. As these sovereign acts of God the Father, though here compressed within a little compass, contain in their bosom immense designs, and are, indeed, the very charter of grace, I beg the Reader to pause over them a few moments, and consider each of them a little more particularly, as calling up the most awakened feelings of the soul, in love and praise.

The first which is spoken of is, that God hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Hence, it must undeniably follow, that when Christ, as Christ, that is, God and man in one Person, had, at the call of Jehovah, come up to the divine view, as the Head and Husband of his Church from everlasting. Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:4-5 ; Psa 89:19 . this help-meet for him was chosen in him. It was not good in Jehovah’s sight, that the God-man should be alone. Gen 2:18 . The Lord, therefore, chose the Church as a Bride for him, to be his companion, unto whom he might impart all communicable grace here, in the time-state of her nature, and all communicable glory, in the eternal state hereafter; and all to Christ’s glory, that He might be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

And I beg the Reader to remark with me, the blessedness of what the Apostle saith, concerning this choice that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love. This is the first and original view God had of the Church when chosen, holy, and without blame in Christ. This is the first and last view God hath always of the Church in Christ. In Christ there can be no change. For, though in the after-state which took place at the fall in the Adam – transgression, the Church became polluted in herself and her fallen nature; yet, the time-state of sin cannot do away the Lord’s purposes of eternity. No sin in Adam can destroy the holiness in Christ. It is in Christ the Church is chosen, and in him chosen to be holy, and without blame before God in love. And by the undertaking which Christ hath accomplished in himself; and by his one offering of himself, once offered, he hath redeemed, his Church from all iniquity, and perfected forever them that are sanctified. And, as this was all along among the first designs of God, however last to be executed; so, the Church, when finally brought home by Christ, will still be found in Christ, holy and without blame, before God in love; and JESUS will present her to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but holy, and without blemish. Eph 5:27 .

When the Reader hath duly pondered this unspeakable mercy, let him pass on to the second manifestation of God the Father’s love, which the Apostle hath recorded in this chapter, when he saith, having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Here is another distinguishing blessing hanging in one rich cluster of God’s love, upon the same divine branch. Predestination differs somewhat from choosing, because, while the former act of choosing determines the Person, the latter of predestinating appoints the means. And the determination here spoken of, to Sonship in Christ, makes the means everlastingly certain and sure. For, saith the same Apostle elsewhere, if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Rom 8:17 . The beloved Apostle was so struck with the contemplation of this view, that, unable to contain himself, he cried out, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! 1Jn 3:1 .

And I beg the Reader yet further to observe, that this predestination to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, is blessedly said to be to himself. But who shall explain the full extent of this meaning? To himself! Is it, (I humbly ask the question, but presume not to answer,) is it to Jehovah, in his threefold character of Person, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as in reference to each and to all, similar to that mysterious, but soul-comforting truth, where it is said, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself! 2Co 5:19 . Or is it in a personal way, specially spoken, as by the Father? Reader! ponder the weighty words, for they are most blessed. To himself! Not to happiness only, simply in itself. Not to blessing’s only in time, or blessings in eternity. Not to all the creation of God, with all that an eternal world can furnish. Not to these, but to God himself. Oh! the wonderful grace contained in the expression: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will! Sweetly the LORD speaks on this ground in several Scriptures: This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. Isa 43:21 . So again: Know that Jehovah hath set apart him that is godly for himself; Psa 4:3 . So once more: For Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar pleasure. Psa 135:4 . Reader! I do but glance at those rich things. To unfold them to the full is impossible!

The third gracious act of God the Father’s love to the Church, which the Apostle hath noticed in this blessed Scripture, is, the acceptation of the Church in Christ, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Here again, who shall unfold all the vast things contained in the bosom of this wonderful verse? And when considered as the close of the former, what a climax the whole riseth up into, of unspeakable blessings, First, chosen in Christ. Secondly, predestinated to glory in Christ. And, thirdly, accepted in Christ, as everlastingly united to him, and considered one with him forever!

And what endears this still more, and which I pray the Reader never to forget, of this acceptation of the persons of God’s children in Christ is, that it is from everlasting, as well as the act of choosing and predestinating. The Apostle hath not yet in this chapter noticed any act of God the Son, or God the Holy Ghost, in their personal office character. Redemption by Christ, which is next to be spoken of, is not as yet brought forward. The accepting in the Beloved, is spoken of as a thing done before redemption became necessary. Indeed, what is said of choosing, and predestinating, and accepting, is said to be before the foundation of the world, and, consequently, before sin was known upon earth, or redemption from sin needful. The expression is strong, he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. The Apostle speaks of it as of a thing past; Whereas, in the following verse, when he comes to speak of redemption, he speaks of it as of a thing now, we have redemption in his blood. I beg the Reader not to overlook these things. In the vast subject we are now upon, every minute point is full of importance.

Here then let the Reader for the moment pause. Let him contemplate those three immense blessings, as the special personal acts and gifts of God the Father, and resulting from his fatherly love to Christ, as the Head of the Church, and to the Church, as in Him. First, the choice. Let the Reader observe, moreover, that this original and eternal choice of the persons of the Church, in all the individuals of the whole body, is said to be solely from himself, and according to the good pleasure of his will. No one cause, but from himself to himself, producing such gracious effects. Let the Reader duly ponder this. Then let him proceed to the further consideration, that this choice in God the Father was, that the Church should be holy, and without blame before him in love, most plainly showing, that as the Church is chosen in Christ, and Christ is the Holy One; the Church is holy in his holiness, and everlastingly considered in him, without blame before God in love. All the after circumstances of the fall, in the present time-state of the Church, (and for which, as we shall shortly see, all provision was made,) cannot do away, neither counteract, those eternal purposes of GOD, which he purposed in himself. The Church was chosen to holiness in Christ, and in his holiness is beheld. Secondly, as chosen in Christ, and to holiness in Christ, so predestinated to sonship in Christ. And, thirdly, the full acceptation of our persons in Christ, is to the praise of the glory of his grace. Not only to the praise of his grace, but to the glory of his grace. As if God’s glory was made more glorious its the manifestation of such riches of his grace. And to crown the whole, all these unspeakable gifts of God the Father are the result o f his own free and sovereign grace; before the foundation of the World; and, consequently, before the Church had being, and sin in Adam, to make the redemption by Christ necessary.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Ver. 3. Blessed be God ] Gratiae cessat decursus, ubi gratiarum recursus. A thankful man shall abound with blessings.

With all spiritual blessings ] , wisdom, prudence, &c.,Eph 1:8Eph 1:8 , a Benjamin’s portion, a goodly heritage; called here spiritual blessing in the singular. All, and yet but one blessing; to note that spiritual blessings are so knit together, that they all make up but one blessing; and where God gives one, he gives all.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

3 3:21 .] FIRST PORTION OF THE EPISTLE: THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. And herein, Eph 1:3-23 .] GROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH, IN THE FATHER’S COUNSEL, AND HIS ACT IN CHRIST, BY THE SPIRIT. And herein again, (A) the preliminary IDEA OF THE CHURCH, set forth in the form of an ascription of praise Eph 1:3-14 : thus arranged: Eph 1:3-6 ] The FATHER, in his eternal Love, has chosen us to holiness ( Eph 1:4 ), ordained us to sonship ( Eph 1:5 ), bestowed grace on us in the Beloved ( Eph 1:6 ): Eph 1:7-12 ] In the SON, we have, redemption according to the riches of His grace ( Eph 1:7 ), knowledge of the mystery of His will ( Eph 1:8-9 ), inheritance under Him the one Head ( Eph 1:10-12 ): Eph 1:13-14 ] through the SPIRIT we are sealed , by hearing the word of salvation ( Eph 1:13 ), by receiving the earnest of our inheritance ( Eph 1:14 ), to the redemption of the purchased possession (ib.).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

3 .] Blessed (see note on Rom 9:5 . Understand (Job 1:21 ; Psa 112:2 ; or , 2Ch 9:8 . Ellicott) ‘Be He praised.’ See a similar doxology, 2Co 1:3 . Almost all St. Paul’s Epistles begin with some ascription of praise. That to Titus is the only exception (not Gal.: cf. Gal 1:5 ). See also 1Pe 1:3 ) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 15:6 ; 2Co 1:3 ; 2Co 11:31 ; Col 1:3 also 1Co 15:24 . Such is the simplest and most forcible sense of the words as Thl., . . . , , . See Joh 20:17 , from which saying of our Lord it is not improbable that the expression took its rise. Meyer maintains, ‘God who is also the Father of :’ on the ground that only , not , requires a genitive supplied. But we may fairly reply that, if we come to strictness of construction, his meaning would require , . Harless’s objection, that on our rendering it must be ., is well answered by Meyer from 1Pe 2:25 , . . Ellicott prefers Meyer’s view, but pronounces the other both grammatically and doctrinally tenable), who blessed (aor.: not ‘ hath blessed:’ the historical fact in the counsels of the Father being thought of throughout the sentence. such was the ground-tone of the new covenant. As in creation God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply,’ so in redemption, at the introduction of the covenant, “all families of the earth shall be BLESSED,” at its completion, “Come ye BLESSED of my Father.”

But God’s blessing is in facts ours in words only) us (whom? not the Apostle only: nor Paul and his fellow-Apostles: but, ALL CHRISTIANS all the members of Christ. The of Eph 1:13 perfectly agrees with this: see there: but the of Eph 1:15 does not agree with the other views) in (instrumental or medial: the element in which, and means by which, the blessing is imparted) all (i.e. all possible all, exhaustive, in all richness and fulness of blessing: cf. Eph 1:23 note) blessing of the Spirit (not merely, ‘ spiritual (inward) blessing :’ in the N. T. always implies the working of the Holy Spirit, never bearing merely our modern inaccurate sense of spiritual as opposed to bodily. See 1Co 9:11 , which has been thus misunderstood) in the heavenly places (so the expression, which occurs five times in this Epistle (see reff.), and no where else, can only mean: cf. Eph 1:20 . It is not probable that St. Paul should have chosen an unusual expression for the purposes of this Epistle, and then used it in several different senses. Besides, as Harless remarks, the preposition in composition with adjectives gives usually a local sense: e.g. in , , , as compared with , , . Chrys., al., would understand it ‘ heavenly blessings ,’ in which case the Apostle would hardly have failed to add , or , or the like.

But, with the above rendering, what is the sense? Our country, , is in heaven , Phi 3:20 : there our High Priest stands, blessing us. There are our treasures, Mat 6:20-21 , and our affections to be, Col 3:1 ff.: there our hope is laid up, Col 1:5 : our inheritance is reserved for us, 1Pe 1:4 . And there, in that place, and belonging to that state, is the , the gift of the Spirit, Heb 6:4 , poured out on those who . Materially, we are yet in the body: but in the Spirit, we are in heaven only waiting for the redemption of the body to be entirely and literally there.

I may once for all premise, that it will be impossible, in the limits of these notes, to give even a synopsis of the various opinions on the rich fulness of doctrinal expressions in this Epistle. I must state in each case that which appears to me best to suit the context, and those variations which must necessarily be mentioned, referring to such copious commentaries as Harless or Stier for further statement) in Christ (“the threefold after , has a meaning ever deeper and more precise: and should therefore be kept in translating. The blessing with which God has blessed us, consists and expands itself in all blessing of the Spirit then brings in Heaven , the heavenly state in us, and us in it then finally, CHRIST, personally , He Himself, who is set and exalted into Heaven, comes by the Spirit down into us, so that He is in us and we in Him of a truth, and thereby, and in so far, we are with Him in heaven.” Stier).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Eph 1:3-8 . DOXOLOGY, OR ASCRIPTION OF PRAISE TO GOD FOR THE BLESSINGS OF HIS LOVE AND GRACE. This extends over six verses, in one magnificent sentence intricately yet skilfully constructed, throbbing in each clause with the adoring sense of the majesty of that Divine Counsel and the riches of that Divine Grace which had made it possible to write in such terms to Gentiles in a distant province of the heathen Roman Empire. It is Paul’s way to begin with a doxology or a burst of thanksgiving. The latter, expressed by , , etc., is the more usual, and is found in one form or another in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Colossians , 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy (Eph 1:12 ), 2 Timothy. The former is seen in 2 Corinthians and (in a different form) in Galatians as well as here. The only Epistle that lacks both is that to Titus.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Eph 1:3 . : Blessed . The LXX equivalent for the Hebrew , Vulg. Benedictus . In the NT the idea of being blessed is expressed both by (Luk 1:68 ; Rom 1:25 ; Rom 9:5 ; 2Co 1:3 ; 2Co 11:31 ; 1Pe 1:3 ), and by (Mat 21:9 ; Mat 23:39 ; Mar 11:9 ; Luk 13:35 ; Luk 19:38 ; Joh 12:13 , etc.). On the analogy of similar verbs means “to be praised,” “worthy of praise,” and it is sometimes said to differ from in that the latter denotes one on whom blessing is pronounced. But that distinction is a fine one and uncertain. Philo puts the difference thus: , , ( De Mgr. Abr. , 19, i., 453, Mang.; cf. Thayer-Grimm, sub voc. ). The distinction is shortly expressed thus by Light., “while points to an isolated act or acts, describes the intrinsic character” ( Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul , p. 310). In the NT is used only of God; in one case, indeed, absolutely, “The Blessed” (Mar 14:61 ). In the LXX it is used both of God (Gen 9:26 ; Gen 14:20 ; 1Sa 25:32 ; Psa 72:17-19 , etc.), and (less frequently) of man (Gen 12:2 ; Gen 24:31 ; Gen 26:29 ; Deu 7:14 ; Jdg 17:2 ; 1Sa 15:13 ; 1Sa 25:33 ; Rth 2:20 ). In the LXX is occasionally used of God. In the NT it is used only of man (Mat 25:34 ; Luk 1:28 ; Luk 1:42 ), of the Messiah (Mat 21:9 ; Mat 23:39 ; Mar 11:9 ; Luk 13:35 ; Luk 19:38 ; Joh 12:13 ), or of the Messianic Kingdom (Mar 11:10 ). In doxologies we are usually left to supply the verb, which may be (Abbott); on the analogy of in 2Ch 9:8 ; or on the analogy of Job 1:21 , Psa 113:2 , in which passages, however, the form is . Here, as generally where is the word used and not , the sentence is best taken as an affirmation, being supplied; cf. Psa 119:12 in contrast with Psa 112:2 ; Job 1:21 ; 2Ch 9:8 . In most cases the stands first in its sentence. There are exceptions, where the verb or participle has a position within the sentence or at its close. These are explained by some (W. Schmidt, etc.) as due to the fact that the emphasis is meant to be on the Subject of the doxology, not on the idea of the praise itself; by others (Haupt, etc.) more simply as regards most occurrences, if not all, as due to the fact that the copula ( , ) is expressed. The cases most in point are 1Ki 10:9 ; 2Ch 9:8 ; Job 1:21 ; Psa 68:19 ; Psa 113:2 . In all these instances except the last the form is and the or is expressed. In Psa 68:19 alone we have , and that followed immediately by . : the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . The same designation of God occurs also in Rom 15:6 ; 2Co 1:3 ; 2:31; 1Pe 1:3 . In Col 1:3 , the of the TR is too slenderly supported to be retained. Many good commentators (Mey., Ell., Haupt, Schmied., etc.) take the and the apart here, placing the genitive in relation only to the latter and making the sense “Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” or “Blessed be God who is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Others (including Theod., Jer., Theophyl., Stier, Blk., V. Hofm., V. Soden, Oltr., Klp., Beck., Alf., Light., W. Schmidt, Abbott) understand God to be praised here as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ as well as His Father. Grammar leaves the question open; for the inclusion of and under one initial article does not establish the second view, nor does the use of instead of disprove it ( cf. Eph 4:6 ; 1Pe 2:25 ). The first rendering is advocated on account of the extreme rarity of the designation “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ell.); on the ground that being a “stated Christian designation of God,” only the requires any further definition by a genitive (Mey.); or for the reason that the passages in which the phrase occurs show it to have been Paul’s habit to use absolutely, the appositional . . . serving to define more particularly the Christian idea of God (Haupt). The second rendering is to be preferred, however, as the more natural, and is supported by the analogous Pauline construction (Gal 1:4 ; 1Th 1:3 ; 1Th 3:11 ; 1Th 3:13 ). Nor is there anything strange or unPauline in God being called “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ”. As true Man Christ had God for His God as we have Him for our God. He Himself spoke of God as “My God” in the cry of desolation from the Cross and again in His word to Mary after His Resurrection (Joh 20:17 ). In this same Epistle, too, we have the express designation (Eph 1:17 ).

This form of doxology (as well as the prayer in the greeting for grace and peace ) occurs again in 2Co 1:3 (as also in 1Pe 1:3 ), but with a different reference there with regard to Paul’s own experiences, here with regard to the Christian enlargement of others. : who blessed us . To suppose that the refers to Paul himself is inconsistent with the whole tenor of the paragraph and with the in Eph 1:15 . If Paul speaks of God as it is because of the great and generous things He had actually done for himself and for these Ephesians. These things he proceeds to set forth in respect both of their nature and their measure . He says first that “God blessed us” (not “hath blessed us”). The question is how far he is looking back here. Is it to the time when God first made him and those addressed His own by grace? Or is it to the eternal counsel of that grace? There is much to be said in favour of the second of these two references. It appears to be more naturally suggested by the text than the other. We may, perhaps, plead on its behalf the analogy of the aorists in Rom 8:29-30 . It gives unity to the whole statement, and makes the interpretation of the following clauses, each introduced by , easier. Yet on the whole the first is to be preferred, especially in view of the further definition introduced by the of Eph 1:4 . The idea, therefore, is that in calling us to Christian faith God blessed us, and that the great deed of blessing which thus took effect in time had its foundation in an eternal election. All that Christians are is thus referred back to God’s free, decisive act of ; “blessing” in His case meaning not words of good but deeds of grace. So, too, the which comes from our lips answers to, and is the return for, the of God. In word and thought we bless God because in deed and positive effect He blessed us; cf. Isa 65:16 . : with every spiritual blessing . This defines the nature of the “blessing” with which God so signally blessed us. The might be understood in the local sense, as denoting the sphere within which the proceeded. But in view of the following , it is simplest to take it as the instrumental , “by means of”; cf. 1Th 4:18 ; Jas 3:9 ; and the analogous , (Mat 7:2 ; Mat 5:13 ; Mar 4:24 ; Mar 9:49 ), etc. See Winer-Moult., Grammar , p. 485; Buttmann-Thayer, Grammar , p. 329. The is taken by some to mean inward as opposed to outward blessing, or blessing relating to the spirit of man, not to the body (Erasmus, etc.) a sense too restricted to fit the usage of the term in the NT. Others understand it to mean “of the Holy Spirit,” i.e. , blessing proceeding from the Holy Spirit. So Mey., Alf. (who makes it “blessing of the Spirit”), etc.; so, too, Ell., who would refer the term directly to the Holy Spirit, on the basis of Joe 3:1 ff.; Act 2:16 . But this would be more naturally expressed by or , and it is the kind of blessing rather than its source that is in view here. It is best, therefore, to take to define the blessings in question as spiritual in the sense that they are the blessings of grace, blessings of a Divine order, belonging to the sphere of immediate relations between God and man ( cf. Rom 1:11 ; Rom 14:1 ; Rom 15:27 ; 1Co 9:11 ). It is true that these come from God through the Spirit. But the point in view is what they are, not how they reach us. There is little to suggest either that a contrast is drawn between the blessings of the Gospel and the more temporal blessings of the OT economy, as Chrys., Grotius, etc., suppose. There is still less to suggest that the statement is to be limited to the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, healing, tongues, etc., dealt with in 1Co 12 , etc. This latter supposition is refuted by the inclusive . The expression is a large one, covering all the good that comes to us by grace whether the assurance of immortality, the promise of the resurrection, the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, the privilege of adoption, etc., as Theodoret puts it; or all that belongs to the fruit of the Spirit, the graces of love, joy, etc. (Gal 5:22-23 ), as Abbott explains it; or the peculiar blessings of peace of conscience, assurance of God’s love, joy in God, the hope of glory, etc., as it is understood by others. The blessing with which God blessed us is the highest order of blessing, not of material kind or changeful nature, but of heavenly quality and enduring satisfaction, and such blessing He bestowed upon us in its every form and manifestation. : in the heavenly places . Further definition of the blessing in respect of its sphere “in the heavenlies”. In the NT the adjective occurs both in the literal sense and in the metaphorical, and in a variety of applications existing in heaven ( ., Mat 18:35 ; Mat 5:1 . ); of heavenly order or descent (the Second Adam, , 1Co 15:48 ); originating in heaven, belonging to heaven, heavenly in contrast with earthly ( ., Heb 3:1 ; ., Heb 6:4 ; ., Heb 11:16 ; ., Heb 12:22 ; ., 2Ti 4:18 ). It is not easy to determine the precise shade of meaning in each case. The plural is used of the eternal decrees or purposes of grace as contrasted with the operations of grace accomplished and experienced on earth (Joh 3:12 ); of the celestial bodies, sun, moon and stars (1Co 15:40 ); of things or beings in heaven as contrasted with those on earth or under earth (Phi 2:10 ); of the heavenly types and realities of religious services of which earthly ordinances and ministries are the shadow (Heb 8:5 ). The particular phrase , however, has this peculiarity, that it occurs five times in this Epistle and nowhere else in the NT. It is a singular fact that even in the writings bearing Paul’s name it is confined to this one letter, and is not found even in the companion Epistle to the Colossians which belongs to the same time, has so much in common, and in point of fact presents more than one opportunity, as Meyer observes, for the introduction of such a phrase (Eph 1:5 ; Eph 1:16 ; Eph 1:20 ). In three out of the five occurrences the term has the local sense (Eph 1:20 , Eph 2:6 , Eph 3:10 ), and in a fourth (Eph 6:12 ) that sense is also possible, though not certain. The expression in all probability has the same application in the present instance. To take it, with Chrys., Thdt., Beng., and more recently Beck, as a further description of the blessing in respect of its nature as spiritual or heavenly has not only usage against it, but also the consideration that the second of the two descriptive clauses would then add little or nothing to what is expressed by the first. Deciding for the local sense, however, we have still to ask how the phrase is to be connected and what is its particular point. Some connect it ( e.g. , Beza) immediately with , making the sense “God who is in heaven blessed us”. But this puts the qualifying clause at an awkward distance from its subject. The clause may be connected with the as describing the deed of blessing in respect of its sphere; which would be most suitable to the case if the were understood of the Divine decree of grace. Some, adopting the same connection, make it refer ideally or proleptically to the blessings laid up for our future enjoyment in the heavenly life ( e.g. , Th. Aquin.); but the context has in view blessings which are ours in reality now. Others take it to refer to the Church as the Kingdom of God on earth, the present depository of the Divine blessings (Stier); but the Church is not identified in this way with the Kingdom of God in the Pauline writings. It is best, therefore, to connect immediately with the previous , and to understand it as describing the region in which this “spiritual blessing” is found. Not a few interpreters, indeed, pointing to the analogy of Eph 2:6 , Phi 3:20 (where, however, it is our citizenship that is said to be in heaven, not we ourselves), etc., introduce a mystical sense here, and take “the heavenlies” to be, not “literal locality but the heavenly region in which our citizenship is” (Abbott), the heaven that is created within us here and now by grace. “The heaven of which the Apostle here speaks,” says Lightfoot, “is not some remote locality , some future abode ; it is the heaven which lies within and about the true Christian.” So substantially also Alf., Ell. (the latter connecting it, however, with ), Cand., etc. But what the writer has specially in view here is the eternal counsel of God and the effect given to it on earth, and there is nothing to suggest that at this point he is thinking of believers as being themselves in a certain sense in heaven even now. It is best, therefore, to retain the simple local meaning (as the Syriac and Ethiopic Versions render it, “in heaven,” “in the heavens”), and take it to describe the blessings which are stated to be in their nature spiritual further as being found in heaven. To that they belong, and from thence it is that they come to us to be our present possession on earth. (So Subst., Mey., Haupt, etc.) The choice of the unusual form here may be due to the largeness of the idea. It is not merely that the blessings with which God blessed us are blessings having their origin in heaven (which might have been expressed by or some similar phrase), but that they are blessings which have their seat where God Himself is and where Christ reigns. : in Christ . Not merely “ through Christ”. The phrase expresses the supreme idea that pervades the Epistle. Here it qualifies the whole statement of the blessing , in its bestowal, its nature, and its seat. The Divine has its ground and reason in Christ, so that apart from Him it could have no relation to us. It is ours by reason of our being in Him as our Representative and Head; “by virtue of our incorporation in, our union with, Christ” (Light.). “In Him lay the cause that God blessed us with every spiritual blessing, since His act of redemption is the causa meritoria of this Divine bestowal of blessing” (Mey.).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Ephesians

‘ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS’

Eph 1:3

It is very characteristic of Paul’s impetuous fervour and exuberant faith that he begins this letter with a doxology, and plunges at once into the very heart of his theme. Colder natures reach such heights by slow degrees. He gains them at a bound, or rather, he dwells there always. Put a pen into his hand, and it is like tapping a blast furnace; and out rushes a fiery stream at white heat. But there is a great deal more than fervour in the words. In the rush of his thoughts there is depth and method. We come slowly after, and try by analysing and meditation to recover some of the fervour and the fire of such utterances as this.

Notice that buoyant, joyous, emphatic reiteration: ‘Blessed,’ ‘blest,’ ‘blessings.’ That is more than the fascination exercised over a man’s mind by a word; it covers very deep thoughts and goes very far into the centre of the Christian life. God blesses us by gifts; we bless Him by words. The aim of His act of blessing is to evoke in our hearts the love that praises. We receive first, and then, moved by His mercies, we give. Our highest response to His most precious gifts is that we shall ‘take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord,’ and in the depth of thankful and recipient hearts shall say, ‘Blessed be God who hath blessed us.’

Now I think that I shall best bring out the deep meaning of these words if I simply follow them as they lie before us. I do not wish to say anything about our echo in blessing God. I wish to speak about the original sweet sound, His blessing to us.

I. And I note, first of all, the character and the extent of these blessings which are the constituents of the Christian life.

‘All spiritual blessings,’ says the Apostle. Now, I am not going to weary you with mere exegetical remarks, but I do want to lay stress upon this, that, when the Apostle speaks about ‘spiritual blessings,’ he does not merely use that word ‘spiritual’ as defining the region in us in which the blessings are given, though that is also implied; but rather as pointing to the medium by which they are conferred. That is to say, he calls them ‘spiritual,’ not because they are, unlike material and outward blessings, gifts for the inner man, the true self, but because they are imparted to the waiting spirit by that Divine Spirit who communicates to men all the most precious things of God. They are ‘spiritual’ because the Holy Spirit is the medium of communication by which they reach men’s spirits.

And I may just pause for one moment-and it shall only be for a moment-to point out to you how in-woven into the very texture of the writer’s thoughts, and all the more emphatic because quite incidental, and needing to be looked for to be found, is here the evidence of his believing that the name of God was God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For it is the Father who is the Giver, the Son who is the Reservoir, the Spirit who is the Communicator, of these spiritual gifts. And I do not think that any man could have written these words of my text, the main purpose of which is altogether different to setting forth the mystery of the divine nature, unless he had believed in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

But, apart altogether from that, let me remind you in one sentence of how the gifts which thus come to men by that Divine Spirit derive their characteristic quality from their very medium of communication. There are many other blessings for which we have to say, ‘Blessed be God’; for all the gifts that come from ‘the Father of Lights’ are light, and everything that the Fountain of sweetness bestows upon mankind is sweet, but earthly blessings are but the shadow of blessing. They remain without us, and they pass. And if they were all for which we had to praise God, our praises had need to be often checked by sobs and tears, and often very doubtful and questioning. If there were none other but such, and if this poor life were all, then I do not think it would be true that it is

‘better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all.’

It is but a quavering voice of praise, with many a sob between, that goes up to bless God for anything but spiritual blessings. Though it is true that all which comes from the Father of Lights is light, the sorrows and troubles that He sends have the light terribly muffled in darkness, and it needs strong faith and insight to pierce through the cloud to see the gleam of anything bright beneath. But when we turn to this other region, and think of what comes to every poor, tremulous, human heart, that likes to take it through that Divine Spirit-the forgiveness of sins, the rectification of errors, the purification of lusts and passions, the gleams of hope on the future, and the access with confidence into the standing and place of children; oh, then surely we can say, ‘Blessed be God for spiritual blessings.’

But if the word which defines may thus seem to limit, the other word which accompanies it sweeps away every limit; for it calls upon us to bless God for all spiritual blessings. That is to say, there is no gap in His gift. It is rounded and complete and perfect. Whatever a man’s needs may require, whatever his hopes can dream, whatever his wishes can stretch out towards, it is all here, compacted and complete. The spiritual gifts are encyclopaediacal and all-sufficient. They are not segments, but completed circles. When God gives He gives amply.

II. So much, then, for the first point; now, in the second place, note the one divine act by which all these blessings have been bestowed.

‘Blessed be God who has given’; or, still more definitely, pointing to some one specific moment and deed in which the benefaction was completed, ‘Blessed be God who gave.’

When? Well, ideally in the depths of His own eternal mind the gift was complete or ever the recipients were created to receive it, and historically the gift was complete in the act of redemption when He spared not His Own Son, but gave Him up unto the death for us all. A man may destine an estate for the benefit of some community which for generations long may continue to enjoy its benefits, but the gift is complete when he signs the deed that makes it over. Humphrey Chetham gave the boys in his school to-day their education when, centuries ago, he assigned his property to that beneficent purpose. So, away back in the mists of Eternity the gift was completed, and the signature was put to the deed when Jesus Christ was born, and the seal was added when Jesus Christ died. ‘Blessed be God who hath given.’

So, then, we may not only draw the conclusion which the Apostle drew, ‘how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?’ but we can draw an even grander one, ‘Has He not with Him also freely given us all things?’ And we possess them all to-day if our hearts are resting on Jesus Christ. The limit of the gift is only in ourselves. All has been given, but the question remains how much has been taken.

Oh, Christian men and women, there is nothing that we require more than to have what we have, to possess what is ours, to make our own what has been bestowed. You sometimes hear of some beggar, or private soldier, or farm labourer, who has come all at once into an estate that was his, years before he knew anything about it. There is such a boundless wealth belonging by right, and by the Giver’s gift, to every Christian soul; and yet, here are we, many of us, like the paupers who sometimes turn up in workhouses, all in rags, and with deposit-receipts for L200 or L300 stitched into the rags, that they get no good out of. Here are we, with all that wealth, paupers still. Be sure that you have what you have. Do you remember the exhortation to a valiant effort in one of the stories in the Old Testament-’Know ye that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we take it not?’ And that is exactly what is true about hosts of professing Christians who have not, in any real sense, the possession of what God has given them. It is well to ask, for our desires are the measures of our capacities. It is well to ask, but we very often ask when what is wanted is not that we should get more, but that we should utilise what we have. And we make mistakes therein, as if God needed to be besought to give, when all the while it is we who need to be stirred up to grasp and keep the things that are freely given to us of God.

III. In the next place, notice the one place where all these blessings are kept.

‘Blessed be God who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.’ ‘In heavenly places.’ Now that does not merely define the region of origin, the locality where they originated or whence they come. It does do that, but it does a great deal more. It does not merely tell us, as we often are disposed to think that it does, that ‘every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down’-though that is perfectly true, but it means much rather that in order to get the gift we must go up. They are in the heavenly places, and they cannot live anywhere else. They have been sticking shrubs in tubs outside our public buildings this last week. How long will they keep their leaves and their freshness? How soon will they need to be shifted and taken back again to the sweeter air, where they can flourish? God’s spiritual gifts cannot grow in smoke and dirt and a polluted atmosphere. And if a professing Christian man lives his life on the low levels he will have very few of the heavenly gifts coming down to him there. And that is the reason-the reason above all others-why, with such a large provision made for all possible necessities and longings of all sorts, people who call themselves Christians go up and down the world feeble and poor, and with little enjoyment of their religion, and having verified scarcely anything of the great promises which God has given them.

Brother, according to the old word with which the Mass used to begin, ‘Sursum corda’-up with your hearts! The blessings are in the heavens, and if we want them we must go where they are. It is not enough to drink sparing draughts from the stream as it flows through the plain. Travel up to the headwaters, where the great pure fountain is, that gushes out abundant and inexhaustible. The gifts are heavenly, and there they abide, and thither we must mount if we would possess them.

Now that this understanding of the words is correct I think is clearly shown by a verse in the next chapter, where we find the very same phrase employed. In this connection the Apostle says that ‘God hath raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ That is to say, the true ideal of the Christian life is that, even here and now, it is a life of such intimate union and incorporation with Jesus Christ as that where He is we are, and that even whilst we tabernacle upon earth and move about amongst its illusions and changing scenes, in the depth of our true being we may be fixed, and sit at rest with Christ where He is.

Do not dismiss that as mere pulpit rhetoric. Do not say that it is mystical and incomprehensible, and cannot be reduced into practice amidst the distractions of daily life. Brethren, it is not so! Jesus Christ Himself said about Himself that He came down from heaven, and that though He did, even whilst He wore the likeness of the flesh, and was one of us, He was ‘the Son of Man which is in Heaven,’ when He lay in the manger, when He worked at the carpenter’s bench in Nazareth, when He walked with weary feet those blessed acres, when He hung, for our advantage, on the bitter Cross. And that was no incommunicable property of His mysterious nature, but it was the typical example of what it is possible for manhood to be. And you and I, if we are to possess in any measure corresponding with the gift of Christ the spiritual blessing which God bestows, must have our lives ‘hid with Christ in God,’ and sit together with Him in the heavenly places.

IV. Lastly, note the one Person in whom all spiritual blessings are enshrined.

‘In the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ You cannot separate between Him and His gifts, neither in the way of getting Him without them, nor in the way of getting them without Him. They are Himself, and in the deepest analysis all spiritual blessings are reducible to one-viz. that the Spirit of Jesus Christ Himself shall dwell with us.

Now, that union by which it is possible for poor, empty, sinful creatures to be filled with His fulness, animated with His life, strengthened with His omnipotence, and sanctified by His indwelling-that union is the very kernel of this Epistle to the Ephesians.

I dare say I have often drawn your attention to the singular emphasis and repetition with which that phrase ‘in Christ’ occurs throughout the letter. Just take the two or three instances of it that I gather as I speak. In this first chapter we read, ‘the faithful in Jesus Christ.’ Then comes our text, ‘blessings in heavenly places in Christ.’ Then, in the very next verse, we read, ‘chosen us in Him.’ Then, a verse or two after, we have ‘accepted in the Beloved,’ which is immediately followed by, ‘in whom we have redemption through His blood.’ Then, again, ‘that He might gather together in one all things in Christ, in whom also we have obtained the inheritance.’ I need not make other quotations, but throughout the letter every blessing that can gladden or sanctify the human spirit is regarded by the Apostle as being stored and shrined in Jesus Christ: inseparable from Him, and therefore to be found by us only in union with Him.

And that is the point of all which I want to say-viz. that, inasmuch as all spiritual blessings that a soul can need are hived in Him in whom is all sweetness, the way, and the only way, to get them is that we, too, should pass into Him and dwell in Jesus Christ. It is His own teaching: ‘I am the Vine, ye are the branches. Abide in Me. Separate from Me ye can do nothing,’ and get nothing, and are nothing.

Oh, brethren! it is well that all our treasures should be in one place. It is better that they should all be in One Person. And if only we will lay our poor emptiness by the side of His fulness there will pass over from that infinite abundance and sufficiency everything that we can require.

We abide in Him by faith, by meditation, by love, by submission, by practical obedience, and, if we are wise, the effort of our lives will be to keep close to that Lord. As long as we keep touch with Him we have all and abound. Break the connection by wandering away, in thought and desire, by indulgence in sin, by letting earthly passions surge in and separate us from Him-break the connection by rebellion, by making ourselves our own ends and lords, and it is like switching off the electricity. Everything falls dead. You cannot have Christ’s blessing unless you take Christ.

And so, dear brethren, ‘abide in Me and I in you.’ There is nothing else that will make us blessed; there is nothing else that will meet all the circumference of our necessities; there is nothing else that will quiet our hearts, will sanctify our understandings. Christ is yours if ‘ye are Christ’s.’ ‘Of His fulness have all we received,’ for it all became ours when we became His, and Christian growth on earth and heaven is but the unfolding of the folded graces that are contained in Him. We possess the whole Christ, but eternity is needed to disclose all the unsearchable riches of our inheritance in Him.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eph 1:3-14

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which 8He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Eph 1:3 Eph 1:3-14 are one long Greek sentence, which is so characteristic of this book (cf. Eph 1:3-23; Eph 2:1-10; Eph 2:14-22; Eph 3:1-12; Eph 3:14-19; Eph 4:11-16; Eph 6:13-20).

“Blessed be the God” This Greek term “eulogy” (eulog) was always used of praising God. It is a different term from the “blessed” (makarios) of the beatitudes (cf. Mat 5:1-11). The Father sent the Son and the Spirit to bring believers into fellowship with Himself and fellowship with one another.

Paul typically opens his letters with a prayer of thanksgiving for the recipients (cf. Eph 1:15-23), but here in a circular letter, uniquely, he pens an extensive doxology to the Triune God.

“who has blessed us. . .in Christ” The blessed God blesses believers! Believers receive everything through Christ. Eph 1:3-14 are one sentence in Greek, which shows the work of the Trinity, before time, in time, and beyond time. However, the Father’s instigation is magnified in all three sections (cf. Eph 1:3-14).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY

NASB, NKJV,

NRSV”in the heavenlyplaces”

TEV”in the heavenly world”

NJB”the spiritual blessings of heaven”

This locative (of sphere) neuter plural adjective “in the heavenly places” (epouranious) was only used in Ephesians (cf. Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12). From the context of all of its usages, it must mean the spiritual realm in which believers live here and now, not heaven.

Eph 1:4 “He chose us” This is an aorist middle indicative which emphasized the subject’s decisive choice. This focused on the Father’s choice before time. God’s choice must not be understood in the Islamic sense of determinism nor in the ultra Calvinistic sense of “God chooses some versus God did not choose others,” but in a covenantal sense. God promised to redeem fallen mankind (cf. Gen 3:15). God called and chose Abraham to choose all humans (cf. Gen 12:3; Exo 19:5-6). See Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan. God calls all in Christ (cf. Joh 3:16; 1Ti 2:4; 2Pe 3:9; 1Jn 2:2; 1Jn 4:14. God Himself elected all persons who would exercise faith in Christ. The believers’ choice of trusting in Christ confirms, not determines, God’s choice of them. God always takes the initiative in salvation (cf. Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65). This text and Rom 8:28-30; Rom 9:1-33 are the main NT texts for the doctrine of predestination emphasized by Augustine and Calvin.

God chose believers not only to salvation (justification) but also to sanctification (cf. Col 1:12)! This could relate to

1. our position in Christ (cf. 2Co 5:21)

2. God’s desire to reproduce His character in His children (cf. Eph 2:10; Rom 8:28-29; Gal 4:19; 1Th 4:3)

God’s will for His children is both heaven one day and Christlikeness now!

The pronouns in this passage are ambiguous. Most refer to God the Father. This whole passage speaks of His love, purpose and plan to redeem fallen mankind. However, in context it is obvious that the pronouns in Eph 1:7; Eph 1:9; Eph 1:13-14 refer to Jesus.

“in Him” This is a key concept. The Father’s blessings, grace and salvation flow only through Christ (cf. Joh 10:7-18; Joh 14:6). Notice the repetition of this grammatical form (locative of sphere) in Eph 1:3, “in Christ”; Eph 1:4, “in Him”; Eph 1:7, “in Him”; Eph 1:9, “in Him”; Eph 1:10, “in Christ,” “in Him”; Eph 1:12, “in Christ” and Eph 1:13, “in Him” (twice). These are parallel to “in the Beloved” of Eph 1:6. Jesus is God’s “yes” to fallen mankind (Karl Barth). Jesus is the elect man and all are potentially elect in Him (cf. Joh 3:16). All of God the Father’s blessings flow through Christ.

“before the foundation of the world” This phrase is also used in Mat 25:34; Joh 17:24; 1Pe 1:19-20 and Rev 13:8. It shows the Triune God’s redemptive activity even before Gen 1:1. See Special Topic: Paul’s Use of Kosmos at Col 1:6. Humans are limited by their sense of time; everything to us is past, present, or future, but not to God. History for Him is eternally present.

“that we should be holy and blameless before Him” The goal of predestination is holiness, not privilege. God’s call is not to a selected few of Adam’s children, but to all! It is a call to be what God intended mankind to be, like Himself, i.e., Christlikeness, (cf. Rom 8:28-30; 2Co 3:18; Gal 4:19; Eph 4:13; 1Th 3:13; 1Th 4:3; 1Th 5:23; 2Th 2:13; Tit 2:14; 1Pe 1:15); in His image (cf. Gen 1:26-27). To turn predestination into a theological tenet instead of a holy life is a tragedy. Often our a priori systematic theologies speak louder than biblical texts!

The term “blameless” (ammos) or “free from blemish” is used of

1. Jesus, (cf. Heb 9:14; 1Pe 1:19)

2. Zacharias and Elizabeth, (cf. Luk 1:6)

3. Paul (cf. Php 3:6)

4. all true Christians (cf. Php 2:15; 1Th 3:13; 1Th 5:23)

See Special Topic at Col 1:22.

God’s unalterable will for every believer is not only heaven later, but Christlikeness now (cf. Rom 8:29-30; 2Co 3:18; Gal 4:19; 1Th 3:13; 1Th 4:3; 1Pe 1:15). Believers are to reflect God’s characteristics to a lost world for the purpose of evangelism.

SPECIAL TOPIC: HOLY

“in love” Grammatically, this phrase could go with either Eph 1:4 or Eph 1:5. However, when this phrase is used in other places in Ephesians it always refers to human love for God (cf. Eph 3:17; Eph 4:2; Eph 4:15-16).

Eph 1:5

NASB”He predestined us”

NKJV”having predestined us”

NRSV”He destined us”

TEV”God had already chosen us”

NJB”marking us out for himself beforehand “

This is an aorist active participle. This Greek term is a compound of “before” (pro) and “mark off” (horiz). It refers to God’s predetermined redemptive plan, see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan at Eph 3:6, (cf. Luk 22:22; Act 2:23; Act 4:28; Act 13:29; Act 17:31; Rom 8:29-30). Notice God’s plan is corporate (cf. Act 13:48). American individualism has turned this inclusive, corporate emphasis into an exclusive, personalized, individual focus. God chose a people who would choose Him. Predestination is one of several truths related to mankind’s salvation. It is part of a theological pattern or series of related truths. It was never meant to be emphasized in isolation! Biblical truth has been given in a series of tension-filled, paradoxical pairs. Denominationalism has tended to remove the biblical tension by emphasizing only one of the dialectical truths (examples: predestination vs. human free will; security of the believer vs. perseverance; original sin vs. volitional sin; sinlessness vs. sinning less; instantaneously declared sanctification vs. progressive sanctification; faith vs. works; Christian freedom vs. Christian responsibility; transcendence vs. immanence).

SPECIAL TOPIC: Predestination (Calvinism) Versus Human Free Will (Arminianism)

“to adoption as sons” This is Paul’s familial metaphor (cf. Rom 8:15; Rom 8:23; Rom 9:4; Gal 4:5). It is one of several metaphors Paul uses to describe salvation with emphasis on security. It was difficult and expensive to adopt a child in the Roman legal system, but once it was done, it was very binding. A Roman father had the legal right to disinherit or even kill natural children, but not adopted children. This reflects the believer’s security in Christ (cf. Eph 2:5; Eph 2:9; Joh 6:37; Joh 6:39; Joh 10:28).

NASB”according to the kind intention of His will”

NKJV, NRSV “according to the good pleasure of His will”

TEV”this was his pleasure and purpose”

NJB”Such was his purpose and good pleasure”

God’s choice is not based on foreknowledge of human performance, but on His gracious character (cf. Eph 1:7, “according to the riches of His grace”; Eph 1:9, “according to His kind intention”; Eph 1:11, “according to His purpose”). He wishes that all (not just some special ones like the Gnostics or modern day ultra Calvinists) would be saved (cf. Eze 18:21-23; Eze 18:32; Joh 3:16-17; 1Ti 2:4; 1Ti 4:10; Tit 2:11; 2Pe 3:9; 1Jn 2:2; 1Jn 4:11). God’s grace (God’s character) is the theological key to this passage (cf. Eph 1:6 a; 7c; 9b), as God’s mercy is the key to the other passage on predestination, Romans 9-11.

Fallen mankind’s only hope is the grace and mercy of God (cf. Act 15:11; Rom 3:24; Rom 5:15; Eph 2:5; Eph 2:8) and His unchanging character (cf. Psa 102:27; Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17; 1Jn 1:5).

“through Jesus Christ to Himself” This phrase describes the Father’s love, as does Joh 3:16 (cf. 2Co 13:14). Jesus is God the Father’s plan for restoring all things (i.e., the Messiah, cf. Eph 1:10; 1Co 15:25-28; Col 1:15-23). There is only one way and that way is a person (cf. Joh 14:6; Act 4:12; 1Ti 2:5). The theme of Ephesians is the unity of all things in Christ.

Eph 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace” The Father’s initiating love in Jesus Christ reveals His very essence (cf. Joh 1:14; Joh 1:18). This phrase is repeated three times (cf. Eph 1:6; Eph 1:12; Eph 1:14) and accents the work of the three persons of the Trinity. See Special Topic at Eph 1:3.

1. God the Father before time, Eph 1:3-6

2. God the Son in time, Eph 1:7-12

3. God the Spirit through time, Eph 1:13-14

However, in the long Greek sentence from Eph 1:3-14, it is God the Father who is repeatedly praised.

“glory” In the OT the most common Hebrew word for “glory” (kabod) was originally a commercial term (which related to a pair of scales), which meant “to be heavy.” That which was heavy was valuable or had intrinsic worth. The concept of brightness was added to the word to express God’s majesty (i.e., the Shekinah cloud of glory). He alone is worthy and honorable. He is too brilliant for fallen mankind to behold (cf. Gen 16:13; Gen 32:30; Exo 20:19; Exo 33:20; Jdg 6:22-23; Jdg 13:22). God can only be truly known through Christ (cf. Joh 1:1-14; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3).

The term “glory” is somewhat ambiguous.

1. It may be parallel to “the righteousness of God.”

2. It may refer to the “holiness” or “perfection” of God.

3. It could refer to the image of God in which mankind was created (cf. Gen 1:26-27; Gen 5:1; Gen 9:6), but which was later marred through a rebellious desire for independence (cf. Gen 3:1-22).

NASB”which He freely bestowed on us”

NKJV”by which He has made us accepted”

NRSV”that He freely bestowed on us”

TEV”for the free gift he gave us”

NJB”his free gift to us”

The Greek term “favored” (charito) has the same root as “grace” (charis). The Father’s grace, mercy, and love flow (cf. Eph 1:8) through a suffering Messiah to fallen humanity (cf. Gen 3:15; Isaiah 53). God’s love flows to fallen mankind because of who He is, not who we are! The key is God’s character, not human performance!

“in the Beloved” This is a perfect passive participle. Jesus was and is the Beloved Son and shall always be. This title was used in the Septuagint (LXX) for the Messiah. It was substituted for “Jeshurun” (Jerusalem) in Deu 32:15; Deu 33:5; Deu 33:26; and Isa 44:2. The Father used this descriptive title for Jesus in Mat 3:17 (at Jesus’ baptism); Mat 12:18 (an OT quote, i.e., Isa 42:1-3); and Mat 17:5 (at Jesus’ transfiguration). Paul uses this same term for Jesus in Col 1:13.

Eph 1:7 “we have” This verb is in the present tense, while the surrounding verbs are all aorist tense. We currently possess the benefits of all that God has accomplished in Christ. However, notice in the same Greek sentence (Eph 1:14) that redemption is future. Salvation begins with the call of God, the wooing of the Spirit (cf. Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65). It issues in a repentant/faith decision followed by a life of trust, obedience, and perseverance that will one day be consummated into complete Christlikeness (cf. 1Jn 3:2). Salvation is a relationship as well as a pronouncement, a person as well as a message.

SPECIAL TOPIC: GREEK VERB TENSES USED FOR SALVATION

“redemption” This is literally “to be delivered from” (cf. Rom 3:24; Col 1:14). It is a synonym of an OT term (gaal) meaning “to buy back” sometimes with the agency of a near kin (go’el). This term was used in the OT to refer to buying back slaves and military prisoners. Paul uses the Greek equivalent four times in Ephesians and Colossians (cf. Eph 1:7; Eph 1:14; Eph 4:30; Col 1:14). It reflects a personal agency by which God brings salvation. It does not focus on to whom or the amount of the payment. Mar 10:45 states clearly that Jesus came to pay the ransom for fallen mankind (cf. 1Pe 1:18-19). Humans were slaves to sin (cf. Isa 53:6; several OT quotes in Rom 3:9-18; 1Pe 2:24-25). See Special Topic: Ransom/Redeem at Col 1:14.

“through His blood” Blood is a metaphor for death (cf. Gen 9:4; Lev 17:11; Lev 17:14). This refers to Jesus’ vicarious, substitutionary, sacrificial death. He died in our place for our sin (cf. Gen 3:15; Isaiah 53; Rom 3:25; Rom 5:9; 2Co 5:21; Eph 2:13; Col 1:20; Heb 9:22).

Because of the presence of Greek false teachers (i.e., Gnostics) who denied the humanity of Jesus, this may have been a way to refer to Jesus as being truly human (blood, body, etc.).

“the forgiveness” This is literally “sending away.” On the Day of Atonement there were two scapegoats involved in the yearly ritual of Leviticus 16.

1. one was sent away, symbolically carrying away Israel’s sins (i.e., when God forgives, God forgets, cf. Psa 103:12; Isa 1:18; Isa 38:17; Isa 44:22; and Mic 7:18)

2. the other was sacrificed, symbolizing the fact that sin costs a life

Jesus took fallen mankind’s sin away by dying in their place (cf. 2Co 5:21; Col 1:14) thus combining the two meanings.

“trespasses” This is the Greek term for sin, (paraptma), literally “to fall to one side.” It is related to the OT words for sin which meant a deviation from a standard. The term “reed” was a construction term used metaphorically of God’s character. God is the only standard by which all humans are crooked and perverted (cf. Isa 53:6; Rom 3:9-23; Rom 11:32; Gal 3:22).

“according to the riches of His grace” Our forgiveness in Christ cannot be earned (cf. Eph 2:8-9; 2Ti 1:9; Tit 3:5). The term “riches” is used often in Paul’s prison letters: “riches of His grace,” Eph 1:7; Eph 2:7; “riches of His glory,” Eph 1:18; Eph 3:16; “rich in mercy,” Eph 2:4; “riches in Christ,” Eph 3:8. In Christ redeemed mankind has been granted the riches of God’s character!

Eph 1:8 “lavished” Paul uses this term (perisseu) over and over again (cf. Rom 5:15; Rom 15:13; 1Co 15:58; 2Co 1:5; 2Co 8:2; 2Co 8:7; 2Co 9:8; Eph 1:8; Php 1:9; Php 4:12; Php 4:18; Col 2:7; 1Th 4:1). It expresses Paul’s sense of the full measure and beyond of God’s grace and provisions in Christ. God’s love in Christ is like an overflowing fountain or an artesian well!

SPECIAL TOPIC: ABOUND (perisseu)

“In all wisdom and insight” This refers to God’s gift of understanding (not the Gnostic false teachers’ secret knowledge), which He gave so that fallen mankind might grasp the implications of the gospel (cf. Eph 1:3-7; Eph 1:9-10; Eph 1:18-23; Luk 1:17; Col 1:9). The false teachers were emphasizing secret wisdom. God’s wisdom is Christ. He is available to all!

Eph 1:9 “mystery” Paul often uses this term (cf. Rom 11:25; Rom 16:25; 1Co 2:7; 1Co 4:1; Eph 1:9; Eph 3:3-4; Eph 3:9; Eph 6:19; Col 1:26; Col 2:2; Col 4:3; 2Ti 1:9-10). It has several different connotations for different aspects of God’s redemptive plan. In Eph 2:11 to Eph 3:13, it refers to the uniting of all people, Jew and Gentile, in Christ, to God. This had always been God’s plan (cf. Gen 3:15; Gen 12:1-3; Exo 19:4-6; Eph 2:11 to Eph 3:13). This had always been the implication of monotheism (one and only one God). This truth had been hidden in the past, but is now fully revealed in Christ. See Special Topic at Eph 3:3.

“of His will” See the following Special Topic: The Will of God

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE WILL (thelma) OF GOD

Eph 1:10

NASB”administration”

NKJV”dispensation”

NRSV”a plan”

TEV”this plan”

NJB”for him to act upon”

This is literally “stewardship of a household” (oikonomia). Paul uses the term in several different senses.

1. an Apostolic commission to proclaim the gospel (cf. 1Co 9:17; Eph 3:2; Col 1:25)

2. an eternal plan of redemption, “mystery” (cf. Eph 1:9-10; Eph 3:9, 1Co 4:1)

3. training in the plan of redemption and its accompanying lifestyle (cf. 1Ti 1:4)

This verse is a foreshadowing of the central theme of the book (the unity of all things in Christ), which is fully developed in Eph 4:1-6.

“the fullness of the times” This phrase emphasizes (as does predictive prophecy) that God is in control of history. At just the right moment, God sent Christ and, at just the right moment, He will come again.

“the summing up of all things in Christ” In Koine Greek (the language of commerce in the Mediterranean world from 200 B.C. to A.D. 200, it was the language of the common man) this compound term is literally “the uniting of several things under one head.” This is a reference to the cosmic significance of the work of Christ (as is seen so clearly in 1Co 15:24-28 and Col 1:17-22). This is the central theme of Colossians. Christ is the “head” not only of His body, the church, but of creation (kosmos).

Eph 1:11

NASB, NKJV,

NRSV”we have obtained an inheritance”

TEV”God chose us to be his own people”

NJB”we have received our heritage”

This is literally “we were chosen as an inheritance,” an aorist passive indicative. Originally in the OT this referred only to the Levites (the tribe of Levi became the priests, Temple servants, and local teachers of the Law), who did not inherit land in the Promised Land (cf. Num 18:20; Deu 10:9; Deu 12:12; Deu 14:27; Deu 14:29). They did received several cities, Joshua 20-21. It came to refer to the truth that God Himself is the inheritance of all believers and they are His (cf. Psa 16:5; Psa 73:26; Psa 119:57; Lam 3:24). It also came to be a metaphor for God’s people (cf. Deu 4:20; Deu 7:6; Deu 9:26; Deu 9:29; Deu 14:2; 2Sa 21:3; 1Ki 8:51; 1Ki 8:53; 2Ki 21:14; Psa 28:9; Psa 33:12; Psa 68:9; Psa 78:62; Psa 78:71; Psa 94:14; Psa 106:5; Psa 106:40; Isa 19:25; Isa 47:6; Isa 63:17; Jer 10:16; Jer 51:19). The NT replaces the promises of a land with the promise of being part of God’s family. NT writers universalize the Jewish-Gentile distinction into the believer-unbeliever model. The same is true of the city of Jerusalem which becomes the New Jerusalem (cf. Rev 3:12; Rev 21:2; Rev 21:10), which is a metaphor of heaven, not a geographical location.

“having been predestined according to His purpose” This aorist passive participle expresses the truth that election is according to the grace of God and not human merit (cf. Eph 2:8-9, which has three disclaimers: “and that not of yourselves;” “it is the gift of God,” and “not as a result of works, that no one should boast”). This same terminology is found in Rom 8:28-29. The purpose there is Christlikeness. See fuller note on predestination at Contextual Insights to Eph 1:1-23, #C and Eph 1:4 and Eph 1:5.

SPECIAL TOPIC: Election/Predestination and the Need for a Theological Balance

Eph 1:12 “we” This refers to believing Jews (cf. Rom 1:16).

“glory” See note at Eph 1:6

Eph 1:13 “you” This refers to believing Gentiles (cf. Eph 2:12).

“after listening to the message of truth, the gospel. . .having also believed” These are both aorist active participles. Salvation is both a message to believe and a person to trust. It involves both a mental acceptance of the truthfulness of the Bible (worldview) and a personal welcoming of Jesus! The gospel must be personally received (cf. Joh 1:12; Joh 3:16; Joh 3:18; Joh 3:36; Joh 6:40; Joh 11:25-26; Rom 10:9-13). The essence of the gospel can be summarized as

1. a person to welcome/receive (personal relationship

2. truths about that person to believe (worldview)

3. a life like that person to live (Christlikeness)

SPECIAL TOPIC: “TRUTH” IN PAUL’S WRITINGS

“you were sealed in Him” In the Greco-Roman culture sealing was a sign of security, genuineness, and ownership (cf. Eph 4:30; 2Co 1:22; 2Co 5:5; Rev 7:1-4). This sealing (aorist passive indicative) is theologically parallel to the Spirit’s baptizing new believers in Christ (cf. 1Co 12:13; possibly Eph 4:4-5).

SPECIAL TOPIC: SEAL

“with the Holy Spirit of promise” The coming of the Spirit was the sign of the New Age (cf. Joe 2:28; Joh 14:26 ff). He was the Father’s promise (cf. Joh 14:16; Joh 14:26; Joh 15:26; Act 1:4-5; Act 2:33). The Spirit indwelling believers is the assurance of their resurrection (cf. Rom 8:9-11).

Eph 1:14 “who is given as a pledge” This concept of a pledge had an OT precedent.

1. a promise to pay a debt (cf. Gen 38:17-18; Gen 38:20; Deu 24:10-13)

2. a promise of providing sustenance (cf. 1Sa 17:18)

3. a personal promise (cf. 2Ki 18:23; Isa 36:8).

This Greek term refers to a “down-payment” or earnest money (cf. 2Co 1:22; 2Co 5:5). In modern Greek it is used of an engagement ring, which is the promise of a marriage to come. The Spirit is the fulfilled promise of a new age of righteousness. This is part of the “already” and “not yet” tension of the NT, which is the overlapping of the two Jewish ages because of the two comings of Christ (see the excellent discussion in How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Fee and Stuart, pp. 129-134). The Spirit is a pledge given now for a future consummation.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PERSONHOOD OF THE SPIRIT

“redemption” See note at Eph 1:7 and Special Topic at Col 1:14.

“God’s own possession” This may be an allusion to Exo 19:5; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2. The Jews were God’s special treasure for the purpose of reaching the world (cf. Gen 12:3; Exo 19:6), now His agent is the church, Christ’s body.

“to the praise of His glory” See note at Eph 1:6.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Blessed, &c. Compare 2Co 1:3. 1Pe 1:3. Always applied to God.

Lord. App-98.

hath = having. Note the use and importance of aorist participles throughout this section.

with. App-104.

all = every.

spiritual. See 1Co 12:1.

blessings = blessing (singular) Greek. eulogia. See Rom 15:29.

heavenly places = the heavenlies, i.e. heavenly spheres. Greek. epouranios. Compare Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12.

Christ. App-98.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

3-3:21.] FIRST PORTION OF THE EPISTLE: THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. And herein, Eph 1:3-23.] GROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH, IN THE FATHERS COUNSEL, AND HIS ACT IN CHRIST, BY THE SPIRIT. And herein again, (A) the preliminary IDEA OF THE CHURCH, set forth in the form of an ascription of praise Eph 1:3-14 :-thus arranged:-Eph 1:3-6] The FATHER, in his eternal Love, has chosen us to holiness (Eph 1:4),-ordained us to sonship (Eph 1:5),-bestowed grace on us in the Beloved (Eph 1:6):-Eph 1:7-12] In the SON, we have,-redemption according to the riches of His grace (Eph 1:7), knowledge of the mystery of His will (Eph 1:8-9),-inheritance under Him the one Head (Eph 1:10-12):-Eph 1:13-14] through the SPIRIT we are sealed,-by hearing the word of salvation (Eph 1:13),-by receiving the earnest of our inheritance (Eph 1:14),-to the redemption of the purchased possession (ib.).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Eph 1:3. –, Blessed-who has blessed-with blessing) An Antanaclasis.[4] God has blessed us in one sense, we bless Him in another. The doxologies at the beginning of the apostolic epistles are quite in consonance with the sense of the grace which characterizes the New Testament. It is almost in this way that the first Epistle of Peter commences, which was also sent into Asia, and therefore to Ephesus. Paul writes with an affection that had been greatly elevated [sublimed] by adversity; and this epistle furnishes a remarkable specimen of the evangelical mode of discussion on the thesis [proposition, i.e. the broad general truth of the Gospel]; and, from the third to the fourteenth ver. of this ch., it presents an abridgment of the Gospel [respecting the grace of God.-V. g.]; [and that, too, in such a way, that the blessed work of Christ, Eph 1:7, and of the Holy Spirit, Eph 1:13, is inserted each in its proper order.-V. g.] Hence he refutes no error, and rebukes no fault in particular, but proceeds in a general way. And how great soever may be the light which may be obtained from ecclesiastical history, with respect to the Epistle to the Colossians, in other respects parallel, it is less needed in this epistle. He writes with great propriety to the Ephesians, too, regarding the recent union of the Jews and Gentiles; for the temple at Ephesus had been the stronghold of Paganism, as on the contrary the temple at Jerusalem had been the stronghold of Judaism.

[4] See App. It is the same word occurring in a different sense.

Here follows a summary of the Epistle:-

I.The Inscription, Eph 1:1-2.

II.The Doctrine pathetically set forth.

I.Blessing God for the whole range of heavenly blessing bestowed by Him, Eph 1:3-14; and then thanksgiving and prayers for the saints, Eph 1:15 to Eph 2:10.

II.A more special admonition concerning their formerly miserable, but now blessed condition, Eph 1:11-22; and then the apostles supplication, that they might be strengthened, Eph 3:1-2; Eph 3:14-15; with the doxology, Eph 3:20-21.

III.The exhortation.

I.General-that they should walk worthily, as

1.The unity of the Spirit and diversity of gifts, Eph 4:1-2; Eph 4:7-8.

2.As the difference of their heathen and Christian state require, Eph 4:17-24.

II.Special-

1)So that they should avoid

1.Lying, Eph 4:25.

2.Anger, Eph 4:26-27.

3.Theft, Eph 4:28.

4.Corrupt conversation, Eph 4:29-30.

5.Bitterness, Eph 4:31 to Eph 5:2.

6.Impurity, Eph 5:3-14.

7.Drunkenness, Eph 5:15-20; the virtues being everywhere commended to which those vices are opposed, with the addition of submission, Eph 5:21.

2)That they should do their duty,

1.As wives and husbands, Eph 5:22-23; Eph 5:25-26.

2.As children and fathers, Eph 6:1-2; Eph 6:4.

3.As servants and masters, Eph 6:5-6; Eph 6:9.

3)And, lastly, an exhortation to the spiritual warfare, Eph 6:10-11; Eph 6:19-20.

IV.Conclusion, Eph 6:21-24.

There is a great resemblance between this epistle and that to the Colossians, which has been already noticed; wherefore the two writings may be advantageously compared together.- , with all) Paul describes the source and the archetype of this blessing, He has chosen us, having predestinated, Eph 1:4-5; also its nature, He hath embraced us in His grace, Eph 1:6; also its parts, remission, etc., Eph 1:7-8.-, with blessing) The very term denotes abundance.-, spiritual) a thing peculiar to the New Testament.- , in heavenly places) The term spiritual is hereby explained. Often in this epistle he mentions the heavenlies: Eph 1:20, ch. Eph 2:6, Eph 3:10, Eph 6:12. The glorious abode of the heavenly inhabitants.- , in Christ) To this is to be referred the following verse, according as-in Him. Here now he somewhat slightly touches upon the three persons of the Godhead, who are concerned in our salvation. The Heavenlies belong to the Father [the First Person]: he expressly names Christ Himself [the Second Person]: the Holy Spirit [the Third Person] produces spiritual blessings. Paul treats of all in succession subsequently. [Certainly the apostle had before his eyes, in this passage, the whole career of Christ, from His birth to His ascension. He contemplates His birth in this verse, then His circumcision, wherefore at Eph 1:5, and not till then, the name, Jesus, given to Him at His circumcision, is expressed; at Eph 1:6,[5] the baptism of the beloved Son is pointed to by implication; which, at Eph 1:7, the bloody suffering of death follows, and finally His resurrection and ascension, at Eph 1:20, etc.-V. g.]

[5] Accepted in the Beloved. As the Voice at His baptism said, This is my beloved Son, in whom, etc.-ED.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Eph 1:3

Eph 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,-Glory and honor and praise and thanksgiving be to God for the gift of his Son and for the blessings that have come through him to the world.

who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing-Jesus Christ had bestowed upon them spiritual blessings that built up and strengthened the spirit of man. These blessings were such as were bestowed by the Spirit of God. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (Joh 4:24).

in the heavenly places-This must refer to the church of Christ and the exalted spiritual relations into which God had brought them in Christ.

in Christ:-The idea of fellowship is the prominent thought; every spiritual blessing we have received, the heavenly places in which they are received, are ours only through our fellowship with Christ. It seems to qualify all that precedes, rather than any one phrase. In this section especially, these words form the center and heartbeat of the apostles mind. In this verse is suggested what is afterwards unfolded, that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are concerned in the one blessing we receive.

Before proceeding further in the study of this epistle, it is very important to get firmly fixed in the mind the use of the words we and us, and ye and you, as used in the first, second, and third chapters. We and us are used down to and through the twelfth verse, and refer to the Jewish Christians; beginning with the thirteenth verse, ye and you are used, and refer to the Gentile Christians. By reading the first, second, and third chapters with these facts in mind, this becomes evident and explains much of the foreordination of chapter one having taken place in the selection of the Jews for the reception of the Messiah.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

in heavenly places

Literally, the heavenlies. The same Greek word is used in Joh 3:12 where “things” is added. In both places the word signifies that which is heavenly in contradistinction to that which is earthy. In Ephesians “places” is especially misleading. “The heavenlies” may be defined as the sphere of the believer’s spiritual experience as identified with Christ in nature. 2Pe 1:4, life,; Col 3:4; 1Jn 5:12, relationships; Joh 20:17; Heb 2:11 service,; Joh 17:18; Mat 28:20, suffering; Php 1:29; Php 3:10; Col 1:24 inheritance Rom 8:16; Rom 8:17 and future glory in the kingdom; Rom 8:18-21; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10. The believer is a heavenly man, and a stranger and pilgrim on the earth.; Heb 3:1; 1Pe 2:11.

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Blessed: Gen 14:20, 1Ch 29:20, Neh 9:5, Psa 72:19, Dan 4:34, Luk 2:28, 2Co 1:3, 1Pe 1:3, Rev 4:9-11, Rev 5:9-14

God: Eph 1:17, Joh 10:29, Joh 10:30, Joh 20:17, Rom 15:6, 2Co 1:3, 2Co 11:31, Phi 2:11

who: Gen 12:2, Gen 12:3, Gen 22:18, 1Ch 4:10, Psa 72:17, Psa 134:3, Isa 61:9, Gal 3:9

heavenly: Eph 1:20, Eph 2:6, Eph 3:10, Eph 6:12, *marg. Heb 8:5, Heb 9:23

places: or, things, Eph 6:12

in Christ: Eph 1:10, Joh 14:20, Joh 15:2-5, Joh 17:21, Rom 12:5, 1Co 1:30, 1Co 12:12, 2Co 5:17, 2Co 5:21

Reciprocal: Gen 14:19 – Blessed be Gen 18:18 – become Gen 22:17 – in blessing Gen 24:1 – blessed Gen 24:27 – Blessed Gen 27:33 – yea Gen 28:4 – the blessing Gen 28:14 – and in thee Gen 39:5 – for Joseph’s Gen 49:25 – with blessings Gen 49:26 – have prevailed Exo 18:10 – General Num 6:27 – and I will Num 22:12 – for they Jos 22:33 – blessed 1Ki 1:48 – Blessed 1Ki 8:15 – Blessed 1Ch 16:36 – Blessed 1Ch 17:27 – blessest 1Ch 29:10 – Blessed be thou 2Ch 6:4 – Blessed 2Ch 31:8 – blessed Neh 8:6 – blessed Psa 3:8 – thy blessing Psa 21:3 – blessings Psa 21:6 – made Psa 24:5 – receive Psa 41:13 – Blessed Psa 45:7 – thy God Psa 67:1 – bless us Psa 68:19 – Blessed Psa 85:12 – the Lord Psa 96:2 – bless Psa 115:12 – the house of Israel Psa 115:15 – blessed Psa 128:5 – bless thee Psa 144:15 – happy Isa 19:25 – the Lord Jer 31:3 – with lovingkindness have I drawn Jer 31:14 – my people Dan 7:18 – most High Hos 13:9 – but Mic 5:4 – the Lord Zec 11:4 – Lord Mat 25:34 – Come Luk 1:68 – Blessed Luk 2:38 – gave Act 3:26 – sent Rom 4:6 – blessedness Rom 15:29 – General 1Co 8:6 – one God 1Co 14:1 – desire Gal 1:4 – according Eph 3:14 – the Father Col 1:19 – General 2Ti 1:9 – which Heb 1:9 – thy God Heb 6:20 – for Heb 7:14 – Our Lord Jam 3:9 – bless

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE HEAVENLY PLACES

In the heavenly places.

Eph 1:3 (R. V.)

The Epistle to the Ephesians is the Epistle of our union with the risen and ascended Christ, and of the blessing which that union brings. For its keynote we may write those words, which ring throughout its teaching, In Christ Jesus; and for its brief epitome the verse in which our text occurs, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

We have said that this is the Epistle of the believers union with the risen and ascended Christ. The expression in the heavenly places is one illustration of this. It occurs in no other place in Scripture, but is quite peculiar in this Epistle. There it occurs five times, being but one of many expressions which raise our thoughts to Christ as ascended into the heavens, so that we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with Him continually dwell. We will now consider the five contexts in which the words occur, taking them not in the order of chapter and verse, but rather of the ideas which they suggest. We shall also assume that the words have reference in all five places not to heavenly things or heavenly blessings, but to heavenly placesthe abode of Christ, and therefore of the Christian.

I. Christ in heavenly places.In chapter Eph 1:20 we find the words used of the present abode of Christ Himself; that height of glory to which he ascended, when He went up on high, and led captivity captive. He raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places. Such is the first thought which the words suggest. They raise our minds to things above; they bid us lift up our hearts. Let us lift them up unto the Lord. It is ours surely at this time to rejoice with no mere selfish joy for the blessings which Christs ascension has procured, but with that blessed self-forgetting joy which can rise out of the merely personal, and can triumph in the triumph of our King.

II. Believers in heavenly places.In chapter Eph 2:6 the same expression is used of the present abode of true believers, and that because it is the abode of Christ. God, being rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, quickened us together with Christ and raised us up with Him, and made us sit with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. Here is the central truth on which this Epistle hinges, our union with Christ. He who believes upon Jesus Christ, casting, resting his whole self upon Him, as revealed in His glorious Person, His finished workthat man becomes at the moment of belief, by the Holy Spirits energy, united with Christ, a member of His body, the Church. He is in Christ Jesus, as a branch is in a vine tree, and therefore, in a true though spiritual sense, where Christ is, there he is also.

III. Blessings in heavenly places.In chapter Eph 1:3 a further stage is arrived at. The Apostle here makes every spiritual blessing depend on these two previous verities. Christ is in the heavenly places; we are in Him, and so are ourselves in the same heavenly places. What follows? Thus united to Him, all His fullness flows to us; we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Him. It is the epitome of the whole Epistle. Ye are complete in Him. Little wonder, then, that Christ Himself said, It is expedient for you that I go away. All that Christ has in our nature gained by being raised into the heavenly places is thus brought within our reach. All things are ours, and it is only our weak faith, our vague beliefs, our want of full surrender to the Holy Spirits energy, and the consequent weakness of our union with Christ, that hinders our full enjoyment of them. Let it be so no longer. If these things be so, let us be borne on, and so let us press on to perfection.

Two passages now remain; they do not bear directly, like the first three, on the central truth of our union with Christ, but on certain consequences which follow from it.

IV. Wisdom in heavenly places.In chapter Eph 3:10 St. Paul is speaking of the great privilege of preaching unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, of making all men see the dispensation of the mystery hitherto hidden in God. And with what object? To the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God. Which things, St. Peter says, angels desire to look into. The same thought is present here; it is that those heavenly intelligences who wait around the throne, whose only desire is to do Gods will, take the keenest interest in the unfolding of Gods purposes, and love to study them. And thus we learn one of the glorious privileges of the Church of Christ. Not only is it to reflect the glory of her Lord to this world below, but it is to be the mirror by which angels and archangels themselves must stoop and look, if they are to behold the gradual unfolding of Divine love in the manifold wisdom of God.

V. Conflict in heavenly places.One passage remains, and it is at first sight a startling one. It tells us of our conflict, and that conflict is in the heavenly places. In chapter Eph 6:12 we read, For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Thus the same word which is used to express the abode of Christ, and of our being blessed in Him, and of the home of the holy angels, is here used of the abode of our terrible foes, or at least of the scenes of our conflict with them. The true key to the difficulty seems to be found in the same Epistle. In chapter Eph 2:2 Satan, the leader of these spirit hosts, is called the prince of the power of the air. Let us remember that the word translated air always means in Scripture the atmosphere which surrounds this earth; so that the very air we breathe is associated in Scripture with the agency of the powers of Satan. Turning to the expression of our text, we must remember that the word heaven has in Scripture a twofold reference. There is a lower as well as a higher heavena heaven which signifies the same region as the air as well as a heaven which is the abode of angels and of God. It must be this lower heaven which is specially referred to in the last passage. The prince of the power of the air is the captain of these hosts of wickedness which assail us even in the heavenly places. We are in the heavenly places, but so, too, are our foes. Still, we can face the fact without fear.

Bishop T. W. Drury.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

(Eph 1:3.) -Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The verb is usually omitted. The adjective in the doxology is placed before the substantive, because being used as a predicate, and representing an abstract quality, the emphasis lies on it. Such is the invariable usage in the Old Testament-not God is blessed, but, from the position of the words-Blessed be God, . At least thirty times does the formula occur. Psa 68:19, in the Septuagint being a mistranslation or doubled version of the Hebrew, is only an apparent exception, and the phrase, Rom 9:5, we do not regard as a doxology. In all the passages quoted by Ellicott after Fritzsche-Rom 9:5, as if they were exceptions to this rule, it is and not which is employed, and there is a shade of difference between the participle and the adjective-for while in the Septuagint is applied to God, is never applied to man. Thus in 1Ki 10:9, 2Ch 9:8, which are parallel passages- being employed in the first instance, and in the second; and in Job 1:21, Psa 112:2, in both of which with occurs, the verbs, as might be expected, are followed immediately by their nominatives. in the New Testament is applied only to God-His is perpetual and unchanging blessedness, perpetual and unchanging claim on the homage of His creatures. is used of such as are blessed of God, and on whom blessing is invoked from Him. Mat 21:9; Luk 1:28. But the blessedness we ascribe to God comes from no foreign source; it is already in Himself, an innate and joyous possession. Paul’s epistles usually begin with a similar ascription of praise (2Co 1:3). But in many cases-the majority of cases-he does not utter a formal ascription: he expresses the fact in such phrases as I thank, We thank, We are bound to thank-God.

One would think that there is little dubiety in a formula so plain; for and are in apposition, and both govern the following genitive-Blessed be the God of, and the Father of, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Divine Being is both God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet there are many who sever the two nouns-disjoining from -and so render it, Blessed be God, who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Theodoret, the Peschito, Whitby, and Bodius, with Harless, Meyer, Holzhausen, Baumgarten-Crusius, Bisping, and Ellicott, are in favour of this opinion. But Jerome, Theophylact, Koppe, Michaelis, Rckert, Stier, Olshausen, and Alford, adhere to the former view, which we are disposed to adopt. The words of themselves would bear either construction, though Olshausen remarks that, to bring out the first opinion, the Greek should run . Theodoret capriciously inserts the adjective in his note upon . He represents the apostle as showing-, , , as if Paul meant to describe the Divine Being as our God and Christ’s Father. To say with Meyer that only requires a genitive and not , is mere assertion. The statement of Harless, too, that should have been inserted before , if governed , appears to us to be wholly groundless, nor do the investigations of Hartung, to which he refers, at all sustain him. Lehre von den Partikeln der Griech. Sprache, vol. 1.125. Compare 1Pe 2:25. Had the article occurred before , this particle might have been necessary; but its omission shows that the relation of and is one of peculiar unity. Distinct and independent prominence is not assigned to each term. Winer, 19, 3, note. Nor is there any impropriety of thought in joining with -the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. , says Theophylact, , . The diction of the Greek Father, in the last clause, is not strictly correct, for the correlative terms are Father, Son, , : God, Word, , . The God of our Lord Jesus Christ is a phrase which occurs also in the 17th verse of this chapter. On the cross, in the depth of His agony, the mysterious complaint of Jesus expressed the same relationship, My God, my God. I ascend, said He to Mary, to my God and your God. Rev 3:12. The phrase is therefore one of scriptural use. As man, Jesus owned Himself to be the servant of God. God’s commission He came to execute, God’s law He obeyed, and God’s will was His constant Guide. As a pious and perfect man He served God, prayed to God, and trusted in God. And God, as God, stands in no distant relation to Christ-He is also His Father. The two characters are blended-God and Father.-See under Eph 1:17. Sonship cannot indeed imply on Christ’s part posteriority of existence or derivation of essence, for such a notion is plainly inconsistent with His supreme Divinity. The name seems to mark identity of nature and prerogative, with infinite, eternal, unchanging, and reciprocal love. Since this God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ sent Him into the world, prescribed His service of suffering and death, and accepted it as a complete atonement, it is therefore His pr erogative to dispense the blessings so secured-

-who blessed us-us, not the apostle simply, as Koppe supposes from the contrast of in Eph 1:14. The persons blessed are the apostle and the members of that church addressed by him-he and they were alike recipients of divine favour. The stands in ideal contrast to the -God blessed us, and we bless God; but His blessing of us is one of deed, our blessing of Him is only in word. He makes us blessed, we pronounce Him blessed. He confers on us wellbeing, we ascribe to Him wellbeing. Ours is benedicere, His is benefacere. The participle here, as in many places, has virtually a causal significance. Khner, 667, a. We bless Him because He has blessed us. As the word expresses that divine beneficence which excites our gratitude, it must in a doxology have its widest significance. The enraptured mind selects in such a case the most powerful and intense term, to express its sense of the divine generosity. As Fergusson in his own Doric says, The apostle does not propound the causes of salvation warshly, and in a cauldrife manner:-

-with all spiritual blessing. is used in an instrumental sense, and similar phraseology in reference to God occurs in Tob 8:15, Jam 3:9. is not verbal wish expressed, but actual blessing conferred. The reader will notice the peculiar collocation of the three allied terms, —, a repetition not uncommon in the Hebrew Scriptures, and found occasionally among the Greek classics.

The blessings are designated as spiritual, but in what sense? 1. Chrysostom, Grotius, Aretius, Holzhausen, and Macknight suppose that the apostle intends a special and marked contrast between the spiritual blessings of the new dispensation, and the material and temporal blessings of the old economy. Temporal blessings, indeed, were of frequent promise in the Mosaic dispensation-dew of heaven, fatness of the earth, abundance of corn, wine, and oil, peace, longevity, and a flourishing household. It is true that such gifts are not now bestowed as the immediate fruits of Christ’s mediation, though, at the same time, godliness has the promise of the life that now is. But mere worldly blessings have sunk into their subordinate place. When the sun rises, the stars that sparkled during night are eclipsed by the flood of superior brilliance and disappear, though they still keep their places; so the blessings of this world may now be conferred, and may now be enjoyed by believers, but under the new dispensation their lustre is altogether dimmed and absorbed by those spiritual gifts which are its profuse and distinctive endowments. If there be any reference to the temporal blessings of the Jewish covenant, it can only, as Calvin says, be tacita antithesis. 2. Others regard the adjective as referring to the mind or soul of man, such as Erasmus, Estius, Flatt, Wahl, and Wilke; while Koppe, Rckert, and Baumgarten-Crusius express a doubtful acquiescence in this opinion. This interpretation yields a good meaning, inasmuch as these gifts are adapted to our inner or higher nature, and it is upon our spirit that the Holy Ghost operates. But this is not the ruling sense of the epithet in the New Testament. It is, indeed, in a generic sense opposed to in 1Co 9:11, and in Rom 15:27; while in 1Co 15:44-46 it is employed in contrast with -the one term descriptive of an animal body, and the other of a body elevated above animal functions and organization, with which believers shall be clothed at the last day. Similar usage obtains in Eph 6:12; 1Pe 2:5; 1Co 10:3; 1Co 4:3. But in all other passages where, as in this clause, the word is used to qualify Christian men, or Christian blessings, its ruling reference is plainly to the Holy Spirit. Thus-spiritual gifts, Rom 1:11; a special endowment of the Spirit, 1Co 12:1; 1Co 14:1, etc.; spiritual men, that is, men enjoying in an eminent degree the Spirit, 1Co 2:15; 1Co 14:37; and also in Gal 6:1; Rom 7:14; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; and in 1Co 2:13, spiritual means produced by or belonging to the Holy Spirit. Therefore the prevailing usage of the New Testament warrants us in saying, that these blessings are termed spiritual from their connection with the Holy Spirit. In this opinion we have the authority of the old Syriac version, which reads -of the Spirit; and the concurrence of Cocceius, Harless, de Wette, Olshausen, Meier, Meyer, and Stier. The Pauline usus loquendi is decidedly in its favour.

-All. The circle is complete. No needed blessing is wanted-nothing that God has promised, or Christ has secured, or that is indispensable to the symmetry and perfection of the Christian character. And those blessings are all in the hand of the Spirit. Christianity is the dispensation of the Spirit, and as its graces are inwrought by Him, they are all named spiritual after Him.

It certainly narrows and weakens the doxology to confine those blessings wholly or chiefly to the charismata, or extraordinary gifts of the primitive Church, as Wells and Whitby do. Those gifts were brilliant manifestations of divine power, but they have long since passed away, and are therefore inferior to the permanent graces-faith, hope, and love. They were not given to all, like the ordinary donations of the Holy Ghost. Theodoret, with juster appreciation, long ago said, that in addition to such endowments, , , , -the blessings referred to here are, the hope of the resurrection, the promises of immortality, the kingdom of heaven in reversion, and the dignity of adoption. The blessings are stated by the apostle in the subsequent verses, and neither gifts, tongues, nor prophecy occupy a place in the succinct and glowing enumeration:-

-in the heavenly places, in Christ-a peculiar idiom, the meaning of which has been greatly disputed. What shall be supplied – or , things or places? The translation, In heavenly things, is supported by Chrysostom, Theodoret, OEcumenius, Luther, Baumgarten-Crusius, Holzhausen, Matthies, and Meier. This view makes the phrase a more definite characterization of the spiritual blessings. But the construction is against it, for the insertion of seems to show that it is neither a mere prolonged specification, nor, as in Homberg’s view, a mere parallel definition to . The sentence, with such an explanation, even though the article should be supposed to designate a class, appears confused and weakened with somewhat of tautology. Nor can we suppose, with Van Til, that there is simply a designed contrast to the terrestrial blessings of the Old Testament. The other supplement, , appears preferable, and such is the opinion of the Syriac translator-who renders it simply , in heaven-of Jerome, Drusius, Beza, Bengel, Rckert, Harless, Olshausen, de Wette, Meyer, Stier, and Bisping. The phrase occurs four times besides-1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12. In all these places in this one epistle, the idea of locality is expressly implied, and there is no reason why this clause should be an exception. Harless remarks that the adjective, as would suggest, has in the Pauline writings a local signification.

But among such as hold this view there are some differences of opinion. Jerome, Beza, Bodius, and Rckert would connect the phrase directly with ; but the position of the words forbids the exegesis, and the participle must in such a case be taken with a proleptic or future signification. Beza alternates between two interpretations. According to his double view, men may be said to be blessed in heaven, either because God the Blesser is in heaven, or because the blessings received are those which are characteristic of heaven-such blessings as are enjoyed by its blessed inhabitants. Calvin, Grotius, and Koppe argue that the term points out the special designation of the spiritual blessings; that they are to be enjoyed in heaven. Grotius says these spiritual blessings place us in heaven-spe et jure. The sweeping view of Calovius comprehends all these interpretations; the spiritual blessings are -ratione et originis, qualitatis, et finis.The opinion of Slichtingius, Zanchius, and Olshausen is almost identical. The latter calls it the spiritual blessing which is in heaven, and so carries in it a heavenly nature.

We have seen that the idea of locality is distinctly implied in the phrase . Olshausen is in error when he says that heavenly places in Paul’s writings signify heaven absolutely, for the phrase sometimes refers to a lower and nearer spiritual sphere of it; He hath raised us up, and made us sit together with Christ in the heavenly places. Our session with Christ is surely a present elevation-an honour and happiness even now enjoyed. We wrestle against principalities, against powers-against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, Eph 6:12. These dark spirits are not in heaven, for they are exiles from it, and our struggle with them is in the present life. There are, therefore, beyond a doubt, heavenly places on earth. Now the gospel, or the Mediatorial reign, is the kingdom of heaven. That kingdom or reign of God is in us, or among us. Heaven is brought near to man through Christ Jesus. Those spiritual blessings conferred on us create heaven within us, and the scenes of Divine benefaction are heavenly places; for wherever the light and love of God’s presence are to be enjoyed, there is heaven. If such blessings are the one Spirit’s inworking,-that Spirit who in God’s name takes of the things that are Christ’s and shows them unto us,-then His influence diffuses the atmosphere of heaven around us. Our country is in heaven, and we enjoy its immunities and prerogatives on earth. We would not vaguely say, with Ernesti, Teller, and Schutze, that the expression simply means the church. True, in the church men are blessed, but the scenes of blessing here depicted represent the church in a special and glorious aspect, as a spot so like heaven, and so replete with the Spirit in the possession and enjoyment of His gifts-so filled with Christ and united to Him-so much of His love pervadin g it, and so much of His glory resting upon it, that it may be called . The phrase may have been suggested, as Stier observes, by the region of Old Testament blessing-Canaan being given to the chosen people of God as the God of Abraham.

The words might be viewed as connected with , and their position at the end of the verse might warrant such an exegesis. Christ at once creates and includes heaven. But they are better connected with the preceding participle, and in that connection they do not signify, as Chrysostom and Luther suppose, through Christ as an external cause of blessing, but in Him. Castalio supposing to be superfluous, affectedly renders-in rebus Christi coelestibus, and Schoettgen erroneously takes the noun for the dativus commodi-in laudem Christi. The words are reserved to the last with special emphasis. The apostle writes of blessing-spiritual blessing-all spiritual blessing-all spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; but adds at length the one sphere in which they are enjoyed-in Christ-in living union with the personal Redeemer. God blesses us: if the question be, When? the aorist solves it; if it be, With what sort of gifts? the ready answer is, With all spiritual blessings-; and if it be, Where? the response is, In the heavenly places-; and if it be, How? the last words show it, in Christ-, the one preposition being used thrice, to point out varied but allied relations. If Christians are blessed, and so blessed with unsparing liberality and universal benefaction in Christ through the Spirit’s influence upon them; and if the scenes of such transcendent enjoyment may be named without exaggeration heavenly places-may they not deeply and loudly bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? And so the triune operation of the triune God is introduced: the Father who blesses-the Son, in whom those blessings are conferred-and the Spirit, by whose inner work they are enjoyed, and from whom they receive their distinctiv e epithet.

Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians

Eph 1:3. When, man blesses God it means he gives Him the credit for all blessings or happiness. It is important to note that God is called the Father of Christ. This refutes the doctrine of Rome which is followed by most of the denominational world, that God and Christ are one and the same person. It is foolish to imply that a father and his son could be the same person. All spiritual blessings denotes that no blessings of that kind can be obtained from any source but God and Christ. Places has no word in the original and and it is not useful in this connection. Heavenly is an adjective and used to describe the kind of blessings that are enjoyed in. Christ. They are called heavenly because they originated in Heaven, and are unlike the favors produced on earth.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Eph 1:3. Blessed. The word here used is applied to God only in the N. T., and with a few exceptions in the LXX. also. The primary signification is that of speaking or promising good; our blessing God is praise and thanksgiving; His blessing us includes doing us good also. Both senses occur in this verse.

Be. The verb is omitted in the original, as is usual in such doxologies. We may understand be as a wish, or as an imperative, i.e., a formal pronouncing of blessing. The latter is perhaps preferable.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; or, as some prefer to render this formula, God and the Father, etc. Either view is grammatically tenable, and to neither can there be any doctrinal objection (in Eph 1:17, we find: the God of our Lord Jesus Christ). But we prefer to join of our Lord Jesus Christ to both nouns. To be God and to be Father are not ideas which exclude each other, nor do they appear as two, but as a unity. He is here praised who is not only the God or the Incarnate One, but is also the Father of this Lord, of the only begotten, whom he has given; thus is indicated the God-man by whom the blessings of redemption are mediated (Braune).

Who blessed us. Active, efficient blessing is here spoken of, as summed up in one past act, that being the force of the tense used. It here refers to the counsels of the Father as graciously completed in the redemption (Ellicott). Us means all Christians, as the context plainly shows.

In all (or, every) spiritual blessing, i.e. every kind of blessing which can be termed spiritual. But spiritual in the N. T. always implies the working of the Holy Spirit, never bearing merely our modern inaccurate sense of spiritual as opposed to bodily (Alford). Comp. on Rom 7:14. The Holy Spirit is the Agent in the bestowal of the blessing, and under it we include all the privileges spoken of in what follows.

In the heavenly places. Strictly speaking this defines the preceding phrase, all spiritual blessing. It has a local sense, but a broad and comprehensive one; every spiritual blessing which we have received springs from a higher world, is to be sought in a heavenly region, and thence to be obtained (Braune). Some refer it to the heaven of grace on earth, into which the believer is introduced; while the absence of any noun in the original has allowed many to supply possessions instead of places. But in all the other instances the local sense is the correct one (Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12); hence we prefer it here.

In Christ. Here, as always, the idea of fellowship is the prominent one; every spiritual blessing we have received, the heavenly places in which they are received, are ours, only through our fellowship with Christ. It seems to quality all that precedes, rather than any one phrase. In this section especially, the words in Christ form the centre and heart-beat of the Apostles view. The thought recurs in varying forms eight times in this section alone. In this verse is suggested, what is afterwards unfolded, that Father, Son, and Spirit are concerned in the one blessing we receive.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Observe here, 1. The work which the heart of the apostle was set upon, and that is, the work of blessing God: we bless God one way, he blesses us another; he blesses us imperatoriously, by commanding his blessings upon us; we bless him optatively, when with thankful hearts we praise him, when we wish well to him, and speak well of him.

Lord, what an infinite favour and privilege is this vouchsafed to us, not only to pray to God and receive blessings from him, but to admit us to bless him, and to account himself honoured by us when we acknowledge him the fountain of all blessings and blessedness to us his creatures!

Observe, 2. The title under which our apostle blessed him, namely, as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He doth not say now under the gospel, as of old under the law, Blessed be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; or, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; but, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Where note, 1. He is a God to Christ, in relation to his being man: Christ being foreordained before the foundation of the world,to the work and office of a Mediator, 1Pe 1:20 and the Father making a covenant or federal transaction with him from all eternity as Mediator.

Note, 2. He is a Father to Christ, and that both as God and man: a father to him as God, by eternal and ineffable generation, the one being Deus gignens, and the other Deus genitus: thus he was the only begotten Son of the Father: and Father to him as man, by virtue of the personal union of the two natures in Christ, Therefore that holy thing shall be called the Son of God Luk 1:32.

Observe, 3. The reason why under these relations he so affectionately blesses God, namely, for bestowing blessings, spiritual blessings, all spiritual blessings; and this is in or concerning heavenly things, which tend to fit us for heaven and eternal glory.

And lastly, all these blessings are conferred upon us in Christ, he, by his merit, hath purchased them; he, as our head and advocate,in our name has received them; by virtue of our union with whom we have a right upon them, and shall ere long in heaven be fully and finally possessed of them.

Behold here the transcendent bounty and liberality of our heavenly Father. He has more than one blessing for his children, he has all spiritual and heavenly blessings for them, grace on earth, and glory in heaven; grace to enable them to glorify him upon earth, and glory as the reward of grace with himself in heaven.

Rejoice, O Christian, in thy lot and portion; God himself hath but all things, and so hast thou. Has he all spiritual blessings in heaven in full possession? thou hast them also in right and title at present, and ere long shalt enjoy them in full fruitation. Eternally blessed then be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, or in heavenly things, in Christ.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Spiritual Blessings Are In Christ

We owe God thanksgiving and praise because of all the spiritual blessings we have in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The expression “in the heavenly places” occurs four other times in this epistle ( Eph 1:20 ; Eph 2:6 ; Eph 3:10 ; Eph 6:12 ). Here, it is qualified by the words “in Christ” which suggest to us “the church, which is His body” ( Eph 1:22-23 ). Thus, we believe to be in the church is to be in Christ’s body and to be in Christ is to be in heavenly places. The church is the home of the saved on earth and its Lord is in heaven, so we are in heavenly places in two senses ( Eph 1:3 ; Act 2:47 ; Act 2:32-36 ).

If I want to be one of God’s chosen ones, I must be in Christ. God chose only those who would meet his requirements for being “in him.” Before God laid down the foundation of the world, he planned a means of saving man if he should sin. As Hendren notes, buying band-aids and keeping them in the cabinet does not make one’s child receive a scrape or cut but it does prepare us for any eventuality. God’s plan provided a means of those in Christ being set apart for his service without any lack. The love here mentioned could either be God’s love in choosing a means of our being holy in Christ ( Joh 3:16 ), or the love that motivates us to obedience so we might be made holy by the Father ( Eph 1:4 ; Joh 14:15 ; 1Jn 5:3 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Eph 1:3-6. Blessed be God, who hath blessed us Gods blessing us is his bestowing spiritual and heavenly blessings upon us. Our blessing God is the paying him our solemn and grateful acknowledgments, both on account of his own essential blessedness, and of the blessings which he bestows on us; with all spiritual blessings The spiritual blessings here spoken of are such as are necessary to the perfection and happiness of our spirits; namely, the light of the gospel, the influences of the Spirit of God, the pardon of sin, adoption into Gods family, the sanctification of our nature, and eternal life. These blessings are here opposed to the earthly blessings which were promised to the natural descendants of Abraham, the ancient church of God, which consisted in the possession of Canaan, in victory over their enemies, fruitful seasons, &c, as described Deuteronomy 28. To these, and such like blessings, Abrahams seed, by faith, were entitled by the promise, In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. In heavenly places Or rather, In heavenly things, as , it seems, ought to be here translated. Certainly, we must enjoy spiritual blessings in heavenly things, before we can enjoy them in heavenly places; namely, blessings which are heavenly in their nature, original, and tendency, and shall be completed in heaven; far different from the external privileges of the Jews, and the earthly blessings they expected from the Messiah. According as he hath chosen us in him Both Jews and Gentiles, whom he foreknew as believing in Christ, 1Pe 1:2. That he speaks of such, and of such only, is evident from Eph 1:12-14, where see the notes. Indeed, none but true believers in Christ, none but those whose faith in him works by love, are ever termed, in the New Testament, Gods chosen, or elect. For the election spoken of in the New Testament is not the election of individuals, out of the mass of mankind, to repent, believe, and obey, passing by the rest; but it is the election of such as are already possessed of faith, love, and a new nature, to be the people and children of God; which election it behooves them to make sure, by aspiring after a larger measure of these, and of all other graces and virtues, and by enduring to the end, 2Pe 1:10. Before the foundation of the world Or, before the world began. This, as Macknight observes, being said of the Ephesian brethren in general, it cannot be an election of the whole of them as individuals [unconditionally] to eternal life; but must be that election, which, before the foundation of the world, God made of true believers, of all nations, to be his children and people, and to enjoy the blessings promised to such. That we should be holy Dedicated to God, employed for him, and transformed into his image; and without blame As to our whole spirit and conduct; before him Or in his sight, who searches the heart, and observes all our ways. As the election here spoken of is an election of believers to be holy, all such ought continually to keep in mind this end of their election, that they may press on toward it more and more. In love To God, his people, and all mankind, the source of all true holiness; Having predestinated, or fore-appointed, us Who do now, or shall hereafter, believe in him with our heart unto righteousness; unto the adoption of children For those who receive Christ, namely, in all his offices and characters, or who believe aright in him, enjoy the dignity of being his children and heirs, and joint heirs with Christ. See on Joh 1:12; Gal 3:26. According to the good pleasure of his will According to his free, fixed, and unalterable purpose to confer these blessings on all those who believe in Christ, and those only. Of the word , here, and frequently elsewhere, rendered to predestinate, see the notes on Rom 8:29-30. To the praise of the glory of his grace His glorious, unmerited, and free love, without any desert on our part; wherein he hath made us accepted Greek, , he hath taken us into favour, namely, his peculiar favour; in the Beloved In Christ, his beloved Son, through whom, though in ourselves we are so unworthy of them, we receive these inestimable blessings.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

ARGUMENT 1

THE HEAVENLIES AND SANCTIFICATION

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us in all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. The Greek word is an adjective noun, and very infelicitously translated heavenly places. You see places is italicized in the English, showing that it is not in the original. Men always make a mistake when they undertake to help out God, as he does not need any help. Hence, in reading your English Bible, you would get better sense out of it if you omit all of the italicized words. Here we see what a limitation the added word places puts on the inspired word heavenly, restricting it to mere location; whereas it has a glorious, infinitesimal signification. It means heavenly peace, rest, comfort, happiness, submission, obedience, faith, joy, and victory. We are here in the kingdom of omnipotent grace, preparatory to a world of ineffable glory. This Greek word, heavenlies, occurs repeatedly in this epistle, ringing out the glorious battle-cry. Hence, it is the great salient truth of this wonderful letter, exhibiting the highest type of spirituality in the New Testament, a logical sequence from the glorious foundation laid by Paul in the sanctification of the twelve charter members whom he found on his arrival. Only the people having Heaven in them will ever pass the pearly portals. Equally true that the inmates of Hell all take their hell with them into the regions of endless woe. These heavenly graces are not reached in justification, but sanctification. Our Savior is the paragon Exemplar of Christian saintship. He never enjoyed the peace of pardon, from the simple fact that he had no sins to be pardoned. But he always enjoyed the peace of purity. Hence we must reach entire sanctification in order to enjoy our Saviors peace, rest, submission, faith, obedience, joy, happiness, love, and victory. These constitute the heavenly experiences, only attainable in entire sanctification, and indispensable to our admission into heaven.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Eph 1:3-14. A Paragraph of Praise.God, who is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is thanked for the blessingsembracing every form of spiritual richesbestowed through their mystical relationship to Christ in the heavenly sphere upon the writer and upon his readers. The fact of their Christianity is evidence of their vocation to be holy and blameless before Him in lovea vocation which runs back into the eternal counsels (Eph 1:4): God has predetermined them to be His own adopted sons through Christ, the motive being simply the good pleasure of His will (Eph 1:5), and the purpose in view the glorious manifestation of His kindness and the eternal praise thereof (Eph 1:6). This kindness is bestowed upon them in the Beloved, whose blood is the source of their forgiveness and of their emancipation from slavery to sin (Eph 1:7). The riches of Gods free favour is further exhibited in the wealth of wisdom and knowledge which He has lavished upon them by letting them into the secret of His will (Eph 1:9), the whole process being part of the eternal purpose which He planned in Christ, working out when the fullness of appointed times arrived, viz. the summing up in Him of all things both on the earth and in the heavens (Eph 1:9 f.). It is in Him that they, i.e. those who were foreordained according to the purpose of God, who worketh all things according to the purpose of His will (Eph 1:11), have been chosen to be the Divine inheritance; to the end that the writer, and those for whom he writes (i.e. those whose hope in Christ was of old standing), might redound to the praise of the Divine glory equally with those (i.e. new converts) to whom he writes; for these latter also, having heard the word of the truth, the glad tidings of their salvation, put their trust in Him and were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise who was Himself the earnest money of a full inheritance hereafter, when the deliverance of Gods purchased possession should be complete (Eph 1:12-14).

Eph 1:3. in the heavenly places: (en tois epouraniois), also Eph 1:20, Eph 2:6, Eph 3:10, Eph 6:12, but nowhere else in NT. The phrase suggests the late Jewish doctrine of seven heavens rising one above the other (cf. 2Co 12:2), but the local sense should not here be pressed; it means the heavenly sphere, the unseen universe of spiritual realities.

Eph 1:4. even as he chose us: the recurrent references in Eph 1:4 ff. to Divine choice and fore-ordination suggest but do not necessitate a Calvinistic interpretation. Calvinism, as a formal doctrine, is foreign to the NT, though here, as elsewhere, reflection upon the wonder of Christian vocation is expressed in terms whichwhen treated as formal theologyreadily gave rise to Calvinism.

Eph 1:6. in the Beloved: it seems probable that the Beloved had come to be a recognised title of the Messiah (see J. A. Robinson, p. 229).

Eph 1:7. redemption through his blood: the phrase is explained by the sacrificial system of Judaism. The blood is the life (Lev 17:11), and represents the dedication of all life to God. Man, unworthy qua sinful to offer his life to God, offers vicariously an unblemished animal life with which his own life is by sprinkling identified. The death of Christ, taken in connexion with His saying in Mar 10:45, and His claim to inaugurate a New Covenant (Mar 14:24), suggested the application of this circle of ideas to Him and to His work. It was the earliest Christian theology of Atonement. Stripped of metaphor it means that Christs life of flawless obedience perfected in death is the means whereby all who come to share in it are made one with the life of God.

Eph 1:9. the mystery of his will: a keynote of the whole epistle. The mystery is the Divine world-plan, purposed before all ages, now at length disclosed in the Christian revelation. The word is to be taken not in its modern sense (=a hidden or unintelligible secret) but as signifying a revealed secret, a mystery disclosed. (An allusion by way of contrast to contemporary Mystery Religions is possible, though Robinson, pp. 234ff., strongly denies this.)

Eph 1:10. Read for working out in the fulness of the times. The genitive is temporal, and the word oikonomia, originally signifying the management of a household, had come to be used of any orderly administration: here the working out of the Divine world-plan.to sum up: the word anakephalaiousthai seems to be derived from kephalaion (=a sum) rather than from kephal (=a head). In the Divine counsels Christ is the sum of all things (Robinson). In the Eagle Vision of Ezra (2Es 12:25) the three heads of the Eagle (probably the Flavian Emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian) are said to recapitulate or sum up all the impieties of the Eagle (i.e. Rome, the hostile world-power). Probably there was a received tradition in apocalyptic writings that at the end of the world-history all the evil which is now diffused and isolated, as well as all the good, should be summed up in Antichrist and Christ respectively.

Eph 1:11-13. in whom also we . . . in whom ye also: the contrast seems to be between Christians of old standing and neophytes, rather than between Jewish and Gentile believers.

Eph 1:13. The reference to sealing may possibly suggest an eschatological sacrament; cf. Rev 7:2 f. Chase (Confirmation in the Apostolic Age, pp. 51ff.) thinks there may be a reference to an early form of confirmation, possibly by anointing; this is doubtful. The Holy Spirit of promise means probably the Holy Spirit who is Himself a promise rather than the promised Holy Spirit; the gift of the Spirit being regarded as an arrhabn or pledge (an instalment paid as proof of the bona fides of a bargain) which is a guarantee of completeness of blessing hereafter.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

DIVISION I DOCTRINE.

CHAPTERS 1:3-14.

SECTION 2. PRAISE FOR GODS ETERNAL PURPOSE OF MERCY TO JEWS AND GENTILES. CH. 1:3-14.

Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, according as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him, in love having foreordained us to adoption through Jesus Christ for Him, according to the good pleasure of His will, for praise of the glory of His grace, which grace He gave to us in the Beloved One.

In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to the good pleasure which He purposed in Him, for the dispensation of the fulness of the seasons, to gather up together all things in Christ, those in the heavens and those on the earth; in Him, in whom also we were made a heritage, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we should be for praise of His glory who had before hoped in the Christ.

In whom also ye, having heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation-in whom also having believed ye were sealed with the Spirit of promise, the Holy Spirit, which is an earnest of our inheritance for redemption of the possession, for praise of His glory.

Section 2 contains three clearly marked divisions, each closing with a solemn refrain: Eph 1:3-6; Eph 1:7-12; Eph 1:13-14.

Eph 1:3. An outburst of praise, beginning word for word as in 2Co 1:3.

God, the Father: or more literally God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Object of Pauls praise unites in Himself two titles: He is God and He is also the Father of Christ. See under Rom 15:6. Christ, our Master, spoke constantly of God as His Father: and thus gave to men a new conception of God, and to God a new name among men.

Blessed: literally spoken-good-of: see under Rom 1:25. Paul desires that the goodness of God be recognized by the praises of His creatures. The word blessed introduces a song of praise.

We bless God because He first has blessed us. The meaning of blessing from God to man may be learnt from the O.T. where the phrase is frequent; a good example in Deu 28:36. It there denotes enrichment with the highest good, especially with such good as only God can give. The form of the Greek word bless reminds us that these benefits are conveyed to us by the speaking voice of God.

Spiritual: pertaining to the Spirit of God; the usual meaning of the word. See under Rom 1:11.

Spiritual blessing: enrichment wrought by the Holy Spirit and therefore pertaining to the realm of spiritual things.

Every spiritual blessing: suggests variety of such benefits, and asserts that no kind of spiritual enrichment is wanting to us.

Heavenly-places or heavenly-things, literally the heavenlies: same word in 1Co 15:40; 1Co 15:48-49 where evidently it denotes things pertaining to heaven. So Php 2:10.

In the heavenly places: Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12, denoting in each case the supramundane world, and in all but the last the world of heavenly blessedness. And this gives good sense here. The good things with which God has enriched us belong to heaven, and will be there enjoyed. And since already (Php 3:20) our citizenship and (Mat 6:20) our treasure are in heaven, Paul could say that God has already blessed us in the heavenly places. By forming the purpose expounded in Eph 1:4-5, He has already enriched us: and the riches thus given are laid up for us amid the good things in heaven, where neither accident nor decay can destroy or lessen them.

To the locality of this blessing, viz. in heaven, Paul adds its personal element: in Christ. Our spiritual enrichment is a result of events which took place in the personality of Christ, His birth, death, resurrection, and ascension, a result conditioned by inward spiritual contact with Him. Cp. 2Co 5:19, God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.

It is needless to ask whether Paul refers here to blessing given to men once for all when God gave Christ to die, or given when each one appropriates by faith the various blessings resulting from the events of His human life. For both personal faith and the historic facts are essential links of the chain of blessing: and therefore in Pauls thought they were indissolubly joined.

Eph 1:4. According as He chose us etc.: traces up this blessing, given by God to men in time, to its eternal source and counterpart, viz. a corresponding purpose of God before time began.

Chose us, or more fully, selected for-Himself: He took a smaller out of a larger number. See note under Rom 9:13.

Us: further defined in the fundamental Gospel of Paul, Rom 1:16-17; Rom 3:21-22, as those who believe the Gospel. Not that their foreseen faith in any way moved God to save them; but that, moved only by pity for lost man, God resolved to save men by means of the good news announced by Christ, and to save those who should believe it.

In Him; expounds and justifies in Christ in Eph 1:3.

Before the foundation of the world: same words in Joh 17:24; 1Pe 1:20; instructive parallels. Before God began to make the great platform on which have lived the successive generations of men, all future ages were present to His thought: and in view of the sin and ruin which He foresaw, He resolved to save men; not all men indiscriminately, but those who should believe the Gospel; and to place these in special relation to Himself as His own. An interesting parallel in 2Ti 1:9. Of that eternal purpose, the salvation of each man is a corresponding realization in time: according as etc. And, inasmuch as this purpose could be accomplished only through the agency and the death of Christ and by spiritual contact with Him, it has special reference to Him. In this sense, God chose us for Himself in Christ.

Holy: subjectively holy, as in 1Co 7:34; see note under Rom 1:7. For it describes here Gods purpose touching what we are to be, viz. unreservedly loyal to Himself; not, as in Eph 1:1, a character already possessed, viz. that of men whom God has claimed for His own and who, by that claim, whatever their actual conduct may be, are placed in a new relation to God. Cp. Eph 4:27, Col 1:22; 1Pe 1:15-16; 1Th 5:23. In each case, whether used objectively or subjectively, the word holy denotes a special and sacred relation to God.

And blameless: same word and connection and meaning as in Col 1:22. It is the negative side of holiness. For all sin opposes God; and is therefore inconsistent with unreserved devotion to God.

Before Him: i.e. God, who chose us for Himself, formed for us this purpose of holiness and purity, and watches its accomplishment. Same words in Col 1:22.

In love: may belong either to Eph 1:4, asserting that love to our fellows is the surrounding element of the holiness which God designs for His chosen ones, or to Eph 1:5 asserting that Gods love to man is the element and source of his predestination of believers to sonship. The latter exposition is the more likely. For there is nothing in the context suggesting, or seeming to require mention of, Christian love. Whereas, in praise to God for blessing received, mention of His love as the ultimate source of all blessing is specially appropriate. By placing these words first, Paul throws into great prominence the love which prompted the predestination to sonship.

Eph 1:5. A participial clause, describing in further detail the foregoing statement, He chose us. A similar participial clause in Eph 1:9.

Foreordained, or predestined: marked out beforehand a path along which, and a goal to which, He would have the chosen ones go. See under Rom 8:29. The syllable fore-denotes a destination before the time when it can be accomplished. So before-hoped in Eph 1:12.

For adoption: the marked out goal, viz. reception into the family of God as His sons. See under Rom 8:15.

Through Jesus Christ: expounded in Gal 4:4-5. Through the agency of the Eternal Son we become sons.

For Him: probably, for God. It denotes the intimate relation to God, the Father of the whole family of heaven, in which as His sons, God designs the predestined ones to stand. Notice that adoption is the immediate aim of this divine purpose, holiness is its ultimate aim: He chose us to be holy, having foreordained us to adoption. And the Agent of holiness is the Spirit of adoption.

We have here in close connection election and predestination. The former marks out the objects of salvation; the latter, the goal to which God purposes to bring them.

Good-pleasure: same word in Php 1:15; Php 2:13, where see notes. In the case of God, the two senses of benevolence and free choice coalesce. Perhaps here the latter is more conspicuous.

Of His will; represents God contemplating and approving His own resolve.

According-to: a favourite word of Paul to describe a correspondence between action and some underlying principle. This clause traces up to the divinely-approved will of God the foregoing predestination to adoption. Paul remembers with gratitude that this purpose of mercy seemed good in His sight.

Eph 1:6. Further and final aim of the predestination: viz. in order that the splendour which belongs to the free undeserved favour of God may evoke recognition and praise.

Glory: as in Php 1:11.

Grace: see under Rom 1:5.

Which grace He gave, or which He graciously gave; lays stress by repetition on the undeserved favour of God.

In the Beloved One: parallel with chosen in Him in Eph 1:4. Cp. Col 1:13, Son of His love.

Paul here represents Christ as a special object of the eternal love of God, and ourselves as united to Christ and therefore sharers of the love with which God regards Him. Thus the love of God to Christ becomes undeserved favour towards those who are united to Christ. God purposed that the grandeur or glory of this grace should appear, and thus evoke praise. To this end, acting in harmony with a divine resolve approved by Him, and in infinite love, God marked out for us, to be appropriated by faith, an entrance into His family as His sons. In this way He chose us for Himself, that we may stand before Him as sacred and spotless men.

Eph 1:7. Second part of 2. It is a further exposition of the grace given in the Beloved One.

We have: actual incipient accomplishment of Gods purpose of mercy.

In whom redemption: as in Col 1:14.

Through His blood: as in Col 1:20, through the blood of His cross: practically the same as Rom 5:9, justified in His blood. These words assert in the clearest manner that our liberation from the penalty and bondage of sin comes through Christs death upon the cross. The need for this costly means of redemption, Paul expounds in Rom 3:26. Notice that liberation was wrought out for us in the personality of Christ, and is ours by inward union with Him; and that His violent death is the channel through which it comes forth from God to us.

Forgiveness of sins: as in Col 1:14. It is in harmony with, and must be measured by, the abundance which characterizes Gods favour towards us: according to the riches etc. Cp. Col 1:27; Col 2:2; Rom 11:33; 2Co 8:2 : favourite phraseology of Paul. Thus God has made us (Eph 1:6) objects of His grace. Notice the emphatic repetition of this last word, after its use twice in Eph 1:6. It is the source of all blessing from God to us.

Eph 1:8. Further elucidation of the grace of God, showing the specific form it took.

Which grace He made to abound towards us: i.e. gave to us in abundant measure, or so as to work in us abundant results. Same phrase in 2Co 9:8 : cp. Rom 5:15. It expounds the riches of His grace in Eph 1:7.

All wisdom: every kind of wisdom: see under Col 1:9.

Prudence: a practical faculty enabling men to select, in the various details and emergencies of life, the most profitable line of action. The connection of the two words reminds us that in Christ acquaintance with the eternal realities has practical worth as a guide in the details of life; and that among these details we can choose our steps aright only in the light of the eternal realities. Evidently this wisdom and prudence are Gods gift, making us wise and prudent, as we learn from Eph 1:9 where the knowledge imparted is specified. Paul here asserts that the undeserved favour of God given to us so abundantly has been clothed with every kind of wisdom and discretion. These are the forms in which the grace of God was manifested. Cp. Col 1:9 : all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Eph 1:9. A participial clause explaining the assertion in Eph 1:8. By making known to us the mystery, God gave to us in abundant measure His undeserved favour clothed in wisdom and prudence.

Mystery: as in Col 1:26.

Of His Will: the contents of this mystery. It is further described in Eph 1:10. This will of God was kept secret during long ages, and is known now only by those to whom God reveals it. It is therefore the mystery of His will. Cp. Rom 16:25.

To us: to Christians generally: Col 1:26. Another aspect of the same revelation is given in Eph 3:3. It was made known to Paul and through him to his hearers and readers.

According to His good pleasure: as in Eph 1:5. It is not clear whether this refers to the mystery or to the making-known of it. But, since both are included in the same divine purpose, possibly in Pauls thought they were not distinguished.

He purposed: as in Rom 8:28; Rom 9:11; important parallels. That which was well-pleasing to God He deliberately purposed to effect.

In Him: either in Christ or in God. In the former case it would be rendered (R.V.) in Him: in the latter (A.V.) in Himself. Although the foregoing possessive pronouns refer to the Father, a comparison with Eph 1:4, chosen in Him, suggests that Paul refers here to Christ. Moreover, to say that Gods purpose was formed in God, is tautology: to say that it was formed in Christ, adds an important thought kept before us in Eph 1:10, viz. the relation of this divine purpose to the Son of God.

Eph 1:10. Exposition of the foregoing.

With-a-view-to etc.: in forming this purpose God was looking forward to the time of Christ.

Dispensation: same word as stewardship in Col 1:25; 1Co 9:17. It denotes the management of a house. And, since this was frequently committed to a superior servant, or steward, it denotes frequently the office of a steward. So always elsewhere in the N.T. It cannot be so here. For, evidently, God is represented as administering His own household. The word falls back therefore on its original meaning of house management. It is the government of God represented as a householder managing his property and servants.

Seasons: portions of time, looked upon not as periods passing by but as opportunities for action. Same word in Eph 5:16 : also 1Th 5:1; 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 3:1, etc. The plural suggests that in the Gospel age several ages had their consummation.

Fulness: see under Col 1:19.

The fulness of the seasons: the time in which the various ages of the kingdom of God find their end and goal, and the accomplishment of the purpose which underlays them. And this can be no other than the Gospel age, and the glorious ages to follow it. Consequently, the dispensation of etc. is the mode of divine government which belongs to that age. All this God had in view in forming His purpose of salvation.

To-sum-up-again (same word in Rom 13:9) all things in Christ: Gods purpose touching the final administration of His kingdom.

All things: men and things, as in Col 1:20. God resolved to unite together in Christ the dissevered elements of His universe, thus making Him the centre and circumference of all.

Sum-up-again; suggests an original harmony. This, God purposes to restore. [The middle voice suggests that God will do this to work out His own pleasure.] All things include the things upon the heavens and those upon the earth. So 1Co 1:20; a close parallel. In the one passage Christ is an instrument of universal reconciliation; in the other, a centre of universal harmony.

This verse teaches that the eternal purpose which prompted, as the means of its accomplishment, the mission of the Son of God embraced both earth and heaven; that God has resolved to unite into one whole the various elements in these realms of His empire; and to make Christ the surrounding element and the centre of this all-embracing union. In other words, Gods purpose to save man is part of a purpose earlier in time, and wider in extent, than the human race.

In Him: emphatic repetition of in Christ, as a transition to the relative sentence following in which the same idea is again prominent.

Eph 1:11. A new thought: in Christ we have also been-made-heirs. This last word is the passive form of a verb denoting to allot something to some one, and especially to allot as an inheritance. In Greek, such a passive may mean either to be allotted as an inheritance, or to receive such an allotment. The latter sense is the more likely here. For, that believers are themselves an inheritance is not taught elsewhere in the N.T. In Eph 1:14 they are represented as Gods own possession, but not as an inherited possession. But, that they are heirs, is plainly asserted in Eph 1:14; Rom 8:17; Gal 3:29 : and some are said in Col 1:12 to have been made partakers of the allotted portion of the saints. And this allotment of inherited blessing has been made to us in Christ. For, only through His agency and by inward union with Him is the inheritance ours.

The participial clause following traces this allotment of an inheritance to a definite and eternal purpose of God.

Having-been foreordained: passive form of the word used in Eph 1:5. We have been made heirs in time because before time began we were in the mind of God marked out for heirship.

According to purpose: same words in same sense in Rom 8:28. They give prominence to the chief element in the foreordination, viz. purpose, and tell us that it was a purpose of Him whose deliberate resolve controls and moulds all things.

Works: as in Php 2:13.

Works all things: same words in 1Co 12:6.

Counsel: a deliberate purpose taking into account ways and means. This deliberate purpose has its source in the will of God. The idea of deliberation distinguishes this phrase from the similar phrase in Eph 1:5 where Gods satisfaction with His own purpose is more prominent.

Eph 1:12. A refrain marking the close of the second part of 2, similar to that in Eph 1:6 at the close of the first part. This fuller refrain tells us that God intended us to be a means of evoking praise of His splendour; and that this praise is an aim of the purpose described in Eph 1:11. God resolved so to bless us that in us others should see and acknowledge His grandeur.

Up to this point Pauls words have been true alike of Jews and Gentiles. He now mentions the two great divisions of mankind which were ever present to his thought. In Eph 1:12 the Jews, and in Eph 1:13-14 the Gentiles, are specified.

Before-hoped: i.e. before the Christ came. This hope of a coming deliverer was a distinguishing feature of the Jews: Act 26:6-7; Act 28:20; Luk 2:25; Luk 2:38. It was a bond uniting together the scattered members of the nation; and an inspiration moulding the piety of the more devout. The Gentiles had no such hope: Eph 2:12. The word Christ is both a designation of the hoped-for Deliverer (Dan 9:25; Joh 1:20; Joh 4:25) and a proper name of the Incarnate Son. The latter is naturally the usual use of the word. But here the mention of a hope earlier than the incarnation suggests the former use. The Messiah, who was the great object of Jewish hopes, is represented as the ground of their hope: so 1Co 15:19; Php 2:19. For, long before He appeared, the Jews clung to the hoped-for Deliverer and built upon Him their expectations.

Eph 1:13-14. Third part of 2.

In whom: parallel with the same words in Eph 1:7 at the beginning of the second part.

Also ye: the Gentile Christians at Ephesus, as well as the Jews referred to specially in Eph 1:12.

Having heard etc.: means by which salvation had reached the Ephesian Christians, viz. the word spoken and heard.

The word of the truth: as in Col 1:5. It is a verbal expression corresponding to the eternal realities.

The Gospel of your salvation: the good news which has been and is the means of your salvation. So 1Co 15:2. The word preached was an assertion of the truth: it was also the good news which had been the means of rescuing the Ephesian Christians from the penalty and power of sin.

After the participial clause we expect a finite word. But instead of this we have another participial clause: in whom also having believed. Apparently the construction of the sentence is broken off. The relative, in whom or in which, is repeated, disturbing the orderly course of the sentence. But the irregularity throws into prominence the truth that the sealing afterwards mentioned was in Christ. Paul wishes to say that in Christ the Gentile Christians, having heard the Gospel, and having also believed it, were sealed etc. This surrender of grammar to emphasis is a conspicuous feature in Paul: so Eph 2:1-5; Rom 5:12; Gal 2:6.

The Spirit of promise: the gift of the Spirit foretold by the prophets, e.g. Joe 2:28-29; Eze 36:26-27. The Spirit of promise is then identified as the Holy Spirit. With this Spirit as an instrument the Gentile Christians had been sealed: close parallel to 2Co 1:21-22. Paul asserts that his readers, whom he distinguishes from the Jews, had heard the Gospel and had believed it; that through faith they had received the Holy Spirit as foretold by the ancient prophets; and that the Spirit thus received was a seal, i.e. a divine attestation of the word believed. And he declares with emphatic repetition that this sealing had taken place in virtue of their inward union with Christ. He thus joins the believing Gentiles to those who when Christ came were waiting for His appearance. Notice that the gift of the Spirit proves that the Gentiles are sharers of the blessings brought by Christ: Act 11:17-18. This proof is strengthened by the word promise, which reminds us that the Holy Spirit given to the Gentiles was a fulfilment of ancient Jewish prophecy.

This verse is in close harmony with the constant teaching of Paul that they who believe the Gospel are justified, and adopted into the family of God, and receive the Holy Spirit: e.g. Gal 2:16; Gal 3:2; Gal 3:26.

Eph 1:14. Further teaching about the Holy Spirit, and about Gods purpose in sealing us.

Earnest: a part of the price paid at the time of purchase as a pledge of the whole. See under 2Co 1:22; 2Co 5:5 : close and important parallels.

Our inheritance: the benefits of the New Covenant looked upon as coming to us in virtue of our relation to God our Father. Close parallels in Rom 8:17; Gal 3:29; Col 3:24. Of these benefits, the gift of the Spirit is a part given to us when we are received into the family of God. And inasmuch as this gift is a proof that we are children of God, it is also a pledge that the entire inheritance will some day be ours. The word rendered possession denotes in 1Th 5:9; 2Th 2:14 the obtaining of salvation and of the glory of Christ; and in Heb 10:39 the preserving of the soul. But in Mal 2:17 and in a quotation in 1Pe 2:9 from Exo 19:5 it represents a Hebrew word denoting a peculiar possession or treasure. God declared that Israel, if faithful, should be His own peculiar treasure. And such are they who believe in Christ. They will be Gods own for ever.

Redemption; includes the ideas of liberation and price, and is therefore not complete till actual liberation is effected. Cp. Eph 4:30, the day of redemption; Luk 21:28; Rom 8:23 : see under Rom 3:24. An aim of the gift of the Spirit is the liberation in the great day from the bondage of death of those whom God has chosen to be specially His own.

For praise of His glory: nearly word for word as in Eph 1:12. It is a third refrain closing the third part of 2. Each refrain represents, as the final purpose of mans salvation in its various parts, an admiring recognition by Gods creatures of His essential grandeur. Cp. 1Pe 2:9. The threefold refrain makes this final purpose very conspicuous.

REVIEW. Section 2 is throughout a song of praise for blessings given by God to Paul and his readers, a song rising in each of its three parts till it seems to lose itself in the eternal song of earth and heaven. In the first part we have blessing from man to God for blessing given by God to man in fulfilment of an eternal purpose that men should be sons of God. In the second part we are reminded that the objects of this purpose are sinners. Consequently, Gods favour towards them took the form of rescue, through the death of Christ, from the penalty and bondage of sin.

Moreover, His favour came to them clothed in a gift of wisdom revealing Gods long-hidden purpose to bring men into His family and to make them His heirs, this being part of a wider purpose to unite the creatures of God in heaven and earth into one great whole of which Christ is to be the Head and Centre and Circumference, a purpose of Him whose counsels rule and mould the universe.

Up to this point, in the light of a divine purpose wide as the universe and earlier than time, all human distinctions have been forgotten. But at the close of the second part of the section, we meet the all-important distinction of Jew and Gentile so deeply interwoven into the thought of Paul. The above purpose of God embraces the Jews, who before Messiah came had built their hopes on His expected appearance. And it embraces the Gentiles: for they have not only heard and believed the Gospel but have received the seal of the Holy Spirit promised to ancient Israel, who is Himself a pledge that they will share the inheritance of the sons of Abraham and the deliverance which awaits those who are the peculiar treasure of God. This specific mention of the Gentiles as sharers of the heritage of Israel forms the third and last division of the section. Each division concludes by pointing to the eternal recognition of the greatness of God as the ultimate aim of the blessing and favour so richly poured upon man.

In this section we have a restatement of Pauls teaching in Rom 8:28-29; Rom 9:11 that salvation is an accomplishment of a divine purpose and choice and predestination. The restatement has the emphasis of conspicuous repetition. The purpose to save man is traced back to eternity; is shown to be part of a purpose embracing both earth and heaven; and is placed in closest relation to Christ. In other words, Pauls earlier teaching has received rich and harmonious development. We have again his favourite thought that the Gospel contains a secret known only to the initiated; as in Rom 16:25; 1Co 2:7; Col 1:26. The gift of the Spirit is again appealed to as a proof of the favour of God and as a pledge of a share in the inheritance awaiting the sons of God; in close harmony with Rom 8:16-17; Gal 3:29; Gal 4:6, and with Act 11:17-18. A marked feature of this section is the occurrence in it ten times of the phrase in Christ or its equivalents, noting an inward union with Him as the all-embracing and all-pervading element both of salvation and of the eternal purpose to save. This we have already noticed as a conspicuous feature of the writings of Paul, a feature not found elsewhere in the N.T. except, in a peculiar form, in the Gospel and First Epistle of John. Its presence here in so great frequency, but never without meaning, is a clear indication of genuineness: as are the coincidences noted above. We notice the word redemption used to describe the deliverance wrought through the death of Christ, as in Rom 3:24; and with special reference to the final deliverance, as in Rom 8:23. Also the word wealth, as in Rom 2:4; Rom 9:23; Rom 11:33; Col 1:27; and the word earnest, as in 2Co 1:22; 2Co 5:5.

As we rise from the study of this section we are conscious that we have heard the tones of a familiar voice, and have learnt from the lips of a revered teacher new lessons equal to the most valuable we had learnt before.

Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ:

“Blessed be the God and Father…” is the introduction to a sentence that ends in verse twelve. My goodness isn t you glad Paul didn’t write sentence for your English teacher to teach diagramming with! This is one long verse and I want to tell you it is one huge theological gold mine for those that care to take time to look.

Here, specifically we see a doctrine introduced that is seldom talked about any more. God is the Father of the Son. Fact, not open for discussion. I suspect this is one of those doctrines that were included in the “Ephesians is the Waterloo of commentators” line of thought, but it is a doctrine that is in the Word and I think we can understand it fairly well if we take a serious look at it.

There is a related issue, in that some wonder if the Son has always been the Son, or if there was a change in relationship, or if the Son precedes the Father in existence. NOT, the Son is eternally the Son and eternally God, never having not existed as the Father, has never not existed. Others suggest that Christ was not the Son until He was born of Mary. The common sense thinking here would say no because the Word says that Mary was with child via the Spirit, not the Father.

At any rate, I am including a portion from my theology at the end of this file concerning the Sonship of Christ.

One thing we need to discuss is that if the Father and the Son have always been, then is there a Mother? No, but that is a needed discussion. The Son is not a Son born from God, though the word does say that He is begotten.

It seems that there has always been this Father Son relation amongst the two members of the Trinity, just as there has always been a Spirit within the relationship. The relationship has always existed; it did not begin. The Trinity has always existed; it did not have a beginning.

Why is there a Father Son relationship? Probably to show the closeness of the relationship, possibly to be a model for earthly father son relationships, possibly to show and pattern the closeness of the relationship toward earthly fathers. It further is an example to man that there is always a subservience of some to others, and that this relationship is good.

In short you can also say, because it is and it will always be – it was also part of God’s eternal, overall plan for the ages.

Some might suggest, and it might be a possibility, that God in eternity past before the decrees determined to have this relationship for the purpose of the decrees. Since most suggest that the decrees are eternal they would probably reject this out of hand, however anyone with a logical mind might seize upon this as a distinct possibility, in that if God is eternal, and He is, then the decrees are something that He decided to do, thus requiring a tad of time between His eternality and His decrees. From our view the decrees are eternal, but when compared to God they might be a tad later.

Remember, time is a medium designed for man and has little meaning to God. He has submitted Himself to it for a little while for the purpose of relating to man, but this too will end and time will become irrelevant once more. “When we’ve been there ten thousand years,” well it sings nice but we won’t be keeping track.

One more major doctrine here is to be found. “Hath blessed” is an aorist tense indicating that He blessed us, every one of us, at a point in time – He did it and it was done, nothing further was needed on Christ’s part.

This brings up two thoughts.

1. This is speaking of salvation and it is finished, how can it be redone – it can’t – eternal security in a nutshell. Also, it is finished; it is not a process of us getting better and better till we are saved – not a valid teaching.

2. The other thought is when did this happen. Is this the act of the cross, or is this the saving of the soul as it comes to Christ in faith and belief?

I would suggest that since He did this in heavenly places (the cleansing of the heavenly tabernacle mentioned in Hebrews) and that it is in Him, that this speaks to the work of the cross and offering of the blood in the heavenly tabernacle for the final step in providing salvation.

If this be true, and I think it is quite possible, then that all is done for our salvation at a point in the past – in the heavenly tabernacle – it is done – all that is left is the faith/belief of the individual. This points up to me the universal atonement that is offered to every man, that is only to be received. Indeed, wrapped up in this is the thought that all mankind gained eternal existence at that point in time, it is just that some reject the work so are eternally without God, and those that believe are eternally with God.

There is a lot more to this but we don’t have time to delve into it further, just think about it for a while. If you want to dig further, my theology has a lot more about salvation and man. Also the book on my website entitled Mr. D’s Notes on Regeneration might be of help as well.

I might clarify slightly – the blessing was from Christ’s work, however it seems to me that the verse is showing that this blessing was ultimately from the Father – it was His plan that was enacted, it was His plan that set Jesus on the cross. The overall salvation that we enjoy is from the Father via Christ.

We also have the doctrine of our being in heavenly places. This should be our attitude, this should be our mind set, this should be our testimony, this should be our life.

We also have the doctrine of our being in Christ. What does it mean to be “in Christ” – what truth do we have in these two words? In very brief terms, we are baptized into His body when we are saved, we are in His body, which by the way is the church, and thus we are within Him and part of His being, the church. We are an integrated part of who He is.

Does that give you the creeps to think about being part of Christ and living the way we do – we ought to be ashamed of our living, of our detractions from who Christ is before mankind.

There is also the truth that when the Devil casts his accusations about us before God, God can figuratively point to us and say they are pure, they are in my Son who died for them. There is no accusation that will stand before that answer.

We also have the doctrine of our being able to bless God. Wow, think on that for a while. Paul called God blessed, or declared his belief that God was a total blessing to us – giving him recognition for whom and what He is – giving worship if you will.

We must move on. This book is full of doctrine and it is a book to study over and over because of its depth, I trust that you will come to it often to study.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

1:3 {2} Blessed [be] the God {3} and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, {4} who hath blessed us with {b} all spiritual blessings in {c} heavenly [places] in {5} Christ:

(2) The first part of the epistle, in which he handles all the parts of our salvation, setting forth the example of the Ephesians. And he uses various exhortations, and begins after his manner with thanksgiving.

(3) The efficient cause of our salvation is God, not considered generally, but as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(4) The next final cause, and in respect of us, is our salvation, all things being bestowed upon us which are necessary to our salvation, which type of blessings is heavenly and proper to the elect.

(b) With every type of gracious and bountiful goodness which is heavenly indeed, and from God alone.

(c) Which God our Father gave us from his high throne from above: or because the saints have those gifts bestowed on them, which belong properly to the citizens of heaven.

(5) The matter of our salvation is Christ, in whom alone we are endued with spiritual blessing and that to salvation.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

II. THE CHRISTIAN’S CALLING 1:3-3:21

". . . the first three chapters are one long prayer, culminating in the great doxology at the end of chapter 3. There is in fact nothing like this in all Paul’s letters. This is the language of lyrical prayer, not the language of argument, and controversy, and rebuke." [Note: William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p. 76.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. The purpose: glory 1:3-14

In the Greek text Eph 1:3-14 are one sentence. The Holy Spirit carried Paul along in his thinking as he contemplated God’s provision so that he moved quickly from one blessing to the next. It is as though he was ecstatically opening a treasure chest, lifting its jewels with his hands, letting them cascade through his fingers, and marveling briefly at them as they caught his eye.

"Each section ends with a note of praise for God (Eph 1:6; Eph 1:11; Eph 1:14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3), the first section (Eph 1:4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (Eph 1:7-11) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (Eph 1:12-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion." [Note: The NET Bible note on 1:3.]

"Normally, after the greeting Paul gives an introductory thanksgiving for the recipients of the letter. In this epistle he changes the order, for before he gives his thanksgiving in Eph 1:15-23, he has in Eph 1:3-14 a paean of praise for what God has done for the believer." [Note: Hoehner, p. 153.]

". . . Eph 1:3-14 is one of the longest psalms of the New Testament, and it is a praise psalm in its form." [Note: Darrell L. Bock, "A Theology of Paul’s Prison Epistles," in A Biblical Theology of the New Testament, p. 309. Cf. Luk 1:46-55; Luk 1:67-79.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

A. Individual calling 1:3-2:10

Paul began the body of his letter by revealing the spiritual blessings that God has planned for believers in His Son.

"The opening section of Ephesians (Eph 1:3 to Eph 2:10), which describes the new life God has given us in Christ, divides itself naturally into two halves, the first consisting of praise and the second of prayer. In the ’praise’ half Paul blesses God that he has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3-14), while in the ’prayer’ half he asks that God will open our eyes to grasp the fullness of this blessing (Eph 1:15 to Eph 2:10)." [Note: Stott, p. 31.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The believer’s position in Christ 1:3

"This verse marks not only the introduction but also the main sentence of the eulogy. It is in essence a summary of the whole eulogy." [Note: Hoehner, p. 162.]

God is blessed because He has blessed believers. However, Christians should also bless or praise (Gr. eulogetos, speak well of) God the Father for bestowing these blessings. Paul was thinking of God as both the Father of believers (Eph 1:2) and the Father of His Son (Eph 1:3). God has already blessed believers in the ways the apostle proceeded to identify. This blessing happened before creation, as will become evident in the following verses. "Spiritual" blessings are benefits that relate to our spiritual life in contrast to our physical life. In Israel God’s promised blessings were mainly physical, but in the church they are mainly spiritual. Since God has already given us these things, we do not need to ask for them but should appropriate them by faith and give thanks for them.

"When you were born again into God’s family, you were born rich." [Note: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2:9.]

"In the heavenly places" or "realms" refers to the location from which these blessings come. The heavenly realms are where Paul spoke of the believer as being presently in his or her spiritual life. Whereas physically we are on the earth, spiritually we are already with Christ in the heavens (cf. Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12). God has united us with Jesus Christ so we are in that sense with Him where He is now. When we die, our immaterial part will go into Christ’s presence (2Co 5:6-8). When God resurrects our bodies they will go into His presence and unite with our immaterial part. Presently our lives are already with the Lord in the heavenly realms spiritually. We are there because of our present union with Christ. We are "in Christ." The expression "in Christ" and its parallels occur 36 times in Ephesians. [Note: For a chart, see Hoehner, pp. 173-74.]

Union with Christ by saving faith places us in the heavenly realms. Ouranos (heaven or heavenly) appears in Eph 1:10; Eph 3:15; Eph 4:10; and Eph 6:9, while epouanios (heaven or heavenly realms) occurs in Eph 1:3; Eph 1:20; Eph 2:6; Eph 3:10; and Eph 6:12.

"En tois epouraniois [in the heavens or heavenlies] is the location of the current conflict in which believers participate through their presence there ’in’ Christ. But hoi epouranioi [the heavens or heavenlies] in Ephesians is primarily viewed as the location of the exalted Christ, the place where He now is and from which He exercises His universal sovereignty in the present age." [Note: W. Hall Harris, "’The Heavenlies’ Reconsidered: Ouranos and Epouranios in Ephesians," Bibliotheca Sacra 148:589 (January-March 1991):89.]

"The key thought of Ephesians is the gathering together of all things in Jesus Christ." [Note: Barclay, p. 77.]

"Eph 1:3 tells much about God’s blessings on believers: (a) when: eternity past; (b): with what: every spiritual [not material] blessing; (c): where: in the heavenly realms; (d): how: in Christ." [Note: Harold W. Hoehner, "Ephesians," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, p. 616.]

"Ephesus was considered the bank of Asia. One of the seven wonders of the world, the great temple of Diana, was in Ephesus, and was not only a center for idolatrous worship, but also a depository for wealth. . . .

"Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is as carefully structured as that great temple of Diana, and it contains greater beauty and wealth!" [Note: Wiersbe, 2:10.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 2

THE ETERNAL PURPOSE

Eph 1:3-19

WE enter this epistle through magnificent gateway. The introductory Act of Praise, extending from verse 3 to 14, {Eph 1:3-14} is one of the most sublime of inspired utterances, an overture worthy of the composition that it introduces. Its first sentence compels us to feel the insufficiency of our powers for its due rendering.

The apostle surveys in this thanksgiving the entire course of the revelation of grace. Standing with the men of his day, the new-born community of the Sons of God in Christ, midway between the ages past and to come, {Eph 2:7, Eph 3:5, Eph 3:21 Col 1:26} he looks backward to the course of mans salvation when it lay a silent thought in the mind of God, and forward to the hour when it shall have accomplished its promise and achieved our redemption. In this grand evolution of the Divine plan three stages are marked by the refrain, thrice repeated, “To the praise of His Glory, of the glory of His Grace” (Eph 1:6, Eph 1:12, Eph 1:14). St. Pauls psalm is thus divided into three strophes, or stanzas: he sings the glory of redeeming love in its past designs, its present bestowments, and its future fruition. The paragraph, forming but one sentence and spun upon a single golden thread, is a piece of thought-music, -a sort of fugue, in which from Eternity to eternity the counsel of love is pursued by Pauls bold and exulting thought.

Despite the grammatical involution of the style here carried to an extreme, and underneath the apparatus of Greek pronouns and participles, there is a fine Hebraistic lilt pervading the doxology. The refrain is in the manner of Psa 42:1-11; Psa 43:1-5; Psa 99:1-9, where in the former instance “health of countenance,” and in the latter “holy is He” gives the keynote of the poets melody and parts his song into three balanced stanzas. In such poetry the strophes may be unequal in length, each developing its own thought freely, and yet there is harmony in their combination. Here the central idea, that of Gods actual bounty to believers, fills a space equal to that of the other two. But there is a pause in it, at Eph 1:10, which in effect resumes the idea of the first strophe and works it in as a motif to the second, carrying on both in a full stream till they lose themselves in the third and culminating movement. Throughout the piece there runs in varying expression the phrase “in Christ-in the Beloved-in Him-in whom,” weaving the verses into subtle continuity. The theme of the entire composition is given in Eph 1:3, which does not enter into the threefold division we have described, but forms a prelude to it.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: who hath blessed us, In every blessing of the Spirit, in the heavenly places, in Christ.”

Blessed be God!-It is the song of the universe, in which heaven and earth take responsive parts. “When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy,” this concert began, and continues still through the travail of creation and the sorrow and sighing of men. The work praises the Master. All sinless creatures, by their order and harmony, by the variety of their powers and beauty of their forms and delight of their existence, declare their Creators glory. That praise to the Most High God which the lower creatures act instrumentally, it is mans privilege to utter in discourse of reason and music of the heart. Man is Natures high priest; and above other men, the poet. Time will be, as it has been, when it shall be accounted the poets honour and the crown of his art, that he should take the high praises of God into his mouth, making hymns to the glory of the Supreme Maker, and giving voice to the dumb praise of inanimate nature and to the noblest thoughts of his fellows concerning the Blessed God. Blessed be God!-It is the perpetual strain of the Old Testament, from Melchizedek down to Daniel, -of David in his triumph, and Job in his misery. But not hitherto could men say, Blessed be “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” He was “the Most High God, the God of heaven,”-“Jehovah, God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things,”-“the Shepherd” and “the Rock” of His people, -“the true God, the living God, and an everlasting King”; and these are glorious titles, which have raised mens thoughts to moods of highest reverence and trust. But the name of “Father,” and “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” surpasses and outshines them all. With wondering love and joy unspeakable St. Paul pronounces this “Benedictus.” God was not less to him the Almighty, the High and Holy One dwelling in eternity, than in the days of his youthful Jewish faith; but the Eternal and All-holy One was now his Father in Jesus Christ. Blessed be His name: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory!

The apostles psalm is a psalm of thanksgiving to God blessing and blessed. The second clause. rhythmically answers to the first. True, our blessing of Him is far different from His blessing of us: ours in thought and words; His in mighty deeds of salvation. Yet in the fruit of lips giving thanks to His name there is a revenue of blessing paid to God which He delights in, and requires. “O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel,” grant us to bless Thee while we live and to lift up our hands in Thy name!

By three qualifying adjuncts the blessings which the Father of Christ bestowed upon us is defined: in respect of its nature, its sphere, and its personal ground. The blessings that prompt the apostles praise are not such as those conspicuous in the Old Covenant: “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and in the field; in the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and in the increase of thy kine; blessed shall be thy basket, and thy kneading trough.” {Deu 28:3-5} The gospel pronounces beatitudes of another style: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the persecuted.” St. Paul had small share indeed in the former class of blessings, a childless, landless, homeless man. Yet what happiness and wealth are his! Out of his poverty he is making all the ages rich! From the gloom of his prison he sheds a light that will guide and cheer the steps of multitudes of earths sad wayfarers. Not certainly in the earthly places where he finds himself is Paul the prisoner of Christ Jesus blessed; but “spiritual blessing” and “in heavenly places” how abundantly! His own blessedness he claims for all who are in Christ.

Blessing spiritual in its nature is, in St. Pauls conception of things, blessing in and of the Holy Spirit. In His quickening our spirit lives; through His indwelling health, blessedness, eternal life are ours. In this verse justly the theologians recognise the Trinity of the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Blessing in the heavenly places is not so much blessing coming from those places- from God the Father who sits there-as it is blessing which lifts us into that supernal region, giving to us a place and heritage in the world of God and of the angels. Two passages of the companion epistles interpret this phrase: “Your life is hid with Christ” in Col 3:3; and again, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” {Php 3:20} The decisive note of St. Pauls blessedness lies in the words “in Christ.” For him all good is summed up there. Spiritual, heavenly, and Christian: these three are one. In Christ dying, risen, reigning, God the Father has raised believing men to a new heavenly life. From the first inception of the work of grace to its consummation, God thinks of men, speaks to them and deals with them in Christ. To Him, therefore, with the Father be eternal praise!

“As He chose us in Him before the worlds foundation, That we should be holy and unblemished before Him: When in love He foreordained us To filial adoption through Jesus Christ for Himself, According to the good pleasure of His will, -To the praise of the glory of His grace.” (Eph 1:4-6 a)

Here is St. Pauls first chapter of Genesis. “In the beginning was the election of grace.” There is nothing unprepared, nothing unforeseen, in Gods dealings with mankind. His wisdom and knowledge are as deep as His grace is wide. {Rom 11:33} Speaking of his own vocation, the apostle said: “It pleased God, who set me apart from my mothers womb, to reveal His Son in me.” {Gal 1:15-16} He does but generalise this conception and carry it two steps further back- from the origin of the individual to the origin of the race, and from the beginning of the race to the beginning of the world-when he asserts that the community of redeemed men was chosen in Christ before the worlds foundation. “The world” is a work of time, the slow structure of innumerable, yet finite, ages. Science affirms on its own grounds that the visible universe had a beginning, as it has its changes and its certain end. Its structural plan, its unity of aim and movement, show it to be the creation of a vast Intelligence. Harmony and law, all that make science possible, is the product of thought. Reason extracts from nature what Reason has first put there. The longer, the more intricate and grand the process, the farther science pushes back the beginning in our thoughts, the mare sublime and certain the primitive truth becomes: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The world is a system; it has a method and a plan, therefore a foundation. But before the foundation there was the Founder. And man was in His thoughts, and the redeemed Church of Christ. While yet the world was not and the immensity of space stretched lampless and unpeopled, we were in the mind of God; His thought rested with complacency upon His human sons, whose “name was written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” This amazing statement is only the logical consequence of St. Pauls experience of Divine grace, joined to his conviction of the infinite wisdom and eternal being of God. When he says that God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world”-or before founding the world-this is not a mere mark of time. It intimates that in laying His plans for the world the Creator had the purpose of redeeming grace in view. The kingdom which the “blessed children” of the Father of Christ “inherit,” is the kingdom “prepared for them from the foundation of the world”. {Mat 25:34} Salvation lies as deep as creation. The provision for it is eternal. For the universe of being was conceived, fashioned, and built up “in Christ.” The argument of Col 1:13-22 lies behind these words. The Son of Gods love, in whom and for whom the worlds were made, always was potentially the Redeemer of men, as He was the image of God. {Col 1:14-15} He looked forward to this mission from eternity, and was in spirit “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. {Rev 13:8} Creation and Redemption, Nature and the Church, are parts of one system; and in the reconciliation of the cross all orders of being are concerned, “whether the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens.”

Evil existed before man appeared on the earth to be tempted and to fall. Through the geological record we hear the voice of creation groaning for long aeons in its pain.

“Dragons of the prime

That tare each other in their slime,”

Grim prophets of mans brutal and murderous passions, bear witness to a war in nature that goes back far towards the foundation of the world. And this rent and discord in the frame of things it was His part to reconcile “in whom and for whom all things were created.” This universal deliverance, it seems, is dependent upon ours. The creation itself lifts up its head, and is looking out for the revelation of the sons of God. {Rom 8:19} In founding the world, foreseeing its bondage to corruption, God prepared through His elect sons in Christ a deliverance the glory of which- will make its sufferings to seem but a light thing. “In thee,” said God to Abraham, “shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed”: so in the final “adoption, -to wit, the redemption of our body,” {Rom 8:23} all creatures shall exult; and our mother earth, still travailing in pain with us, will remember her anguish no more.

The Divine election of men in Christ is further defined in the words of Eph 1:5 : “Having in love predestined us,” and “according to the good pleasure of His will.” Election is selection; it is the antecedent in the mind of God in Christ of the preference which Christ showed when He said to His disciples, “I have chosen you out of the world.” It is, moreover, a foreordination in love: an expression which indicates on the one hand the disposition in God that prompted and sustains his choice, and on the other the determination of the almighty Will whereby the all-wise Choice is put into operation and takes effect. In this pre-ordaining control of human history God “determined the fore-appointed seasons and the bounds of human habitation”. {Act 17:26} The Divine prescience-that “depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God”-as well as His absolute righteousness, forbids the treasonable thought of anything arbitrary or unfair cleaving to this predetermination-anything that should override our free-will and make our responsibility an illusion. “Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate”. {Rom 8:29} He foresees everything, and allows for everything.

The consistence of foreknowledge with freewill is an enigma which the apostle did not attempt to solve. His reply to all questions touching the justice of Gods administration in the elections of grace-questions painfully felt and keenly agitated then as they are now, and that pressed upon himself in the case of his Jewish kindred with a cruel force {Rom 9:3} -his answer to his own heart, and to us, lies in the last words of Eph 1:5 : “according to the good pleasure of His will.” It is what Jesus said concerning the strange preferences of Divine grace: “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.” What pleases Him can only be wise and right. What pleases Him must content us. Impatience is unbelief. Let us wait to see the end of the Lord. In numberless instances-such as that of the choice between Jacob and Esau, and that of Paul and the believing remnant of Israel as against their nation-Gods ways have justified themselves to after-times; so they will universally. Our little spark of intelligence glances upon one spot in a boundless ocean, on the surface of immeasurable depths.

The purpose of this loving fore-ordination of believing men in Christ is two-fold; it concerns at once their “character” and their “state”: He chose us out-“that we should be holy and without blemish in His sight,” and “unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ for Himself.” These two purposes are one. Gods sons must be holy; and holy men are His sons. For this end “we” were elected of God in the beginning. Nay, with this end in view the world was founded and the human race came into being, to provide God with such sons and that Christ might be “the firstborn among many brethren”. {Rom 8:28-30}

“That we should be holy”-should be saints. This the readers are already: “To the saints” the apostle writes (Eph 1:1). They are men devoted to God by their own choice and will, meeting Gods choice and will for them. Imperfect saints they may be, by no means as yet “without blemish”; but they are already, and abidingly, sanctified in Christ Jesus {1Co 1:2} and “sealed” for Gods possession “by the Holy Spirit” (Eph 1:13-14). In this fact lies their hope of moral perfection and the impulse and power to attain it. Their task is to “perfect” their existing “holiness,” {2Co 7:1} “cleansing themselves from all defilement, of flesh and spirit.” Let no Christian say, “I do not pretend to be a saint.” This is to renounce your calling. You are a saint if you are a true believer in Christ; and you are to be an unblemished saint.

Thus the Church is at last to be presented, and every man in his own order, “faultless before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy.” God could not invite us in His grace to anything inferior. A blemished saint-a smeared picture, a flawed marble-this is not like His work; it is not like Himself. Such saint-ship cannot approve itself “before Him.” He must carry out His ideal, must fashion the new man as he was created in Christ after His own faultless image, and make human holiness a transcript of the Divine. {1Pe 1:16}

Now this Divine character is native to the sons of God. The ideal which God had for men was always the same. The father of the race was made in His image. In the Old Testament Israel receives the command: “You shall be holy, for I, Jehovah your God, am holy.” But it was in Jesus Christ that the breadth of this command was disclosed, and the possibility of our personal obedience to it. The law of Christian sonship, manifest only in shadow in the Levitical sanctity, is now pronounced by Jesus: “You shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Eph 1:4 and Eph 1:5 are therefore strictly parallel: God elected us in Christ to be perfect saints; for He predestined us through Jesus Christ to be His sons.

Sonship to Himself is the Christian status, the rank and standing which God confers on those who believe in His Son; it accrues to them by the fact that they are in Christ. It is defined by the term “adoption,” which St. Paul employs in this sense in Rom 8:15, Rom 8:23, as well as in Gal 4:5. Adoption was a peculiar institution of Roman law, familiar to Paul as a citizen of Rome; and it aptly describes to Gentile believers their relation to the family of God. By adoption under the Roman law an entire stranger in blood became a member of the family into which he was adopted, exactly as if he had been born in it. He assumed the family name, partook in its system of sacrificial rites, and became, not on sufferance or at will, but to all intents and purposes, a member of the house of his adopter This metaphor was St. Pauls translation into the language of Gentile thought of Christs great doctrine of the New Birth. He exchanges the physical metaphor of regeneration for the legal metaphor of adoption. The adopted becomes in the eye of the law a new creature. He was born again into a new family. By the aid of this figure the Gentile convert was enabled to realise in a vivid manner the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of the faithful, the obliteration of past penalties, the right to the mystic inheritance. He was enabled to realise that upon this spiritual act “Old things passed away and all things became new.”

This exalted status belonged to men in the purpose of God from eternity; but as a matter of fact it was instituted “through Jesus Christ,” the historical Redeemer. Whether previously (Jewish) servants in Gods house or (Gentile) aliens excluded from it, {Eph 2:12} those who believed in Jesus as the Christ received a spirit of adoption and dared to call God “Father”! This unspeakable privilege had been preparing for them through the ages past in Gods hidden wisdom. Throughout the wild course of human apostasy the Father looked forward to the time when He might again through Jesus Christ make men His sons; and His promises and preparations were directed to this one end. The predestination having such an end, how fitly it is said: “in love having foreordained us.”

Four times, in these three verses, with exulting emphasis, the apostle claims this distinction for “us.” Who, then, are the objects of the primordial election of grace? Does St. Paul use the pronoun distributively, thinking of individuals-you and me and so many others, the personal recipients of saving grace? or does he mean the Church, as that is collectively the family of God and the object of His loving ordination? In this epistle, the latter is surely the thought in the apostles mind. As Hofmann says: “The body of Christians is the object of this choice, not as composed of a certain number of individuals-a sum of the elect opposed to a sum of the nonelect- but as the Church taken out of and separated from the world.”

On the other hand, we may not widen the pronoun further; we cannot allow that the sonship here signified is mans natural relation to God, that to which he was born by creation. This robs the word “adoption” of its distinctive force. The sonship in question, while grounded “in Christ” from eternity, is conferred “through” the incarnate and crucified “Jesus Christ”; it redounds “to the praise of the glory of His grace.” Now, grace is Gods redeeming love towards sinners. Gods purpose of grace toward mankind, embedded, as one may say, in creation, is realised in the body of redeemed men. But this community, we rejoice to believe, is vastly larger than the visible aggregate of Churches; for how many who knew not His name, have yet walked in the true light which lighteth every man.

There lies in the words “in Christ” a principle of exclusion, as well as of wide inclusion. Men cannot be in Christ against their will, who persistently put Him, His gospel and His laws, away from them. When we close with Christ by faith, we begin to enter into the purpose of our being. We find the place prepared for us before the foundation of the world in the kingdom of Divine love. We live henceforth “to the praise of the glory of His grace!”

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary