The Epistles · Chapter 1 of 6

Ephesians 1

Paul opens his letter with a soaring hymn of praise for all God has done in Christ. Before the world was made, God chose and predestined believers for adoption, redemption, and forgiveness through his Son. He has made known the mystery of his will to gather all things in Christ. Sealed with the Spirit, believers await their inheritance. Paul then prays that they would know the hope and power that are theirs.

What happens in Ephesians 1

After a brief greeting, Paul bursts into one long outpouring of blessing to God for the riches given in Christ. He praises God for choosing believers in Christ before the foundation of the world, predestining them for adoption, and freely accepting them in the Beloved. In Christ they have redemption through his blood and forgiveness according to the riches of grace. Paul reveals the mystery of God's will: to gather all things in heaven and earth in Christ. Having believed the gospel, believers were sealed with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of their inheritance.

Then Paul turns to prayer. He asks that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that the eyes of their hearts would grasp the hope of their calling, the riches of their inheritance, and the greatness of God's power. That power raised Christ from the dead and seated him above all rule, making him head over all things for the church, his body.

Ephesians 1 in context

Ephesians is a letter Paul wrote from prison, likely intended to circulate among churches in and around Ephesus. Unlike Galatians, it addresses no single crisis but unfolds the vast purposes of God in Christ and the nature of the church.

Chapter one sets the tone with a single sweeping sentence of praise in the original language, celebrating election, redemption, and the sealing of the Spirit, followed by Paul's prayer that readers would grasp their calling.

Main themes of Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1 (KJV)

1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According 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: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10That 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: 11In 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: 12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13In 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, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. 15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Verses to carry from Ephesians 1

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”Ephesians 1:7

“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:”Ephesians 1:10

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,”Ephesians 1:22

Reflection

Let the sheer scale of this chapter lift your eyes. Before you existed, God set his love on you and planned to make you his child through Christ. Your forgiveness, your inheritance, and your future all rest on his eternal purpose, not your performance. Rest today in being chosen, redeemed, and sealed.

A prayer from Ephesians 1