Greeting
Study note
Paul identifies himself as an apostle by God's will and addresses the saints at Ephesus. This greeting establishes his authority and frames the letter as both personal correspondence and divine instruction to faithful believers in Christ.
1 From Paul, chosen by God's will to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. To God's holy people in Ephesus who faithfully follow Jesus Christ: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ fill you with grace and peace. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
Study note
This extended passage is one continuous sentence in the original Greek, forming a grand doxology praising God for the blessings of election, predestination, redemption, and the revelation of his plan to unite all things in Christ. Paul traces the work of the Trinity: the Father chose and planned, the Son redeemed through his blood, and the Holy Spirit seals believers as a guarantee of their future inheritance. The phrase 'before the world was made' (v. 4) underscores that God's saving purpose is not an afterthought but an eternal plan.
3 Let us praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through our connection to Christ, he has given us every spiritual blessing that exists in heaven. 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 Before the world even existed, God chose us to belong to Christ. He chose us to be holy and free from any blame as we stand before him in love. 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 From the very beginning, God decided to adopt us as his own children through Jesus Christ. This was exactly what he wanted to do, and it gave him great joy. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 So let us celebrate his amazing grace! Through the One he loves, he has completely accepted us. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 Because of what Jesus did when he gave his life for us, we have been set free and our sins have been wiped away. That is how exceedingly generous God's grace is. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 He has poured this grace over us like a flood, giving us wisdom and understanding. Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 He has let us in on his secret plan -- a plan that he came up with all by himself because it made him happy. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 This is the plan. At just the right moment, God would bring everything together — everything in heaven and everything on earth — and join it all under Christ. 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 Because we are connected to Christ, we have been chosen to receive an inheritance. God planned this from the start because he works out everything according to his own purposes. 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 He did this so that we, the first ones to put our hope in Christ, would live in a way that makes people praise God's glory. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 And you are included too! When you heard the truth -- the good news that saves you -- and you believed it, God marked you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit he promised. 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 The Holy Spirit is like a down payment, guaranteeing that we will receive everything God has for us. He will finish what he started and fully set his people free, and everyone will praise his glory. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Paul's Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
Study note
Having praised God for what he has done, Paul now prays that the Ephesians would truly understand it. He asks for the spirit of wisdom and revelation so they can know the hope of God's calling, the riches of his inheritance, and the surpassing greatness of his power. Paul points to the resurrection and exaltation of Christ as the supreme demonstration of that power, culminating in Christ's headship over all things for the benefit of the church, which is described as his body and fullness.
15 Ever since I heard about how you trust the Lord Jesus and how you love all of God's people, Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I always mention you when I talk to him. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 I ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ — the glorious Father — to give you the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. I pray this so you can get to know God better and better. That 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:
18 I pray that your inner eyes will be flooded with light, so you can understand the hope God has called you to. I want you to realize how rich and glorious the inheritance is that he is giving his people. The 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,
19 And I pray that you will grasp how exceedingly great God's power is for those of us who believe. This is the very same mighty force And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20 that God used when he brought Christ back from the dead and gave him the seat of highest honor at his right hand in heaven. Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Christ sits far above every ruler, power, and title that exists. This is true right now. It will also be true in the future. Far 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:
22 God put everything under Christ's power. He made Christ the head over everything for the church. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 The church is the body of Christ, and Christ fills everything in the entire universe with his presence. Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.