Speak To Me - Ephesians 1 (part 1)

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This is such an incredibly beautiful and poetic passage, in a book of such exceptional wordcraft it is often described as theology put to music. This is good news. God is good. Jesus is beautiful. We are in Christ.

Ephesians 1:1-10
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This eruption of joy at the thought of the divine realities of the gospel is challenging. I want this wisdom and revelation that the writer prays for. I want to know the Spirit of God better.

Ephesians 1:16-19

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his great might…

What is the power like?

Ephesians 1:19-21

…the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

We have an inheritance of glorious riches.

We are adopted according to God's good pleasure.

God loves so much. This is beautiful.

Our destiny as a holy people in the eyes of God was determined before we were born, even before creation. His grace is extended not only for sins past, but was extended even before we ever committed an offense. This is how much the love of God transcends our imperfections.

It is his pleasure to extend his grace to us, to adopt us into the family of his eternal community - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The presence of the full Godhead is felt strongly throughout this passage. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit that confirms his adoption. We are his, and he is with us always.

Wisdom, revelation, enlightenment of our heart's eyes are needed to know the fullness of the riches of our inheritance. We are in the family of the Creator, the Father, the Spirit, the King. That's quite a heritage. That's quite an inheritance. Power for those who believe.

What a beautiful passage. It's truth and pure poetry.

Ephesians 1:17

…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him…

Really knowing God is not something that is done with your mental faculties. God is transcendent, preeminent, supreme! God created the mind. The finite mind can only go so far in understanding its' limitless Creator. But the writer doesn't want us to just know about God, he wants us to really know God, like we know a brother or mother or friend. God isn't simply about getting the answer right. God isn't math. God exists in relationship. We know about Jesus. He came to reveal his Father, the glorious God with whom he's lived in love since before time began. And with them was and is the Holy Spirit. All three, living in unity and love beyond anything we can know for an eternity. That's the three-in-one God of relationship that wants to know you. The author's prayer is that this Spirit, the eternal part of God that has intimately known God and been God forever, would be given to us, so that we may also share in this beautiful, eternally existent community of love, and through relationship with this Spirit really get to know God in the deepest part of our being.

Ephesians 1:18-19a

…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe…

With God himself, the Spirit of Christ, living inside us, we become like a whole new person from the inside out. We will see differently, and desire differently. The author prays that as we get to know God, we would also come to know who God has called us to be. When God's Spirit dwells in us, God is our Father, and Jesus our brother. We've been adopted into this eternally existing family of love. This adoption is as good as blood. In this family, everyone shares, and there is no family more rich or powerful than this one. When the Spirit dwells in us, we are part of this family. As we get to know Jesus, more and more we will understand just how rich and powerful is this family of which we are now a part.

Ephesians 1:19b-21

…according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

When we open your heart for God to dwell in us, we welcome the greatest power and authority in existence to empower our life. The same power that broke the power and finality and authority of death itself when it busted Jesus from the chains of death lives inside of us. With a power like that for us, nothing can be against us. That powerful Spirit of God inside of you is greater than any power or authority in the world. More even than resurrection, this great power for us who believe is the same power that placed the risen Christ in the highest place of authority in all of existence, above every king or president, every bully or CEO, every disaster or consequence, that has ever or will ever exist.

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vv1-14 - a beautiful and poetic description of salvation highlighting that it is entirely the work of God.

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