Written ~ 09-20-2024
Read Ephesians Chapter One
Ephesians 1
During Paul’s third missionary journey he went to Ephesus, he preached boldly in the synagogue for three months, only a few became believers, so he took his teaching to the Gentiles in the city. He remained in Ephesus for two years, teaching and preaching the Word of the Lord (Acts 19:8-10). It was in Ephesus that “God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.” (Acts 19:11-12) After being in Ephesus for a little over two years Paul moved on.
So today we will begin our journey through the letter Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus and surrounding areas.
As customary Paul opens this letter with the greeting he used for all of his letters, acknowledging that he was writing, that he was an Apostle of Christ Jesus and that he was chosen to do the will of God. This letter doesn’t come with the reprimand or necessity of correction as did his letters to the Roman believers and the believers in Corinth required. This letter will show believers how to grow in their faith, continue to build unity within the body of Christ and finally he will give us the tools to wage war on the evil in this world.
So, let’s get started with chapter one!
Ephesians 1:3-8…
3 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”
These first few verses should get each and every one of us excited for what God has done for us! We should be waking up each day with praise on our lips.
Here’s a little side bar… how do you think your day would be different if the very first words you spoke out loud were…
“I give praise to God, the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because I am united with Christ!”
Try writing that statement out on a Post-it note and put it next to your phone, so the very first thing you see in the morning, instead of the attention your phone wants, you see that Post-it note and it’s the Lord you give your attention to right when you open your eyes.
Paul has given us several reasons in verses 1:3-8 to be excited about being a believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ! And He is WORTHY of our PRAISE!
- God loves us
- God chose us
- God adopted us
- We are without fault in His eyes
- His glorious grace is poured out on us
- God purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son
- He showers His kindness on us
- He showers wisdom on us
- He showers understanding on us
Paul didn’t stop there, no, his praise to the Father continues in the next set of verses…
Ephesians 1:9-14…
9 “God has now revealed to us His mysterious will regarding Christ – which is to fulfill His own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.”
What do you think the “mysterious will” of God is? It has been revealed to us in all of Scripture!
It is for everyone to know and love and believe and accept His Son, Jesus Christ. His will is for everyone to be unified in Christ! It has been His plan since before He made the world (see verse 1:4)! So, when you made the decision to become a Born-Again believer and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, everything that is explained in these verses applies to you! That should bring an explosion of joy from deep within your soul!
We are the Lord’s and because of that fact, we have received an inheritance from our Heavenly Father. When we heard the truth and accepted Jesus, we were given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we belong to Him. Plus, the Holy Spirit within us is just a “deposit” for the riches in glory we have to look forward to when we reach our Heavenly destination. Look at what it says in 1:14b, “God did this so we would praise and glorify Him.”
Let’s explore the word “inheritance” for just a moment… most of the definitions have to do with physical possessions that are handed down, usually after the death of a parent or family member. But one definition caught my eye…
- The reception of genetic qualities by transmission from parent to offspring
This definition is speaking about human parents of course… But… What if we apply this meaning to our Heavenly Father? “God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (vs.1:5) So… what if we think of our “genetic qualities” as those things we have been given by God Himself because Jesus is living within us? We look like Jesus. We act like Jesus. We have a familial bond now, through Jesus Christ! The characteristics of our Heavenly Father have now been handed down to us. We belong to the family of God. What Jesus has is for us to share when we get to Heaven. But for now, we are given the Holy Spirit to help us, to guide us and reveal to us the many mysteries found in the Word of God.
Ephesians 1:15-18…
15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called – His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.”
I have always loved these verses. What I absolutely love is how committed Paul is to encouraging believers, how he prays for them and lifts them up constantly to the Lord. All of us, as believers, should be doing the very same thing. These verses can be used in your own prayers, if you ever have trouble knowing what to pray about for your family, or for your friends, the words Paul uses here are perfect to use as your prayer. Let’s personalize this…
You can either insert one name, several names or do an umbrella group, like my family or my friends, etc. For this example, we will use the umbrella group, family, just so show you how easy it is to personalize Scripture in your prayers.
Heavenly Father, I will not stop thanking You for my family. I will pray for them constantly, I am asking You God, my glorious Father of the Lord Jesus Christ to give my family spiritual wisdom and insight so they might grow in their knowledge of You. Heavenly Father, I pray that the heart of each member of my family will be flooded with light, so that each of them understand the confident hope You have given them, because they have been called by You. Father, my family are Your holy people, and they are Your glorious inheritance. Amen.
The words I have put in bold lettering and italicized are the words you can change for individual names, etc.
I really hope that example helps to bring power to your prayers when you lift your family or friends to the Lord.
Praying Scripture is a powerful tool, I hope you’ll consider using it more and more as we study the Word of God together.
Paul doesn’t end there with his prayer to the Father, let’s look at the rest of the chapter.
Ephesians 1:19-23…
19 “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else – not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.”
In the remaining part of Paul’s prayer, he gives some very powerful things to be reminded of…
- To understand the incredible greatness of God
- To know that His mighty power raised Jesus from the dead
- To remember that Christ is now seated in a place of honor at God’s right hand
- To understand that Jesus is above any ruler or authority or power on earth or in Heaven
- To know that it was God who put everything under Christ’s authority
- To remember that the church is Christ’s body – we are made full and complete in Him
Prayer is powerful. Scripture is powerful. So, if we were to consistently combine the two when we lift our requests to our Father in Heaven, we will be speaking powerful words that the Lord God cannot deny! Why? Because when we speak the words of Scripture back to God, we are telling Him what He has already said to us. By praying Scripture over our lives, our situations, our families, our friends, we are agreeing with the Word of the Lord in our prayers.
Look at what the prophet Isaiah says about the Word of God…
Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)… “It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
I love the way the New International Version translates this verse as well…
Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)… “…so is My Word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
We have access to a whole body of work, The Bible, to use in our prayers.
So, as you read your Bible, study it and ponder over it, you will find that many passages can be personalized and changed into a very powerful prayer. I challenge you to look at Scripture as your prayer book. This is a great reminder and challenge for me as well! Just as Paul is constantly praying for believers, praying for their spiritual wisdom, insight and knowledge of God to grow, so should we.
Start your day with Praise to the Father and throughout the day pray for fellow believers and for those who don’t yet know the Lord. We should be in constant and deliberate prayer.
So instead of focusing on the negative things in your day, place your focus on the Lord.
~AMEN~