EPHESIANS 1:1-6
GRACIOUS ADOPTION INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD
Ephesians 1:1 (Berean Study Bible) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
SUSAN: Apostle is a word meaning “messenger.” Paul, along with the twelve disciples including Matthias who replaced the betrayer, Judas Iscariot, was Jesus’ messenger and allowed to use the word apostle as a title. The Apostles preached and taught the Gospel of Jesus, and some of them were used of the Holy Spirit to write the New Testament.
SUSIE: The Apostles were all witnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Paul is in this category because Jesus Himself appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Paul made clear that he was writing to believers by calling them saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. As stated in the introduction, this letter may have been read to the church at Ephesus and then sent on to other churches in Asia Minor, so they, too, could benefit from Paul’s teaching.
Ephesians 1:2 GraceG5485 and peaceG1515 to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
G5485 Charis – . . .graciousness of manner or act: lit. fig., or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life . . .
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
G1515 εἰρήνη eirḗnē, i-ray’-nay; probably from a primary verb εἴρω eírō (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication, prosperity:—one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
5485 cháris – (III) (B) Of the grace, favor and goodwill of God and Christ as exercised toward men: where cháris is joined with eirḗné (1515), peace, éleos (1656), mercy, and the like in salutations, including the idea of every kind of favor, blessing, good, as proceeding from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal. 1:3). Also, in the introduction to most of the epistles (Eph 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:2, Titus 1:4, Phile. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:2, 2 Pet. 1:2; 2 John 1:3; Rev. 1:4).
The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Spiros Zodhiates Th.D. ed.
SUSIE: The grace of God in the salvation process is emphasized in Ephesians, so we will be making it jump out for you by making the word blue and bold.
SUSAN: “Grace and peace to you” was a greeting used by Paul in all his letters. Grace as defined above was asking the Lord to effect change in their lives and bestow blessings on them. With the word peace, Paul was indicating his desire that the Lord set their lives in order, make them whole, and give them rest.
Ephesians 1:3–14 This passage describes God’s master plan for salvation in terms of the past (election, vv. 3–6a), the present (redemption, vv. 6b–11), and the future (inheritance, vv. 12–14). It can also be viewed as emphasizing the Father (vv. 3–6), the Son (vv. 7–12), and the Spirit (vv. 13–16).
John MacArthur Study Bible
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.:
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
Westminster Shorter Catechism
SUSAN: Humankind’s purpose is to bless God, to praise Him and bring glory to His Name through our perpetual surrender to His will and the life resulting from His grace.
SUSIE: In his praise of the Father, Paul asserts the deity of Jesus by referring to Him as the Son of God. Paul uses “in Christ,” “in Him,” and “in Whom” as a repeated theme emphasizing the many benefits of abiding in the Lord. These will be printed in bold red when they appear in Scripture. Because of our relationship with Jesus, our surrendering our will to His, we are blessed.
SUSAN: All blessings—all good gifts—originate with God and are distributed by Him as He chooses.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
James 1:17 (BSB)
SUSIE: God, in His heaven, imparts to us many wonderful things we do not deserve, the most important of which is salvation from sin and death which guarantees the richness of dwelling with Him eternally.
Ephesians 1:4-6 For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
SUSIE: I wonder if Paul’s sentences are this long in the original Greek?
SUSAN: I seem to remember that they were from when I took Greek in seminary.
SUSIE: Okay, back on task. These verses indicate that we were “chosen in Him from the foundation of the world” and were predestined to adoption by Jesus by “his will.” Whoa, what happened to my responsibility to choose?
SUSAN: The gift of salvation was not cheap: it cost the Lord Jesus his life by death on the cross. The Giver should have the choice to whom He offers the gift. Where our will comes in is in the moment that we accept that gift, when the Holy Spirit activates it . . .
SUSIE: . . . when we realize it is ours because the Holy Spirit has drawn us and given this priceless gift to us freely, and we submit to His will for us.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44 (ESV)
SUSIE: I can quote many Bible verses indicating that God chose us, predestined us to be saved. I can quote an equal number that show that man, although he cannot in any way earn salvation, has a responsibility to respond to the Lord’s wooing of him.
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:8-10 (ESV)
SUSIE: One might point out that there would be no belief had the Father not given us the faith to believe which we will see in Ephesians 2:8-9. We will not easily settle the debate between predestination and free will, nor is that our intent. Susan and I believe that it is not either/or but both/and. That is mind boggling, but I fall back on this:
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:9 (KJV)
SUSIE: You may see this as a “cop-out,” but I firmly believe that if I could understand everything about God, He would not be God because I would be His equal. Since He is far more intelligent than anyone He created, there will be things that are mind-boggling to us.
SUSAN: God extends His grace to those He has chosen to enjoy relationship with Him through Jesus Christ to bring glory to His name. As His grace changes us from the inside out, we will reflect His glory to the world. As we will see in chapter two, we are His workmanship—His masterpieces.
QUESTION: Have you experienced the drawing, the wooing of the Holy Spirit, nudging you toward believing the Gospel? If so, have you placed your trust in Jesus alone to wash away your sin and bring you into His forever family? All the benefits we will study, all the blessings from the Father, are only for those who are His children, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, and surrendered to Christ as their Master.
ASSIGNMENT: As we study Ephesians, underline or list all the benefits you have when you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Make a point to stop and praise the Lord for each one as you recognize it.