Reflections on Ephesians 1

Ephesians 01 (Contemporary English Version)


1. From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. To God's people who live in Ephesus and are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
3. Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven!
4. Before the world was created, God had Christ choose us to live with him and to be his holy and innocent and loving people.
5. God was kind and decided that Christ would choose us to be God's own adopted children.
6. God was very kind to us because of the Son he dearly loves, and so we should praise God.
7. Christ sacrificed his life's blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now forgiven. Christ did this because God was so kind to us. God has great wisdom and understanding,
8. (SEE 1:7)
9. and by what Christ has done, God has shown us his own mysterious ways.
10. Then when the time is right, God will do all that he has planned, and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth.
11. God always does what he plans, and that's why he appointed Christ to choose us.
12. He did this so that we Jews would bring honor to him and be the first ones to have hope because of him.
13. Christ also brought you the truth, which is the good news about how you can be saved. You put your faith in Christ and were given the promised Holy Spirit to show that you belong to God.
14. The Spirit also makes us sure that we will be given what God has stored up for his people. Then we will be set free, and God will be honored and praised.
15. I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people.
16. So I never stop being grateful for you, as I mention you in my prayers.
17. I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God.
18. My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God's people.
19. I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used
20. when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven.
21. There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well.
22. God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything.
23. The church is Christ's body and is filled with Christ who completely fills everything.
    
    

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    Paul's letter to the Ephesians opens with a rather complex description of the salvation they possessed as a result of their faith in Christ Jesus. Because of their faith, they were among God's elect whom He chose "in Him (Christ), before the foundation of the world." (1:4) God's choosing of His elect is based, not on a capricious choice of some over others, but on the elect's choice of Christ Jesus. God chose the elect "in Him," that is, in Christ Jesus. If we choose Christ, He chooses us. It is an arrangement God established before "the foundation of the world." Therefore it was predetermed, or predestined, before creation and the existence of man. This predetermined plan not only made Christ the source of man's salvation but brought "everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him." (1:10) Man does not share in the things of God apart from Christ.
    
    According to God's plan, when an individual believes in Christ as their source of salvation, they are "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit." (1:13) This seal of the Holy Spirit serves as a down payment or deposit of the believer's inheritance, guaranteeing the believer's inheritance of salvation and heaven. The chapter concludes with Paul's prayer for the Ephesians that they may fully realize what they have in Christ Jesus. Specifically, his prayer is that "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength." (1:18-19)