Eph 1:3-4 | KingComments | STEP | . This verse is the beginning of a long sentence that ends with . From there comes one continuous flood of blessings running over you. It is as if Paul only stops after to breathe. In this section you find the source, the center, the area, the nature, the origin and the purpose of all these blessings. This section can be divided into three parts. Every part closes with a praise on God’s glory ( ): 1. closes the part that tells about the will of God ( ); 2. closes the part in which the work of the Son is centered ( ); 3. finally closes the part that tells about the work of the Holy Spirit ( ). You see that all three Persons of the Godhead are involved with the blessings of the Christian. When after the introductory words ( ) Paul wants to write about the blessings of the Christian, first of all a praise to God arises in his heart. He is intensely impressed by all that he – and every Christian – has received from God. He praises and honors God for that. What a wonderful beginning! Through “blessed” he wants to express that there are only good things to say about God. To bless means ‘to speak well of’. He calls God here “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. That means God is seen here as God and as Father. These are the two ways in which He is related to His Son. In these two ways He is also related to the believer. He is also the God and Father of each of His children. The Son is “our Lord Jesus Christ”. Paul mentions Him with His full name. 1. He is “Lord”, He has all authority. 2. He is “Jesus”, that is the name He received when he was born ( ) and which expresses His humiliation and lowliness. 3. He is “Christ”, and that is ‘Anointed’. That name expresses that God will accomplish all His counsels in Him, where Christ Himself will have the central place. Both names that are used for God show His relationship with the Lord Jesus. To the Lord Jesus as Man He is God. The Lord Jesus called Him on earth ‘My God’. To the Lord Jesus as the eternal Son He is Father. In John 20 the Lord used both names and He brings the disciples in connection with Him when He says: “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” ( ). By using these names He points at the essence of the specific Christian blessings that result there from. These names of God, related with His Son, are the basic principle of the letter we have before us. Our blessings are connected with these two names. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the absolute source of all our blessings. The believers from the Old Testament were not familiar with this name of God. That is because at that time there was not a risen and glorified Lord to Whom this letter is connected. The Lord, risen and glorified by God, is the center of this letter. And we have also become partakers through our connection both with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We have become partakers not only because these blessings have been promised to us, but they are our property. It is not written that God will bless us with them, but that He has blessed us with them. We now can take a look at the nature of those blessings. We read that it is about “spiritual blessing”. The meaning of that becomes clear if we compare it with the blessings of Israel. If Israel were obedient, it could have counted on the blessings that it could take from the land. You can read that for example in Deuteronomy 8 ( ). Their blessings were promised on condition and they were material. You could grasp them with your hands. The blessing of the Christian is spiritual. That blessing you cannot grasp with your hands, you can ‘grasp’ it only spiritually, namely with your heart ( ). Also there are no conditions for receiving them. The ‘spiritual blessing’ is the unconditional portion of every Christian. [Just a reminder: The condition indeed is that they are only enjoyed by ‘saints and faithful’ ( ).] The comparison with Israel is also clarified when it refers to the area where you can find the blessing. The blessing of Israel was on the earth, where they stood with their feet ( ). That of the Christian is “in heavenly [places]”, with further specifics “in Christ”. That addition is the essence of all blessings that are received. No blessing has been given to us apart from Christ. For God and the Father everything is connected with Him, the Man of His pleasure Who has accomplished His whole will. All that an Almighty God could think of to reward the Lord Jesus for what He did, God has given to Him ( ; ). The great wonder of grace is that everyone who believes ( ), shares in what He has received ( ). There is one more word I want to point to before we continue with the following verse and that is the word “all”. From what we saw, we can conclude that God did not hold back any blessing, but ‘all’ emphasizes that. A fullness of blessing is the portion of everyone who is ‘in Christ’. The word ‘blessing’, which is a singular form, indicates that it is about fullness. The fullness of blessing we can also summarize as: eternal life. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, has received eternal life ( ). In 1 John 5 we read of Him: “This is the true God and eternal life” ( ). So everyone who has eternal life has the Son as his life. The conclusion is that all who believe have a portion in all that the Son has. If you take a look at how John approaches the blessing and how Paul does, you notice a difference. John talks about life, the Son, in us. Paul says that we are in the Son, in Christ, and in that position we have received our blessings. These different approaches do not contradict, but complement each other. Regarding this matter, I finally want to point out that many Christians are not aware of the riches they have in Christ. We can compare these Christians with the old woman who received from her son who lived abroad, a check which she could cash for a remarkable amount of money. But she did not know what to do with it. To her it was just a piece of paper. Because it came from her son she treasured it. Giving it a nice place on the wall was the only thing she could do with it. But that was not the reason her son sent the check. He wanted her to cash it in order to live without worries. This example might not be good enough, but it clarifies how many Christians look at blessings given by God. I sincerely hope that you are not like that, but that you will enjoy all that God has given to you in Christ. And what God has given, is abundantly present in this letter. Now read Ephesians 1:3 again. Reflection: What do you think when you ponder over the name ‘God’ and the name ‘Father’?

‏ Ephesians 1:3-4

Spiritual Blessing

Eph 1:3. This verse is the beginning of a long sentence that ends with Eph 1:14. From Eph 1:3 there comes one continuous flood of blessings running over you. It is as if Paul only stops after Eph 1:14 to breathe. In this section you find the source, the center, the area, the nature, the origin and the purpose of all these blessings.

This section can be divided into three parts. Every part closes with a praise on God’s glory (Eph 1:6 ; 12 ; 14):

1. Eph 1:6 closes the part that tells about the will of God (Eph 1:3-6);

2. Eph 1:12 closes the part in which the work of the Son is centered (Eph 1:7-12);

3. Eph 1:14 finally closes the part that tells about the work of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14).

You see that all three Persons of the Godhead are involved with the blessings of the Christian.

When after the introductory words (Eph 1:1-2) Paul wants to write about the blessings of the Christian, first of all a praise to God arises in his heart. He is intensely impressed by all that he – and every Christian – has received from God. He praises and honors God for that. What a wonderful beginning! Through “blessed” he wants to express that there are only good things to say about God. To bless means ‘to speak well of’.

He calls God here “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. That means God is seen here as God and as Father. These are the two ways in which He is related to His Son. In these two ways He is also related to the believer. He is also the God and Father of each of His children. The Son is “our Lord Jesus Christ”. Paul mentions Him with His full name.

1. He is “Lord”, He has all authority.

2. He is “Jesus”, that is the name He received when he was born (Mt 1:21) and which expresses His humiliation and lowliness.

3. He is “Christ”, and that is ‘Anointed’. That name expresses that God will accomplish all His counsels in Him, where Christ Himself will have the central place.

Both names that are used for God show His relationship with the Lord Jesus. To the Lord Jesus as Man He is God. The Lord Jesus called Him on earth ‘My God’. To the Lord Jesus as the eternal Son He is Father. In John 20 the Lord used both names and He brings the disciples in connection with Him when He says: “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (Jn 20:17). By using these names He points at the essence of the specific Christian blessings that result there from.

These names of God, related with His Son, are the basic principle of the letter we have before us. Our blessings are connected with these two names. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the absolute source of all our blessings.

The believers from the Old Testament were not familiar with this name of God. That is because at that time there was not a risen and glorified Lord to Whom this letter is connected. The Lord, risen and glorified by God, is the center of this letter. And we have also become partakers through our connection both with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We have become partakers not only because these blessings have been promised to us, but they are our property. It is not written that God will bless us with them, but that He has blessed us with them.

We now can take a look at the nature of those blessings. We read that it is about “spiritual blessing”. The meaning of that becomes clear if we compare it with the blessings of Israel. If Israel were obedient, it could have counted on the blessings that it could take from the land. You can read that for example in Deuteronomy 8 (Deu 8:7-10). Their blessings were promised on condition and they were material. You could grasp them with your hands.

The blessing of the Christian is spiritual. That blessing you cannot grasp with your hands, you can ‘grasp’ it only spiritually, namely with your heart (Eph 1:17-18). Also there are no conditions for receiving them. The ‘spiritual blessing’ is the unconditional portion of every Christian. [Just a reminder: The condition indeed is that they are only enjoyed by ‘saints and faithful’ (Eph 1:1).]

The comparison with Israel is also clarified when it refers to the area where you can find the blessing. The blessing of Israel was on the earth, where they stood with their feet (Jos 1:3). That of the Christian is “in heavenly [places]”, with further specifics “in Christ”. That addition is the essence of all blessings that are received. No blessing has been given to us apart from Christ.

For God and the Father everything is connected with Him, the Man of His pleasure Who has accomplished His whole will. All that an Almighty God could think of to reward the Lord Jesus for what He did, God has given to Him (Mt 11:27; Jn 3:35 ; Jn 13:3). The great wonder of grace is that everyone who believes (Eph 1:13), shares in what He has received (Jn 17:22 ; 26).

There is one more word I want to point to before we continue with the following verse and that is the word “all”. From what we saw, we can conclude that God did not hold back any blessing, but ‘all’ emphasizes that. A fullness of blessing is the portion of everyone who is ‘in Christ’. The word ‘blessing’, which is a singular form, indicates that it is about fullness.

The fullness of blessing we can also summarize as: eternal life. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, has received eternal life (Jn 3:14-16). In 1 John 5 we read of Him: “This is the true God and eternal life” (1Jn 5:20). So everyone who has eternal life has the Son as his life. The conclusion is that all who believe have a portion in all that the Son has.

If you take a look at how John approaches the blessing and how Paul does, you notice a difference. John talks about life, the Son, in us. Paul says that we are in the Son, in Christ, and in that position we have received our blessings. These different approaches do not contradict, but complement each other.

Regarding this matter, I finally want to point out that many Christians are not aware of the riches they have in Christ. We can compare these Christians with the old woman who received from her son who lived abroad, a check which she could cash for a remarkable amount of money. But she did not know what to do with it. To her it was just a piece of paper. Because it came from her son she treasured it. Giving it a nice place on the wall was the only thing she could do with it. But that was not the reason her son sent the check. He wanted her to cash it in order to live without worries.

This example might not be good enough, but it clarifies how many Christians look at blessings given by God. I sincerely hope that you are not like that, but that you will enjoy all that God has given to you in Christ. And what God has given, is abundantly present in this letter.

Now read Ephesians 1:3 again.

Reflection: What do you think when you ponder over the name ‘God’ and the name ‘Father’?

Chosen

Eph 1:4. After Paul has spoken in Eph 1:3 about the blessing in general phrasings, he starts in Eph 1:4 to unpack them. This verse begins with the eternity that is behind us: “before the foundation of the world”, and ends with the eternity that is before us, when we will be with God: “before Him”. But this verse applies also to the present. When it is said “that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love” it means that God already sees us like that. That is how He looks at us. That is how He wanted it, that is how His counsel is and how it happened.

But what is God’s motive to decide and act like that? He did not find that with us. The first verse of chapter 2 says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). And with somebody who is dead you cannot start anything. Indeed He did not find the motive in something of man, in you or in me, but in Himself and in His Son. God has namely chosen us “in Him”, that is Christ. Christ has in eternity always been the joy of God. Now it has pleased God to involve others in the perfect fellowship that has always been between Him and His Son.

His purpose has always been that He can also enjoy from others in the same way as from His Son. This cannot be done apart from the Son. That is the reason that it had to be in the Son. Just as every man is ‘in Adam’ to his nature – which means that we are inseparably connected with this first man – just in that way God has determined that every believer is inseparably connected with His Son.

He determined this in eternity, before the creation of heaven and earth. Then there was nothing else than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the perfect love between Them. The Lord Jesus refers to that and because of that He asks: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me, may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (Jn 17:24). Before the foundation of the world God chose people from the people that would be living on earth to have them with Him.

The reason for this action is His love for His Son. You could see that also at the beginning of this verse in the words ‘in Him’. When you think about God’s choice, many questions may arise. You could ask yourself: Why am I chosen while a lot of other people are not? Are all of the other ones chosen to be lost?

Some remarks can be of help. The first one is that nobody is being chosen to be lost. Every man is lost indeed and is under judgment because of his own sins: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). When God saves people from that judgment in spite of this general judgment, it is not unfair of God, but that is His sovereign compassion.

Second, you should look at Israel. That nation was chosen by God from all nations to be His people. He did that only because of His own love for them (Deu 7:7-8). Does this mean that He did not want to have anything to do with the other nations? No, His only purpose was that Israel would be a testimony to the other nations. Through this testimony they could come to the knowledge of the one true God. Just take a look at the book of Jonah.

Therefore being chosen is something that entirely comes from God, regardless of any situation in which man can be. You have to belong to God to gain insight into this. That is the reason why this truth can only be understood by believers. To unbelievers must be said that they must repent, otherwise they will perish.

The following example illustrates this. There is a sign above a door that says that everyone is invited to come inside to receive a big present. Many pass this door. A few go inside. When one turns inside he sees a sign above the door that says: ‘You are chosen.’ This clarifies that the truth of ‘being chosen’ counts only for those who are ‘inside’.

We return now to the expression ‘before the foundation of the world’. The fact that nothing was seen of the creation then, is not a problem for God. He is above time. To Him it is always present time. He knows exactly what will happen the next hour or the next century. When He looks at the future, this future is today. That is simply one of His exalted qualities by which He is God. Listen to what He says in Isaiah: “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; [I am] God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done” (Isa 46:9-10). This is beyond our understanding, but we can believe it and admire it.

It is already impressive to perceive the majesty of God. It becomes more impressive when you’re going to see that God in His sovereignty has even thought of you and me individually to have us before Himself. This is something that cannot be explained. You can only bow your knees and worship Him for it. How could you ever explain to somebody that He has chosen you out of all the billions of people for such an exalted position, “before Him”? This perfectly clarifies that this blessing only has its origin in the heart of God Himself.

That the blessing of being chosen was determined before the foundation of the world, means that sin that came into the world, cannot affect this. God is not surprised that the people who He had chosen would be sinners. This problem is not mentioned here. In chapter 2 Paul will pay attention to this. Yet sin is certainly assumed here. We see that, when we realize that God wanted us “holy and without blame” before Him. He who comes into God’s presence, must totally correspond to Whom He is in His holiness and that is without any blemish of sin.

That is why He has determined that all whom He would give this place should be “holy and without blame”. ‘Holy’ means ‘to be set apart to be for God’. ‘Without blame’ means that there is no blemish of sin, totally fit to be in God’s presence, Who cannot see or tolerate sin. In this way the demand is fulfilled in regard to God’s holiness and righteousness. How that happened we shall see in Eph 1:7. You could say that regarding this part of God’s plan, “the message” is accomplished “which we [the apostles] have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1Jn 1:5).

However, God cannot be satisfied by this alone. He doesn’t only want us to be without blame, He also wants us to feel at home in His love. He has brought us into an atmosphere that breathes pure, genuine – that is – Divine love. The only way God can be satisfied, is when it is also clearly expressed that His plan totally corresponds with the nature of His love. He who is in God’s presence, sees holiness and love wherever he looks.

Now read Ephesians 1:4 again.

Reflection: Just think about the reason why God has chosen you and thank Him because He did it.