Eph 1:3-14 | 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 1:3-14

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.

Predestined

Eph 1:4 is about the position we now have before God. We can stand before God without hesitation, because He has made us fit for this position. He no longer sees anything in us that is contrary to His nature, which is light and love.

Eph 1:5. This verse goes a little further. It deals with how we relate to God. It is a relation of sonship. Also for this purpose God has “predestined” us, also from before the foundation of the world. You may speak of a ‘predestination’.

While ‘pre’ looks back, “destined” makes us look forward. There we see the purpose of Gods plan: He wanted us as sons for Himself. The word “adoption” also appears in Romans 8 and 9 and Galatians 4; it means ‘to put as son’ (Rom 8:15 ; 23 ; Rom 9:4; Gal 4:5). God has put you as son before Him. In that relation you stand now before Him. Incredible but true!

God is surrounded by myriads of angels and they serve Him, but in them He can never find the joy He found and finds in the Son. That joy He only finds in the Son and in those who are connected with the Son and who stand in the same relationship to Him as the Son.

Take note that this time it is not written ‘in Jesus Christ’, but “through Jesus Christ”. When it comes to the relationship in which we stand as sons before God, we are not equal to the Son. There will always be a distinction between Him, Who was and is the eternal Son, and us who were made sons because we were not. This distinction you also see in John 20 where the Lord Jesus says: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (Jn 20:17) and not: ‘I am ascending to our Father and our God.’

By ‘adopting’ us as sons God does much more than saving us from the distress we lived in because of our sins. Regarding the latter, forgiveness would have been sufficient. But you know: here it is about the desire of God’s own heart and not about our distress. In order to fulfill that desire He ‘adopted’ sons. He accepted people into His family who were not entitled to anything, and made them sons before Him.

Apart from being son you are also a child of God. Being a child and being a son are different terms that both indicate a specific relationship to God. To be a ‘son’ you do not have to be mature; from your conversion you are both a child and a son. To be a child of God indicates that you are born of God and have received His nature. In sonship we see the desire of God to have fellowship with His children. You can rejoice with your children, but with your son you also talk about certain matters. Sonship is about sharing the same interests. That is what God thought of when He adopted us as sons.

When He did that, He acted “according to the kind intention [literally: good pleasure] of His will”. This is another beautiful expression that indicates how God came to this action. If He did that just because He wanted that, it would only have emphasized His sovereignty, but then His inner motive would have remained hidden. That’s why “the good pleasure” is being connected to His will. It shows the joy with which God accomplished His will.

A wonderful example of this you can find in the Gospels. There you hear more than once: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Mt 3:17 ; Mt 17:5). In this statement you hear how pleased the Father is about Him. The Father was pleased because the Lord Jesus, as the only Man on earth, perfectly did what He desired. Regarding this, the Lord Jesus said: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (Jn 4:34). So the motive of the Father’s action was the pleasure that He had in the Lord Jesus.

Eph 1:6. His purpose was: “The praise of the glory of His grace.” Not just ‘His grace’, but “the glory of His grace”. His grace would already have become visible by forgiving us our sins. We deserved judgment and hell. Now that He does not allow that to happen, but saves us from that, we should therefore praise and honor Him forever and ever. But as you have seen, He had a much higher plan with us. We can be with Him as sons. Therefore it is no longer only ‘His grace’, but “the glory of His grace”.

Herewith closes the first part of the Eph 1:1-14. The part that now follows shows what God did to give us this wonderful position before Him and what the consequences of this position are for the future. This part ends with Eph 1:12, again with “the praise of His glory”.

Until now you have heard about the plan of God. In the part that follows Paul shows which steps God took, so to speak, to implement this plan. The first step is "which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved”, which also can be translated with “wherein he has taken us into favor in the Beloved”. This is just another wonderful expression. To be ‘taken into favor’ means to ‘be made pleasant’. It is about having favor in which we stand before God (Rom 5:1).

You and I are not pleasant in ourselves. We have become pleasant because God looks at us in His Son, to Whom is being referred here by the significant word ‘Beloved’. It is not said ‘in Christ’ or ‘in Him’ as in the previous verses. That would not be sufficient here. It is not about the position that the Lord Jesus has before God. No, it is about Who the Lord Jesus Himself is before God.

The word ‘Beloved’ shows how much the Lord Jesus is the precious object of God’s affection and pleasure. All love from the Father is focused on His Son. That has always been the case in eternity. The pleasure the Lord Jesus has given to the Father during His life on earth was one more reason for the Father to love Him. You can read that in John 10: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again” (Jn 10:17). By this the Lord Jesus was referring to the work that He would accomplish on the cross. There He would glorify the Father magnificently. That was another reason for the Father to love Him. And in this One, the Beloved by the Father, we are blessed.

Regarding this, we find a beautiful picture in the Old Testament. You can read about the burnt offering in Leviticus 1 (Lev 1:1-17). That is a picture of the Lord Jesus in His full devotion to God. In Leviticus 7 it is said: “Also the priest who presents any man’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has presented” (Lev 7:8). Here you see in a picture about what we read in this letter. The priest receives the skin of the burnt offering with which he may clothe himself.

This is what happens with the believer. The priest is the picture of the believer who is telling God what the Lord Jesus has done for Him – that is what we now understand by ‘offerings’. The believer who does this may know that he has taken into favor in the Beloved. So, when the Father sees us, He sees the Lord Jesus.

Now read Ephesians 1:5-6 again.

Reflection: Why did God want you as son?

The Mystery of God’s Will

Eph 1:7. In these verses we see the following steps that God made to realize His purpose. We have already seen that God has ‘made us accepted in the Beloved’. Now we are reading what more we have received in that Beloved. In Him we also have “redemption” and “the forgiveness”. You could say that these are the means by which the will of God could be accomplished, regarding us. Redemption as well as forgiveness have been accomplished through the work of Christ and were necessary because sin has come into the world.

‘Redemption’ was necessary because we were totally imprisoned by the power of sin. We could not deliver ourselves, but by the blood of Christ redemption has been achieved. This is beautifully illustrated in Exodus 12. The people of Israel are in bondage in Egypt and God is going to redeem them. The basis for this redemption is the blood of a lamb that had to be slaughtered. In Exodus 12 you can read what the Israelite had to do with that blood and what that meant to God (Exo 12:2-13). On the basis of the blood the judgment passes by the Israelite and their redemption from the power of Egypt takes place.

It must be clear to you that the lamb in Egypt is a picture of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus. What you have deserved He underwent in your place. In Him you are redeemed, you have received redemption.

Apart from redemption also ‘forgiveness’ of your trespasses was necessary. You were not only under the power of sin, you also lived accordingly. Your deeds made that clear. Whatever you were doing, it was in every way a trespassing of what God had said. Trespasses always ask for punishment. But how amazing it is that God did not punish you for that, but punished His own Son in your stead. In Him you have received forgiveness.

Although redemption and forgiveness brought what was necessary for you, your need is not the main thing here. No, it is the purpose of the Holy Spirit to emphasize in the redemption and the forgiveness “the riches of His [i.e. God’s] grace”. In this way God’s heart and mind are being exposed.

In this verse, where we are involved with our sins, “the riches of His grace” is being exposed. In Eph 1:6, where God is centered, it is “the glory of His grace”. The riches of His grace is in contrast with the poverty of our sins in which we found ourselves. Actually, it is not only grace that provides in our needs. God doesn’t measure His grace to our needs, but to a lot more than that. He provides to His riches.

Eph 1:8. Those riches are expressed in the Eph 1:8-9. There you see a dead, impotent sinner (you!) being exalted to such a great height that he (you!) obtains insight in the mysteries of God’s heart so that he (you!) can share them with Him. This is also about the eternal counsels in God’s heart that are yet to be achieved.

So this is quite different to what you have seen until now, namely, what God’s purpose was for you and what He has also realized. You share in it: you are blessed with all spiritual blessings; you are chosen; you are holy and without blame before God; He has adopted you as a son; you are made accepted in the Beloved; He has redeemed and forgiven you. That is all said in Eph 1:3-7. All really and totally true.

But, as if there is no end, besides that He has still more blessings ready for you to which we will give attention now. Also in those blessings He wants you to partake so that you already now may enjoy what is to come. In order to enable you to share with you what is in His heart, He has, in the abundance of the riches of His grace, made available to you “all wisdom and understanding”. How would we be able to understand anything from God’s purposes and deeds if He Himself doesn’t help and enable us to do that? Also here you find abundance: God doesn’t give a little bit of wisdom and understanding, but “all”.

He knows exactly what is necessary to lead us into the purposes of His heart. That’s why He first made us sons. As you will remember, He did that in order to share His thoughts with us. As sons He has ‘exalted’ us to a position where He can speak to us at His level. Besides He supplied us with ‘all wisdom and understanding’. You may want to proclaim something, but if your ‘target group’ doesn’t understand anything of what you are talking about, it’s no use. That is not what God did.

Eph 1:9. He gave us wisdom and understanding because “He made known to us the mystery of His will”. This is what God wanted to share with us. It is about things that He has never told anyone, not even anyone of His people in the Old Testament. What this mystery involves is dealt with in Eph 1:10-11. It is about the reign of the Lord Jesus over all things.

Now you might say: ‘But that was no mystery at all; that was also known in the Old Testament.’ And you could for example refer to Psalm 8 (Psa 8:4-7). That is true, but that is not the mystery at issue here. The mystery is about the reign of the Lord Jesus over all things together with the church. That has not been made known in the Old Testament. The apostle Paul is the one to whom this particular ministry was given to unfold this mystery. In chapter 3 he will clarify this.

The mystery of the unity between the Lord Jesus and the church is still a mystery to the world. In 1 John 3 you read the same thought: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1Jn 3:2). John means that the world doesn’t see a thing of the fact that we are children of God. The world will see that only when the Lord Jesus returns and we with Him (Col 3:4; 2Thes 1:7-10).

The mystery has been only made known to them who belong to the church. Unfortunately, even to many members of the church this unity is still a mystery. All who think that the church is a continuation of Israel, do not realize that the origin and the purpose of the church are in heaven. Because their focus is on the earth, these Christians ignore the ‘pleasure’ of God.

God finds His pleasure in these things in this time to share with all His own. Just take a look at Eph 1:5 again where you have read about the kind intention or the pleasure of God. There it is His joy to have sons before Him, even now already. Here it is His joy to make known to those sons what He will do with Christ and the church.

God was not obligated at all to share this secret “which He purposed in Him” (Eph 1:9) with us, but He wanted that very much. Again the emphasis here is on the fact that all His purposes find their origin in Him. He had no obligation to anyone whosoever to make them known. He could have kept them to Himself as well. Nevertheless He came out with His purposes and made them known to a group of people selected by Himself. Isn’t it a great wonder that you and I may belong to that group?

Now read Ephesians 1:7-9 again.

Reflection: Consider once again the steps God has taken to achieve His plans and thank Him for every step.

Summing Up of All Things in Christ

Eph 1:10. In the verses we have now before us Paul is telling what the mystery of the previous verse means. Eph 1:10 clarifies that God will sum up all things in Christ as the one Head. In Eph 1:11 we learn that we are predestined to be heirs in Christ.

God will fulfill this purpose in “the administration [or: dispensation] of the fullness of the times”. The word ‘administration’ or ‘dispensation’ here means: the way God reigns and leads something in a particular period of time. You might have heard of the ‘doctrine of dispensation’. This is about the classification of the history of humanity in different ‘dispensations’ or periods.

The first dispensation is ‘the dispensation of innocence’, this is the period of time from the creation till the fall of man in sin. Then God ruled over the creation through Adam before the fall. A following dispensation is that without law. That is the period from Adam after the fall till Moses. Then the period of the law follows, that is the dispensation from Moses to Christ (Rom 5:13-14).

Every dispensation has its own characteristics. They all lasted a certain time. During that time God ruled over man and creation in a way that was adjusted to that time. In all dispensations man had become disobedient to God over and over again. In this way man also lost again and again the blessings that God promised if he would be obedient.

But here God presents a dispensation which is mentioned ‘the fullness of the times’. That is the period in which all previous dispensations will find their fullness and fulfillment. By the way, this is not the same as what is mentioned in Galatians 4 “the fullness of the time” (Gal 4:4). There ‘fullness’ means the passing (become full; ripen) of a particular time after which the big event, the birth of the Lord Jesus, happens. There it is just about the length or the duration of time.

Here in Eph 1:10 it is not about the duration of the time, but about the characteristics, the content of this dispensation that will dawn. It is about what is characterizing the coming period. In the previous dispensations man has spoiled everything again and again. That will not happen in the coming dispensation. This assurance lies in Him to Whom God has entrusted the government in that dispensation: Christ.

As said, the government of Christ was of itself not a mystery. But the mystery that will be revealed will show that the government is in the hands of Christ and the church. Then Christ and the church will rule over “all things … things in the heavens and things on the earth”. This will be seen in the millennial reign of Christ; then Christ will be the Head.

In Genesis 1 and 2 you can already see a picture of God’s purpose. There we see how God in the beginning entrusts to Adam, as the head of creation, the rule and reign over creation. After that He gave Eve as his wife to support him. Together they form the man (Gen 1:27). Adam became unfaithful, but Christ will remain faithful. He will reign in a way that will be fully to the glory and pleasure of God and a blessing to creation.

The government of Christ will therefore embrace more than that of Adam. Adam ruled over the earth; Christ will rule over the heaven and the earth. In Hebrews 1 you read that God “appointed” the Lord Jesus as “heir of all things” (Heb 1:2). He has received the right for the inheritance through His work on the cross at Calvary. In Revelation 5, where you see Him as the Lamb standing as slain (Rev 5:6), the time has come that He will indeed demand the right to the inheritance. He is worthy!

Eph 1:11. But what do we see here to our surprise in Ephesians 1? That we “in Him we also have obtained an inheritance”! That exceeds our highest expectations! How amazing! We have not ‘become an inheritance’. That would mean that we are a part of the inheritance, but that doesn’t meet with God’s plan. What we have received is much more wonderful. We will not be objects of blessing, but givers of blessing, together with the Lord Jesus.

We have not become an inheritance; we have received an inheritance together with the Lord Jesus. We are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17). We even read of “having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will”.

We have already come across the expression ‘predestined’ in Eph 1:5. There it was about the adoption as sons. This shows how much according to God’s purpose ‘heirs’ and ‘sonship’ belong together. This relation you also find in Hebrews 1 (Heb 1:2), where it is about the Son, and in Galatians 4 (Gal 4:7), where it is about us. You can also read that in Luke 15 (Lk 15:11-12).

In the ‘adoption as sons’ here you especially see the relation to God, you can say the private side. After all it was for Himself. In ‘heirs’ you especially see the relation to the inheritance, you can say the public side. After all, soon the world will be publicly ruled by the Lord Jesus, together with us. Then He “comes to be glorified in His saints …, and to be marveled at among all who have believed” (2Thes 1:10).

This is included in “the counsel of His will”. In Eph 1:5 Paul writes about ‘the kind intention or the pleasure of His will’ in relation to the ‘adoption as sons’, and in Eph 1:9 about ‘the mystery of His will’ in relation to the government of Christ and the church. Now you see that there is also ‘the counsel of His will’. These three expressions show together that God in His pleasure (Eph 1:5) works out the mystery (Eph 1:9) according to His counsel (Eph 1:11).

His counsel is fixed; nothing or no one can stop Him in carrying it out. You can firmly count on it that it will happen just as He wants it. We need to have this assurance because it is about something that is yet to come. You already share the adoption as son and the mystery has already been revealed to you, but the inheritance still has to come.

Eph 1:12. And when we have taken possession of the inheritance, together with Christ, we will be “to the praise of His glory”. In that time we will be one great song of praise on His glory. We will reflect God’s glory. God’s glory indicates all His excellent features. They will be exposed in us, in all that are sons and heirs. In every person from that countless group something will be visible of God’s glory and His excellencies. How great He must be to have such a glory! How great must be the praise to be given to Him.

Now there is yet the question who are being meant by “we who were the first to hope in Christ”. Here Paul means the Jews who believe in Christ and who trust in Him before He will appear publicly. In this ‘we’ Paul includes himself, because he was also a Jew from his birth. In the following part I will give more attention to this.

Now read Ephesians 1:10-12 again.

Reflection: So the mystery is made known. Put in your own words what this mystery means.

Sealed With the Holy Spirit

Eph 1:13. As I said at the end of the last chapter, I will clarify the change from “we” in Eph 1:12 to “you” in Eph 1:13. I have already said that in Eph 1:12 Paul speaks especially about the Jews who are now already related to the Lord Jesus by faith. They have already received what is meant for the people of Israel in the future. The people of Israel still have to repent and be converted. That will happen when the Lord Jesus returns to reign on earth. Then they will look on Him Whom they have pierced and they shall acknowledge their Christ under the confession of their sins (Zec 12:10-13). Therefore the word “first” in Eph 1:12 means the present time: the time that precedes the period when Christ visibly resides on earth. In the present time He is only seen by faith.

In Eph 1:13 the Gentiles are indicated with ‘you’. They are also in Christ, but the difference is that you cannot say of them that they have ‘first’ believed in Christ. Just read that in chapter 2 (Eph 2:12). There you read that before their conversion they were outsiders in every way. Only after their conversion they have become partakers of the inheritance of Christ, together with the Jewish believers: together they have become heirs in Him (Eph 1:11).

So it is not true that the pagan who has been converted is a partaker in the blessings that are promised to Israel. He is partaker, together with the Jewish believer, of much higher spiritual blessings that have to do with adoption as sons and being heirs. We have seen this before. In Eph 1:13 the sealing with the Holy Spirit is an additional blessing, with Whom the Jewish believer as well as the non-Jewish believer is sealed.

Before Paul speaks about this issue, he first clarifies in a very striking way how the Gentile has become partaker of the Holy Spirit. The sequence is remarkable: first hear, then believe and finally the sealing with the Holy Spirit. First hear and then believe is in accordance with Romans 10: “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?” (Rom 10:14). And Romans 10 also says: “So faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). That what is “the word of Christ” in the letter to the Romans, is here called “the message of truth”, with the addition “the gospel of your salvation”. The Bible is ‘the Word of truth’ in which God has revealed His truth, the truth about all things.

This Word of truth means ‘the gospel of your salvation’ to everyone who accepts this Word. Gospel means ‘good news’ and it surely is to a person who realizes that God should judge him as a sinner. The gospel offers him salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus. The content of the gospel is written in 1 Corinthians 15: “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, … For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1Cor 15:1-4). So the gospel is about the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

In Romans 4 is added “those who believe in Him [i.e. God] who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, [He] who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Rom 4:24-25). So a man is saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Who was delivered up in death by God and has also been raised from the dead.

God puts His seal on every man who believes that, as a proof that such a person is His property. This seal is the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in that person. The Lord Jesus says in John 14 of the Holy Spirit: “That He may abide with you forever” (Jn 14:16). This makes clear that the seal of God’s ownership is unbreakable.

God’s Spirit is called here “the Holy Spirit of promise”. This is not so much about the fact that the Holy Spirit is promised, but it is more about what is related to the sealing with the Holy Spirit. To be sealed with Him includes a promise.

Eph 1:14. That promise is being expressed in what follows. The Holy Spirit is the “pledge of our inheritance”. The fact that He is the pledge or guarantee means that we do not own the inheritance yet. A pledge is a kind of assurance that you will receive something in the future that you do not have yet. In everyday language the pledge is always less than the property itself. That, of course, is not the case here. That the Holy Spirit is called ‘pledge’ here has to do with the assurance that the rest is yet to come.

Because He has been given to us, we can already enjoy the inheritance now, although we cannot practically take possession of it yet. The inheritance lies in the future. Also the Lord Jesus Himself has not yet received the inheritance. You read in Hebrews 2 that the world to come will be subjected to Him (Heb 2:5-8). Only then He shall reign and we with Him.

Before that will happen, something else must happen first with that inheritance. We read about “the redemption of [God’s own] possession”. You understand that by ”possession” is meant the inheritance. This inheritance is already our possession now, but it still is under the curse of sin. That curse must first be taken away. The Lord Jesus has accomplished on the cross what was necessary for that. There He became ‘a curse’ and paid the price so He could take away the curse of creation. Through the sin of the first man, Adam, a curse came on creation. Through the obedience of the second man, Christ, this curse will be taken away.

The purchased inheritance will be redeemed by Him Who has every right to that inheritance. Also Revelation 5 makes clear Who has the right, that is described in the scroll, to that inheritance: the Lord Jesus. He is both the Lion from the tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5) and the Lamb standing, as if slain (Rev 5:6). The Lion has triumphed by giving Himself to be slaughtered as Lamb.

He will take possession of the inheritance when ‘the dispensation of the fullness of the times’ has dawned (Eph 1:10). That will happen in a way at the beginning of the millennial kingdom of peace. Then satan will be bound and sin restrained. But in the millennium there will still be sin and that’s why a perfect situation is not the case yet. However, at the end of the millennium, sin will be completely banned out of creation. Then the word of John will entirely be fulfilled: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29).

When the purchased inheritance has been redeemed and when the church together with Christ has received the rule over it, then the counsel of God has been completed. Then God’s glory will glimmer with a radiance that will never fade. He then shall receive all praise of everything there is. The new creation will reflect His glory: all will breathe His praise. All people, in heaven as well as on earth, will reflect His glory and all will praise Him. To Him be all glory forever and ever!

Now read Ephesians 1:13-14 again.

Reflection: Thank God in your own words for what you have learnt in these verses about His plans with and for you.