Ephesians 1

Ephesians (ESV)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 has three major sections.  Verses 1 to 2 are the greeting.  And verses 2 to 14 are the one sentence.  The rest is Paul’s prayer for the saints.

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

 

The book was written in AD 57-62, depending if it was in the prison of Caesarea or the prison in Rome.  Together with the books of Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, Ephesians is called the “prison epistles”.

The location of Ephesus: in commerce and the spread of the gospel

 

Explaining the office of the apostle. 

The apostleship of Paul was emphasized in chapter 3; in various places, Paul defended it (2Cor 11; Gal 1:11-13;)

What is an apostle?  Is it not another term for disciples?  The two terms are interchangeable in the gospels and even in the historical book of Acts.  There is a change in the use of apostles in the epistles.

How is it different and what implication does it have?  Why does it matter to us, the 21st-century Christians?  It is relevant because we need to know the authority of the word of God.  It matters to us because scoffers have been around since the first century and continue to change their tunes as time changes.  The most recent notorious scoffer is Dan Brown, who wrote the book “DaVinci Code”

 

The word will is θελήματος; it means the active will. 

The verb form of the word appears in 2:3, 6:6.  Interestingly, the word in 2:3 speaks of the sinful will of people.  The noun form appears in 1:1, 1:5, 1:9, 1:11, and 5:17.  It is different from the word desire, ἐπιθυμία, in 2:3 and 4:22, which is not volition but a liking.  In both incidences, the desire is rooted in the flesh.

 

Word counting in reading the Bible

Why?

How?

The book is Christ-centric and God-focused.  The word “Christ” occurs 45 times, and God is 30 times.  They are the first and second highest count in the book.  The revelation of the Lord (23x) Jesus (20x) is the revealing of the mystery (7x) through the Holy (6x) Spirit (14x).

 

The purpose of Ephesians by the repetitive words in the book:

Christian live in the context of the church (9x) and according to the will (10x) of God (33x).  Through love (15x), grace (12x), and faith (8x), saints (9x) through their walk (6x) do good (5x) by living in peace (8x), truth (5x) and power (6x) and showing the glory (6x) and revealing the light (6x) of Christ in them.   This is the purpose (5x) of the heavenly (5x) Father (10x).  The opposite of Christian living is a life dominated by the flesh (7x) and the way of the gentile (5x).

 

Researching on the words that have different count, i.e. will, God, to find out which version is more reliable. 

 

Saints are ἁγίοις in Greek. 

The word means dedicated, sacred, and holy for things and holy, pure, and consecrated to God in people.  The word in different forms, i.e. holy (7), and saints (9), occurs 16 times in the book of Ephesians.

Although the total number is ranked sixth in all the books in the NT, the frequency or density is first in the NT.  The number one ranked book, Acts, is merely occurring at 1.857 times per chapter.  In comparison, the book of Ephesians is first the frequency by chapter with 2.67 times per chapter.  So the word saint in Ephesians is about 1.4 x to that in Acts in terms of occurrence per chapter.  In terms of words, it is 16/2422 or 0.66% for Ephesians and 52/18451 or 0.28% for Acts.  That is a ratio of 2.4x.

In summary, saints are an important theme in Ephesians, which is foremost among all of the NT books.

 

The qualification of saints

 

Faithful can be about two things:  having faith and having the walk of faith.  The first-century Christians have all of that. 

How faithful are the saints in Ephesus? 

Faithful is an adjective; the Greek word, πιστός, means worthy of belief, trust, or confidence.  So faithful is a description of something visible.  You cannot say you are faithful without having done something worthy of your belief.  These actions are worthy What did the saints do to be worthy of their belief?

Acts 19:1-10; all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

 

In Christ Jesus

The substance or the object of the faith is solidly in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Is it grace and peace to you?  Is it grammatically possible?  If not, any application?

The same phrase is found in Rom 1:7 and Col 1:2. The grammar would put them together.

 

Grace to you.  Grace is implied to be from God.  Grace is an active will of God. 

Grace and mercy are sometimes discussed as one.  They are different things.  See 2 John 3.  They are different words in Greek as well.  Grace is χάρις. Mercy is ἔλεος. We should make a note about how they are different.  Grace is unmerited favors.  Mercy is undeserved compassion.  Two good NT examples of mercy are the Canaanite woman in Matt 15:22 and the blind men in Matt 20:30. Grace is emphasized in Ephesians.  It occurs 12x. The book talks about the root of grace in 1:6, 1:7, 2:5, and 2:8 and about the response that disciples should have as a result of grace in 2:10, 3:2; 3:7, 3:8, 4:7, and 4:29.  Paul puts far more emphasis on our response as a result of grace than the root of grace.

 

Peace is from God.  Peace is implied to be sent to you. 

That peace is what Jesus told the disciples in the upper room.  As a result of that peace, we should not be afraid or troubled of the unknown.

Here the peace is also from the Father.  That is seen in many greetings, i.e. 1 Tim 1:2, 2Tim 1:2, and Titus 1:4.  The phrase first shows up in John 20:21, after the resurrection of Jesus.

 

 

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 places,

 

Blessed only occurs here and in seven other places in the NT.  Mark 14:61; Luke 1:68; Rom. 1:25; 9:5; 2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3;

 

The first “blessed” is an adjective.  The second is a participle; the third dative noun.  More on that in verse 4.

The “be” is not in the original Greek

The phrase would be Blessed God

The meaning of blessed: held in reverence, honored in worship,

 

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

The two before here highlight the two reciprocated concepts:

The first “before” points out the time of the action of choosing us to be in the position of being in God

 

The second “before” gives the position of being in front of God as the important reason for us to become holy and blameless.  The conjunction “that” was not in the Greek. It was an infinitive verb of εἰμί, meaning “to be”.  So, it is one long sentence of chose us… world (we) to be holy and … before him. More on that later.

 

The first before is πρὸ.  Out of the 47 times used in NT, 9 times are used to highlight the time before the ages.  That is close to one out of five times.   The word is found in the phrase “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24; Eph 1:4; 1 Pet 1:20) and “before the ages” (2 Tim 1:9; Titus 1:2; similarly 1 Cor 2:7; Jude 25; Col 1:17; John 17:5)

 

The word “before” expresses two important characters of God:

  1. The omniscience of God:
    1. He first knew who would be around today before there were men
    2. He also knew who were the ones that would be holy and blameless
  2. The sovereignty of God
    1. Nothing changes from the plan

 

 

The second word before him could easily be Πρὸ προσώπου τινος, It is not because another word is used; it is κατενώπιον. 

Only used 3 times in the NT; each time is used to admonish Christians to live (holy and) blameless before God.  It is in here, Col 1:22, and Jude 24.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,” (Jude 24, ESV)

“he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” (Colossians 1:22, ESV)

 

The choice that God made is not just to save us from death but also to cause us to be holy.

The phrase that God loves just as you are is true only in the sense that He chose out of His love and that He sees not any redeeming quality in us.  Many misconstrued the phrase to mean we can stay in our miry pit or sinful lifestyle.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  God intends us to become holy and blameless.  Not just on the merit of the saving work of Jesus but our change of behavior or change of the state of being. That is expressed in 4:7 not having the mind of a Gentile, in 4:23 renewed in the spirit of your minds, and in 4:24 put on the new self.   Hence, later in the book, Paul admonished believers not to steal, not to say vile things, not to be warped by unwholesome thought, not to sit idly by, and not to get drunk, i.e. 4:28-5:18.

 

So is this becoming holy and blameless a work or a blessing?  Why?

A Reminder of the Clause Before This Sentence—The Three Blesses

  • The first “blessed” is that we give praise to God.
  • This second “blessed” is that it has happened already and continues to bless. God has blessed us already and will continue to bless
  • The third blessing is that it is Spiritual, dative
    • In the heavens, dative
    • In Christ, dative

 

So the first before signifying our choosing and the second before signifying another action is the blessing of God.

 

In Paul’s language, it is a blessing. That is quite important that we feel that it is a blessing.  Here is why.  One day, we are all going to be in front of our God and Father, holy and radiant of His glory.  One of two feelings should arise if we have not strived to become holy and blameless; we either feel unworthy and totally ashamed or feel this is not the place to be.

The fact of the matter is different, we cannot be in the presence of God because His glory would destroy the unrighteous.  Ps 1:5, The wicked will not stand in judgment.   God told Moses that man cannot see His face and live in Ex 33:20.

Back to the feeling part.  None of us like that feeling of shame.  Neither do we like to stay at a party that we feel so out of place.  If we can do something about that feeling, we will try.  The time to try is not when we feel out of place.  Trying at that time would be just pretending or ignoring the situation.  Since God does not and since heaven does not have trials for character change, that shameful feeling would stay for a long, long time.  In short, heaven is not a place we can do anything about our shame or feeling out of place; hence, we ought to do it now.  That is why it is a blessing from God that we can become holy and blameless.

 

Important concepts: predestination, adoption as adult sons, the purpose of His will.

 

Chose is in the middle voice; the first verb in the passage.  God selects us for Himself.  The “should be” is an infinite—verb-noun—in the original Greek.  In what way for Himself? 

The issue of choosing or election is a debate of anthropocentric vs. theocentric,

No serious believers would argue that God is less important than human beings.  The consideration is rather God would honor men and allow them to choose on their own.

In other words, is the choosing of God independent of the free will of man?  If it is not, then can it really be called “choosing”?

 

In Romans 11:1-8, Paul argues that a remnant of Israel was chosen by grace.  These elects obtained the promised Messiah, while the rest were hardened toward him.

The text argues that God would choose and harden the hearts of the not-chosen ones.  What does it mean to harden the heart?

 

Hardened the heart should be interpreted with the Pharaoh situation.  He was not given the snub at the right time to make a hard and fast decision to let the Israelites out of Egypt.

 

Let’s switch to the subject of election to help us understand our own case.  There is no question that God chooses kings in Israel.  What about the people?  They would try to choose, but they failed or their kings failed.  In the end, they came around and ratified the king that God had chosen.

What is what in this analogy?  The king represented a sanctified living.

Positively, people’s action of succeeding in living in righteousness is only the end result of God’s choosing.   If God has not chosen, no amount of trying would lend a person the willpower to be unshackled from sins.

 

To make salvation about men or anthropocentric means that human beings are the most significant entity in the universe

 

5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

 

Important concepts: predestination, adoption as adult sons, purpose of His will all done in love

Why predestination is good?

It is done is love.

 

 

Tracing through the context of the word predestine and the understanding of the plan of God

προορίζω proorízō; fut. proorísō, from pró (4253), before, and horízō (3724), to determine. To determine or decree beforehand (Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:5, 11).

1Cor 2:7 written in 55AD, God decreed a secret and hidden wisdom that Paul imparted.  The hidden and secret wisdom is the salvation plan of God through Jesus Christ His Son

Rom 8:29 written in 57 AD, that plan of salvation includes not just the action of Christ but also whom would be saved through it and the outworking of those people.

Ephesians written 60 AD, God saved for a purpose, the verse here, and gave us an inheritance

Acts written in 62-64 AD, the salvation plan and the history of the world, mostly about the salvation of men, is all going along according to the plan of God

 

So God has a plan.  The plan has three important aspects.

  • The first aspect is about Jesus and the timing of the salvation plan.
  • The second aspect is about who would be saved.
  • The third aspect is about how to turn the world to accomplish the plan.

No one knew the first part of the plan until Christ came and completed His work on the cross.  The second part is still unknown until men are saved.  The third part needs to be looked back at through the lens of history.

Illustration of this three-step plan: At the low level of the Pac-Man game, there is a pattern to get the maximum score.  How do people come up with the pattern?  The ingenious way of man and the writing of the programmer forces people to behave a certain way.

 

What does it say?

God’s sovereignty is something to be praised.  To those who are saved, it is a work that God has put in place.  To those who are not saved, God knew their heart beforehand and would not be mocked because God needed them and catered to their desire.  Not that a salvation grace is not offered but God has not given His pearls to the swine.

The mockers will say God cannot lose.  The saints would admire the distance God has gone to pursue His own.  It is a different perspective of the same situation.  To the pure, all things are pure; to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.

 

The adoption of sons in the time of Rome was different from today’s. 

We are used to see adoption of babies or teenagers in today’s culture.  But back in the days of Jesus, Roman royalty had the practice of adopting heirs to their fortune or throne.  The adopted sons can happen to be male children or full-grown adults as their sons.  The case for male adults is common for emperor adoption during the Roman Empire’s first 200 years.  Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Lucius Verus all became Emperor through adoption.

 

This practice was vividly illustrated in the blockbuster Hollywood film—Ben Hur.   In Ben Hur, Ben-Hur and Arrius are rescued, and Arrius is credited with the Roman fleet’s victory. The consul successfully petitions Emperor Tiberius (George Relph) to free Ben-Hur and adopts him as his son. Several years pass off-screen. Now wealthy, Ben-Hur learns Roman ways and becomes a champion charioteer.

 

Even children adopted into families are meant to become heirs.  That has to do with the fact that some do not have male heirs and that training for the heirs can become cost-prohibited

 

The adoption of adult sons is an important concept explored in Galatians 4:1-7.  We are to turn away from the way of a slave to that of an heir.

 

Two important implications of adult adoption need to be emphasized.

The first truth is the extent of our inheritance.  We are adopted into the household of the Heavenly Father as blessed adults.  We have the full legal standing with that of the Father.  Like Ben inherited Arrius’ treasure, we inherited what is of the Father.

 

The second is the speed.   That change is not a gradual, slow learning process but a cerebral, thinking-driven process of an adult.  As an adult, born-again Christians are not babies but adults capable of choosing to do the right things.  Hard as it may seem, it is the power of the gospel and the power of the new spirit nature in us working.

 

Through Jesus Christ

Through διά with the generative is through, i.e. by means of, because of

After the pattern of Jesus Christ, Romans 13:14 (NASB95) 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

 

 

The purpose of his will is the good pleasure, good intent, as the word means in Greek

εὐδοκία eudokía; gen. eudokías, fem. noun from eudokéō (2106), to please, favor. Good will, good pleasure, good intent, benevolence, a gracious purpose (Matt. 11:26; Luke 10:21)

 

Why is God’s will a good pleasure/intent?

  1. The salvation is free economic value (Eph 2:8-9; 1Cor 2:12)
  2. The plan is complete (a successful surgery or a fruitful fishing trip) teleological value Heb 12:2; John 10:29
  3. The plan is good (God’s will to crush him, Is 53:10) intrinsic value; Col 1:13

 

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

The word to is “εἰς” indicating the point reached.

The goal of predestining us the sonship is to arrive at the praise of his glorious grace.  If that is not obvious enough, the author uses a word for praise that has additional meaning.

The word is used 11x in NT, 68. ἔπαινος épainos; gen. epaínou, masc. noun from epí (1909), upon, and aínos (136), praise. Applause, commendation, praise, approbation (Rom. 2:29; 13:3; 2 Cor. 8:18; Eph. 1:6, 12, 14; Phil. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:7). The object of praise, something praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8; Sept.: 1 Chr. 16:27); reward (1 Cor. 4:5; 1 Pet. 2:14).

 

Reaching the point of praise is an act of worship.  Who is doing the praise?

It is obvious that the people who receive the sonship would praise the Father.  The nature of this heartfelt spontaneous praise is of truth and the spirit.  It is the highest form of worship.  Heavenly Father seeks out these true worshipers to be His sons and daughters in Christ (John 4:23).

Outside of the human beings, angels would also praise God

 

Why is there a definite article “the” or τῆς before χάριτος αὐτοῦ?

Understanding of the εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ

Per WSNTDICT, the article is used as an emphatic, the grace of His.

 

How blessed are we?

When we think of blessings, we think of the things we get.  That can be true, Imagine some rich persons come by and give you a car that he no longer wants or let you use his cabin at Lake Tahoe for a vacation weekend.   Is that the kind of blessing we have here? It is better than that.

Paul did not use the same word as in v.3.  The word blessed here is χαριτόω charitóō; it is based on the word grace.  The word is only used twice in the Bible.  Once is in Luke 1:28; the other is here. In Luke, it is translated as favored.  The word is used to highlight Mary being honored by God to carry the Son of God in the womb.   The word carries the meaning that God picks Mary to be part of His family.  This is the grace of being chosen by God to become a family member.

What a tremendous blessing it is.  Imagine that vacation home in Tahoe, it is not just for a weekend, but it is a possession of yours.  We have joined the family of God.

 

Who is the beloved?

He is Jesus Christ

He is loved by God the Father.  Because Jesus is loved, we who are adopted in the mode of Jesus will also be loved by the Father.

Jesus is also loved by His followers because of great deeds of salvation on the cross and His love for us.

 

The switching of the subject

There is a shift here.  The focus preceding this is the Father.  From 7 to 12, Jesus would be the focus.

 

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

What is redemption?

Redemption is a term that we hear a lot.  629. ἀπολύτρωσις apolútrōsis; gen. apolutró̄seōs, fem. noun from apolutróō (n.f.), to let go free for a ransom, which is from apó (575), from, and lutróō (3084), to redeem. Redemption. The recalling of captives (sinners) from captivity (sin) through the payment of a ransom for them, i.e., Christ’s death.

 

Redemption: the ransom is paid by His blood.

Luke 21:28   because your redemption is drawing near.”
Rom 3:24   through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Rom 8:23   adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
1 Cor 1:30   righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
Eph 1:7   In him we have redemption through his blood,
Eph 4:30   by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Col 1:14   in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
     

 

Eph 1:14   acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

 

Heb 11:35   refusing to accept release, so that they might

(this refers to the believers not wanting to be released from their torture.)

 

Heb 9:15   since a death has occurred that * redeems them

from the transgression committed under the first covenant.  (by means of his own blood, he secured eternal redemption Heb 9 12.  the shedding of blood is needed for the forgiveness of sin Heb 9:22)

 

How are they related and different?

 

Trespass (παράπτωμα) vs. sins

Sin: meant originally “to miss the mark, fail in duty” (Rom 3:23)

Trespass: As Lawgiver, God sets limits to man’s freedom; another frequent term (Heb ‛ābar; Gk parabasis) describes sin as transgression, overstepping those set limits

 

R.E.O. White, “Sin,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1967.

 

 

 

 

8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

Lavished: a past tense, provide in abundance

Do we feel that?  What?

The riches of His grace.  The forgiveness is a degree commensurate with the depth of our sins. The depth of our sins is not just an objective fact. but the pronoun “our” makes it a  subjective perception.  This can be illustrated by the account of Jesus eating with Simon in Luke 7:36-50.  In addition to the subjective perception inferenced in the account, there are two other points to consider:

  • Jesus’ upside-down theology of love in exchange for forgiveness
  • The Pharisees’ rule makes it like a business transaction

 

 

9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

CC: God chose us and redeemed us with a purpose.

The will of God should be a mystery.  But God made it known to us in all wisdom and insight. Several points:

  1. Insight (understanding) is above wisdom.
  2. God’s will is made known because we are no longer a servant but a friend
  3. God’s will is known by the HS.

 

Insight

Proverbs 4:7 (NASB95) “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

Matthew 13:23 (NASB95)  “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Matthew 15:10 (NASB95)  After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand.

Matthew 15:16 (NASB95)  Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also?

 

Friend knows:

John 15:15 (NASB95)  “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Spirit knows the will of God

Romans 8:27 (NASB95) and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

1 Corinthians 2:11 (NASB95) For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

 

His purpose vs His will

False comparison.  It should be His kind intention as in NASB vs. His will, thelema. 

The phrase is κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν αὐτοῦ ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ.  A direct translation is according to the kind intention which He purposed to Himself in Him.

What is the kind intention?  It is the same one as in Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, the same one that leads us into the adoption as sons.

Note the motivation of proposing such work.  It is set in the middle voice.  The so-called middle voice is an approximate type of grammatical voice in which the subject both performs and receives the action expressed by the verb.  It is self-initiated to oneself.

 

Set forth in Christ

The kingdom thought: Calling sons into His kingdom for His own pleasure, i.e. kind intention.

The sports illustration: Worst, not being picked at all.  Good, being picked to a losing team.  Better, to be picked to a winning team.  The best, picked to be on the ultimate win-it-all team.

 

 

10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

CC: the fullness of time, new heaven and earth, in the completion of time, every prophecy fulfilled, God will come down from heaven and unite all things

As. Eis. Into

The adopted sons will rule

The word “plan” is οἰκονομία in Greek

οἰκονομία first means 1. the office of household administration and the discharge of this office

 

Otto Michel, “Οἶκος, Οἰκία, Οἰκεῖος, Οἰκέω, Οἰκοδόμος, Οἰκοδομέω, Οἰκοδομή, Ἐποικοδομέω, Συνοικοδομέω, Οἰκονόμος, Οἰκονομία, Κατοικέω,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 151.

 

Fullness of time, genitive

 

(Into) Concerning the household (law) administration of (fullness) timely completion: The revelation of His will is done as a household rule giving in a timely fashion until it is complete.

 

Tied to verse 9, God proposed to Himself to put adopted sons and daughters into the household rules/administration in a timely basis or timely household rule.

 

Unite all things in him (in the Christ)

  1. Unite=sum=bring together
  2. All things that are in “the” Christ
  3. specified both realms: heaven is dative, earth is genitive.
    1. Things to heaven and things of earth

All things in ”the” Christ will be brought from earth to heaven.

  1. I think this refers to the transformation of the earthly body to the heavenly body in 1Cor 15.

 

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

 

In him, the word “him” is Jesus Christ.

 

The pronoun “We” has two options

  • Paul and the saints in Ephesus per vv 1-3
  • Paul and Tychicus per 6:21-22

 

ESV In him we have obtained an inheritance,

NASB95 also we have obtained an inheritance,

NIV84 In him we were also chosen,

NRSV In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,

NKJV In Him also we have obtained an inheritance,

 

Obtained, in the past tense with passive voice.  The word is really ἐκληρώθημεν from the root word of κληρόω.  Its meaning is to appoint by lot and its use in Greek literature is associated with inheritance.  The LXX use is about the splitting of land by casting a lot, i.e. inheritance.

In him a lot was apportioned to us.

An inheritance, as a result of predestination, the purpose referred by to v. 9

Notice two things

  1. It is in him.  Who is he?  It is the same dative as in Jesus Christ, so it is Jesus Christ
  2. We Christians have already been appointed an inheritance.  The action is not ours.  We do not have to do anything to get this.  Being born in God’s family through Christ is what qualifies us.  It is not our work or our merit.  How do we know?

 

Because it is predestined, just like v. 5.

 

Here predestined according to His purpose.  V.9 according to His kind intention He purposed in Him.  What is the difference? Two distinctions we find from the grammar

  • ere in v. 11 is a noun.  In v. 9 is a verb.
  • This purpose here in v. 11 is accusative, it is intended as a direct object of the verb been predestined.
  • Conclusion: Whereas verse 9 speaks to the predestination as God’s purpose for Himself; here it speaks of the appointed lot apportioned to us as His purpose for us.
    • The making known to us the mystery of His will is for Himself
    • Assigned a portion to us is for us

 

 

 

 

Who works all things.

  • The word “who” is a genitive, so is the participle “works”.
  • He did all the works
  • The verb “works” is present, and active.  He is still doing the works

 

 

Counsel of His will

The word counsel is βουλή in Greek. It occurs 12 times in the NT.

Five times it is translated as purpose.

 

 

 

12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

 

Into that we are for the purpose (eis) the praise of his glory who were the hope of beforehand in Christ.

  • Eis for the purpose of, in order to
  • “am” is a verb and is focus on the essence of the being
    • Together we are saved for the purpose of becoming the being of a worshipper
  • Here it echoes what Jesus said; the Father is seeking worshippers (John 4:23).

 

 

First to hope, all one word,

  • A theologian
  • My take: we were just the forerunner of the Christian faith.  See how it connects with v. 13.

 

προελπίζω, “to hope before or first,” is attested only by Posidipp. (3rd. cent. b.c.) in Athen., IX, 20 (377c) outside Christian literature.

Acc. to Eph, 1:12 we are elected by the will of God εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης αὐτοῦ, τοὺς προηλπικότας ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ. If the “we” indicates Jewish Christians as a special group, the meaning is “before the Gentiles” or “prior to the coming of Christ,” which would suggest that Christ is the fulfillment of OT hope and would thus be very suitable (→ 531 f.). On the other hand, if the “we” are all Christians, the προ- refers to the present in relation to the eschatological consummation, though this is less likely. The word is not found in the post-apost. fathers or the Apologists.[1]

 

 

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

 

You, the first time since v. 2.

 

Heard,

Romans 10:14 (NASB95) 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

 

Word of truth is the gospel: The word “word” is logos. 

 

The meaning of being sealed:

“So also of Christians whom God attests and confirms by the gift of the Holy Spirit as the earnest, pledge, or seal of their election to salvation. Mid. with the acc. (2 Cor. 1:22); pass. (Eph. 1:13; 4:30)”[2]

Notice the trinitarian action in this sealing of the saints:  God the Father is the one who seals.  God the Son is the “way” or the reason that leads to the sealing.  God the Spirit is the seal.

 

Who else was sealed?

John 6:27 (NASB95) 27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Jesus to confirm Him being the Son of God

 

 

 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

 

Why are there many variations of this verse?

Ephesians 1:14

ESVwho is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

NASB95who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

NIV84who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

NRSVthis is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

NKJVwho is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

The straight translation: Who is the pledge of our inheritance toward the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

The word pledge or guarantee is ἀρραβών in Greek.

It only occurs three times in the NT.  Here and 2 Corinthians 1:22 and 5:5. All three are specific about the Holy Spirit (HS).  2Cor 1:22 refers to us being sealed, the same word as in Eph 1:13, and lets us know that the HS resides in our heart.

2 Corinthians 1:22 (NASB95) 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

2 Corinthians 5:5 (NASB95) 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

 

 

The explanation of the difficulty: The redemption of the possession.

Whose redemption?  The redemption mentioned in v. 7 belongs to the pronoun “we” and is here for us.  The Holy Spirit is a pledge toward that redemption.

When is this redemption going to happen?  There are two redemption times.  One is when we are saved, which is referred to in 1:7.  The other is when are transformed, which is referred to in 4:30, a good explanation of these two verses.  1:14 and 4:30 both refer to the redemption that will happen at the end.

 

The possession is a genitive describing the word redemption.  I think Paul is saying that we have that redemption.  Other scholars see that redemption is from God and add God’s own toward the possession to signify that believers are God’s own possession (Walvoord).  The word occurs five other times, Luke 17:33; 1Thess 5:9; 2 Thess 2:14; Heb 10:39; 1Pe 2:9.  The word in Luke is a verb, while the others are nouns.  In 1Peter 2:9, the word is used to signify that we the people are a possession of God; the genitive of God is added for clarification.  In Luke 17:33, 1Thess 5:9, 2 Thess 2:14, and Heb 10:39, the word implies the believers or a man having or possessing eternal life, salvation, or the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gospel.  Hence, I think Eph 1:14 refers to the redemption in our possession.

Luke 17:33 (NASB95)

33 “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NASB95)

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 Thessalonians 2:14 (NASB95)

14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:39 (NASB95)

39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

1 Peter 2:9 (NASB95)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 

 

 

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,

 

How can you hear of someone’s faith and love?

Obviously through actions that demonstrate faith and love, i.e. James 2:18 (NASB95)

18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

 

 

 

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

 

The quality of prayer is unceasing.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NASB95) 17 pray without ceasing;

There are two elements in Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians:  thanksgiving and supplication.

 

 

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might

 

In supplication, Paul asks several things for the church.  They are

  • Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him:
    • Who is the pronoun “him”—the Father or the Son?
      • Based on the following verses, the “him” refers to the Father.
    • Whose spirit—the Holy Spirit or our own spirit
      • Not the Holy Spirit, since He was given at the time of believing per v. 13.
      • Not our spirit because we are not given a new spirit
      • But spiritually from the Father an expansion of wisdom and revelation in our spirit
  • Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened to know
    • The hope to which He has called you.  See verses 3 to 14 for the hope/plan that God has in store for us.
    • The riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.  The inheritance in verse 11 is ours.  The inheritance here is us being the inheritance of the Father.  Wow, imagine that we are going to be the riches of His glorious inheritance.  That is how God sees us.
    • The immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.
      • We need to know that God intends to work His miracles through us.
      • The word “might” is κράτος.  It can mean dominion as in 1 Peter 4:11 and Jude 25.  The great dominion means that nothing can stop God from carrying out His work.
      • Is the phrase “we believe” a status or a prerequisite for the immeasurable greatness of His power?
        • Paul is praying that the eyes of our hearts get enlightened to know, so this is happening without us knowing or believing.  This should not be a prerequisite
        • Then it is a status.  God is working through us even though we might not know.  We are a blessing to others simply because we are sons and daughters of the Most High.

 

 

20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

 

  • The very first act is the raising of Christ from the dead
  • When Christ was raised, He was seated at the right hand of God, Mark 16:19 (NASB95) 19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
  • Jesus Christ is far above in rank over “all” five categories
    • Rule, ἀρχή, First in the sense of preeminence, precedence, and rulership
    • Authority, ἐξουσία, having the power or ability of doing something
    • Power, δύναμις, the intrinsic power
    • Dominion, κυριότης,
    • Above every name that is named, a catch-all for all the created.  Only God is not named; everything else is named by either God or Adam.
      • Philippians 2:9 (NASB95) 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
  • For this age and the age to come, timeless.
  • Put all things under his feet, Psalm 110:1 (NASB95) 1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”   Also in Ps 8:6; 1 Cor 15:27.
  • Head over all things to the church 1 Cor 11:3; Eph 4:15; Col 1:18
  • Church is Jesus’ body: 1 Cor 12:27; Eph 4:12; Col 1:18, 24
  • The fullness of him who fills all in all, Colossians 3:11 (NASB95) 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

[1] Rudolf Bultmann, “Ἐλπίς, Ἐλπίζω, Ἀπ-, Προελπίζω,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 534–535.

[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).