Yesterday's Notes on Ephesians 1

Paul, an apostle...he has authority from God.

...an apostle of Christ Jesus...specifically serving the Lord.

...an apostle...by the will of God...God raised him up, and confronted him with salvation on the road to Damascus. God had great plans for Paul, and Paul would suffer much in the name of Jesus.

To the saints...that is what we are in Christ. faithful in Christ Jesus...because of Jesus.

Blessed be God! He has blessed us [in Christ] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We have all we will need from God in Christ.

in the heavenly places...this is not our home. We have a dual citizenship right now, being in the Now and the Coming. We are citizens of heaven.

He chose us...God is sovereign, almighty, and omnipotent when it comes to salvation. He chose us before the foundation of the world.

even as he chose us...if He did not choose us, we can't say we have been blessed in Christ either. One is as the other. If we are blessed, then we also were chosen.

we should be holy and blameless...the requirement upon receiving salvation: Christ-likeness.

blameless before him...God is the Prime witness, the only one we have offended or can offend. Our sin and negligence are ultimately against Him.

In love...God moved not mechanically or without emotion; all His purposes were bound up in the love He had for us from before the foundation of the world.

He predestined us for adoption...not by our own work or merit, but before we existed or willed. It is all of God. To Him be the glory, honour and power forever and ever! Amen.

through Jesus Christ...In Christ alone my hope is found. He alone is our Mediator, Redeemer, and Propitiation. In Him only are we redeemed. Those outside of Him are still in their sins. There is no way to be reconciled to God but through Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will...Acts 2:23. God's plan from before the foundation of the world was that the Son should pay the price for our sin. He ALWAYS loved us, and ALWAYS had a mind for our salvation.

to the praise of His glorious grace...our purpose: to glorify God. To God be the glory, great things He hath done...

with which he has blessed us in the Beloved...only in Christ are these blessings found.

the Beloved...Christ is the Beloved Son, with Whom the Father was well pleased. Christ did all things well. He was perfect, and perfectly sinless. He was beloved of god and had a unified relationship with the Father. This He gave up on the cross for our sake.

we have redemption through his blood...not by His works are we saved, but by the shedding of His blood. Blood sacrifice was required of God for sin. The life is in the blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

the forgiveness of our trespasses...because the Beloved's blood was shed.

according to the riches of his grace...again, not of our works, but by His grace and His shed blood; He chose to be gracious and planned to be gracious from before the foundation of the earth. Blessed be His name!

He lavished upon us...He is no skinflint. God is generous with His blessing.

in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will...God does not leave us in the dark. He has revealed His will insofar as we need to know it in order to obey. We have all the knowledge we require. We cannot presume to claim ignorance, for God has not left us in ignorance. He has revealed what is necessary.

according to his purpose...he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time...God has set the date. He will act precisely when He means to. His purposes are often veiled to us, but it is not required that we see them; what is required from us is faith. God blesses us, redeems us, and loves us; can we not trust Him?

to unite all things in him...the day is coming when there will be no more strife. Through Christ we are reconciled to God and united in Him. Christ is all, and in all. Things in heaven have met unchangeably with things on earth, and God will not go back now. What He has revealed cannot be unrevealed. What He has shed cannot be unshed.

In him we have obtained an inheritance...in Christ we are heirs, more than conquerors, children of God! Hallelujah!

[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will...Amen!

the gospel of your salvation...the gospel is the word of truth. It is of our salvation. Put to death the questions and doubts about its authenticity! Who would you believe rather than God? Man? History? Science? Archeology? None of them are infallible, but God is.

sealed with the promised Holy Spirit...sealed - bound - imprinted. Marked. Eternally tattooed. All of creation knows you belong to God, and will eternally. God has you forever and ever. The seal of the Holy Spirit cannot be broken. He is God. What God has joined together, let not man separate...Christ is joined to His Bride irrevocably. Can we lose our salvation? Are we not sealed?

The Spirit is our guarantee! He is the "down payment" of our inheritance. We are God's children. Heirs. Co-heirs with Christ. We are written into God's will and we cannot be scratched out. Praise God!

For this reason...because of their faith in Jesus and their love toward the saints, Paul gives thanks, and remembers them in his prayers. Paul is no slacker in prayer. He knows the blessing of seeing those whom you love living in a way that proves their faith....

God...may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him...God understands our weakness and helps us in it. He opens our eyes to the truth and gives us discernment and understanding.

that you may know...God reveals His will where we are concerned.

His GLORIOUS inheritance...the IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS of his power toward us who believe...is God weak? Is God limited? Or is He powerfully at work in our salvation?

God works with great might...just as He raised Christ, He works His immeasurable greatness for His children.

Christ...is above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, in every age. All things are under His feet, and He is head over all things to the church. If the church is serving Christ + something else, there is a serious problem.

the church...his body...He is one with His church. Christ is our King and our all in all. We are representatives of His only insofar as we represent Him alone, above every other name that is named.

Let it be, Lord! May it be so.

Ephesians 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:

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

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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

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, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 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, 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, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.