Last week, I said that the Book of Ephesians was written by Paul from his imprisonment in Rome (60-64 A.D.) to the believers at Ephesus. In further study this week, I discovered that the words "at Ephesus" (Eph. 1:1) do not appear in several important Greek manuscripts. Consequently, many believe that this letter was not originally sent to the congregation at Ephesus alone, but was meant to be a letter that would be circulated to the many gentile churches in Asia. This would explain why Paul would completely omit any personal greetings to believers with whom he had spent three years (Acts 19). Scholars believe that it eventually became known as the Epistle to the Ephesians because the church in Ephesus would have been the mother church from which the letter would have been distributed to the other churches in Asia.

Paul probably wrote the Book of Ephesians about the same time that he wrote Colossians and Philemon. The content of the Book of Ephesians is very similar to that of Colossians; both stress doctrine and give instruction in practical Christian living. One difference between them, however, is that Colossians portrays Christ as the head of the Church, while although Ephesians also describes Christ as head of the church, it goes on to display Jesus as the ascended, glorified Christ. Also, in Colossians Paul attacks the gnostic heresy; but in Ephesians, Paul examines the splendor of Christ in glory.

Because Ephesians does not deal with heresy and was perhaps written to all believers at that time, it is easier to make application to us today while remaining true to the context of the letter. The major theme of this letter is that the Church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23). The Greek word translated church is ekkleµséŒa that generally means the "called out". It was a common term for a congregation…the called people, or those called out.

Paul also metaphorically spoke of the Church as a building of which Christ is the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20-22) and compared the Church to a bride who will soon be united with Christ (Eph. 5:21-33). The key idea is that a body has individual parts that must operate as a unit. God’s plan is to bring all believers together (Eph. 1:10) with Christ as the head (Eph. 1:22, 23).

In our time this week, I’d like us to look at verses 3-6 of Chapter 1:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6 NASB95)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6 KJV)

The word blessed (bless-ed) as used the first time in verse 3, comes from the Greek word eulogeµtoŒs, which comes from eulogeŒoµ and is the combination of two root words, euŒ which means good or well, and loŒgos which means word. It’s where we get our word eulogy, speaking well of someone. The ending, -tos, makes the word to mean "inherently worthy to be praised," and is in all instances ascribed to God the Father and also to Christ (Rom. 9:5), for no One else is inherently worthy of such praise.

The word blessed as used the second time in verse 3, comes from the Greek word eulogeŒoµ and does not have the ending -tos.

This word is used of men toward God, of men toward men and of God toward men. When it is used of God toward men as in this verse, it means to distinguish with favor, to act in man’s life and accomplish His purposes instead of allowing men to have their own way. When the subject is God, His speaking is action, for God’s speech is energy released. When God is said to bless us (eulogize or speak well of us), He acts for our good as He sees our need and not necessarily our desire. Therefore, He blesses by intervening. Here it is referring to God who blessed us with all spiritual blessings, and means the One who intervened and acted so that our spirits might be made conformable to His Spirit.

Does this mean that God has taken away man’s choice by acting for their best instead of allowing them to do as they please? I don’t think so. Where are all these spiritual blessings? They are "in Christ"…only those who choose Christ receive the blessings. These blessings are not forced on anyone.

Verses 4-5 presents some of the most challenging possibilities found in Scripture and have spawned some of the most heated debate in the Church. The two words that need to be understood are the word chosen in verse 4 and the word predestined in verse 5.

The word chosen comes from the Greek word ekleŒgoµ.

Eklego comes from two root words, ek, out, and leŒgoµ, to select, or choose. It does not necessarily implying the rejection of what is not chosen, but giving favor to the chosen subject, keeping in view a relationship to be established between the one choosing and the object chosen. It involves preference and selection from among many choices. In this particular case, it means that at a point in time, before the foundation of the world, God chose certain people for salvation.

The word predestined comes from the Greek word prooréŒzoµ.

Proorizo comes from two root words, proŒ, before, and horéŒzoµ, to determine. To determine or decree beforehand. In verse 5 we see that God determined beforehand that certain people should be adopted into His family through Jesus Christ because it pleased Him to do so.

As with all Scripture, these verses must be understood within the framework of the entire revealed will of God. Who did Christ die for? John says that He died for everybody. …and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2) Jesus Himself said, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18) And again, He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)

The word obey in John 3:36 is the Greek word apeitheŒoµ and means disobedient. Not to allow oneself to be persuaded or believe, to disbelieve or to be disobedient.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared that God had opened the door to even the Gentiles, Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him." (Acts 10:34-35)

The word fear comes from the Greek word phobeŒoµ which can mean to be afraid or terrified, but when associated with God, as in this verse, it means to reverence or honor. It is the equivelent of worship. The phrase does what is right is also translated works righteousness and is in the passive middle voice which means that the subject is being acted upon. We have no middle voice in English, but in Greek it means that the person is acting because of something that has been done to him...he has been acted upon, therefore he does something in response. Here we have people doing what is right because Jesus is now their life...He lives through them. The response in this case is surrender.

Who has been chosen? Who has been predestined? Everyone! The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) God’s choosing and predestination have made it possible for everyone to be saved!

We see that it is because of love that God has chosen us to be holy and blameless and predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ into His family. The word here translated love is the Greek word agaŒpeµ. This word is used only to describe God’s love, affectionate regard, goodwill, and benevolence. It is God’s willful direction toward man without any expectation of a response. It involves God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires. For example, John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world, that he gave." What did He give? Not what man wanted, but what God knew man needed, i.e., His Son to bring forgiveness to man.

What does it mean to be adopted? Paul uses the term huiothesia only five times (Rom. 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). The word is not found in classical writers although thetoŒs huioŒs (thetoŒs, placed, set, adopted) is used for an adopted son. Paul in these passages is alluding to a Greek and Roman custom rather than a Hebrew one. Since huiotheséŒa was a technical term in Roman law for an act that had specific legal and social effects, there is much probability that Paul had some reference to that in his use of the word. Adoption, when thus legally performed, put a man in every respect in the position of a son by birth to him who had adopted him, so that he possessed the same rights and owed the same obligations.

Being a huioŒs, a son, involves the conformity of the child that has the life of God in him to the image, purposes, and interests of God and that spiritual family into which he is born. In eternity there will be a revelation by God that will indicate the measure of this conformity to God (Rom. 8:19).

Verse 6 makes it clear that we have been adopted into God’s family because it pleased Him to bestow His love on us without our deserving it…by His grace and to His glory. Our status as adopted children comes as a result of God’s unmerited favor, not as a response to our response…adoption is all God’s doing, our part is to accept or reject the adoption.

The word praise comes from the Greek word eŒpainos, from epéŒ, which is frequently used to intensify the word it’s connected to and aéŒnos, praise. Synonyms include applause, commendation, and approbation.

The word glory comes from the Greek word doŒxa, which comes from root word dokeŒoµ, to think or recognize. Etymologically, the word primarily means thought or opinion, especially favorable human opinion, and thus in a secondary sense reputation, praise, honor, splendor, light, perfection, rewards. Thus the doŒxa of man is human opinion and is shifty, uncertain, often based on error, and its pursuit for its own safety is unworthy. But there is a glory of God which must be absolutely true and changeless. God’s opinion marks the true value of things as they appear to the eternal mind, and God’s favorable opinion is true glory.

The word grace comes from the Greek word chaŒris, and means to rejoice. Here it points to a favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver; unearned and unmerited favor. ChaŒris stands in direct antithesis to eŒrga which means works or performance, the two being mutually exclusive.

The word accepted (wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved) comes from the Greek word charitoŒoµ that comes from the root word chaŒris that means to grace, highly honor or greatly favor. In the NT this word is only used one other time describing the virgin Mary in Luke 1:28. The verb charitoŒoµ declares the virgin Mary to be highly favored, approved of God to conceive the Son of God through the Holy Spirit.

Do you see the similarity? God, by His grace, declared Mary acceptable to carry Jesus inside herself…by His Grace, God declares every believer acceptable to carry the Spirit of Christ inside himself or herself!!!

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