I have been struggling with how to approach this epistle. The same is true with how to structure what I write. One thing that is for sure: the theme throughout it concerns the kingdom of heaven, our part in it, and the blessings that belong to those who Spiritually lives within it.
I am beginning this time on the Dec 19, 2025. I plan to add a few small sections on as many times as I feel that I can. A date will identify a given's week writings In the beginning post of that week.
This is March 21, 2026. I am making slow progress in
I am beginning this time on the Dec 19, 2025. I plan to add a few small sections on as many times as I feel that I can. A date will identify a given's week writings In the beginning post of that week.
This is March 21, 2026. I am making slow progress in
The kingdom of Heaven
The theme of this epistle is the kingdom of God. It is very extensive in all of its teachings. There are blessings for the faithful, and there are reasons why they are given. The first chapter is mostly about the kingdom’s basics in generalities. Chapter 2 contains more detains as does chapter 3. There are many blessings that come with the studies of this epistle when you realize that these Scriptures apply directly to you! So lets get started!
December 19, 2025
Ephesians 1:1,2
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider some of the things he had accomplished in his lifetime. Even as a child, he paid close attention to what he had been taught out of the Hebrew Bible and probably the Talmud. This led to his being sent to Jerusalem to be trained under the watchful eyes of Gamaliel. He became one of his best students if not the best: he was very zealous. At Damascus, Jesus turned his life completely around. (The one that had prosecuted the church wherever he went began his training that would lead to him preach the unsearchable riches of the Gospel.) When God was ready, the Holy Spirit told the church at Antioch to separate Paul and Barnabas unto the work for which the Spirit had called them. From this point on, Paul continued to faithfully administer the office of an apostle.
One last point about his work ethics from 1 Corinthians 15:9,10: 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
These brethren and Sisters had learned how to be obedient to the teachings of Jesus as well as they had been taught. So, They were not only listening to what was preached to them, but they also applied these lessons to their daily lives: they worked at it. In other words, they used their faith. The same can be said of those mentioned in Hebrews chapter11. Then there is chapter 2 of James’ epistle where he wrote: faith without works is dead. The kingdom of Heaven is the place in which we are to perform Spiritual works. (More about this in chapter 2 of the Ephesian epistle).
The need for peace is almost a given, specifically, I am speaking of the peace Jesus said that He gives to us. Without using it, without peace, all that is left is worrying, complaining, rage, Without it a person will always have a miserable life.
Ephesians 1:1,2
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Who wrote this epistle, and to whom was it written?
Consider some of the things he had accomplished in his lifetime. Even as a child, he paid close attention to what he had been taught out of the Hebrew Bible and probably the Talmud. This led to his being sent to Jerusalem to be trained under the watchful eyes of Gamaliel. He became one of his best students if not the best: he was very zealous. At Damascus, Jesus turned his life completely around. (The one that had prosecuted the church wherever he went began his training that would lead to him preach the unsearchable riches of the Gospel.) When God was ready, the Holy Spirit told the church at Antioch to separate Paul and Barnabas unto the work for which the Spirit had called them. From this point on, Paul continued to faithfully administer the office of an apostle.
One last point about his work ethics from 1 Corinthians 15:9,10: 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
These brethren and Sisters had learned how to be obedient to the teachings of Jesus as well as they had been taught. So, They were not only listening to what was preached to them, but they also applied these lessons to their daily lives: they worked at it. In other words, they used their faith. The same can be said of those mentioned in Hebrews chapter11. Then there is chapter 2 of James’ epistle where he wrote: faith without works is dead. The kingdom of Heaven is the place in which we are to perform Spiritual works. (More about this in chapter 2 of the Ephesian epistle).
- Why is Paul blessing these people with grace and peace?
He knows that they need grace everyday. My quote in 1st Corinthians makes it obvious. Without grace these brethren and
The need for peace is almost a given, specifically, I am speaking of the peace Jesus said that He gives to us. Without using it, without peace, all that is left is worrying, complaining, rage, Without it a person will always have a miserable life.
Dec 22, 2025
Ephesian 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
In the very beginning, all of God’s people should bless God for all of the blessings they receive from Him. But some do not realize that they had been blessed. Others think that they deserve everything that God gives them, so they see no reason to bless Him. This is an observation of mine.
Also I have an observation that is important. Who has been blessed in this verse? They are the saints at Ephesus and the Apostle Paul. Because all of them (saints and Paul) have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ the should praise God for His blessings bestowed upon them.
More observations: Where were they when they received these blessings? The answer is in heavenly places in Christ. Notice that the heavenly places are in Christ. So are they. (If God blesses them with all these spiritual blessings, they must have been in Christ in order to receive them.)
And now consider when we receive these blessings? It is during time, not eternity. Paul, who wrote this epistle, states that God hath blessed them. The verb is present perfect. This means that the blessing occurred prior to the time Paul wrote these words. If his intent was to point to a period of the past, then this verb should have been past perfect (had blessed before [a time of the past would appear here]).
Spiritual blessings: what are some examples of them? (Paul mentioned a certain man who had been caught up into the third heaven. (2 Cor. 12:2). This is one example. Being at a meeting in which you are over joyed during the services is another. Because these brethren at Ephesus are faithful to their God, He has developed a very close relationship with them over a period of time. These are truly wonderful blessings of an immense value!
In 1945 or 46, my parents seriously desired to have a church near where they lived. The two closest to them included an hour and a half drive each way. One of them was though downtown traffic in St. Louis. The other was in the country where the people had left their first love. Neither was a good choice to make.
While we were at an association when a young minister invited my father to attend the church in northwestern St. Louis County in 1953. When my father mentioned the problem of driving there, his reply was that there was shorter way, and told him how to get there while only driving on residential streets. The first of September my parents followed his directions for 45minutes to get to the church. From then on, we regularly attended Sharon Church. Early in 1956, my parents moved their membership to Sharon. Ten years later in April, a church was organized much closer to their home. When the members later bought a house in which to hold their church services, it was less than five miles away! There were so many spiritual blessings in this.
Now, I need to mention one of my blessing in terms of God guidance going back to 1952. This is not call attention to me but rather for people to see that they have also had similar relationships with the LORD. It is about God's guidance of His children in the development of the talents they have been given by God.
It began with my mother insisting that I learn how to play the piano. I really took to it learning as much as I could. Now this was not of me. Phil. 2:12, 13 points this out. God had given me the will and to do of His own good pleasure. I simply used what God gave me.
It was during the summer of 1953 that I could go no further as far as learning from any more lessons on the piano. Thanks to God, I had developed a solid foundation for music theory. Go back three paragraphs above to see what else was happening in my life then. This was God's guidance. At this point, I was beginning in 6th grade. The end of the first week, an announcement was made concerning the formation of the 6th grade chorus: I joined. Now God had provided me with lessons on how to sing as well as with church services in which to practice what I was learning in school. Again, I used the to will and to do of His own good pleasure. I continued learning through my junior year. How far had God brought me during this period of time? A music teacher that also teaches singing schools said a very, very long way. I have received many spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ ever since then.
On the other hand, not every one of God's children realizes that they have received these blessings. The lack of faith is the cause of this, the result is that they do not enjoy the blessings that have been provided them.
Consider Israel from the time God sent Moses to bring them out of Egyptian bondage. They were constantly complaining about one thing or another. The results were that they spent 38 plus years in the wilderness performing the same daily tasks with nothing to look forward to. The blessings contained in the land of Canaan that they should have inherited was given unto their children instead.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
In the very beginning, all of God’s people should bless God for all of the blessings they receive from Him. But some do not realize that they had been blessed. Others think that they deserve everything that God gives them, so they see no reason to bless Him. This is an observation of mine.
Also I have an observation that is important. Who has been blessed in this verse? They are the saints at Ephesus and the Apostle Paul. Because all of them (saints and Paul) have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ the should praise God for His blessings bestowed upon them.
More observations: Where were they when they received these blessings? The answer is in heavenly places in Christ. Notice that the heavenly places are in Christ. So are they. (If God blesses them with all these spiritual blessings, they must have been in Christ in order to receive them.)
And now consider when we receive these blessings? It is during time, not eternity. Paul, who wrote this epistle, states that God hath blessed them. The verb is present perfect. This means that the blessing occurred prior to the time Paul wrote these words. If his intent was to point to a period of the past, then this verb should have been past perfect (had blessed before [a time of the past would appear here]).
- Note:
Verse 4 of this chapter is an example of past perfect: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. While the verb hath chosen is really present perfect, before the foundation of the world indicates when it happen: before a specific period in the past. What is written is equivalent to: according as He had chosen us in Him before the world began.
Spiritual blessings: what are some examples of them? (Paul mentioned a certain man who had been caught up into the third heaven. (2 Cor. 12:2). This is one example. Being at a meeting in which you are over joyed during the services is another. Because these brethren at Ephesus are faithful to their God, He has developed a very close relationship with them over a period of time. These are truly wonderful blessings of an immense value!
In 1945 or 46, my parents seriously desired to have a church near where they lived. The two closest to them included an hour and a half drive each way. One of them was though downtown traffic in St. Louis. The other was in the country where the people had left their first love. Neither was a good choice to make.
While we were at an association when a young minister invited my father to attend the church in northwestern St. Louis County in 1953. When my father mentioned the problem of driving there, his reply was that there was shorter way, and told him how to get there while only driving on residential streets. The first of September my parents followed his directions for 45minutes to get to the church. From then on, we regularly attended Sharon Church. Early in 1956, my parents moved their membership to Sharon. Ten years later in April, a church was organized much closer to their home. When the members later bought a house in which to hold their church services, it was less than five miles away! There were so many spiritual blessings in this.
Now, I need to mention one of my blessing in terms of God guidance going back to 1952. This is not call attention to me but rather for people to see that they have also had similar relationships with the LORD. It is about God's guidance of His children in the development of the talents they have been given by God.
It began with my mother insisting that I learn how to play the piano. I really took to it learning as much as I could. Now this was not of me. Phil. 2:12, 13 points this out. God had given me the will and to do of His own good pleasure. I simply used what God gave me.
It was during the summer of 1953 that I could go no further as far as learning from any more lessons on the piano. Thanks to God, I had developed a solid foundation for music theory. Go back three paragraphs above to see what else was happening in my life then. This was God's guidance. At this point, I was beginning in 6th grade. The end of the first week, an announcement was made concerning the formation of the 6th grade chorus: I joined. Now God had provided me with lessons on how to sing as well as with church services in which to practice what I was learning in school. Again, I used the to will and to do of His own good pleasure. I continued learning through my junior year. How far had God brought me during this period of time? A music teacher that also teaches singing schools said a very, very long way. I have received many spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ ever since then.
On the other hand, not every one of God's children realizes that they have received these blessings. The lack of faith is the cause of this, the result is that they do not enjoy the blessings that have been provided them.
Consider Israel from the time God sent Moses to bring them out of Egyptian bondage. They were constantly complaining about one thing or another. The results were that they spent 38 plus years in the wilderness performing the same daily tasks with nothing to look forward to. The blessings contained in the land of Canaan that they should have inherited was given unto their children instead.
Note:
This replaces what I posted for last week. There is a sequence throughout the first chapter, and I was about to break it when I got to verse 7.
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Dec 28, 2025
Ephesians 1:4-6
4 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: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
According as
This idiom connects two clauses of a sentence with the clause containing the according as idiom depending upon the other clause.
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Look what we have in verses 3 and 4. The clause in the 4th verse is According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. The clause upon which verse 4 depends is in the 3rd verse: who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
The dependency is the truthfulness of verse 4: if the clause in verse 3 is true, then verse 4 must also be true.
Why is this important? There are those who know that they have experienced God blessings during multiple occurrences. They have a relationship with Him which includes faith as well as hope when it comes to godly things. Therefore, God had chosen them in Christ before the world began. They can rest on this as being a fact.
But, what about those who doubt whether God had blessed them or not? Does this mean that they have not been chosen? GOD FORBID!
From the time Moses arrived in Egypt, sent by God to Israel, His children, many of the children of Israel did not believed that God was keeping His part of the agreement. Then a Kadesh-Barnea, they rebelled against going into the promised land even though they were literally at the very border! They never believed that God was providing them with blessings every day. And yet, God made sure they had what they needed day after day… They were God's chosen nation. Their fate for this rebellion was to live the rest of their lives in the wilderness. From this point on, they did not have anything to look forward to except more of the same, day after day...
And yes, there are God’s children today that are not sure whether they are God’s children or not. This does not change anything as far as their eternal life is concerned. They have it, but do not know that they do.
What else can we say about the common phrase of verse 1 and 4? Both contain the phrase in Christ. Verse 1: faithful in Christ Jesus, and verse 4: He hath chosen us in Him. While it may not be clear yet, both of these two verses describe the people in these verses being Spiritually in Christ. (It will become clearer in verse 10.) And also look at verse 3. The spiritual blessing are in Christ. Yes, it also states that these blessings are in heavenly places as well. (Yes, verse 10 will explain this as well.)
Yes, this seems to be jumping around a bit, but this phrase certainly refers to people being in Christ in many times, directly or indirectly in just one chapter.
4 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: 5 Having predesignated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Now to continue on to consider verses 4.-6. These verses are true statements that apply directly to God's faithful children, sons and daughters as well. They were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. God determined what characteristics they would have. In fact He made sure that they were holy and without blame before Him in love. And this is how He sees all of His people: they are exactly that!
BUT… This is not what is usually said. In fact, verse 5 explains why I made the statement I did. And things just gets better and better.
Ephesians 1:5 Having predesignated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
This is the definition of the infinitive, to predesignate. It includes more than most people would think: only for guaranteeing that His chosen people will be in Heaven when they die.
To predesignate
to limit, to determine in advanced what happens in the future
For a moment, let us go to when God created the Heavens and the earth in six days. What was the purpose for doing this? Why did He created it the way He did? What keeps the whole universe going the way it is?
Yes, it took God's infinite wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to accomplish this. And all of this was done before He spoke the universe into existence. And there were an infinite number of determinations made in advance about what happens during time and thereafter. This was done before his creation first appeared. Each of these determinations is a predestination.
What did God say in Isaiah 46:10?
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
Everything God declared was predesignated to occur exactly in the way He had determined it before time. To further this idea, consider these phrases my counsel shall stand and I will do all of my pleasure. Shall and will are important words. The underlying words that were translated into shall and will are in the future perfect tense. Primitive Baptist have long call these verbs the hard shalls and hard wills. Everything in sentences with these specific verbs which are in future tense happens in the future just as God stated.
There is more about predestination that is about the state of God’s people. He is spiritual, but they are a mere part of His creation. So, before the beginning of time, God determined (predestined) to give them spiritual life and then to adopted them into His family.
Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Verses 5 and 6 describe what God has done for us even though we know that there are problems that would prevent this from happening. With God's infinite wisdom, there is a solution to make it happen. He has not yet mentioned what that is. Well, this is where He begins to do this and it involves His grace.
Whether God extends His grace to someone or not, this is His decision and His alone. Now we already know that no man is very good, in fact they can at times be very bad! There are even times in which they sin without knowing it, lots of times. They are polluted in their own sins. They are very stubborn. Yet, His love is so great that He does extend His grace anyway. Specifically He has made each member of His family accepted in the beloved, welcomed back into fellowship with the Godhead. This is something for which every child of God should praise God for the grace extended to them. This is something that we should keep in mind.
This raises another question: how is His grace used to make verses 4-6 a reality? The next verses will explain this.
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Redemption
the act, process, or an instance of redeeming (buying back) [My dictionary]
Let’s go to Gen 2:16,17.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
We do not know how long before Adam and Eve ignored this teaching, this warning and ate of the fruit of this tree. Regardless, they died on the spot but not a natural death.
In the cool of the day, God appeared to them , and their actions made it obvious what they had done, but God already knew what the problem was. Their relationship with God was not the same as it was earlier.
One thing must be understood. Death was going to now happen to every one born of women who would die a mortal death: it is the body that dies. But there more to it: they had sinned! This prevents them from being with God. They were no longer holy nor without blame.
Yet, this was not what happened. God in His infinite wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, has always known what this couple did. So, before the foundation of the world, God decreed what needed to be done in time to remove every sin of every child of God from them. It was that Jesus be crucified, suffered the wrath of God, the lake of fire. It is us, God's children that deserved this punishment. During this wrath suffered by Jesus, all these sins are destroyed. Thus, the redemption of His people was accomplished. In Jesus’ words: IT IS FINISHED. The problem was fixed before it could happen.
This does not mean that there no consequences for those who commit sin. The opposite is true: there are consequences which are of God's choosing.
There is still more to this: there is the forgiveness of sins. Some may not realize it, but redemption and forgiveness of sins are not the same. Redemption is about actions. God’s child sins, and Jesus has paid what is required for the sinner. But, the knowledge of the sins committed is still present because it has not been removed.
After all, consider this common occurrence. A convict has finished his sentence. He has paid what was required of him. But how hard is it for him to find a way to earn a living wages? I dare say that this very hard to do. You see, the penalty has been paid, but the people still know he has done something that is very wrong. Very few would want to be around such a person.
But, this is not how God acts: He forgives His children. Ezekiel contains an excellent example in 33:10,11.
Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
He is in a Jewish community along the banks of the Chebar River in captivity for 30 years somewhere in the Babylonian empire. They had suffered much during this period of time. They had been despondent for quite some time. They had been pining away over what they had come to know what were the reasons for their being there. and saw no way of changing the situation.
God's answer was to change their attitudes. Moaning over past sins does not change anything. Turn to doing what God has told them to do does change things. God prefers a person that turns from their wicked way by repenting of their past, obeying God. You see, God does not require of us in godliness that He does not require of Himself. In fact, what did He want from us? To learn how to live a better life. The only way to do this is to follow His directions.
"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."
What Jesus just taught before this: what does someone do that owns 100 sheep and one of them disappears. Does he ignore the lost one, or does he search for it until he finds it? The logical thing would be to look for it. Sheep are very short sighted, so for them, getting lost is rather easy unless they are being are watched very carefully all of the time. But this only lessens the number of sheep that may go astray, not completely eliminate it.
A good shepherd gets very close to their sheep, so, of course he will rejoice when he finds a lost one, he is loosing a good friend. So, he will seek others to joy with him as Jesus said. If it is a ewe, then she is needed to increase the size of the flock over the years. If it is a ram, the same is also true. So, it is also a financial situation as well as emotional.
Obviously, sinners are very similar to lost sheep, both have lost their way. Both are in danger from the elements. The sinner is among all manner of evil influences that can only make his life worse. The sheep could find their lives come to an end from carnivorous animals living in the area. Wicked sinners could be attacked, loosing their life as well.
What happens when sinners are influenced to repent as did many of them living in Galilee did? These heard Jesus preach the gospel of the kingdom before this happened. Yes, there was rejoicing in heaven because this large group of converts.
Unfortunately, there were far too many that thought they knew how they should live, and were wrong. It is sad to think of the things that they lost that they could have had. Who are among them? the chief priests, chief Pharisees, and others who religiously follow what the Jews proclaimed to be the truth.
And to tie this all together, every sinner which repents also gains God’s forgiving their sins. There is definitely also peace given them by Jesus making their lives more worthwhile.
This replaces what I posted for last week. There is a sequence throughout the first chapter, and I was about to break it when I got to verse 7.
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Dec 28, 2025
Ephesians 1:4-6
4 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: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
According as
This idiom connects two clauses of a sentence with the clause containing the according as idiom depending upon the other clause.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Look what we have in verses 3 and 4. The clause in the 4th verse is According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. The clause upon which verse 4 depends is in the 3rd verse: who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
The dependency is the truthfulness of verse 4: if the clause in verse 3 is true, then verse 4 must also be true.
Why is this important? There are those who know that they have experienced God blessings during multiple occurrences. They have a relationship with Him which includes faith as well as hope when it comes to godly things. Therefore, God had chosen them in Christ before the world began. They can rest on this as being a fact.
But, what about those who doubt whether God had blessed them or not? Does this mean that they have not been chosen? GOD FORBID!
From the time Moses arrived in Egypt, sent by God to Israel, His children, many of the children of Israel did not believed that God was keeping His part of the agreement. Then a Kadesh-Barnea, they rebelled against going into the promised land even though they were literally at the very border! They never believed that God was providing them with blessings every day. And yet, God made sure they had what they needed day after day… They were God's chosen nation. Their fate for this rebellion was to live the rest of their lives in the wilderness. From this point on, they did not have anything to look forward to except more of the same, day after day...
And yes, there are God’s children today that are not sure whether they are God’s children or not. This does not change anything as far as their eternal life is concerned. They have it, but do not know that they do.
What else can we say about the common phrase of verse 1 and 4? Both contain the phrase in Christ. Verse 1: faithful in Christ Jesus, and verse 4: He hath chosen us in Him. While it may not be clear yet, both of these two verses describe the people in these verses being Spiritually in Christ. (It will become clearer in verse 10.) And also look at verse 3. The spiritual blessing are in Christ. Yes, it also states that these blessings are in heavenly places as well. (Yes, verse 10 will explain this as well.)
Yes, this seems to be jumping around a bit, but this phrase certainly refers to people being in Christ in many times, directly or indirectly in just one chapter.
4 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: 5 Having predesignated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Now to continue on to consider verses 4.-6. These verses are true statements that apply directly to God's faithful children, sons and daughters as well. They were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. God determined what characteristics they would have. In fact He made sure that they were holy and without blame before Him in love. And this is how He sees all of His people: they are exactly that!
BUT… This is not what is usually said. In fact, verse 5 explains why I made the statement I did. And things just gets better and better.
Ephesians 1:5 Having predesignated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
This is the definition of the infinitive, to predesignate. It includes more than most people would think: only for guaranteeing that His chosen people will be in Heaven when they die.
To predesignate
to limit, to determine in advanced what happens in the future
For a moment, let us go to when God created the Heavens and the earth in six days. What was the purpose for doing this? Why did He created it the way He did? What keeps the whole universe going the way it is?
Yes, it took God's infinite wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to accomplish this. And all of this was done before He spoke the universe into existence. And there were an infinite number of determinations made in advance about what happens during time and thereafter. This was done before his creation first appeared. Each of these determinations is a predestination.
What did God say in Isaiah 46:10?
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
Everything God declared was predesignated to occur exactly in the way He had determined it before time. To further this idea, consider these phrases my counsel shall stand and I will do all of my pleasure. Shall and will are important words. The underlying words that were translated into shall and will are in the future perfect tense. Primitive Baptist have long call these verbs the hard shalls and hard wills. Everything in sentences with these specific verbs which are in future tense happens in the future just as God stated.
There is more about predestination that is about the state of God’s people. He is spiritual, but they are a mere part of His creation. So, before the beginning of time, God determined (predestined) to give them spiritual life and then to adopted them into His family.
- Note:
Things predestination before the foundation of the earth, occur during time in the way it was predestinate before time. This will become more obvious as we go through this epistle. From time to time, I point where things happen in this epistle just as they had been predestinated in the first place.
Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Verses 5 and 6 describe what God has done for us even though we know that there are problems that would prevent this from happening. With God's infinite wisdom, there is a solution to make it happen. He has not yet mentioned what that is. Well, this is where He begins to do this and it involves His grace.
Whether God extends His grace to someone or not, this is His decision and His alone. Now we already know that no man is very good, in fact they can at times be very bad! There are even times in which they sin without knowing it, lots of times. They are polluted in their own sins. They are very stubborn. Yet, His love is so great that He does extend His grace anyway. Specifically He has made each member of His family accepted in the beloved, welcomed back into fellowship with the Godhead. This is something for which every child of God should praise God for the grace extended to them. This is something that we should keep in mind.
This raises another question: how is His grace used to make verses 4-6 a reality? The next verses will explain this.
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Redemption
the act, process, or an instance of redeeming (buying back) [My dictionary]
Let’s go to Gen 2:16,17.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
We do not know how long before Adam and Eve ignored this teaching, this warning and ate of the fruit of this tree. Regardless, they died on the spot but not a natural death.
In the cool of the day, God appeared to them , and their actions made it obvious what they had done, but God already knew what the problem was. Their relationship with God was not the same as it was earlier.
One thing must be understood. Death was going to now happen to every one born of women who would die a mortal death: it is the body that dies. But there more to it: they had sinned! This prevents them from being with God. They were no longer holy nor without blame.
Yet, this was not what happened. God in His infinite wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, has always known what this couple did. So, before the foundation of the world, God decreed what needed to be done in time to remove every sin of every child of God from them. It was that Jesus be crucified, suffered the wrath of God, the lake of fire. It is us, God's children that deserved this punishment. During this wrath suffered by Jesus, all these sins are destroyed. Thus, the redemption of His people was accomplished. In Jesus’ words: IT IS FINISHED. The problem was fixed before it could happen.
This does not mean that there no consequences for those who commit sin. The opposite is true: there are consequences which are of God's choosing.
There is still more to this: there is the forgiveness of sins. Some may not realize it, but redemption and forgiveness of sins are not the same. Redemption is about actions. God’s child sins, and Jesus has paid what is required for the sinner. But, the knowledge of the sins committed is still present because it has not been removed.
After all, consider this common occurrence. A convict has finished his sentence. He has paid what was required of him. But how hard is it for him to find a way to earn a living wages? I dare say that this very hard to do. You see, the penalty has been paid, but the people still know he has done something that is very wrong. Very few would want to be around such a person.
But, this is not how God acts: He forgives His children. Ezekiel contains an excellent example in 33:10,11.
Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
He is in a Jewish community along the banks of the Chebar River in captivity for 30 years somewhere in the Babylonian empire. They had suffered much during this period of time. They had been despondent for quite some time. They had been pining away over what they had come to know what were the reasons for their being there. and saw no way of changing the situation.
God's answer was to change their attitudes. Moaning over past sins does not change anything. Turn to doing what God has told them to do does change things. God prefers a person that turns from their wicked way by repenting of their past, obeying God. You see, God does not require of us in godliness that He does not require of Himself. In fact, what did He want from us? To learn how to live a better life. The only way to do this is to follow His directions.
"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."
What Jesus just taught before this: what does someone do that owns 100 sheep and one of them disappears. Does he ignore the lost one, or does he search for it until he finds it? The logical thing would be to look for it. Sheep are very short sighted, so for them, getting lost is rather easy unless they are being are watched very carefully all of the time. But this only lessens the number of sheep that may go astray, not completely eliminate it.
A good shepherd gets very close to their sheep, so, of course he will rejoice when he finds a lost one, he is loosing a good friend. So, he will seek others to joy with him as Jesus said. If it is a ewe, then she is needed to increase the size of the flock over the years. If it is a ram, the same is also true. So, it is also a financial situation as well as emotional.
Obviously, sinners are very similar to lost sheep, both have lost their way. Both are in danger from the elements. The sinner is among all manner of evil influences that can only make his life worse. The sheep could find their lives come to an end from carnivorous animals living in the area. Wicked sinners could be attacked, loosing their life as well.
What happens when sinners are influenced to repent as did many of them living in Galilee did? These heard Jesus preach the gospel of the kingdom before this happened. Yes, there was rejoicing in heaven because this large group of converts.
Unfortunately, there were far too many that thought they knew how they should live, and were wrong. It is sad to think of the things that they lost that they could have had. Who are among them? the chief priests, chief Pharisees, and others who religiously follow what the Jews proclaimed to be the truth.
And to tie this all together, every sinner which repents also gains God’s forgiving their sins. There is definitely also peace given them by Jesus making their lives more worthwhile.
Ephesians 1:8,9 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
This leads to our recall of verses 4-7. Now verse 4 describes what God said about God’s children that they should be: holy and without blame before Him in love. It is by the redemption through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that they are exactly that. (verse 7) this is glorious even to think about!
Even so, it is more glorious to those who exercise their faith and thus understand that all of these written things apply directly to them. In the sight of God, they are holy, without blame, and before Him in love.
And yes, wisdom and prudence are very important in all of this. From before the foundation of the earth, He knew what would happen in time and what had to be done to correct the situation. With His wisdom, God declared that He would make these things happen. With His prudence, God declared when was the best time to do each of them. God, being God, made sure that each thing declared was done how it should be done and when.
Abundance? Yes, abundance in both wisdom and prudence in revealing to those who use their faith about what He has done, is doing, and will be doing for them. They have been given the understanding that their spiritual blessings are in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It includes their being chosen in Christ with all the blessings included in these blessing. For their welfare, He has redeemed them through Jesus blood with all of the benefits there of. All of the interactions God has with them have been at the times of God's choosing which were determined by God's prudence. Yes, it truly an abundance of wisdom and prudence for God to interact with His children, and God freely provided it.
In doing so, God revealed the mystery of God’s will to these brethren and sisters. It pleased God to reveal what He had done all of the way back to before the creation, and He did so. This says it all: WHAT GOD HATH WROTH! We have written here what some of these things are. Yes, all of this understanding is truly glorious.
This leads to our recall of verses 4-7. Now verse 4 describes what God said about God’s children that they should be: holy and without blame before Him in love. It is by the redemption through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that they are exactly that. (verse 7) this is glorious even to think about!
Even so, it is more glorious to those who exercise their faith and thus understand that all of these written things apply directly to them. In the sight of God, they are holy, without blame, and before Him in love.
And yes, wisdom and prudence are very important in all of this. From before the foundation of the earth, He knew what would happen in time and what had to be done to correct the situation. With His wisdom, God declared that He would make these things happen. With His prudence, God declared when was the best time to do each of them. God, being God, made sure that each thing declared was done how it should be done and when.
Abundance? Yes, abundance in both wisdom and prudence in revealing to those who use their faith about what He has done, is doing, and will be doing for them. They have been given the understanding that their spiritual blessings are in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It includes their being chosen in Christ with all the blessings included in these blessing. For their welfare, He has redeemed them through Jesus blood with all of the benefits there of. All of the interactions God has with them have been at the times of God's choosing which were determined by God's prudence. Yes, it truly an abundance of wisdom and prudence for God to interact with His children, and God freely provided it.
In doing so, God revealed the mystery of God’s will to these brethren and sisters. It pleased God to reveal what He had done all of the way back to before the creation, and He did so. This says it all: WHAT GOD HATH WROTH! We have written here what some of these things are. Yes, all of this understanding is truly glorious.
Jan 7, 2026
10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Dispensation:
Administration
Between Jesus’ birth and His ascension, there was very many things that had to be done. The first was to preach the gospel of the kingdom, to teach again what God had taught in the Old Testament, giving the people new insight to the Scriptures in parables. The center of Jesus’ life was the redemption, the atonement of those whom God had given to Him. This was accomplished on the cross. And finally, there is His resurrection and then ascension before He returned to God.
Who was responsible for making sure all of these thing happened? It was Jesus. Everything was done by Him exactly as God had commanded Him to do.
Gather together in one all things in Christ:
This has been very confusing to me. I have written that God’s children are in fact standing before Him being holy and without blemish. This is who they are, but it is not what they once had been! (This has not been a problem.) Why does this verse speak of things on the earth and things in heaven? What part does this play as far as the kingdom of heaven is concerned? Is the things in heaven the things of the kingdom?
Go back to Abram as he followed the leadership of God. Canaan was the promised land. In order to enjoy the benefits of God being near and caring for him. This land was where the Jews were to live, obey God, and enjoy all the blessings that came from this relationship. But this arrangement has the relationship include two things. One was the land, and the other was the person. To enjoy the benefits of the promised land, one must live in it.
The kingdom is an expansion of the promised land. No long did one of God's children have to live in Canaan to have a spiritual relationship. They could live anywhere on the globe. God has brought together their flesh, their soul, and the Spirit of Christ in their bodies.
• Caution:
I am running into a problem writing about the children of God when this required using the pronoun they. This is so impersonal when our relationship is the exact opposite: very personal indeed. Since I have experienced the same relationship with my Father and they have, I will begin using the pronoun we when referring to the children of God. (Note: Paul has been doing this throughout this epistle.)
Our bodies contains our flesh, our soul, and the Spirit of Christ. And His Spirit contains the heavenly places. What is included in the heavenly places? Among many others this can include church meetings, singing hymn alone or with others, walking with Jesus in meditation, being held in the arms of Jesus because He wants to, reading the Bible while in prayer, and biblical reading and conversations. This is very important, a heavenly place is when Jesus rewards us for doing what He tells us.
Ephesians 1:11
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Dispensation:
Administration
Between Jesus’ birth and His ascension, there was very many things that had to be done. The first was to preach the gospel of the kingdom, to teach again what God had taught in the Old Testament, giving the people new insight to the Scriptures in parables. The center of Jesus’ life was the redemption, the atonement of those whom God had given to Him. This was accomplished on the cross. And finally, there is His resurrection and then ascension before He returned to God.
Who was responsible for making sure all of these thing happened? It was Jesus. Everything was done by Him exactly as God had commanded Him to do.
Gather together in one all things in Christ:
This has been very confusing to me. I have written that God’s children are in fact standing before Him being holy and without blemish. This is who they are, but it is not what they once had been! (This has not been a problem.) Why does this verse speak of things on the earth and things in heaven? What part does this play as far as the kingdom of heaven is concerned? Is the things in heaven the things of the kingdom?
Go back to Abram as he followed the leadership of God. Canaan was the promised land. In order to enjoy the benefits of God being near and caring for him. This land was where the Jews were to live, obey God, and enjoy all the blessings that came from this relationship. But this arrangement has the relationship include two things. One was the land, and the other was the person. To enjoy the benefits of the promised land, one must live in it.
The kingdom is an expansion of the promised land. No long did one of God's children have to live in Canaan to have a spiritual relationship. They could live anywhere on the globe. God has brought together their flesh, their soul, and the Spirit of Christ in their bodies.
• Caution:
I am running into a problem writing about the children of God when this required using the pronoun they. This is so impersonal when our relationship is the exact opposite: very personal indeed. Since I have experienced the same relationship with my Father and they have, I will begin using the pronoun we when referring to the children of God. (Note: Paul has been doing this throughout this epistle.)
Our bodies contains our flesh, our soul, and the Spirit of Christ. And His Spirit contains the heavenly places. What is included in the heavenly places? Among many others this can include church meetings, singing hymn alone or with others, walking with Jesus in meditation, being held in the arms of Jesus because He wants to, reading the Bible while in prayer, and biblical reading and conversations. This is very important, a heavenly place is when Jesus rewards us for doing what He tells us.
Ephesians 1:11
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
The Kingdom of Heaven next try
Theme of this epistle: The kingdom of God (or Heaven):
Time wise, this covers from before the foundation of the earth, through time. It is from before time that all of the purposes were created which were associated with the kingdom. Contained in each purpose was what would have to be done in time to fulfill His purposes.
Chapter 1
introduction
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
This begins during time with the identity of the author of this letter: Paul. While not directly written, the purpose that Paul had was to preach as an apostle to people who had not yet heard the gospel of the kingdom which included those at Ephesus. This was determined before time began. Also determined was how Paul was to be trained including by whom.
The fulfillment of this purpose is described in the Book of Acts beginning with chapter 9. This continued throughout Acts, and further information is found in the epistles that Paul wrote.
Obviously, Paul was a very special person because of the God given grace he used. The same is true about these members. Some years before this, Paul had preached the gospel in this city for three years. so, he had to have a strong effect upon their spiritual lives as well as how they lived them. After all, Paul taught the gospel that God had revealed unto him.
Just how strong was their faith? Consider the 11th of Hebrews. Repeatedly, there is a phrase by “faith”... This seems to mean “by the use of their faith”. After all, they were using their faith to accomplish their tasks. well, this is how strong their faith was.
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
This teaches the importance of having faith while at the same time performing the works that their faith teaches them to perform. Clearly, not only had the Ephesian brethren been taught to do this, they were regularly doing it.
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians
Paul’s prayer for these brethren is that they be given grace and peace from the Godhead. Why? They needed grace to serve God well. Paul knew that quite well as he wrote in 1 Cor. 15:9-10:
9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Peace Is also important as Jesus points out in John 14:27:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 28 “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” 29 “And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.”
This was said just a few hours before Jesus’ crucifixion. The apostles had every reason to be troubled, and their doubts prevented them from using this peace given to them by Je 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. We too can fear of things to come because of our doubts. What Paul here is reminding them that this peace does indeed come from Jesus. Fear and doubts need to be let go while we let God do what He will in the present situation. Only with peace can this be done! This next verse tells why we can have peace.
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Chapter theme: verses 3 to 23
What happened before the foundation of the earth? How do decisions made then have affect events during time? What has done for us both before and during time? This is what this chapter is about.
Verses 3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 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:
As we begin this discussion, we need to start with more things about the Ephesian brethren. The fact that they were faithful in Christ Jesus, reveals much.
They are not novices, but have been acting this way for some time. They took time to learn more about Jesus and His way. They also applied what they had learned to do whenever they could. They were amazing people to watch. A christian walk involves continuous learning and doing.
And how were they able to learn given the scarcity of learning materials: there were a limited number of texts to use? Well this epistle was one source as were the other epistles Paul wrote to other churches. There were also ministers who could help with increasing the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of the congregation. (These brethren took advantage of everything that were available to them.)
And now to verses 3 and 4…
This begins with the experiences of these brethren: their spiritual blessings from God. These were when they alone with God, or were with both God and brethren. Singing hymns to God alone or with others are a couple of examples. The joys that come during these are some of the spiritually blessings they and we can enjoy.
When we find someone in need. There are joys in providing what we have to him or her. When the church building needs some attention, there are joys in working together to take care it. There are even joys when we use our god given gifts for the benefit of others. The list is endless. In each of these things, God is in our midst doing His part guiding us in the correct direction.
So, we should always bless God for His help in all of these. He has always been so helpful! (Paul is reminding us of this.) He is also teachings us things about these blessings: it is where we receive all of our spiritual blessings.
In heavenly places in Christ!
Any where we are with God is a heavenly place. This makes sense because everywhere He goes is holy, a heavenly place the moment He arrives. But it is much harder to comprehend that we are also in Christ. The answer comes in the very next verse.
Again, verse 3 is during time while verse 4 takes us back to before the foundation of the earth. This is the period when God designed the universe with all of its complexities. This would have been impossible if it were not for God’s knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. For this let us look to Isaiah 46:9: Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
These verses are filled with determination. What His pleasures were, God made sure it came to pass during time. How did He do this? It is through His purposes that gave His plan meaning. They resulted in the planning developing into steps and stages. You see, Each part of the creation served a purpose. They also interact with other parts and their purposes.
This is one of these purposes: His chosen people shall be members of God’s family. They shall have all of the characteristics that are listed in verse 4. They shall have a very special relationship with God. How this was going to happen in time is explained in the next few verses.
Verses 4-74 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: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
To predestinate
To limit, to determine in advanced what happens in the future
Why am I beginning this section with this definition? It is about the relationship between the purposes which were determined before the foundation of the world and how they were achieved in time.
The choosing of the children of God occurred before time. The rest of verse 4 is accomplished in time. And there things which were required to take an individual who is dead in trespasses and sins and create him into a child of God! He is now holy and without blame before God in love. He has to be quicken, to have Christ’s spirit within, and to be adopted into God’s family. (I may have missed one or more than what I listed here.)
Now look at the definition of to predesignate above. Do you see how God determined that these four things would be required to be accomplished in time for verse 4 to apply to each child of God? In other words, God’s having predesignated every child of God unto the adoption of children was in fact determined as to what was needed to be done during time to accomplish His purpose toward those He had chosen. What we have thus far is that we, in time, have experienced spiritual blessing which God has given us. But, why has He done this in so many ways?
The answer takes us back to before the foundation of the world. Perhaps this takes us to the very central purpose from which all other purposes developed: God chose a group of human beings in Christ with specific characteristics. The universe was to be their home, specifically the planet earth. And this brought the development of all purposes that determined the characteristics of the universe.
Also beginning with the chosen people, more purposes were developed concerning these specific people. How were they going to be holy and without blame? How were they going to placed before Him?
These purposes were perfect in every way. And as a very necessary part, the directions contained in the purposes help us to understand what God has done for us.
Verse 5 describes the atonement that had to be completed before we are made holy and without blame before Him in love. We are flesh: we need to be spiritual. God’s solution was to place the Spirit of Christ within our souls. So, are there other effects of His presence? Yes.
What happened before the foundation of the earth? How do decisions made then have affect events during time? What has done for us both before and during time? This is what this chapter is about.
Verses 3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 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:
As we begin this discussion, we need to start with more things about the Ephesian brethren. The fact that they were faithful in Christ Jesus, reveals much.
They are not novices, but have been acting this way for some time. They took time to learn more about Jesus and His way. They also applied what they had learned to do whenever they could. They were amazing people to watch. A christian walk involves continuous learning and doing.
And how were they able to learn given the scarcity of learning materials: there were a limited number of texts to use? Well this epistle was one source as were the other epistles Paul wrote to other churches. There were also ministers who could help with increasing the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of the congregation. (These brethren took advantage of everything that were available to them.)
And now to verses 3 and 4…
This begins with the experiences of these brethren: their spiritual blessings from God. These were when they alone with God, or were with both God and brethren. Singing hymns to God alone or with others are a couple of examples. The joys that come during these are some of the spiritually blessings they and we can enjoy.
When we find someone in need. There are joys in providing what we have to him or her. When the church building needs some attention, there are joys in working together to take care it. There are even joys when we use our god given gifts for the benefit of others. The list is endless. In each of these things, God is in our midst doing His part guiding us in the correct direction.
So, we should always bless God for His help in all of these. He has always been so helpful! (Paul is reminding us of this.) He is also teachings us things about these blessings: it is where we receive all of our spiritual blessings.
In heavenly places in Christ!
Any where we are with God is a heavenly place. This makes sense because everywhere He goes is holy, a heavenly place the moment He arrives. But it is much harder to comprehend that we are also in Christ. The answer comes in the very next verse.
Again, verse 3 is during time while verse 4 takes us back to before the foundation of the earth. This is the period when God designed the universe with all of its complexities. This would have been impossible if it were not for God’s knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. For this let us look to Isaiah 46:9: Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
These verses are filled with determination. What His pleasures were, God made sure it came to pass during time. How did He do this? It is through His purposes that gave His plan meaning. They resulted in the planning developing into steps and stages. You see, Each part of the creation served a purpose. They also interact with other parts and their purposes.
This is one of these purposes: His chosen people shall be members of God’s family. They shall have all of the characteristics that are listed in verse 4. They shall have a very special relationship with God. How this was going to happen in time is explained in the next few verses.
Verses 4-74 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: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
To predestinate
To limit, to determine in advanced what happens in the future
Why am I beginning this section with this definition? It is about the relationship between the purposes which were determined before the foundation of the world and how they were achieved in time.
The choosing of the children of God occurred before time. The rest of verse 4 is accomplished in time. And there things which were required to take an individual who is dead in trespasses and sins and create him into a child of God! He is now holy and without blame before God in love. He has to be quicken, to have Christ’s spirit within, and to be adopted into God’s family. (I may have missed one or more than what I listed here.)
Now look at the definition of to predesignate above. Do you see how God determined that these four things would be required to be accomplished in time for verse 4 to apply to each child of God? In other words, God’s having predesignated every child of God unto the adoption of children was in fact determined as to what was needed to be done during time to accomplish His purpose toward those He had chosen. What we have thus far is that we, in time, have experienced spiritual blessing which God has given us. But, why has He done this in so many ways?
The answer takes us back to before the foundation of the world. Perhaps this takes us to the very central purpose from which all other purposes developed: God chose a group of human beings in Christ with specific characteristics. The universe was to be their home, specifically the planet earth. And this brought the development of all purposes that determined the characteristics of the universe.
Also beginning with the chosen people, more purposes were developed concerning these specific people. How were they going to be holy and without blame? How were they going to placed before Him?
These purposes were perfect in every way. And as a very necessary part, the directions contained in the purposes help us to understand what God has done for us.
Verse 5 describes the atonement that had to be completed before we are made holy and without blame before Him in love. We are flesh: we need to be spiritual. God’s solution was to place the Spirit of Christ within our souls. So, are there other effects of His presence? Yes.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Why is redemption mentioned? It has to do with God’s purpose for His children: they are to be holy and without blame before Him in love. But man chose to disobey God rather than obey Him completely.
With God’s infinite knowledge, He knew what man would do even before he was created. So, He determined what had to be done to correct the situation. (Notice: He did not start over in determining what man would be.) Everything needed was included in this purpose affecting His children. As a result, Christ was sent by God to earth during time to redeem His people from their sins. The finial step was His death on the cross. Redemption for God’s children was a reality. In time we are holy and without blemish before our God: we are redeemed sinners!
Now I need to point this out: redemption and forgiveness are not the same. Redemption pays the entire sin debt, forgiveness removes the knowledge of the sinful actions that had been taken. No knowledge, no accusations can be made after the redemption was made.
It would seem that I have left out several phrases from verses 3-7.Now I am ready to go back through these verses connecting the dots while bring the phrases I have left out into where each one belongs.
The spiritual blessings in heavenly places are our experiences in this life: they are part of the kingdom of God. The are to be cherished for as long as we live. Being faithful in Christ will bring us many more such blessings: not doing so brings curses instead.
Given who we are as a natural being, why would God come so close to us? Why would He even listen to our prayers? Here is the reason why: we are not just sinners, we are redeemed sinners. That makes all the difference. And yes, This is true because of what God did: He has chosen us in Christ that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. He declared it, and He did it!
We have stated what God accomplished before the foundation of the world: all of His purposes. Now what is done in time to fulfill these purposes? First we will look at the children of God individually. Later our view will widen to groups of the children of God.
At the time appointed, the Holy Spirit comes to a specific person whom God had chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. This is when the adoption becomes a reality which God had predesignated. And yet there is more that occurs at the same moment. The spirit of Christ is placed into this child of God, The child is quickened into eternal life, and is born again, Christ becomes his righteousness. All this means is that each child of God, once quicken, is holy and without blame before our God in love. This is now a reality!
In time, there is also the sins which the children of God had committed that needed to be considered. Before time, Jesus was commanded to remove every sin of every child of God placing these sins in His own body. He was then to take them to the cross. There God destroyed them in the lake of fire. His words on the cross after this happened were, It is finished! So, the adoption also includes the redemption. Each child of God is a redeemed sinner in reality.
But remember that all of this applies to the soul of the individual child of God. It does not include the body. What happens to the body? This is answered later in this chapter, so you will have to wait for a little while.
Why is redemption mentioned? It has to do with God’s purpose for His children: they are to be holy and without blame before Him in love. But man chose to disobey God rather than obey Him completely.
With God’s infinite knowledge, He knew what man would do even before he was created. So, He determined what had to be done to correct the situation. (Notice: He did not start over in determining what man would be.) Everything needed was included in this purpose affecting His children. As a result, Christ was sent by God to earth during time to redeem His people from their sins. The finial step was His death on the cross. Redemption for God’s children was a reality. In time we are holy and without blemish before our God: we are redeemed sinners!
Now I need to point this out: redemption and forgiveness are not the same. Redemption pays the entire sin debt, forgiveness removes the knowledge of the sinful actions that had been taken. No knowledge, no accusations can be made after the redemption was made.
It would seem that I have left out several phrases from verses 3-7.Now I am ready to go back through these verses connecting the dots while bring the phrases I have left out into where each one belongs.
The spiritual blessings in heavenly places are our experiences in this life: they are part of the kingdom of God. The are to be cherished for as long as we live. Being faithful in Christ will bring us many more such blessings: not doing so brings curses instead.
Given who we are as a natural being, why would God come so close to us? Why would He even listen to our prayers? Here is the reason why: we are not just sinners, we are redeemed sinners. That makes all the difference. And yes, This is true because of what God did: He has chosen us in Christ that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. He declared it, and He did it!
We have stated what God accomplished before the foundation of the world: all of His purposes. Now what is done in time to fulfill these purposes? First we will look at the children of God individually. Later our view will widen to groups of the children of God.
At the time appointed, the Holy Spirit comes to a specific person whom God had chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. This is when the adoption becomes a reality which God had predesignated. And yet there is more that occurs at the same moment. The spirit of Christ is placed into this child of God, The child is quickened into eternal life, and is born again, Christ becomes his righteousness. All this means is that each child of God, once quicken, is holy and without blame before our God in love. This is now a reality!
In time, there is also the sins which the children of God had committed that needed to be considered. Before time, Jesus was commanded to remove every sin of every child of God placing these sins in His own body. He was then to take them to the cross. There God destroyed them in the lake of fire. His words on the cross after this happened were, It is finished! So, the adoption also includes the redemption. Each child of God is a redeemed sinner in reality.
But remember that all of this applies to the soul of the individual child of God. It does not include the body. What happens to the body? This is answered later in this chapter, so you will have to wait for a little while.
03/21/2026
How are the individual children described soon after they were quicken? This question is not answered in Ephesians so we will look elsewhere. 1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
Here is the answer: they are newborn babes in Christ. They are just starting their spiritual life, they have much to learn in terms of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. There is much to learn in terms of the actions required of them by Jesus. The foundation for their lives is the one that Paul described in 1 Cor. 3:10. It is Jesus Christ, what He taught, how He lived His life. There wise principles contained in them.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
Beginning with some of the simple wise principles, they need to learn how to apply them to situations in their lives. With this the building of their lives have begun.
What more has God to reveal to us in time?
What we already have is we, the children of God, have been adopted into the family of God with all that this involves. At the time this happens, we became spiritual babes in Christ, our spiritual lives have begun.Now comes the gradual revelation of what God has done for us before time, during time, and after the end of the universe. In fact, the things I am describing here are some of those revelations!
Let us begin with verse 7-9. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
How are the individual children described soon after they were quicken? This question is not answered in Ephesians so we will look elsewhere. 1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
Here is the answer: they are newborn babes in Christ. They are just starting their spiritual life, they have much to learn in terms of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. There is much to learn in terms of the actions required of them by Jesus. The foundation for their lives is the one that Paul described in 1 Cor. 3:10. It is Jesus Christ, what He taught, how He lived His life. There wise principles contained in them.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
Beginning with some of the simple wise principles, they need to learn how to apply them to situations in their lives. With this the building of their lives have begun.
What more has God to reveal to us in time?
What we already have is we, the children of God, have been adopted into the family of God with all that this involves. At the time this happens, we became spiritual babes in Christ, our spiritual lives have begun.Now comes the gradual revelation of what God has done for us before time, during time, and after the end of the universe. In fact, the things I am describing here are some of those revelations!
Let us begin with verse 7-9. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: