In Christ, we are no longer separated from God. We that have believed in Christ are adopted because that is what God wanted for us in Ephesians 1:5 (LEB) “having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will” but God didn’t stop there, he also sent His Holy Spirit to keep us until the end in Ephesians 1:13–14 (LEB) “in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory. It is this same Holy Spirit that is at work in us to strengthen us so that we can grasp full dimensions of God’s love for us that goes beyond the limits of our natural minds in Ephesians 3:18–19 (LEB) “in order that you may be strong enough to grasp together with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God”.
Adoption Through Jesus Christ
Ephesians 1:1–14
Paul completely overturns the common thinking that God is off somewhere far away and unreachable. It is God that created heaven and earth and even though we have been separated from Him by sin, he chose us from the very beginning in
Ephesians 1:4 (LEB) “just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love”
And it is God himself who took action through Jesus Christ by taking on flesh and walking among us to demonstrate his goodwill toward us in
John 1:14 (LEB) “And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.
It is through Jesus Christ that God prepared the way to remove the separation through adoption and provide our “redemption through his blood, the and forgiveness of sins” in
Ephesians 1:5–8 (LEB) “having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace that he bestowed on us in the beloved, 7 in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, 8 that he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight”
It is through Jesus Christ that God has made the way for us so that we are no longer far away, “having no hope, and without God” in
Ephesians 2:12–13 (LEB) “that you were at that time apart from Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, not having hope, and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones who once were far away, have become near by the blood of Christ.
It is through Jesus Christ that God has now made the way known in
Ephesians 1:9 (LEB) “making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in him,
And, it is when we heard the gospel and believed in Jesus Christ that our inheritance was sealed by the Holy Spirit until the final “redemption” so that God is no longer far off, but with us and in us in
Ephesians 1:13–14 (LEB) “in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.
The Hope of His Calling
Ephesians 1:15–23
Paul now says “because of this” in Ephesians 1:15, because we now know that God is not far off, because we have an adoption, because we have redemption, because the Holy Spirit has come to reside in our hearts, because of this we can come into a full understanding of who God is in
Ephesians 1:17 (LEB) “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”
but even more than this amazing “revelation in the knowledge of him” and that He is near, he is mindful of us in
Psalm 8:4 (LEB) “what is a human being that you think of him? and a child of humankind that you care for him?”
In this plan of God, this plan “which he worked in Christ”, where all things are “under his feet” in
Ephesians 1:19–22 (LEB) “and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength 20 which he has worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this age but also in the coming one, 22 and he subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church”
We, the church, the sons and daughters of God, are the bride of Christ and right there with him in
Revelation 19:7–8 (LEB) “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him the glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 And it has been granted to her that she be dressed in bright, clean fine linen (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints).
Alive Together with Christ
Ephesians 2:1–10
He Broke Down the Dividing Wall
Ephesians 2:11–22
In Other Generations Was Not Made Known
Strengthened With Power Through His Spirit
Ephesians 3:1–13
Though we have this promise of the future return of Christ and the redemption of all things, yet in this age, we are in the world. Paul’s prayer, and our ongoing prayer, is that we “be strengthened” in
Ephesians 3:16–17 (LEB) “that he may grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (you having been firmly rooted and established in love)”
This is a work that happens in our “inner person” and this is for an important reason because there is a spiritual dimension to the love of God that goes beyond our natural ability to understand. There is a revelation of God’s love that we need but we are not “strong enough to grasp” in
Ephesians 3:18–19 (LEB) “in order that you may be strong enough to grasp together with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God”.
or that we “May be able to comprehend” God’s love as it is translated in
Ephesians 3:18–19 (KJV 1900) “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God”.
It is this power of the Holy Spirit working in us and reminding us of the love of God for us that is our strength as we face the challenges in this world.
Study Verses
- Ephesians 1:1–14 Adoption Through Jesus Christ
- Ephesians 1:15–23 The Hope of His Calling
- Ephesians 3:1–13 Strengthened With Power Through His Spirit
Today’s Reading
- Ephesians 1:1-23
- Ephesians 2:1-22
- Ephesians 3:1-21
