The Letters · New Testament

Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1: a blessing in one long sentence and a prayer to know

General context

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, writes to the saints at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus, greeting them with grace and peace. He then blesses God and lists what God has done in Christ: choosing before the foundation of the world so the readers should be holy and without blame, predestinating them to adoption, making them accepted in the beloved, giving redemption through his blood and forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. God has made known the mystery of his will, a purpose to gather together in one all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth, in the dispensation of the fulness of times. An inheritance has been obtained by those who first trusted in Christ, and three times the stated aim is praise of his glory. The readers enter at the point where they heard the word of truth, believed, and were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, called the earnest of the inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Paul then turns to prayer. Having heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love to all the saints, he says he does not stop giving thanks for them. He asks that they be given a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that the eyes of their understanding be enlightened, and that they know the hope of his calling, the riches of his inheritance and the greatness of his power. That power, he says, was worked in Christ when God raised him and seated him at his own right hand above every name that is named, put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body.

Cited passages: Ephesians 1:1, Ephesians 1:2, Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:6, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 1:11, Ephesians 1:12, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 1:14, Ephesians 1:15, Ephesians 1:16, Ephesians 1:17, Ephesians 1:18, Ephesians 1:19, Ephesians 1:20, Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 1:23

Ephesians 1 (KJV)

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

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

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

⁴According 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:

⁵Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

⁶To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

⁷In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

⁸Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

⁹Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

¹⁰That in the dispensation of the fulness 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:

¹¹In 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:

¹²That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

¹³In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

¹⁴Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

¹⁵Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

¹⁶Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

¹⁷That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

¹⁸The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

²²And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

²³Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Paul is the only sender named; no colleague is attached to the greeting and no individual at the other end is greeted either. The address is to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. The chapter states no occasion. Unlike letters that open with a complaint, nothing here names a problem, a dispute, a visit or a journey, and no date appears. What Paul says about his contact with the readers is indirect: he writes after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, which reports news rather than presence. The chapter quotes no scripture. Its two time expressions, before the foundation of the world and the dispensation of the fulness of times, are not attached to any event that can be placed in a sequence. Ephesus is named once, in this address, and appears nowhere else in the letter except the closing line printed after the final Amen.

Cited passages: Ephesians 1:1, Ephesians 1:2, Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 1:15, Ephesians 1:16

Literary context

Long linked sentences make up almost the whole chapter. The blessing from verse 3 to verse 14 carries only one full stop, at the end of verse 12, and is held together by linking phrases rather than new starts: in whom, wherein, in whom also, in whom ye also trusted. The prayer from verse 15 does the same thing, piling that clauses one after another until it closes at verse 23. Nothing is argued and nothing is answered; the writing accumulates. A refrain marks the joints, to the praise of the glory of his grace at verse 6 and to the praise of his glory at verses 12 and 14, so the same phrase closes three stretches of the sentence. The final verses shift from what God gives to where Christ is placed, stacking prepositions until the last phrase turns back on itself, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Cited passages: Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:6, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:11, Ephesians 1:12, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 1:14, Ephesians 1:15, Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 1:23

Key moments

Chosen before the world (Ephesians 1:4). The blessing begins with a choice made before the foundation of the world.
Redemption through his blood (Ephesians 1:7). Forgiveness is tied to the riches of God's grace.
All things gathered in one (Ephesians 1:10). The mystery of God's will is stated as a gathering of everything in Christ.
Sealed after believing (Ephesians 1:13). The readers are brought into the account at the point they heard and believed.
A prayer to know (Ephesians 1:18). Paul asks that their understanding be enlightened rather than their situation changed.
Head over all things (Ephesians 1:22). The chapter ends with Christ given as head to the church, his body.

For reflection

The prayer does not ask for a change in circumstances; it asks that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. What would you actually want to see clearly if you could ask for that instead of a fix?