Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God of Grace

Last week we saw how Paul ascribes praise to God for the gracious blessings of salvation we have received in Jesus Christ.  Notice the three-fold use of the word "to bless" within one verse pointing to the fact that even our salvation is theocentric in nature in that even the blessings we receive in salvation are ultimately to bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Paul uses an adjective, participle and noun all based on the same root of the noun "eulogia").  Truly as Paul exclaims:

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever.  Amen (Rom. 11:36).

God is blessed because He is alone the source of our being blessed with blessings.  He is identified to us as the God and Father of Jesus Christ.  In v. 17, Paul uses this same phrase, "the God of Jesus Christ."  This refers to the economical nature of the Trinity in which the Christ, the Messiah comes to submissively fulfill God's purpose and plan to bless His people.  But God is also the unique Father of Jesus (cf. 1:17) who is only known as "our" Father through our union with Jesus Christ (1:2; 2:18; 3:12).

The blessings that God blesses us with stem from eternity to eternity.  God's blessings are not limited to the time of His creation.  For He chose us "before the foundation of the world" and in the fullness of times He is "summing up all things" in Christ until final day of our redemption and beyond.  Though the blessings are first mentioned in v. 3, Paul will take up vv. 4-14 to unpack and fill out the full nature of those blessings.  Note the theme of "fullness" throughout Paul's epistle.  Paul calls these blessings "Spiritual" because they pertain to or belong to the realm or sphere of the Spirit.  These blessings are derived from or are mediated to us by the agency of the Holy Spirit who Himself is our inheritance (vv. 13-14; cf. Gal. 3:14, 29). 

These blessings which are mediated to us through the Holy Spirit are given to us in the realm or place of Heaven.  Heaven is the local sphere or realm of God's glorious being.  We cannot see God because the glory of His light is manifested only in the heavens.  What surprises us about Paul's letter is that he sees this as both the realm of God AND of Jesus Christ (1:20; 4:10).  This heavenly realm, which is filled with the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, the very throne of our Sovereign, is not simply our future blessing but through the agency of the Holy Spirit it is made our present reality.  Heaven is connected with the "age to come" which is our promised inheritance in which we will enjoy full and complete union and rest with our Triune God for all eternity.  But in Paul's understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ that future blessing (which has a time frame of eternity to eternity; ie. by God's presence expressed in His eternal plan of salvation) is our present experience. 

But how can we experience the blessings of heaven now?  Paul goes on to add "in Christ" to point to our incorporation into Christ.  Jesus dwells in the heavenly places.  By of God's justification of the work of Christ, He raised Him from the dead and seated Him in the heaven's at His right hand.  There Jesus Christ dwells in intimate fellowship with the Father until He returns to receive us fully into their presence.  But Jesus is not only the means of our being blessed but He Himself is the very realm or place of our blessings.  We are blessed "in Him" so that all that belongs to Him, including His heavenly inheritance, belongs to us (cf. 2:6) and all of this is made known to us through the agency of the Holy Spirit. 

Last week we said this is how we understand the nature of the sacraments.  While we see the visible signs here on earth (bread, wine, and water) which are in some way connected to our bodies, the Holy Spirit makes them effectual in the heavens so that through the agency of the Holy Spirit we are truly united to Jesus Christ and communicate with His body and blood.  Thus Calvin's understanding of the "Spiritual presence" of Christ in the sacraments.

Now the content of what Paul calls the "Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" in v. 3 will be further developed or amplified in vv. 4-14. 

In vv. 3-6, Paul focuses His attention on the first member of the Trinity which is always fully consistent and in perfect harmony with the other members of the Trinity.  Each individual member of the Trinity is focused upon in the three sections marked off by the phrase "to the praise of the glory of His grace" or "to the praise of His glory" (vv. 6, 12, 14) respectively. 

In v. 4, Paul begins with a "just as" clause which tells us that Paul is giving us the "cause" of God blessing us with every Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.  Why has God so richly blessed us in the past, present, and future (from eternity to eternity)?  Because He "chose" us in Christ.  Notice Paul's use of "choosing" in v. 4 (cf. 1 Cor. 1:27).  In redemptive history God has chosen many things to accomplish His purpose.  He has chosen leaders and kings (Ex. 3; 1 Sam. 16:1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12-13; 2 Sam. 6:21; 1 Ki. 8:16; Ps. 78:70) and prophets (Jer. 1:5) and priests (Deut. 18:5) and even whole nations (Deut. 4:37; 7:6-8; 10:15; Hos. 13:5; Ezk. 20:5; Isa. 42:1; 45:4; 65:9).  In the fullness of times He chose Jesus (Lk. 9:35; 23:35; Acts 2:23; cf. 4:28) to fulfill His purpose and plan of salvation.  Jesus chose His disciples (John 6:70; Acts 9:15) to extend His ministry into the whole world.  In each case God selects certain individuals by His sovereign will and not because of anything in them to accomplish His will.  The purpose of his selection of some resides not in what He sees in the person that He is choosing but is rooted in the depths of His own person. 

But what is the result of God choosing us?  And what was the basis of His choice?  And what is the time frame of that choice?

In answering these questions, and many more could be asked, we see the characteristic of Paul's theme of "fullness" throughout.  To help us answer these questions we should see that v. 5 is most likely a restatement or parallel thought connected to v. 4.  God chose us in v. 4 and similarly He predestined or set forth our destiny before "the foundation of the world" or we were created in v. 5.

Therefore, the time frame of God's choosing or predestinating us is in eternity (1 Cor. 2:7, before the foundation of the world.  It is not that we are eternal or that we existed in eternity but God's choice or plan for our destiny existed in eternity because it existed in the mind of the eternal God.  Notice also Paul's language of "in Him" in v. 4 and "through Christ" in v. 5 both pointing to the pre-existence of Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world (cf. Col. 1:16 "all things created by Him"; Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:20).  Therefore, the eternal plan to choose or predestinate us existed within the mind of the Holy Trinity before anything was created.  But the choosing or predestination of God is for a purpose that is only completed in the future age to come when our redemption is complete.  Therefore, God's choice of us, His setting forth our destiny is eternal and unchangeable making our future destiny certain and irrevocable.  This is why Paul can speak not only of God's acts of salvation in the past but even the future acts are spoken of as already having occurred (cf. Rom. 8:29-30).

The basis of God choosing or predestinating us is not because of anything in us but only "according to the kind intention of His will" (cf. Rom. 9:11; 2 Tim. 1:9; also see Acts 13:48; 1 Pet. 1:2; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Tim. 2:21).  Paul mentions two reasons here:  God's pleasure and will.  The first term refers to God's delight or what pleases Him.  God takes great joy in choosing us.  The second term refers to God's purpose or intent.  He purposely and actively chooses us.  The preposition tells us that God's pleasure and will is the norm or standard of His act of choosing us.  Therefore, God enjoys or delights to fulfill His will or purpose of choosing us.  We bless and praise (vv. 3, 6, 12, 14) the God who delights in choosing or predestinating us. 

But what was the result in God having chosen us from eternity or appointed the eternal destiny of our lives?  It is clear that God has not chosen every person in time or in the world.  Not only are there many who will not receive the blessings Paul is describing here but Paul also limits the blessings exclusively to "us," the people of God in Christ.  So out of the mass of humanity, in order to fulfill His pleasure and will God has uniquely and exclusively selected us and appointed our eternal destiny.  But what was the result or intent in doing so?  To answer this question we must distinguish between the proximate cause and the ultimate cause of God choosing us.  Under the proximate cause we can put:  (1) to bless us with heavenly blessings in Christ, (2) to conform us into the image of Christ, and (3) to adopt us as His children in love.  However, while God's choosing us is certainly inclusive of the blessings we receive from Him, the ultimate cause of His free and sovereign choice is for the praise of the glory of His grace.  God even chooses to save us for Himself, for His own glory.

We have already looked at the first result of God choosing us in v. 3.  God chose us out of the mass of humanity in order to bless us with every Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.  Now Paul is going to fill out the fullness of those blessings.

To Conform Us into the Image of Christ.

In v. 4 Paul tells us that we have been chosen for another purpose, which is directly linked to the first.  We have been chosen with heavenly blessings which means that we will be holy and blameless before God in Heaven.  Unlike the Old Testament where God's glorious presence was hidden behind veils, in Christ we live "before God" or in the presence of God.  The Revelation describes the fullness of this blessing in that in the age to come when we will dwell in the immediate presence of God where there is no temple separating us from Him.  We will become the fullness of the temple of God where we will dwell in the fullness of His glory.  But that future heavenly blessing is already ours by the agency of the Holy Spirit who has united us to Jesus Christ who dwells in heaven.  In Christ we are already in the presence of God (we are the temple of God) so that Paul can speak of our being "before Him." 

But Paul is not speaking here of our present condition of being holy and blameless but rather what we will be when we appear before Jesus Christ on the last day (cf. Col. 1:22; Eph. 5:27; Phil. 1:9-10; 1 Thess. 3:12-13; Phil. 2:15 and Jude 24; also see Eph. 1:14 and 4:30).  In other words, Paul is looking into the future when we appear before the throne of Christ and there we will appear holy and blameless before Him.  God has chosen us so that "on that day" we would be holy and blameless before the judgment seat of Christ.  Here clearly Paul has all eternity in mind.  God chose us before the foundation of the world so that in the age to come we would be holy and blameless before God.   

To be holy and blameless before God is to take on the characteristics or image of God.  Therefore, that aspect of the image of God that was lost in the disobedient first Adam and perfected in the righteous second Adam is the image that we are being conformed into (Rom. 8:29-30).  We have been chosen by God to be conformed into the perfect representation of God's likeness (John 1:18; 14:9; Col. 1:15; 2:9; Phil. 2:6; Heb. 1:2-3).  Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God's glorious presence so that in seeing Jesus Christ we see the Father.  God has therefore chosen to conform us into the perfect expression of the image of God so that in Him we will be holy and blameless.  As with all of the Spiritual blessings in the heavenly places this blessing of being holy and blameless is ours only and solely on account of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

However, remember that it is common for Paul to introduce certain themes in his opening thanksgivings which will run throughout the letter.  Here Paul is looking to our future condition of holiness when we stand before our holy God on the Day of the Lord.  But latter in his letter, Paul will call us to even now be conformed to that holiness, esp. in chap. 5.  We are told esp. in chaps. 4-5 that the means God is using to conform us into the image of Christ is through the Holy Spirit of God working through the ministry of the Word, and as we mentioned earlier, the Sacraments (4:11-16; 5:26; 6:14-15; also 4:4-5; 6:18; 1 Cor. 10:16-17).

To Adopt Us As His Children in Love

The final proximate result of God's choosing or predestinating is found in v. 5.  In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons.  First, the motive of His predestination is not only out of His pleasure to fulfill His will but also out of His love for us before the foundation of the world.  In other places, Paul refers to the love before time with the word "foreknown" (cf. Rom. 8:29; 11:2; 1 Pet. 1:2; also see 1 Cor. 8:3; Gal. 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:19).  Paul uses the word "to know" to refer to the most intimate knowledge of two persons possible and is usually used to describe the physical relationship between a husband and wife as in "Adam knew Eve."  Before God ever created us He knew us in that He set His eternal love upon those He chose.  Now this would not make sense if by it we meant that God looked down through the corridors of time and saw us as rebellious, enemies whose hearts are desperately wicked and evil and then set His love upon us.  However, we must remember that as we said earlier that the sole basis for God's choosing us is found within Himself.  He has chosen or predestinated us because of His pleasure in fulfilling His own personal will.  In other words, God did not set His eternal love upon us because of something He saw in us, but because He took pleasure in loving us.

That love resulted in our being adopted into God's eternal family.  The OT picture of God's adoption is seen in Israel, God's firstborn son (Ex. 4:22; Isa. 1:2; Hos. 11:1; Rom. 9:4).  However, our adoption is "in the Beloved" because Jesus is God's unique Son whom God announced at His baptism as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased (Mark 1:11; 9:7; 12:6; Luke 20:13; cf. Col. 1:13).  It is because of our union with Jesus Christ, God's unique Son (love between Father and Son in John 3:35; 5:20; 17:23, 26), that we have become the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit and declared sons of God; we have become joint heirs with Christ (Eph. 4:13; Rom. 8:15-16, 23, 29; 9:25-26; 2 Cor. 6:18; Gal. 3:26; 4:4-5; Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13).  But what is truly amazing is that we are latter described by Paul as once being "sons of disobedience" and "children of wrath" (2:2-3).  Now note Paul's clear emphasis:  even while we were these things (2:5) before we were created God has chosen us to be His own adopted sons.  As Paul makes clear in v. 6 the only reason to explain why we are God's children and no longer children of wrath is solely because of God's grace which is lavished on us in the Beloved Son (Eph. 1:8; Rom. 5:5, 8).  He has "freely bestowed or given" (a cognate of grace) this gift of adoption in Christ.

It is no wonder therefore that Paul concludes this glorious gift of grace with again ascribing all praise to the One who has so richly blessed us in grace.  It is the final or ultimate goal of every aspect of our lives, including our salvation, that it would end or culminate in God's praise alone.  God has delighted Himself by choosing you to be conformed to His Son in which you have been adopted so that you have received every Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.  Let us therefore praise Him alone for His glorious grace (2:5-8). 

Amen!  -SDG-