Ephesians 1
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Dec 6, 2023
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COLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Scenarios
Submitted to Dr. Dr. Lorie Lee,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
BIB 523
Interpreting the Bible II
by
Paul Bock
16 August 2019
Scenario 1
An assertion exists by some that Paul is one of the greatest minds to ever walk the face of the
earth. If there is a single passage which had to be used to defend such a statement, it could be
argued that Ephesians 1 has the capacity to defend said point. Ephesians 1 is a highly complex
passage which contains what many consider deep theological issues. While the chapter does not
go in depth into each individual topic, it does follow the overall scriptural usage of these terms
with pithy explanations. The passage is an amazing treatise on the believer’s position in Christ,
as well as the ramifications and benefits available to the body of Christ because they are in
Christ.
1
Overview
The main part of the chapter consists of long, highly structured, continuous sentences in
the Greek with each covering vast subjects. The following is a general outline of each topic
mentioned within each section from verse 1 to 13:
1.
1:1-2 Standard greeting with addition of apostleship.
2
2.
1:3-6 The blessings of the believer, election, predestination, and adoption.
3.
1:4-12 redemption, forgiveness, the mystery of God’s will, dispensations, inheritance,
and predestination.
4.
1:13 – The sealing of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings
1 William W. Klein
, “Commentary on Ephesians
.” In Ephesians-Philemon. The Expositor's Bible
Commentary
, ed. Tremper Longman, III and David E. Garland, vol. 12, 13 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2008), Olive Tree Bible Software.
2 Paul does not always use his appointed position of apostle in his greeting such as the letter to the
Philippians in which he uses the term δουλοζ which specifically is a bondservant/slave, prisoner in Philemon, or he
negates use of title such as Thessalonians.
1
Paul defines how each believer is blessed in quantity (“all”), type (spiritual),
3
and locality
(“in the heavenlies”).
4
Here is encapsulated and summarized the full sphere of the God’s blessing
each believer has available. The key phrase of the book,
Χριστῷ
/
Christo
(dative, masculine)
which means in/with Christ, shows that everything God has for the believer is in or with Christ.
The location of this blessing is stated to be where Christ is currently seated (Eph 1:20), and
chapter two ties us to this as being seated with him (2:6).
Chosen/Elected
There is much debate within Christianity about the proper view of election and its place
within soteriology. It must be noted that Ephesians 1:4 is one of the only references which
references the church and election. Debate aside, the way in which Paul uses election in
Ephesians 1:4 is quite clear and follows the consistent pattern throughout the Bible that God
elects or chooses something for an intended purpose and service. The following is not exhaustive
but represents the use of God’s choosing or election throughout scripture:
1.
God chose Jerusalem as His city and for His name to be there (2 Chron 6:6; 1 Ki 8:44;
11:32; 11:36; Ps 132:13)
2.
The Messiah is God’s elect/chosen one (Is 42:1; 49:7;1 Pet 2:4,6).
5
3.
Election of Israel as His chosen people: (1 Chron 16:13; Ps 33:12; Ps 105:6; Ps 105:43:
Ps 135:4; Is 41:8-9; Is 45:4; 65:9; Rom 11:28)
Paul writes that God, “elected us in Him” (1;4), with the “him” being Christ. This
concept of the members of the church at Ephesus being chosen/elected here cannot be separated
3 Chuck Missler,
The Book of Ephesians
,
(Coeur D'Alene, ID: Koinonia House, 2009), 9.
4 Klein,
Ephesians 1:3
, Olive Tree Software.
5 Jesus as the chosen/elect one of God is not soteriological by any means, but as stated, election and
choosing of people is for a purpose and service. In this case Jesus’ election is one of service it was in order to fulfill
the law and the prophets (Mat 5:17), reveal the Father (11:27), call sinners to repent (Mark 2:17), to die and save the
world (John 3:16; 10:10), give the Kingdom to the Father (1 Cor 15:24).
2
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from the phrase “in Him,” nor can it be removed from the stated purpose of the election
proceeding “before the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the world needs to be
expounded.
Einstein stated, "
People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction
between
past
,
present and future
is only a stubbornly
persistent illusion
." Time, in other
words, he said, is an
illusion
. Many physicists since have shared this view, that true reality is
timeless. One scientist stated how God exists in past, present, and future simultaneously due to
what is known about physics, though we cannot fully comprehend that as humans.
6
The “In him”
is the qualifier, therefore, those who are in Him are chosen. One is
not in Him before the
foundation of the world as that violates 2:12. So the believer is chosen when they get into Christ
upon belief.
The qualifier also must be tied with the “election of grace” discussed in Romans
11:5 for further development
Romans 11:5 falls within Paul’s discourse on Israel past, present, and future (Rom 9-11).
It states that within Israel there is a current “remnant according to the election of grace.” Grace is
the key to this statement and is defined by Romans 5:2 which states that the access to the grace is
through faith. Ephesians 2:8 also supports this fact that salvation is by grace, but it is through
faith. Therefore, the remnant, elect of Israel were saved by grace through their faith in Jesus and
it is these specifically to whom Paul refers in Romans 11:5 because they believed in the Messiah
of Israel.
The statement, “before the foundation of the word” is not a difficult one to understand
given what is known about modern day physics. Due to Einstein’s theory of relativity, which at
this point has been tested in multiple ways to include atomic clocks and proven to be fact, it is
know that time is a physical property and dimension tied to this universe, therefore God is not
6
An example of this in action is the near pass by of Mars that changed all the calendars and led to the long
day of Joshua. Joshua prayed for the day to be elongated, God answered that prayer at creation of the planets and the
orbits he put them on thousands centuries prior to Joshua praying that prayer
.
3
bound by, but outside time. This fact along with God’s omniscience is why God challenges Israel
to bring their false gods and idols to state the things which were from the beginning, and the
things that will occur in the future (Is 41:21-22).
The preceding statements on election and God’s complete knowledge of all that will
occur gives the insight into the statement, “chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,”
(Eph 1:4). This is also seen in 1 Peter 1:2, in which the addressees are elected/chosen according
to God’s foreknowledge. With this understanding, the passage specifically states that before the
world began God chose those that He knew would be in Christ. Further, they are chosen that
they, “should be holy and without blame before him in love” which is preliminary to the
statement, “having predestined us” and connected to the predestination given the punctuation in
the Greek and English.
7
in summary, election is based on foreknowledge, and predestination
leads to destiny
Predestination and Adoption
The word “having” which begins verse 5, again points to the fact that all previously
stated, to include the coming statement on predestination is past tense.
8
The believer is
predestined, or previously determined to “the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.”
9
Paul references the Roman practice of adoption, under which not all children were heirs.
“Adoption is the act of God by which He gives His “born ones” an adult standing in the family,
so the believer can immediately begin to claim their inheritance and enjoy our spiritual wealth.
10
An infant cannot legally use this inheritance (Gal 4:1-7), but an adult son can and should.
7 The English specifically uses a colon while the Greek uses a comma. The main point is that this is a
continuous sentence tying everything together: foreknowledge, election, and predestination.
8 The word having does not actually appear in the Greek manuscripts; however, due to the aorist participle
προορί
σαζ
the word having is required in the English to show that this was a definite
completed past act.
9 Klein,
Ephesians 1:5
, Olive Tree Software.
10 Missler,
Ephesians, 19.
4
However, the believer has only been given the spirit of adoption according to Paul in Romans 8.
The adoption is stated by Paul in Romans 8:22-23 to be the redemption of the body. The end
statement “by Jesus Christ to Himself” emphasizes that everything mentioned rests on Christ’s
completed work.
The Reason
Verse 6 through 12 could be combined as it begins states the why God elected and
predestined, “to the praise and glory of His grace.” God desired to have sons and daughters that
would worship him. The believer is redeemed and forgiven through Christ because of God’s
grace (1:7). Grace and Christ are repetitive throughout this chapter. Beyond these incredible
gifts, God also gifts the believer with wisdom and understanding. This is the ability to work
through the sanctification process and understand how to live out the Christian life practically.
As if it were not enough, Paul continues to state that on top of all these incredible gifts
granted by God’s grace, the Lord reveals his will to bring together everything in Christ at the
future end of time,
11
that the believers have an inheritance to obtain in Christ, and then restates
the believer is meant to bring praise and glory to Christ. The section closes with the fact that the
believer who has trusted in Christ is sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Theological Conclusion
To attempt a short essay on the theological conclusions on this passage is difficult.
However, as stated Paul uses pithy statements, and does well to highlight each topic. To
summarize the deep theology of the passage: if a person believes in Christ, they are elected
before the foundation of the world. Based on this election God predestines them to be sons who
are meant to bring praise to His name and have an inheritance to obtain in Christ; however, this
11 When studying redemption, it is revealed that it was not just man that needed redeemed, but all of
creation is involved.
5
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inheritance can be lost (1 Cor 3:10-15). A Christian enjoys security because they are sealed by
the Holy Spirit when they believe, and ultimately can look with great anticipation for the
culmination of time when all things are brought together in perfection and unity with Christ as
the head.
Bibliography
Ross, Allen P.
“Commentary on Proverbs
.” In Proverbs-Isaiah. The Expositor's Bible
Commentary.
The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Edited by Tremper Longman, III and
David E. Garland. Vol. 6. 13 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008. Olive Tree Bible
Software.
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