The believer, is vitally united to Jesus Christ by the indwelling Spirit, through the redemptive work of the cross, and has in Him all spiritual blessings, including the assurance of an eternal inheritance and the working of His mighty power in and through him.
Ephesians 1
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.
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:
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;
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:
10 That 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:
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:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In 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,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That 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:
18 The 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,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far 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:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 1:1-2 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:1-2 continued – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:2 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:3 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:4 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:4 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:4 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:5 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:4-5 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:6 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:7 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1: Redemption from Sin – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1: Forgiveness of Sins – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:8-10 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:11 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:12 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:13-14 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:15-16 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:17 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:18 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:19-23 – J. Vernon McGee
Ephesians 1:1-14 – Our Riches in Christ
This has been called the “Epistle of In-ness,” because it is so full of the preposition in. Saints are flesh and blood like ourselves, and we may be saints. The word means “set apart.” We are in Christ and He is in us, and any goodness we have is due to our giving room and scope to Him to realize His own ideals. To be in the heavenlies, Ephesians 1:3, means to live a spiritual life and to draw our reinforcements from the unseen and eternal world, which is focused in our Lord. We are in Him so far as justification is concerned—that is our standing; and He is in us for sanctification—that is the source of a holy and useful life. The condition of a blessed life is the conscious maintenance of this oneness.
The source of all we are, and have, and hope to be, so far as salvation is concerned, is the will of God for us; but the stream flows to us through our Lord, and the end to which all things are moving is the summing-up of all in Christ. As He was the Alpha, so He will be the Omega. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is of incalculable advantage, because it means that we are stamped with the likeness of Christ and so kept inviolate among all the vicissitudes of life. See Esther 8:8; John 6:27. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Note: Daily Heart Burn disagrees with Dr. J. Vernon McGee on the issue of election. For a Biblical explanation download Way of Life’s free ebook – The Calvinism Debate
Ephesians 1:13—Sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
Possessed.—The saints have been purchased at great cost by the precious blood of the Son of God. Not only their spirits, but their bodies, have been bought with an infinite expenditure. Is it not a wonderful thought that God should have thought it worth his while to expend so much on us! But, since He has done it, we cannot suppose that He will not make all He can of us! He will bring his estate under cultivation; there will be no corner of it that will not yield Him produce.
To be redeemed.—Our bodies are owned by God, but they are not yet entirely redeemed. And if we should die before the Lord’s advent, they will return to their mother earth, possessed but not redeemed. Hence the apostle says that we are waiting for our adoption—to wit, the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23). We are under the sentence of corruption for Adam’s sin; but we are to be redeemed.
Sealed.—In Ezekiel’s day a mark was set on the foreheads of the men that sighed and cried for sin (Ezekiel 9:4); and in the Apocalypse we read of the sealing of God’s servants (Revelation 7:2-3). For sealing there are needed the softened wax; the imprint of the beloved face; the steady pressure. Would that the Spirit might impress the face of our dear Lord on our softened hearts, that they may keep it for evermore!
This sealing is an earnest of our inheritance.—The eternal future is all unknown, yet we may guess at it, because the work of the Spirit within us is the first fruits—the grapes of Eshcol, showing what the vintage will be; the earnest-penny, which is the pledge as well as part of the entire payment; the first streak of the coming day. —Our Daily Homily
Ephesians 1:15-23 – What the Heart May Receive
It is well to go over the successive links of this golden chain when we are in our secret chamber, appropriating them one by one and asking whether we have received a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Christ, and whether the eyes of our heart have been enlightened to know the hope, the riches, the glory, and the greatness of His power. In so far as we yield ourselves to the strength of God’s might, He will raise us from the grave of selfishness and cause us to sit with Christ in the place of spiritual life and power.
Notice the emphasis with which the Apostle affirms the supremacy of Christ’s nature, Ephesians 1:21-22. This is a psalm of ascension. We can almost follow His tracks, as all the evil powers which rule the darkness of this world drop far beneath Him. The ascending Lord is high over all, and if we claim our right as members of His glorified body, we also shall stand above all our spiritual adversaries; and it is easier to descend on an enemy from above him than to seek to assail him from beneath. Notice that Christ needs the Church as much as the head needs the body, because it is through the Church that He fulfills Himself. Ask Him to fill all of you with all of Him. —Through the Bible Day by Day