September 6, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Leviticus and Ephesians? Here’s today’s reading:
Ephesians 1 (NIV)
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.……Continue Reading
This chapter has too much to absorb. Every spiritual blessing in Christ. Chosen into salvation. Adopted Children of God. Forgiveness. The Holy Spirit and all its fruit. And a deposit sealed. Guaranteed eternal life. Redemption through his blood. Predestined. Cmon!!!!! And our savior. (Best friend). Has been seated at the right hand of his Father far above all rulers authority power and dominion. Everything is under his feet. !!! And we worry?????? When heaven is pealed back and we see the glory of God. We will shake our heads. Help our unbelief
7 ¶ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
”having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.“
Ephesians 1:9-10 NKJV
The mystery revealed: to gather all in Christ.
Also in a verse I’m memorizing:
”For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.“
Colossians 1:19-20 NKJV
Ephesians 1
The author of Ephesians is Paul as he mentions in 1:1 and 3:1. Where he also calls an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Paul is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles. He is believed to have written this book while in prison at Rome where he also wrote other books such as Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon which are known as the Prison Epistles. These all were written around the same time while he was in prison. Ephesians is thought to have written early in his stay around A.D. 60. Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus {Eph.6:21-22} who also took Paul`s letter to the Colossians {Col. 4:7-9}. On Paul`s second missionary journey he spent a short time there in Ephesus and on his third missionary journey he stayed there for three years so he got to know them very well. According to the source of my information which is [The Bible Knowledge Commentary] there doesn`t seem to be a particular problem raised in this book but there is a theme and it is love. Here what it reads: {From Revelation one can see that the Ephesian church had succeeded in keeping out the false teachers Rev.2:2 but had failed to maintain the vibrancy of their first love for Christ. Rev.2:4. ———This is in harmony with the contents of Ephesians for the verb form of “love” {agapao} is used 9 times in Ephesians, whereas Paul used it only 23 times in all his other letters. Paul used the noun {agape, “love”} 10 times in Ephesians compared with 65 times in his other epistles. Therefore of the 107 times Paul used the verb or noun “love” 19 are in Ephesians. Thus more than one-sixth of his references to “love” appear in this small epistle to the Ephesians. This letter begins with love {Eph.1:4,6} and ends with love {6:23-24.} Anyways I hope this helps us understand as we seek to grow closer to our Lord. Just giving us a little background on this book. God bless you all.
Ephesians 1
There is truly a lot to absorb in this chapter like Mark said. This doesn`t even include the rest of the book. It says so much about Christ and our relationship with Him. How to break it down? So starting with Christ we see that He was at the beginning before the world was made. verse 4. He made it possible for our salvation by His death on the cross. verse 7. He sits at the right hand of God in Heavenly places. verse 20. He is far above all principality, power and might, and dominion, every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. verse 21. Also that all things are put under His feet. verse 22. Also He is the Head of the church. There is a lot there with Christ and all that He is. But this chapter tells so much about true believers and how we stand in Christ. For example it gives us so much that it is hard to believe why we don’t trust Him fully like we should. It is overwhelming how the God of all creation can even consider us; for He doesn`t even need us but we do need Him. Here is what this chapter tells us about ourselves. God chose us before the foundation of the world was made. verse 4. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. verse 3. We were predestinated to be adopted as His children by Jesus Christ. verse 5. We have redemption through His blood. verse 7. We would be gathered in the fulness of time to Him in one all things. verse 10. We have through Him an inheritance. verse 11. We are the praise of His glory. verse 12. We are sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit. verse 13. This means that we cannot lose our salvation. God will give us wisdom and revelation if we ask for it. verse 17. We the church are His body. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me all the privileges of a son.
What a powerful chapter defining all the things we are and have because of the work of Jesus on the cross. It was all accomplished according to the predestined plan of God and thereby done on purpose. And Jesus gave Himself up for us willingly. I can’t help but think of the line from the MasterCard commercial….this is all priceless. Nothing on earth compares and nothing on earth could have purchased what God afforded to us by virtue of His grace. He is so good. May we do all we can to draw closer and know Him better, as well as be granted the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him more. Because as we know Him better, we can’t help but love and trust Him more and thus follow in what He commands.
What a powerful chapter on what Christ has given us through His death and ressurection! To be chosen of God and His possession, what an amzing gift!
I pray that our hearts are given the clarity so we know the hope to which we have been called, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and the incomparably great power given to us, his believers. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. We have an awesome power that only comes from God. This power is the same one that raised Christ from the dead. Let us remember that when we are fearful, anxious, depressed or afflicted. We have the power and strength, give to us by God, to overcome any adversity that comes our way.