- Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
through the will of God
To the holy ones in Ephesus
believers who are in Christ Jesus
- Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
in every spiritual blessing, in the heavenly places, in Christ.
1. Past
- as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love.
- having predestined us to sonship through Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the pleasure of his will,
- to the praise of the glory of his grace which he heaped graciously on us in the Beloved One,
- in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions,
according to the riches of his grace,
2. Present
- that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight,
- having revealed to us the mystery of his will,
according to his pleasure
that he purposed in him,
- as a plan for the fullness of the times, to bring together under one head all things in Christ,
the things in heaven and things on earth in him.
3. Future
- in whom we have also received an inheritance,
having been predestined according to the purpose of the one who is working in all things
according to the council of his will,
- so that we might be to the praise of his glory who first put our hope in Christ,
- in whom you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom you then believed, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
- who is the first deposit of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession,
to the praise of his glory.
pattern:
God’s Choice on an Issue
His Plan for accomplishing this
according to his pleasure/will
to the praise of his glory
How as a Result, in Christ, this works out in practice