Ephesians opens with a single sentence of praise that runs, in the original Greek, from verse 3 all the way to verse 14 — one breathless doxology in which Paul piles blessing upon blessing without stopping for air. Chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, given an inheritance, sealed by the Spirit: all of it “in Christ,” a phrase that recurs again and again. Then Paul turns to prayer, asking that his readers’ eyes might be opened to see what they already have, and closes with Christ raised far above every power and given as head over all things to the church.
A study in Ephesians 1 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 20 min read
To The Saints Which Are At Ephesus
“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: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 1:1-2
Paul knew Ephesus better than almost any city he evangelized. He spent more than two years there (Acts 19:10), long enough for the gospel to shake the city’s great trade in silver shrines to the goddess Diana — the riot this site’s own study of Acts 19 follows in detail. Now he writes to them, and possibly to the other churches of the province as well, as a prisoner (3:1). Yet there is no complaint about his chains anywhere in this chapter. He opens as he opened Galatians, with “grace” and “peace” — but where Galatians turned at once to rebuke, Ephesians turns at once to praise.
Chosen In Him
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 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: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”
Ephesians 1:3-5
Every blessing in this passage is found “in Christ,” “in him,” “in the beloved.” That is the key to reading its language of choosing and predestination. Paul is not describing an arbitrary decree that sorted individual people into the saved and the lost before any of them were born. He is describing a plan made before creation to save a people in Christ — so that whoever is found in Him shares in the choice God made concerning Him. The goal of that choosing is stated plainly: “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” God chose a destination, and a character, and a way to reach it through His Son.
“There was no arbitrary choice on the part of God by which Esau was shut out from the blessings of salvation. The gifts of His grace through Christ are free to all. There is no election but one’s own by which any may perish. God has set forth in His word the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life—obedience to His commandments, through faith in Christ. God has elected a character in harmony with His law, and anyone who shall reach the standard of His requirement will have an entrance into the kingdom of glory.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 207
This study’s source makes the same point from the story of Jacob and Esau, the case Paul himself uses in Romans 9. The door is open to all, and the only way to be shut out is to refuse to enter. Read beside Ephesians 2:8 — “by grace are ye saved through faith” — the “conditions” she names are not a price paid to earn election, but the shape of a life lived in Christ, the one in whom the choosing was made.
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
Ephesians 1:6
“And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,’ embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. ‘He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.’ … The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 113
“The beloved” is a title for Christ Himself — the voice at His baptism called Him “my beloved Son.” Our acceptance is not something we achieve beside Him; it is His acceptance, extended to everyone who is in Him.
Redemption Through His Blood
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;”
Ephesians 1:7-8
“As you read the promises, remember they are the expression of unutterable love and pity. The great heart of Infinite Love is drawn toward the sinner with boundless compassion. ‘We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.’ … Yes, only believe that God is your helper. He wants to restore His moral image in man. As you draw near to Him with confession and repentance, He will draw near to you with mercy and forgiveness.”
Ellen G. White · Steps to Christ, p. 55
“Redemption” is the language of the slave market — a price paid to set a captive free — and Paul names the price: His blood. The measure of the forgiveness that follows is not our need but “the riches of his grace,” and Paul will return to that word “riches” five times in this letter.
“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 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:”
Ephesians 1:9-10
A “mystery” in Paul’s vocabulary is not a riddle but a secret God has now chosen to reveal. Here it is the grandest purpose of all: to “gather together in one” everything that sin scattered and divided. The great controversy that began in heaven and spread to earth will end with all things, in both realms, united again under Christ. Chapter 2 will show one part of that gathering already happening — Jew and Gentile brought together into one body — and chapter 3 will call it by name as the mystery “hid in God” from the beginning of the world.
“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: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”
Ephesians 1:11-12
“We who first trusted in Christ” most naturally refers to Paul and his fellow Jewish believers, the first to hope in the Messiah. Verse 13 then turns to “ye also” — the Gentile readers. The two halves of the church are being quietly drawn together even in the grammar of the sentence.
Sealed With That Holy Spirit Of Promise
“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, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13-14
The order matters: they heard, they believed, and they were sealed. A seal in the ancient world marked ownership and guaranteed that what it closed was genuine and untouched. The Holy Spirit is God’s own mark on those who belong to Him. He is also the “earnest” — a down payment, the first installment that guarantees the rest will follow. What the Spirit gives now is a real foretaste of an inheritance still to come.
“The time has come to which holy men have looked with longing since the flaming sword barred the first pair from Eden, the time for ‘the redemption of the purchased possession.’ … The earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the hands of Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great plan of redemption. All that was lost by sin has been restored.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 674
This study’s source reads “the purchased possession” in its widest sense. Christ’s blood bought back not only people but the earth itself, lost to Satan when Adam fell. The inheritance the Spirit guarantees is not a vague spiritual state but a real home — Eden restored, and the whole creation returned to the purpose for which God made it.
The Eyes Of Your Understanding Being Enlightened
“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 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: 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, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,”
Ephesians 1:15-19
Paul does not pray for his readers to receive more blessings; he has just spent twelve verses listing what they already possess. He prays that they will see it. The three things he asks them to know span past, future and present: the hope God called them to, the glory of the inheritance He holds for them, and the power at work in them right now.
“You may study that love for ages; yet you can never fully comprehend the length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of the love of God in giving His Son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal it. Yet as we study the Bible and meditate upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great themes will open to our understanding more and more.”
Ellen G. White · Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 740
This study’s source applies Paul’s prayer directly to the ordinary disciplines of Bible study and meditation. Understanding is a gift of the Spirit, but it comes to those who keep looking.
Head Over All Things To The Church
“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 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:”
Ephesians 1:20-21
The measure of the power at work in believers is the resurrection itself. The same might that raised Christ from the tomb and seated Him above every rank of spiritual power is “to us-ward who believe.” For readers who had lived in a city steeped in magic and in fear of spiritual forces (Acts 19:19), this was no abstraction. Every power they had feared is beneath the feet of the One who holds them.
“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
Ephesians 1:22-23
“The church is built upon Christ as its foundation; it is to obey Christ as its head. It is not to depend upon man, or be controlled by man. Many claim that a position of trust in the church gives them authority to dictate what other men shall believe and what they shall do. This claim God does not sanction.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 414
The chapter ends by introducing the image that will run through the rest of the letter: the church as Christ’s body. A body has one head, and this study’s source draws the consequence without hedging. No human office stands in Christ’s place over the conscience of His people; the head of the church is Christ alone. The chapters that follow will show what it means for that body to live, grow, and stand together under Him.
