Ephesians 1
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 60 – AD 62 · The early church · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
23 verses · 473 words · ~2 min read · ~3 min listen
Paulʼs Greeting to the Ephesians
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. 4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love 5He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.
11In Him we were also chosen as Godʼs own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.
13And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are Godʼs possession, to the praise of His glory.
Spiritual Wisdom
15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
18I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, 20which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Footnotes (2)
- a v1 Some manuscripts do not include in Ephesus.
- b v18 TR the eyes of your understanding
Study notes on this chapter · 1
Crowned with glory and honor, all things under his feet
Psalm 8 marvels that God cares for human beings and has put everything under their feet. The New Testament reads the psalm through Jesus: Hebrews says we do not yet see everything subject to humanity, but we see Jesus crowned; Paul says God has put all things under Christ's feet.
When: A psalm of David; 1 Corinthians, c. AD 55; Ephesians, c. AD 60; Hebrews, before AD 70 (most likely).
Ways people read this (2)
- The psalm is about humanity in general, and Jesus fulfills it as the representative human.
- The psalm is messianic in intention, speaking of the Son of Man directly.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.