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Ephesians 1

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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:

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Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

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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:

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Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

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To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

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In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

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Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

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Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

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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:

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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:

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That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

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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,

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Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

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Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

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Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

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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:

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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,

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And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

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Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

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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:

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And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

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Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

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Ephesians 1

Paul opens with a berakah (Jewish blessing) proclaiming every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ—the foundation of all that follows. Believers are chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless, predestined for adoption as sons through Christ's blood and redemption, while God's will is revealed as a mystery (mysterion) to unite all things in Christ through anakephalaiōsis (recapitulation, a gathering-up of all creation under Christ as head). The Spirit is given as both seal and arrabon (down payment, earnest guarantee) of the coming inheritance, securing believers in their identity. Paul's intercessory prayer then ascends from this foundation: he petitions the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, asking that the eyes of the heart be enlightened to grasp the hope to which they are called and the surpassing greatness of God's power—the same resurrection dynamis that exalted Christ far above all cosmic rule and authority, seating him at the Father's right hand with all things subjected beneath his feet. The chapter culminates in Ephesians' most exalted Christology: Christ is head of the church, which is his body, the fullness (plērōma) of him who fills all in all, establishing the theological framework (chs. 1–3) upon which all ethical imperatives rest.

Ephesians 1:18

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people — the ophthalmous tēs kardias ('eyes of the heart') is the interior faculty of spiritual perception; Paul prays for photismos ('illumination') enabling the community to grasp tris meta ('three things'): the hope of calling, the riches of glory in the inheritance, and the power available to believers.

Ephesians 1:19

And his incomparably great power for us who believe — that power is the same as the mighty strength — the dynamis ('power,' the operative force of God) is measured by its demonstration: the strength (ischiys) God exerted when raising Christ and seating him at his right hand, the same power now available to believers through faith.

Ephesians 1:20

He exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms — Christ's resurrection (egertheenta ek nekrōn) and ascension (kathisas en dexiā autou en tois epouraniois, 'seated at his right hand in the heavenlies') position him in supreme authority, the locus of God's power made manifest in history.

Ephesians 1:21

Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked not only in the present age but also in the one to come — Christ's exaltation (hyperanō, 'far above') surpasses all cosmic powers: arche ('rule'), exousia ('authority'), dynamis ('power'), kyriotēs ('dominion'), and 'every name named,' the totality of created and angelic powers, in both the present aion and the future aion.

Ephesians 1:22

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church — the quotation of Psalm 8:6 establishes Christ as the cosmic kephalē ('head') with all things subject under his podes ('feet'); the church is the body (sōma) of which Christ is the head, the instrument of his cosmic purpose.

Ephesians 1:23

Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way — the ekklēsia ('church') is the sōma ('body') and the plērōma ('fullness') of Christ, the one who fills ta panta ('all things') en pasin ('in all respects'); this suggests not only the church as the body of Christ but the church as the manifestation or embodiment of Christ's cosmic fullness.

Ephesians 1:9

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ — the mystery (mystērion, revealed secret of divine purpose) concerns God's will (thelēma), which is to bring all things into order under Christ; this disclosure (gnōrisas, 'made known') represents the unveiling of what was hidden in God before all ages.

Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of his grace — redemption (apolutrōsis, 'ransomed release') through blood (dia tou haimatos) directly echoes Temple sacrifice, particularly the Yom Kippur motif; forgiveness (aphesis) is not merely pardon but release from bondage, proportionate to the immeasurable riches (ploutei) of God's grace.

Ephesians 1:8

That he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding — the lavishing (perisseuō, 'made to overflow') of grace flows from God's sophia (wisdom, cosmic intelligence) and phronēsis (understanding, practical discernment), gifts that enable believers to comprehend the mystery about to be revealed.

Ephesians 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus — the greeting establishes Paul's apostolic authority not through human appointment but through God's sovereign will (thelēmati theou), situating all that follows within the framework of divine purpose and predestination that characterizes this cosmic epistle.

Ephesians 1:2

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ — the greeting fuses Jewish shalom with Greek charis, invoking both divine favor (charis) and the wholeness of redemption, a benediction that opens into the greatest doxology in Scripture.

Ephesians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ — the opening of the great berakah (eulogētos, 'the blessed one') declares that all spiritual blessings (eulogiai pneumatikai) already belong to believers, not as future possession but as present reality in the heavenlies (en tois epouraniois), a realized eschatology rooted in Christ's ascension.

Ephesians 1:4

For he chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight — election (exelexato) before the kosmokatabolēs ('foundation of the world') reveals God's choice as pre-temporal, not reactive to human history; the purpose is holiness (hagioi) and blamelessness (amōmoi), terms drawn from Temple sacrifice and purity language, now applied to the redeemed community.

Ephesians 1:5

In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — predestination (proorisas) and adoption (huiothesians) unite the juridical act of legal status with the relational reality of family belonging; this adoption is the goal of creation itself, the Father's pleasure (eudokia) made visible in the Son.

Ephesians 1:6

To the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given us in the One he loves — the refrain 'to the praise of the glory of his grace' (eis epaínon dóxēs tēs cháriṭos autou) repeats three times (vv. 6, 12, 14), marking the trinitarian structure of the berakah; grace (charis) is the power and favor of God made concrete in Christ, the 'Beloved One' (ēgapēmenos, echoing Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1).

Ephesians 1:10

To be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ — the anakephalaiōsis (recapitulation, literally 'to make Christ the head of all') is the cosmic purpose, the unification of all creation under Christ as kephalē ('head'); Paul uses the language of cosmic gathering, summation, and reordering around the incarnate Christ.

Ephesians 1:11

In him we were also chosen as an inheritance — having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will — the community itself is the klēronomia (inheritance) in Christ, having been appointed (pro-horizō, predestined with a fixed boundary) according to God's boulē (deliberate counsel and purpose), establishing that redemption is no accident but the outworking of eternal intention.

Ephesians 1:12

And so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory — the 'first to hope' (proēlpikotes) likely refers to Jews who believed in Jesus, now constituting the vanguard of a new humanity; the refrain returns: all is oriented toward 'the praise of his glory' (eis epaínon tēs dóxēs autou), making doxology the end of all creation.

Ephesians 1:13

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit — the Gentile believers (hymeis, 'you also') heard the word of truth (logos tēs alētheias), the gospel itself, and believing (pisteuō), they received the sphragis (seal), the Holy Spirit as the authenticating mark of belonging to Christ.

Ephesians 1:14

Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory — the Holy Spirit functions as arrabōn (deposit, earnest-money, down payment guaranteeing the full purchase), a juridical term establishing the Spirit's role as the eschatological guarantee of final redemption (apolutrōseōs); the refrain concludes the berakah, all creation oriented toward divine glory.

Ephesians 1:15

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people — the intercession begins with Paul's thanksgiving for the Ephesians' faith (pistis) in Christ and love (agapē) for the saints, the twin foundations of Christian existence and the basis upon which his petition rests.

Ephesians 1:16

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers — Paul's perpetual intercession (panṭote en pasē deēsei... mnēian poioumenos) mirrors the pattern of 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, establishing his apostolic prayer as fundamental spiritual formation for the community.

Ephesians 1:17

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better — the petition requests the pneuma sophias kai apokalypseōs ('spirit of wisdom and revelation'), not a second gift of the Spirit (whom they possess) but the Spirit's empowering for gnōsis ('knowledge,' experiential knowing) of God, the pathē ('opening,' disclosure) of divine mystery.