1. Eph 1:1-14 The Epic Poem that Opens Ephesians
- Ephesians opens with a single sentence, 12 verses long—an epic poem.
- We explore the art, beauty and thoughts that build our joy.
- We see the big picture which builds our interest.
- The hint of mystery motivates us to read on and find out where this is going!
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1. The Passage—Understanding and Enjoying it
Ephesians 1:1–14
- 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,
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
according to his pleasure/will
to the praise of his glory
How as a Result, in Christ, this works out in practice
Translation and structure by Andrew Fountain
- Opening: From, To, Grace & Peace (Shalom) (Charis)
- Paul has added some poetic styling to it
- holy ones (what if you are not holy) —not about purity, but purpose: dedicated to God
- Paul has added some poetic styling to it
- One long sentence, all the way to v.14!!
- Exquisitely constructed jewel of a sentence
- Poetic in its structure
- Would have been read aloud as a public event
- Sounds resonant in the Greek, with poetic echoes
- I have tried to capture as much as I can of that in the translation
- I have used color to draw our attention to some of the beauty of balance!
- In Christ (or equiv, like in him, or in whom.) How many can you count? 12
- Joined to him, connected with him, our very being united with him
- in the heavenly places, not as simple as it sounds, because warfare can take place there (but more in later sermons)
- Before we get into the meat, we need to deal with a controversial issue:
- look at the bottom of the handout page
- First let us compare 1 and 3