First Bible study
Example Bible Reference Title
Ephesians 1:1-23 NLT
Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Spiritual Blessings
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
12 God's purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Paul's Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
What’s needed for Spiritual life?
I. The Calling of the Church (chaps. 1-3). 1:3. Paul stated that God is to be blessed or praised. The word for praise is eulogētos, from a verb that means “to speak well of.” Paul’s use of the past tense participle “has blessed” points to this blessing or prospering of believers as having occurred in eternity past. With what are believers blessed? With every spiritual blessing (in the Gr., this phrase precedes the words “in the heavenly realms”). “Every spiritual blessing” (eulogia) refers to every spiritual enrichment needed for the spiritual life.
So how do we get the blessings?
The manner or sphere of this enrichment is in Christ. The place of these “blessings” is in the heavenly realms, as opposed to the earthly realm of the Ephesian goddess Artemis. Thus these blessings are spiritual not material, heavenly not earthly, eternal not temporal (2 Cor. 4:18; Col. 3:1-4). Five times Paul used the phrase “in the heavenly realms”: in Ephesians 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12. Ephesians 1:3 tells much about God’s blessings on believers: (a) when: eternity past; (b) with what: every spiritual blessing: (c) where: in the heavenly realms; (d) how: in Christ. The basis of spiritual blessings (1:4-14). Paul continued his discussion of believers’ spiritual blessings by showing that they are based on the work of the three Persons of the Trinity: the selection of the Father (vv. 4-6), the sacrifice of the Son (vv. 7-12), and the seal of the Spirit (vv. 13-14). a. God’s election for Himself (1:4-6). 1:4. The apostle first told when God’s work of election took place: before the Creation of the world. through the threefold work of the Trinity. The idea is that spiritual blessings (1:3) for believers are because of or on the basis of the work of the Trinity: God blesses believers because of the Father’s electing, the Son’s dying, and the Spirit’s sealing. Both concepts seem to be included: spiritual blessings are the work of the three Persons of the Trinity, and the work of the Trinity is the basis of all a believer’s spiritual blessings. (PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST IS THE ANSWER)
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