“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).
One of the most interesting publications that I have read recently was a book in which some prominent pastors were chosen to write a chapter expounding the Bible verse which they believed most influenced their life and ministry. If I were ever chosen to write such a chapter, it would most assuredly be on the above text, mainly because of its life-changing potential. Here we have a verse which too many people skim over rather lightly to get to the “meat” of the Apostle Paul’s great letter to the Ephesians. In so doing, they deprive themselves of a verse which, if properly understood, would revolutionize their thinking on the Christian life.
It has long been recognized by spiritual minds that the Book of Ephesians unfolds God’s highest and deepest truth for the Church which is His Body. In chapter 1, Paul explains to believers their wealth in Christ. Without a knowledge of their position and possessions in Him, Paul knew that they would be “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14). Paul desired not only that they receive the gift of eternal life, but also that they grow up into Christ (4:15) and become the mature saints our Lord intended them to be. And so it is with us. Ephesians 1:3 forms the foundation for the rest of the chapter which, in turn, forms the basis for the doctrinal and practical portions which follow. In short, our text is the hub of the entire letter to the Ephesians.
Read More at BereanBibleSociety.org
This article was published by the Berean Bible Society in the free monthly Bible study magazine,The Berean Searchlight. We have included a few paragraphs of the article here, but you can read the entire article using the link above.