Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:3-14

“Blessing” is not an unfamiliar term for today’s Christians. If we look through the bestsellers at many Christian bookstores, or watch much Christian television, we are likely to find the word sprinkled quite liberally into sermons and book titles.

God wants us to overflow with blessing, we are often told, most of it physical blessing, it would seem. Indeed, we may even hear this same emphasis in our own prayers. We are constantly asking God’s blessing on our bodies, jobs, cars, finances, and so on. Many times such requests are simply the pleas of a humble Christian asking God for his or her “daily bread.” Other times, especially when urged on or swayed by prosperity teaching, we may be engaged in sheer materialism.

When we read the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, however, we discover that there is a whole other world of blessing that God has stored up for His people; a whole other plane of reality that makes what the televangelists have to offer us seem like child’s play. What Paul is excited about in this chapter is “spiritual blessing”: blessing that comes to God’s people, not merely on an earthly plane, but “in the heavenly places.” In the first chapter of this epistle, Paul wants to set his readers’ minds on higher joys. To that end, he spends the entire first half of the chapter, the verses we are covering, praising God for the spiritual blessings He has poured out upon His people. Indeed, in Ephesians 1 Paul is so keyed up about God’s goodness that he begins a sentence in verse 3, extolling God’s “spiritual blessing,” and does not bring the sentence to a close until he reaches the end of verse 14! These twelve verses form one long sentence in the original Greek! You can’t tell it in the English translations, but Paul is so caught up with the blessings of God in these verses that he simply cannot take his pen off the page! So let’s begin this study of chapter one by taking a look at that marvelous, Spirit-inspired, run-on sentence.

Every Spiritual Blessing

Paul’s long and winding sentence of verses 3-14 provides a wonderful inventory of the spiritual blessings that belong to those who are in Christ. Indeed, these blessings belong not only to Paul and to the Ephesians, but also to every reader of these pages who belongs to Jesus.

But before we begin itemizing the blessings on Paul’s list, we should notice how Paul begins the sentence. The first words that spill out of his heart and onto the page are “Blessed be . . . God”! Those are important words to notice. “Blessed be . . . God [for] every spiritual blessing!” Paul exclaims. In other words, when he begins detailing the various kindnesses that God has shown toward His people, Paul is not simply giving a lecture or writing a textbook. His catalog of spiritual blessings comes in the form of doxology, in other words, of worship. I hope that sets the tone for the rest of this study. We must not merely gather a list or create an inventory when we read this chapter. We ought to praise the Lord for every point! Keep that in mind, now, as we begin compiling Paul’s list of spiritual blessings.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved