Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,(A) who has blessed us in the heavenly realms(B) with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us(C) in him before the creation of the world(D) to be holy and blameless(E) in his sight. In love(F) he[a] predestined(G) us for adoption to sonship[b](H) through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure(I) and will— to the praise of his glorious grace,(J) which he has freely given us in the One he loves.(K) In him we have redemption(L) through his blood,(M) the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches(N) of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he[c] made known to us the mystery(O) of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed(P) in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment(Q)—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.(R)

11 In him we were also chosen,[d] having been predestined(S) according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose(T) of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.(U) 13 And you also were included in Christ(V) when you heard the message of truth,(W) the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,(X) the promised Holy Spirit,(Y) 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance(Z) until the redemption(AA) of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.(AB)

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 1:5 Or sight in love. He
  2. Ephesians 1:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.
  3. Ephesians 1:9 Or us with all wisdom and understanding. And he
  4. Ephesians 1:11 Or were made heirs

Redemption in Christ

(A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as (B)He chose us in Him (C)before the foundation of the world, that we should (D)be holy and without blame before Him in love, (E)having predestined us to (F)adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, (G)according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, (H)by which He [a]made us accepted in (I)the Beloved.

(J)In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to (K)the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [b]prudence, (L)having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure (M)which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of (N)the fullness of the times (O)He might gather together in one (P)all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 (Q)In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to (R)the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 (S)that we (T)who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard (U)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, (V)you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 (W)who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance (X)until the redemption of (Y)the purchased possession, (Z)to the praise of His glory.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 1:6 Lit. bestowed grace (favor) upon us
  2. Ephesians 1:8 understanding
  3. Ephesians 1:10 NU, M omit both
  4. Ephesians 1:14 NU which
  5. Ephesians 1:14 down payment, earnest

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him.

Because of his love God[a] had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children—this was his pleasure and purpose. Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! (A)For by the blood of Christ[b] we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which he gave to us in such large measure!

In all his wisdom and insight God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. 10 This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.

11 All things are done according to God's plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning. 12 Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise God's glory!

13 And you also became God's people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised. 14 The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 1:5 before him. Because of his love God; or before him, and to live in love. God.
  2. Ephesians 1:7 by the blood of Christ; or by the sacrificial death of Christ.

The God of Glory

3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This down payment from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

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Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,[a](A) just as he chose us in Christ[b] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.(B) He destined us[c] for adoption as his children[d] through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,(C) to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace(D) that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,(E) 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.(F) 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,[e] having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,(G) 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;(H) 14 this[f] is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. 1.3 Gk heavenlies
  2. 1.4 Gk in him
  3. 1.5 Or before him; he destined us in love
  4. 1.5 Or sonship
  5. 1.11 Or been made a heritage
  6. 1.14 Other ancient authorities read who