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Ephesians 1

KJV · Chapter 1/6

1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

8Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

19And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul praises God for the rich spiritual blessings given to believers in Christ, including election, adoption, and redemption. He prays that the Ephesians would receive wisdom and revelation to fully grasp the hope and power they have in God.

Explanation

The chapter opens with one long, dense sentence of praise in the original Greek, listing spiritual blessings such as being chosen before the foundation of the world, adoption as children, redemption through Christ's blood, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit as a “pledge” (guarantee) of the future inheritance. This introduction sets the tone for the whole letter: an exalted vision of the believer's identity and purpose within God's eternal plan. Paul's prayer specifically asks for spiritual illumination, so that the Ephesians would understand the greatness of this inheritance and the power that raised Christ from the dead — the same power now at work in the life of every believer. The practical application for today is to remember that Christian identity is not based on our own merit, but on a plan of God's love that precedes our very existence, producing security and gratitude.

Fun facts

  • Ephesus was one of the largest and most important cities of the Roman Empire in Asia Minor, famous for the temple of Artemis (Diana), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world — which made the contrast with faith in one God even more striking.
  • Many ancient manuscripts of Ephesians do not include the phrase 'in Ephesus' in verse 1, leading scholars to suggest that this letter may have been written as a circular intended for several churches in the region, not just one specific city.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ephesians 1:1Paul writes this sweeping letter to the “saints” at Ephesus, an important port city in Asia Minor where he himself spent time preaching; the tone here is broader than in Galatians, treating the church as one body and an eternal project of God.
  2. Ephesians 1:2The greeting “grace and peace” was Paul’s standard opening in nearly all his letters, joining the Greek way of greeting (grace) with the Hebrew one (peace).
  3. Ephesians 1:3Paul opens the letter with a long blessing of pure praise: God has already blessed Christians with every spiritual blessing, located in the “heavenly places,” an expression the letter repeats several times to describe spiritual reality in Christ.
  4. Ephesians 1:4Paul states that God’s choosing of believers is not recent: it happened “before the foundation of the world,” with the goal that they would live in a holy and blameless way, marked by love.
  5. Ephesians 1:5‘Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children’ uses the Roman legal term for adoption, as in Galatians 4: the idea that God chooses and formally makes believers His legitimate children, with full rights of inheritance.
  6. Ephesians 1:6Paul explains the final purpose of all this blessing and choosing: to produce praise for the grace of God, who made believers accepted before Him through Christ, called here “the beloved.”
  7. Ephesians 1:7Paul describes what this grace cost: redemption, the rescue from a situation of debt or captivity, came through the blood of Christ, and resulted in the forgiveness of sins.
  8. Ephesians 1:8Paul notes that this grace was not given in moderation: God made it “abound” toward believers, together with wisdom and understanding so they could grasp what it means.
  9. Ephesians 1:9Paul uses the word “mystery” to mean a plan that had been kept secret and that God decided to reveal, according to what He had already purposed to do from the beginning.
  10. Ephesians 1:10‘The dispensation of the fulness of times’ is a way of describing God’s plan reaching completion at just the right moment in history: to gather together “all things” in Christ, both in heaven and on earth, under one head.
  11. Ephesians 1:11Paul repeats the idea of predestination, but now emphasizes how comprehensive God’s plan is: He guides “all things” according to His own will, not by chance.
  12. Ephesians 1:12Paul indicates that he and the first Jewish believers who had already been hoping for the Messiah had the role of displaying, with their own lives, the glory of God.
  13. Ephesians 1:13Paul now includes his Gentile readers in Ephesus in this same blessing: they too heard and believed the gospel, and received the seal of the Holy Spirit as confirmation of their faith.
  14. Ephesians 1:14‘Earnest,’ a down payment, was a commercial term, an advance guaranteeing the rest would be paid later. Paul uses the same image from 2 Corinthians 1:22 to describe the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of the full inheritance still to come.
  15. Ephesians 1:15Paul explains the reason for his gratitude: he had heard of the Ephesians’ genuine faith and the practical love they showed to all believers, not only to those closest to them.
  16. Ephesians 1:16Paul assures them he has not stopped thanking God for them, mentioning them continually in his prayers, a common pattern in the openings of his letters.
  17. Ephesians 1:17Paul spells out what he was asking for them in prayer: that God would give them more wisdom and revelation to know Him better and better.
  18. Ephesians 1:18Paul uses the image of “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened” to ask that the Ephesians truly grasp two things: the hope of God’s calling and the riches of the inheritance He has reserved for believers.
  19. Ephesians 1:19Paul continues the request, now for the third thing he wants them to understand: the extraordinary greatness of God’s power that is already at work in those who believe.
  20. Ephesians 1:20Paul points to the ultimate proof of that power: it was the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor, at God’s right hand.
  21. Ephesians 1:21‘Principality... power... dominion’ were terms describing hierarchies of spiritual power — angels, but also forces of evil, in the worldview of the time. Paul states that Christ was placed above all of them, without exception.
  22. Ephesians 1:22The church is called the “body” of Christ, with Him as “the head,” an image Ephesians develops more than any other letter, comparing the relationship between Christ and the church to the relationship between a person’s head and body.
  23. Ephesians 1:23Paul closes the chapter calling the church the “fulness” of Christ, as if He, being the head, were only complete in a certain sense through the body that is the church, filling everything.

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