Ephesians 1: Becoming Who God Made You To Be

The book of Ephesians has been quoted many times by Christians, in addition to that many sermons have been preached from this book. In Ephesians 1, we read about the basics of Christianity, and what God and Jesus were trying to accomplish.

I think sometimes we have to remove ourselves from our beliefs. (I’ll explain, I promise no heresy here). What I mean is sometimes we get so focused on what we are doing for God, that we forget why we are doing it.

In addition, sometimes we get so focused on what we believe, that we forget why, and the reasons God brought everything about. I get tired of hearing people state that we have faith in the unknown because we have faith in it, and when I question that they get angry.

I don’t want you to misunderstand me, faith is needed, even appreciated by God. But I also think we need to do a better job of understanding why things are that way.

It’s okay to question your beliefs, and it’s okay to question God. Do you think the God of the universe is shaking in his boots, thinking you’ll find the one mistake he made in creation?

No, if you ask him, he’ll come alongside you for this journey, and you’ll see for yourself that God is the creator of all things, he loves you and sent his son to die for you.

Also, it’s great when you face adversity, and you’ve already done your homework.

That being said. Ephesians 1, is an excellent start to reminding us all of God’s sovereign plan, and why he sent Jesus to die for us.

Ephesians 1: 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.

Ephesians 1:1-3

Ephesians 1: Spiritual Blessings That We Don’t Deserve

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.

Ephesians 1:3-8

Who We Are In Christ,

Ephesians 1 is about who we are in Christ, it’s about the God of Creation adopting us, and making us his children. However, he gives us a choice, and we need to choose what we want.

What amazes me the most, is that God chose us while we were still sinning. He didn’t wait until we cleaned up our act, or waited until we knew something was wrong.

No, he loved us so much, that he sent his son Jesus to die for us. It was a horrible and gruesome death on a cross. All so we could be with him one day.

When we give our lives to Jesus, God adopts us into his family, and we become children of God. This comes with all the rights and privileges of that rank as well.

Most people don’t understand the authority they have in Jesus, but when you finally do, your life will be transformed.

Ephesians 1: The Mysterious Will Regarding Christ

⁹ God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 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.

Ephesians 1:9-14

What Is The Mysterious Will Regarding Jesus?

Ephesians 1 calls this the mysterious plan, others call it the end times. I like to think of it as God’s restoration. The sin of Adam, and his children. Didn’t just cause harm to humanity.

Instead, the Bible says the heavens and the earth groan for the time God will return and restore everything. (I paraphrased it).

Our sin transformed this world into a shadow of itself. This means when Jesus comes back, everything plays out. We will see a new Heaven and a new Earth.

The book of Revelations even says we’ll see it.

God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are already doing their parts. They’re waiting for us to do ours. I get convicted whenever I write something like that because I can do a lot better for Christ.

Today at a gas station I could’ve told someone about Jesus, and I failed to bring him up. I’m stating that here because I failed and needed to repent.

If you want to be a part of this “Mysterious Will” you are going to need some direction from God.

I’d start by reading Ephesians 1 again, then maybe move on to the next few chapters as well.

Ephesians 1: 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 in 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.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Receiving Spiritual Wisdom

When Jesus died on the cross, he uttered one simple phrase right before he died.

“It is finished.”

I’ve pondered a lot about that phrase and even wrote about it in another blog post (The phrase is linked). However, Ephesians 1 states that Jesus completed what he did, and went to sit next to God in heaven.

He completed what needed to be done by him, and now it’s our turn to act.

Does someone around you need healing? Maybe you should pray for them. Is anybody around you unsaved? Chances are you need to talk with them.

Ephesians 1, is stating what role Jesus has now, and what authority he has. He is all-powerful, I mean he’s the son of God. But at the end of Acts, he gave us the great commission, and it’s our job to spread the gospel.

He’s interceding for us now in heaven, cheering us on.

Ephesians 1 is about Jesus, and what we need to do. I hope you enjoyed my latest post.

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