Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
My Understanding: This passage of scripture is both prayer and praise to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – for all that he has done and all that he has provided for us, his children, in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. The blessings we have received are these:
Chosen and Predestined
We were chosen, even before God created the world, to be set apart for God for purity, righteousness, and obedience to Christ and to his will for our lives. Because he loves us so much he determined ahead of time to adopt us as his children through Jesus Christ, which is for the praise of his glorious grace, because it is by his grace that we are saved, through faith, and this is not of ourselves. He has freely given us his grace via Jesus Christ’s life, death on the cross, and his resurrection in conquering hell, Satan, death and sin. We do nothing to earn it or deserve his grace. So, all the praise, honor and glory belong to Him.
As well, he determined ahead of time that we were to be chosen and we were to live lives in conformity with the purpose of his will for our lives so that we might be for the praise of his glory. In other words, God did not send his Son, Jesus Christ, God the Son, to the earth to take on human flesh, to suffer as we suffer, to be tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, to be mocked, ridiculed, persecuted, beaten severely, forsaken, abandoned, betrayed, denied and then hung on a cross for our sins just so that, when we die, we will go to heaven. NO! He chose us and he decided ahead of time that we should live lives, while we are on this earth, in conformity with the purpose of his will for our lives, in saving us, in forgiving us and in freeing us, and that is that we would no longer be slaves to sin, but we would be slaves of righteousness and we would be faithful and obedient followers of Christ.
Redeemed and Forgiven
When Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. He paid the penalty for our sins through his death on a cross. He, in essence, bought us back for God with his blood. He freed us from slavery and bondage to sin, just as one might free a slave or a prisoner. He paid the ransom so that we could be free from captivity to sin. He did not do this lightly. He grieved in his spirit and he even prayed to the Father that if there was a way for this “cup” of suffering to be taken from him, that it would be removed from his life, yet he also prayed for the Father’s will to be done.
Through Jesus Christ’s shed blood on the cross for our sins we can receive forgiveness for our sins. To be forgiven means to be pardoned – “to officially release from any, or any further, punishment somebody who has committed a crime or wrongdoing” (Encarta). The punishment for our sin is death, i.e. eternal damnation in hell and eternal separation from God Almighty. Yet, our punishment means spiritual death, too, i.e. it means that without Christ in our lives, while we are still here on the earth, we do not have spiritual life within us cleansing us from sin, purifying us, leading, guiding, encouraging, giving hope and healing, forgiving, delivering, and empowering us to live holy lives pleasing unto God, etc. So, Jesus set us free, not only from the ultimate penalty of sin in eternity, but he set us free from the bondage to and control of sin on a day-to-day basis. As well, he set us free from spiritual lifelessness while we are still on the face of this earth, so that we now have new life in Christ Jesus, forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life with God forever!
Wisdom and Revelation
Paul prayed for God the Father to give the believers in Ephesus “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” so that they would know Christ better. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of our lives, we receive his Holy Spirit within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance in Christ Jesus, and as a seal of our salvation. Yet, the Holy Spirit’s purpose and work within us goes far beyond just sealing us in Christ. He remains within us as a constant source of counsel, peace, guidance, healing, power, conviction, cleansing, renewal, hope, victory over sin, teaching, wisdom and revelation (disclosure; knowledge; discernment).
He also gives us understanding of God’s words to us, spiritual discernment in situations, and knowledge about how to apply Christ’s teachings to our daily lives, etc. He teaches us all that we need to know and experience about Jesus Christ so that we can know him better. And, in knowing him better, we know his will for our lives more fully, and we can obey what we know to be his will for our lives. As we listen and as we obey, we also grow to know our Lord better and to draw into a more intimate relationship with him on a day-to-day basis. The Holy Spirit will open up our spiritual eyes to see all that God has planned for our lives and all that he has made available to us, so that we will know the hope to which he has called us, and so we will respond with our hearts in obedience to his calling upon our lives.
Included in Christ
Paul said that the believers were included in Christ when they heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation, and then having believed they were marked in Christ with the promised Holy Spirit. That reminds me of Paul’s words to the Romans when he stated that we can’t call on Christ if we have not believed in him, and we can’t believe in him unless we first hear of him, and then he went on to describe the beauty of the feet of those who bring the good news and how their voice has gone out into all the earth. He concluded that faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. And, that also brought to mind the words of Paul to the Corinthian believers when he was contrasting the spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy and the benefits of each. He said: “Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?”
There must be a clear call, and we must hear it, so we need to be listening for it, and then we need to obey the word of Christ found in the Bible. The word of Christ is also within us in the person of the Holy Spirit within us who speaks God’s words to our hearts and who makes known to us all that Christ taught so that we can obey all he commands us to do.
The Call
Jesus Christ is reminding us of all that he has done for us and what that means in our lives in all practicality in how we are to live out our Christian lives on a daily basis. He is reminding us here of what it cost him so that we could go free and what that freedom really means for us personally. We are to forsake our sins and we are to live holy lives pleasing unto God in obedience to all that Jesus Christ commanded us. He has forgiven us so that we can be free, not only from the penalty of sin, but free from slavery to and the control of sin. He chose us in Christ to live our lives in conformity with his will for our lives, so we need to know what that will is, so that we know the hope to which he called us. When we live holy lives pleasing to him in conformity with his perfect plan, purpose and will for our lives, this is for the praise of his glory (his godly character).
Christ is calling out to his church via his Holy Spirit within us and through the truths of his word to remind us of these things so that we will respond to his messages to us and so we will obey all that he has for us to do. And, he is waiting patiently for us to respond to his gentle prodding within our hearts for us to wake up from our slumber, to hear his voice speaking to us, and to heed his call to turn from our sins and our idols and to follow him only with our lives, truly making him our Lord and master. Will you hear him calling?
Muted Trumpet / An Original Work / October 14, 2011
Softly He speaks gently to us,
Giving us His messages, and
He waits patiently for us to
Respond to His words.
Will you listen to Him speaking?
Will you waken from your sleeping?
He is calling; hear Him whisper
His truth unto you.
Jesus speaks His words unto us,
So that He might live out through us,
Giving light to all who need Him,
So they can obey.
He gave His life to die for us,
So that from sin He would free us
To walk humbly in obedience
Unto Him each day.
Hear the trumpet clearly calling.
He died to keep us from falling.
Won’t you listen; heed His call to
Turn to Him today?
Hasten to Him calling to you.
Turn from sin and follow Jesus.
He loves you so much He gave you
Life eternally.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/muted-trumpet
Song on video:
In Process
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