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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ephesians 1:3-14

He begins with thanksgivings and praise, and enlarges with a great deal of fluency and copiousness of affection upon the exceedingly great and precious benefits which we enjoy by Jesus Christ. For the great privileges of our religion are very aptly recounted and enlarged upon in our praises to God. I. In general he blesses God for spiritual blessings, Eph. 1:3; where he styles him the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for, as Mediator, the Father was his God; as God, and the second... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Ephesians 1:1-14

1:1-14 This is a letter from Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, to God's consecrated people who live in Ephesus and who are faithful in Jesus Christ. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings which are only to be found in heaven, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we might be holy and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ,.... God, the first person in the Trinity, is the God of Christ, as Christ is man and Mediator; he chose and appointed him to be the Mediator, and made a covenant with him as such; he formed and prepared an human nature for him, and anointed it with the Holy Ghost above measure, and supported it under all his trials and sufferings, and at last glorified it: and Christ, as man, prayed to him as his God, believed, hoped, and trusted in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:4

According as he hath chosen us in him ,.... This choice cannot be understood of a national one, as Israel of old were chosen by the Lord; for the persons the apostle writes to were not a nation; nor does he address all the inhabitants of Ephesus, only the saints and faithful in Christ that resided there; nor are they all intended here, if any of them. However, not they only, since the apostle includes himself, and perhaps some others, who did not belong to that place, nor were of that... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God - See the note on 2 Corinthians 1:3 , where the same form is used. With all spiritual blessings - With the pure doctrines of the Gospel, and the abundant gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, justifying, sanctifying, and building us up on our most holy faith. In heavenly places - Εν τοις επουρανιοις· In heavenly things, such as those mentioned above; they were not yet in heavenly places, but they had abundance of heavenly things to prepare them for heavenly... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 1:4

According as he hath chosen us in him - As he has decreed from the beginning of the world, and has kept in view from the commencement of the religious system of the Jews, (which the phrase sometimes means), to bring us Gentiles to the knowledge of this glorious state of salvation by Christ Jesus. The Jews considered themselves an elect or chosen people, and wished to monopolize the whole of the Divine love and beneficence. The apostle here shows that God had the Gentiles as much in the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 1:3

Verse 3 3.Blessed (108) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lofty terms in which he extolls the grace of God toward the Ephesians, are intended to rouse their hearts to gratitude, to set them all on flame, to fill them even to overflowing with this thought. They who perceive in themselves discoveries of the Divine goodness, so full and absolutely perfect, and who make them the subject of earnest meditation, will never embrace new doctrines, by which the very grace which they... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 1:4

Verse 4 4.According as he hath chosen us. The foundation and first cause, both of our calling and of all the benefits which we receive from God, is here declared to be his eternal election. If the reason is asked, why God has called us to enjoy the gospel, why he daily bestows upon us so many blessings, why he opens to us the gate of heaven, — the answer will be constantly found in this principle, that he hath chosen us before the foundation of the world. The very time when the election took... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every blessing of the Spirit, in heavenly places in Christ. Here we have (1) the Author of our blessings; (2) their nature and sphere; (3) the Medium through whom we have them. 1. The Author is "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus called God his God and his Father ( John 20:17 ) in virtue of the state of subjection to him in which, as the Son of man, he had voluntarily placed himself. In... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 1:3

The blessings of redemption. Full minds overflow in long sentences. The sentence which begins with the third verse runs on continuously to the fourteenth, marked all the way by many rich and happy turns of expression. The apostle pours forth his thoughts with a splendid exuberance, which dazzles common readers, but is kindling to congenial minds. The whole passage is "a magnificent anthem," in which the ideas "suggest each other by a law of powerful association." It takes up the spirit of... read more

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