Ephesians 1:3-8 NIV

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:5

Having predestinated us ,.... Predestination, taken in a large sense, includes both election and reprobation, and even reaches to all affairs and occurrences in the world; to the persons, lives, and circumstances of men; to all mercies, temporal or spiritual; and to all afflictions, whether in love or in wrath: and indeed providence, or the dispensations of providence, are no other than the execution of divine predestination; but here it is the same with election, and is concerned with the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:6

To the praise of the glory of his grace ,.... The grace of God manifestly appears in the predestination of men to adoption; in that God had no need of sons, he having a dear and well beloved one; in whom he is well pleased; and in that those he adopts are so unworthy of the relation; and in that men, and not angels, should be taken by him into his family; and that some, and not others of the same race; and that this should be before the world was; and in providing Christ as a Redeemer, to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:7

In whom we have redemption through his blood ,.... Redemption supposes captivity and slavery, and is a deliverance out of it; God's elect by nature are in bondage to sin, Satan, and the law; through the grace of Christ, they are redeemed from all iniquity; ransomed out of the hands of him that is stronger than they; and are freed from the law, its bondage, curse, and condemnation, and from every other enemy: and this benefit Christ is the author of; he was called to be the Redeemer of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:8

Wherein he hath abounded toward us ,.... That is, in the grace which is so abundantly displayed in redemption and forgiveness of sin, through the blood of Christ: in all wisdom and prudence ; this may be understood, either of the aboundings of grace in the Gospel; which may be called all wisdom and prudence, because it is the wisdom of God; it is the product of his wisdom, and a display of it; the doctrines it contains are full of wisdom, and are the means of communicating it to men, and... 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

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

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

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

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 1:8

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

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

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