Ephesians 1:3

The believer’s position in Christ 1:3

"This verse marks not only the introduction but also the main sentence of the eulogy. It is in essence a summary of the whole eulogy." [Note: Hoehner, p. 162.]

God is blessed because He has blessed believers. However, Christians should also bless or praise (Gr. eulogetos, speak well of) God the Father for bestowing these blessings. Paul was thinking of God as both the Father of believers (Ephesians 1:2) and the Father of His Son (Ephesians 1:3). God has already blessed believers in the ways the apostle proceeded to identify. This blessing happened before creation, as will become evident in the following verses. "Spiritual" blessings are benefits that relate to our spiritual life in contrast to our physical life. In Israel God’s promised blessings were mainly physical, but in the church they are mainly spiritual. Since God has already given us these things, we do not need to ask for them but should appropriate them by faith and give thanks for them.

"When you were born again into God’s family, you were born rich." [Note: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2:9.]

"In the heavenly places" or "realms" refers to the location from which these blessings come. The heavenly realms are where Paul spoke of the believer as being presently in his or her spiritual life. Whereas physically we are on the earth, spiritually we are already with Christ in the heavens (cf. Ephesians 1:20; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12). God has united us with Jesus Christ so we are in that sense with Him where He is now. When we die, our immaterial part will go into Christ’s presence (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). When God resurrects our bodies they will go into His presence and unite with our immaterial part. Presently our lives are already with the Lord in the heavenly realms spiritually. We are there because of our present union with Christ. We are "in Christ." The expression "in Christ" and its parallels occur 36 times in Ephesians. [Note: For a chart, see Hoehner, pp. 173-74.]

Union with Christ by saving faith places us in the heavenly realms. Ouranos (heaven or heavenly) appears in Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:15; Ephesians 4:10; and Ephesians 6:9, while epouanios (heaven or heavenly realms) occurs in Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 1:20; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 3:10; and Ephesians 6:12.

"En tois epouraniois [in the heavens or heavenlies] is the location of the current conflict in which believers participate through their presence there ’in’ Christ. But hoi epouranioi [the heavens or heavenlies] in Ephesians is primarily viewed as the location of the exalted Christ, the place where He now is and from which He exercises His universal sovereignty in the present age." [Note: W. Hall Harris, "’The Heavenlies’ Reconsidered: Ouranos and Epouranios in Ephesians," Bibliotheca Sacra 148:589 (January-March 1991):89.]

"The key thought of Ephesians is the gathering together of all things in Jesus Christ." [Note: Barclay, p. 77.]

"Ephesians 1:3 tells much about God’s blessings on believers: (a) when: eternity past; (b): with what: every spiritual [not material] blessing; (c): where: in the heavenly realms; (d): how: in Christ." [Note: Harold W. Hoehner, "Ephesians," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, p. 616.]

"Ephesus was considered the bank of Asia. One of the seven wonders of the world, the great temple of Diana, was in Ephesus, and was not only a center for idolatrous worship, but also a depository for wealth. . . .

"Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is as carefully structured as that great temple of Diana, and it contains greater beauty and wealth!" [Note: Wiersbe, 2:10.]