We are blessed.
This week we are delving into the depths of Paul’s letter to the church in the cosmopolitan center of Ephesus, a coastal city on the western edge of what is today Turkey. You don’t have to go far in Ephesians to figure out that Paul is the king of run-on sentences, and we could spend days (and publishers have killed countless trees) unpacking all the denseness that he packs into each one.
So we’ll just start at the beginning: We are blessed. Just look at verse 3:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…
That’s a weighty word that resonates throughout the whole story of Scripture.
It reminds us of Genesis 12 and Abram’s first encounter with God: You are blessed to be a blessing.
It reminds us of the summation of the Law in Deuteronomy 28, the good life that it intends for God’s people.
It reminds of Psalm 1 and of Jesus’ opening words to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.
We are blessed because God has given us a good king.
As Paul continues in verses 15–21, he shows us a pattern of prayer for others. Just insert somebody’s name for the word you, your best friend’s, your parents’, your boss, your pastor. Anybody. Go ahead and take a minute right now and try it.
And it’s all based on the fact that Jesus is King. That’s what the word “Christ” means—the Good King. I count 10 times that Paul uses this word to talk about Jesus. He’s not just a guy who walked around tossing out free health care while telling mysterious stories about God. He is the Good King over creation, coronated by God Himself.
And lastly for now, Paul exudes gratitude. He says to these people, I do not cease to give thanks for you.
Who are three people that you are grateful for today? How can you show them today?
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