Ephesians 1.1-6 (7)
Pray Psalm 103.1-4.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies…
Sing Psalm 103.1-4.
(Old 100th: All Creatures That on Earth Do Dwell)
O my soul, bless the LORD’s great Name! His many benefits proclaim:
He pardons sins and heals disease, and from the pit grants us release.
Read and meditate on Ephesians 1.1-6.
Focus on the spiritual blessings mentioned in these verses. Do you understand each one? Do you see how they relate to one another? Pray with thanksgiving for each of these blessings.
Preparation
1. What kind of blessings has God provided for us?
2. Which of those blessings do we read about here? How do we have them?
Meditation
As we push on through Ephesians 1, we will see that Paul uses language intended to reify our status as saints of the Lord. He wants us fully to know and experience what God has done for us, to see Jesus Who has redeemed us, and to envision the impact of God’s blessings on our lives and the world.
Paul, after establishing his calling and credentials, addresses the readers as “saints”—those who are set apart unto the Lord (v. 1). We are not born saints; we are reborn to that status. And we are only thus reborn because God has chosen us and predestined our path into His household via the adoption Jesus has accomplished for us (v. 5). We are accepted in Christ to God for the purposes of our redemption.
Saints are called to be holy, blameless, and loving (v. 4). For we have a calling not unlike that of the apostle Paul (v. 1). Jesus has sent us to the world just as He was sent (Jn. 20.21), to bring the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom by our lives and words.
And all this newness and privilege and holy spiritual blessing is by the grace of God, for which we praise and thank Him all day long (v. 6). Can you see yourself as blessed with the spiritual blessings Paul begins to unpack in these verses? Can you see God writing your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life before He even spoke the world into existence (Rev. 5.1-10)? Do you know Him, shepherding you along each day (Ps. 23), as He has since you were in your mother’s womb (Ps. 139.13-16)? Are you conscious of living in a new household? With all new surroundings? And a new and eternal name stamped upon your soul?
And do you bask in the unspeakable pleasure all this blessing entails, the pleasure of our God and His Son?
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Paul did use language intended to reify our status as saints of the Lord.
So what does reify mean? It is to make an abstraction real or material. To regard or treat an abstraction as if it had concrete or material existence. Reify’s synonyms water-down its loveliness—demonstrate, epitomize, exemplify, manifest, etc.
God took the abstract and unimaginable idea of our saintliness and made it a reality through Jesus Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And through that material truth we are saints in His glorious Kingdom.
And for this gift, we live our sainthood out “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph. 1.6).
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD will give grace and glory;
no good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly” (Ps. 84.11).
“And I will pour on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem
the Spirit of grace and supplication;
then they will look on Me Whom they pierced” (Zech. 12.10).
“But the free gift is not like the offense.
For if by the one man’s offense many died,
much more the grace of God and
the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ,
abounded to many” (Rom. 5.15).
All this grace smothers our worminess and blossoms into saintliness.
It is a miracle. And it happened to us. An abstraction into reality. Reified saints.
And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be?
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ, my own.
Amazing love!
How can it be?
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
(Charles Wesley, 1738)
“Basking in the unspeakable pleasure of God and His Son.”
In the blessing of salvation and the joy of saintly Kingdom work.
Reflection
1. Which of the spiritual blessings we have considered in this series are most “real” to you? Why?
2. What is grace? How do you experience grace? What is your role in spreading God’s grace (2 Cor. 4.15)?
3. Whom will you encourage today in the spiritual blessings and grace of the Lord?
The design of the apostle, therefore, in asserting the riches of divine grace toward the Ephesians, was to protect them against having their faith shaken by the false apostles, as if their calling were doubtful, or salvation were to be sought in some other way. He shews, at the same time, that the full certainty of future happiness rests on the revelation of his love to us in Christ, which God makes in the gospel. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Ephesians 1.1-6
“Pray Psalm 103.19-22.
Give thanks and praise to God for the blessings of election, predestination, adoption, and acceptance, and that He has called you to be a saint and to take up an apostolic calling for the praise of the glory of His grace.
Sing Psalm 103.19-22.
(Old 100th: All Creatures That on Earth Do Dwell)
He rules upon His throne in heav’n; His sovereign rule o’er all is giv’n.
You angels, bless the LORD, rejoice, who live in strength to heed His voice.
All you who serve Him, bless the LORD, all you who heed His righteous Word!
Let all throughout the cosmos whole unite to praise Him, with my soul!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” turns to consider the unique “currency” of the divine economy. In our Read Moore podcast this week, we begin a new series of readings from our book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds him heading back to Ireland, confused and disappointed—but faithful. Click hereto see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
