Ephesians 1:3-6 (JDV)

Ephesians 1:3 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is to be applauded,¹ who has endorsed² us with every spiritual endorsement³ in the sky realms⁴ in Christ

Ephesians 1:4 when⁵ he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be devoted and blameless in care⁶ before him.

Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good intention⁷ of his preference,

Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of his glorious favor that he lavished on us in the One Cared About.⁸

the One Cared AboutPaul’s opening blessing in Ephesians is so sweeping and celebratory that it is easy to read it as a grand affirmation of the church. The language is rich: blessed, chosen, predestined, adopted, redeemed. The verbs pile up like treasures, and the natural instinct is to see them as statements about the greatness of the Christian community. But Paul’s emphasis is far more Christ‑centered than church‑centered. The church is indeed in view, yet always as a people whose entire identity is derived from Christ, grounded in Christ, and sustained for the sake of Christ.

Every blessing mentioned in this early section is tied directly to him. The church is blessed in Christ. The choosing takes place in him. The adoption is through Jesus Christ. The grace is freely given in the Beloved. Paul is not describing a people who possess greatness in themselves. He is describing a people whose significance flows entirely from their union with the One whom God loves. Christ is the focal point of God’s eternal purpose. The church is swept into that purpose because it is joined to him.

This is why Paul’s language about predestination and adoption must be read with Christ at the center. God’s plan was never an abstract decision about isolated individuals. It was a decision about Christ—about forming a people who would share his life, bear his likeness, and stand before him holy and blameless. The church exists because God loves his Son and delights to gather a family around him. Everything believers receive is mediated through that relationship. The affection God has for Christ becomes the fountain from which every blessing flows.

This perspective reshapes how the letter is read. Ephesians is not primarily a celebration of the church’s status but a celebration of Christ’s supremacy. The church’s identity is real and glorious, but it is derivative. The glory belongs to Christ. The blessings belong to Christ. The purpose belongs to Christ. The church participates in these realities only because it is united to him.

Paul’s early emphasis guards against the subtle temptation to make the church the center of the story. The church is precious, but not because of its own merit. It is precious because it is Christ’s. The Father’s love for the Son is the reason the church exists at all. Holding that truth steady keeps the focus where Paul places it: on the One Cared About, the One in whom all things hold together, and the One through whom God is bringing the new creation into being.

Father, thank you for your divine love for your Son, which results in our present blessing and future hope.