Ephesians Chapter 1, Part 1 (of 5 Parts)

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Ephesians Chapter 1, Part 1 (of 5 Parts)

By: Karl Kemp

This verse-by-verse study of Ephesians chapter 1 was taken from my original paper titled, "Verse-by-Verse Studies of Ephesians Chapters 1 and 4; and Romans 8:16-39," which was published July, 2000. I was able to use bold, underlining, italics, and footnotes in the original paper and in the version that is available on my website (Google to Karl Kemp Teaching). I will always use the New American Standard Bible (NASB), 1995 edition, unless I mention otherwise. Sometimes I will use double brackets [[ ]] and (( )) to make them more obvious.



INTRODUCTION



This paper started with verse-by-verse studies of Ephesians chapter 1 and Romans 8:16-39. I consider Romans chapter 8 and Ephesians chapter 1 to be two of the most important chapters in the New Testament. The first half of Romans chapter 8, which is extremely important, powerfully deals with holiness and the victory over sin through new-covenant salvation. Those verses (Rom. 8:1-17) have already been discussed in a verse-by-verse manner in my book, "Holiness and Victory Over Sin" (pages 116-123) and in articles 6-8 of my 28 article series titled, "Holiness and Victory Over Sin," which are available on this Christian article site, but the second half of this important chapter hasn't been discussed in my writings.



It was convenient to discuss Ephesians chapter 1 with the second half of Romans chapter 8 because both of these passages contain some of the most important verses in the New Testament that emphasize God's sovereign role in our salvation (especially Eph. 1:3-14; Rom. 8:28-30), a salvation that was planned in detail before the foundation of the world. I'll discuss Rom. 8:16-39 in a separate article on this Christian article site.




Some Christians miss the Biblical balance by overusing the verses that emphasize God's sovereign role in our salvation. They don't adequately balance what these verses teach with the larger number of verses that emphasize our role in our salvation. I believe Calvinists miss the balance to some extent, some more than others. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not attacking Calvinists (or other members of the one body of Christ). I was brought to Christ through Calvinists; as a young Christian I attended a Calvinistic church for several years; I was grounded in Christ mostly through Calvinists; and I graduated from a Calvinistic seminary (with an MA degree in Biblical Studies). Most of this was a very positive experience. Furthermore, I have observed over the years that some of the best books and Bible commentaries have been written by Calvinists. I sincerely thank God for the Calvinists.



Other Christians (including Arminians), partly in reaction to those who minimize, or even deny, our role in our salvation, tend to explain away (interpret away) much of what these verses that emphasize God's role teach; they tend to understate God's role and overstate our role. We desperately need to hold the balanced truth of what the Bible teaches on every topic, and this is an important topic. Over the years I have found the verses that emphasize God's role (verses that are emphasized by Calvinists) to be extremely edifying, but it's very important that we seek for, and hold, the balanced truth. We must make holding the balanced truth of what the Bible teaches a top priority. It's necessary for us to understand our role (our role that was assigned to us by our Sovereign God) and to do everything that's required of us BY THE GRACE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. I thank God for the Arminians too. More often than not I agree with the Arminians when they differ with Calvinists.



One of the sections of the original version of this paper is titled "Excerpts from Norman Geisler's 'Chosen but Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election.' " The contents of this recently published book (1999) fit very well with the discussion of this paper that is aiming for the balanced truth regarding God's role and our role in our salvation. Dr. Geisler calls himself a moderate Calvinist. I'm sure many Calvinists would say that he deviates so much from some of the basic ideas of Calvinism that he shouldn't be called a Calvinist. He believes in the Perseverance of the saints (once saved, always saved), but he doesn't accept the rather standard Calvinistic ideas regarding the first four letters of the Calvinistic TULIP. (The Calvinistic TULIP is discussed in my paper, "Once Saved, Always Saved? that is on my internet site, for one place.) Anyway, whatever Geisler is called, I found his book to be quite helpful, and I agree with most of what he says. I do think, however, that he misses the balance somewhat by not fully incorporating everything that the New Testament says in the verses that emphasize God's role in our salvation.



Admittedly, it's not easy to determine the balance because the Scriptures don't clearly show us exactly where the balance is. The Scriptures have quite a few verses that emphasize God's sovereign role in our salvation, and they have many verses that emphasize our role, but for the most part, they don't show us exactly where the balance is. One of the primary things we need to do is to refrain from just emphasizing the verses that fit our particular viewpoint while minimizing, or trying to explain away, or just ignoring the verses that don't fit our viewpoint. Yes, this happens a lot, even with many scholars.



When I use this paper in class settings, I plan to study Eph. 1:3-14; Rom. 8:28-30; and the section with the excerpts from "Chosen but Free" together as a unit. Those reading this paper should consider that approach. I plan to include the abbreviated excerpts from "Chosen but Free" along with the verse-by-verse study of Rom. 8:16-39 on this Christian article site in the near future. The quotations from Geisler (with my comments) are greatly abbreviated in the internet version. You could get a copy of the original paper by contacting me.



The remaining verses of Ephesians chapter 1 (Eph. 1:15-23) are quite important and interesting. In these verses the apostle Paul prayed for his readers. It's a significant prayer (especially when coupled with the prayer of Eph. 3:14-19) that can teach us a lot about how to pray for ourselves and for one another. Paul prayed that the eyes of the hearts of his readers would be opened so they could understand the riches of the glory to which they had been called. In the future there is eternal glory. In the present everything we need has been provided in Christ Jesus, with whom we are united (through faith and by the indwelling Holy Spirit). He, our elder brother (God the Son; the God man), has all authority NOW; every enemy is beneath His feet. Through His unlimited authority and through the sufficient (resurrection) power made available to us (in union with Christ), we can be what God wants us to be, and do what He wants us to do, for His glory and for our good. We must know and understand these things in order to be able to have faith for them and to walk in them.





Now we'll start with Eph. 1:1.



"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints [[The English word "saint" means holy person, a person set apart for God. The Greek adjective "hagios" that is translated "saints" here (the adjective is plural here in 1:1) is often translated "holy," including in Eph. 1:4. The New American Standard Bible, 1995 edition, translated hagios as follows: holy (62), Holy (92), Holy of Holies (1), holy one (5), holy ones (1), holy place (7), most holy (1), saint (1), saints (59), saints' (1), sanctuary (2). (I took this information from the back of the "Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" for the NASB [Holman, 1981, 1998], page 1503. I consider a concordance like this to be one of the most important tools available for Bible study.)]] who are at Ephesus [[The words "at Ephesus" are omitted in some important early Greek manuscripts. It's a common view that the apostle Paul did not send this epistle just to the saints at Ephesus, but that he also sent it to the Christians at other cities. Unlike with Paul's other epistles, there's nothing in this epistle of a personal nature, only that he was writing (at least for the most part) to Gentile Christians (cf. Eph. 1:13; 2:11-22; 3:1-13; and 4:17-19). It was probably written from Rome about AD 60-63. In the providence of God, this epistle was preserved (as part of the New Testament) for all Christians. I consider Ephesians to be one of the most important and interesting books in the New Testament.]], and who are faithful in Christ Jesus [By new-covenant definition, Christians are enabled, and are required, to be saints/holy and faithful.]: (2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (3) Blessed [[The NIV has "Praise (be to)." God the Father is to be blessed/praised (with thanksgiving) for the blessings He has bestowed on us in Christ Jesus (very much including the blessings that are reserved for the future). This sentence, which continues through verse 14 in the Greek (what a glorious sentence!), puts a strong emphasis on praise to God for His gracious and glorious plan of salvation. In verse 6 Paul speaks of "the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved [Christ Jesus]," and in verses 12 and 14 he speaks of "the praise of His glory." In verse 7 he speaks of "the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us." In verse 5 he speaks of "the kind intention [good pleasure] of His will," and in verse 9 of "His kind intention [good pleasure] which He purposed in Him [Himself]."]] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ [[Paul goes on to describe many of these spiritual blessings as he continues this long sentence. The primary blessings we have in Christ are spiritual, but the blessings are not limited to the spiritual dimension. Some of these blessings are available to us now, and some of them are reserved for the future (cf. Eph. 1:14). Even now we have the victory "in the heavenly places" (we live in the heavenly places now) by virtue of our union with Christ Jesus - by our being "in Christ." On "the heavenly places," see Eph. 1:20; 2:6; 3:10; and 6:12. Note that the words "in Christ," or equivalent words (like "in Him," "in the Beloved") are repeatedly used in this long sentence (and quite often in the New Testament), referring to the glorious union believers have with the Lord Jesus Christ (verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 [if you translate "in Him," with the NASB and NIV], 11 ["in whom"], and 13). Verse 5 shows that we are adopted as sons through Jesus Christ.]], (4) just as He [God the Father] chose us in Him [in Christ] before the foundation of the world [[(This double bracket continues for a page and a half.) Compare Eph. 1:5, 11; Rom. 8:28-30 (These verses are discussed in my verse-by-verse study of Rom. 8:16-39); 2 Thess. 2:13 (This verse is discussed on pages 181, 182 of my book, "Holiness and Victory Over Sin."); Rev. 13:8; and 17:8 ((Revelation 13:8 is discussed in my book, "The Mid-Week Rapture," and Rev. 17:8 is discussed in my paper that discusses Rev. 14:6-19:21. These two verses deal with the Lamb's book of life. They show that ever since the foundation of the world this book has had some names (not all names) written in it, the names of the elect, those chosen by God before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) for salvation in Christ Jesus. In Rev. 3:5 Jesus warned some Christians that if they didn't repent their names would be erased from the book of life.))



It's important to know that God, based on His foreknowledge (Rom. 8:29), chose us as individuals before the foundation of the world. (He also planned to sacrifice His Son, the Lamb, "before the foundation of the world" [1 Pet. 1:19, 20; cf. 2 Tim. 1:9].) Such teaching, which rightly emphasizes God's role in our salvation and is designed to draw forth the praise of the saints for His spectacular, super-generous plan of salvation, will help establish our hearts and lives in the grace and peace of God. It's designed to draw forth a response of love and an abiding (faith) commitment to fully submit to, and to fully walk in, the full salvation provided by Him.



There's always a need to balance verses that emphasize God's role in our salvation (the role that He, the Sovereign God, assigned to us) with the large number of verses that show the necessity for us to fulfill our role (by His grace through faith). God took the initiative in our salvation, and we couldn't do our part apart from His sufficient grace, but it's equally true that we must do the things that are required of us. If we don't, things won't work out for our good or for the maximum glory to God.



Those that God chose, He predestined and He called, but those who are called must answer the call and submit to God and His Word through faith, and they must "work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12) through the enabling grace of God in Christ (cf. Phil. 2:13). For further discussion aiming at a balanced Biblical viewpoint see my paper, "Once Saved, Always Saved?" (That entire paper is relevant, but especially see page 13; these page numbers are for the internet version of this paper [under Rev. 3:5] and pages 23, 24 ["Aiming for a Balanced Biblical Viewpoint"]); and see my "A Paper on Faith" (The entire paper is relevant, but especially see pages 3-12 [Introduction]; pages 34-37 [under John 6:44, 65]; page 43 [under Acts 13:48]; pages 43, 44 [under Acts 2:39; this discussion deals with God's "call" to salvation, especially with His special [limited] call of the elect ((I had a lengthy footnote: In that discussion I also listed some verses that demonstrate that it's also Biblical to say that God calls all mankind (not just the elect) to repent and submit to the gospel. (Christ died for all mankind, and all are called to repent and submit to the gospel.) Add Matt. 22:14 to that list, "For many are called [In this parable, all are called/invited to the wedding feast], but few are chosen [at the end]." Matthew 22:14 requires a little discussion. For one thing, the word "chosen" is used in a different sense than in Eph. 1:4 (and often). Matthew 22:14 speaks of the king's choosing at the end (on judgment day, where it will be obvious who has answered God's call/invitation on God's terms) rather than God's choosing at the beginning ("before the foundation of the world"). Also, to understand Matt. 22:14 we must see the connection between the "invitation" of Matt. 22:3, 4, 8, and 9 (especially verse 9) and the being "called" of 22:14. The Greek verb ("kaleo") translated "invite" by the NASB in 22:9 could be translated "call." The Greek adjective translated "called" ("kletos") in Matt. 22:14 is closely related to the verb ("kaleo") used in Matt. 22:3, 4, 8, and 9; it was derived from the verb. This Greek verb is normally translated call (in some form) by the NASB: It has call (in some form) 121 times compared to the 19 times it has invite (in some form). In the margin of the NASB at 22:14, it says "or, invited" instead of "called." The NIV has "invite" in verse 9 and "invited" in verse 14.)); pages 44, 45 [of my "A Paper on Faith," under Acts 16:13, 14]; pages 86, 87 ["A Chart that Will Help Us Understand the Meaning of the Words Faith/Believe and Other Key New Testament Words"]); and see the section of the original version of this paper titled, "Excerpts from Norman Geisler's 'Chosen but Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election,' " which will also help the reader better understand the Biblical balance between God's role and our role in His plan of salvation. (An abbreviated version of that section is included with the paper on Ephesians chapters 1 and 4 on my internet site, and, as I mentioned, I plan to include that abbreviated section along with the verse-by-verse study of Rom. 8:16-39 on this Christian article site in the near future.)]], THAT WE SHOULD BE HOLY AND BLAMELESS BEFORE HIM [my emphasis]. [[(This double bracket continues to the end of Part 1 and into Part 2.) On chosen to be holy, cf., e.g., Deut. 7:6; 14:2. As I pointed out under Eph. 1:1, the same Greek adjective translated "holy" here was translated "saints" in verse 1 (the adjective was plural in verse 1). The call and enablement to be "holy and blameless" before God is a major part of the present spiritual blessings given to us in Christ Jesus. Our thinking right in our hearts and living right (by God's grace through faith) is the bottom line of Christianity (cf., e.g., Eph. 2:8-10; 3:14-6:17; Rom. 6:1-23; 8:1-14; 1 Pet. 1:13-25; 2:24; 4:1-6; Rev. 2:1-3:22; and 22:12-15). Through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus (cf. Eph. 1:7), and by the work of the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph. 1:13, 14), Christians are enabled to live in a state of holiness and blamelessness - set apart (by God) for God, and living in the center of His will, with the victory over all sin. ((It's true, of course, that forgiveness is a foundational part of the Christian gospel that is provided through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus. This truth is typically well understood by Christians, but there is a major problem when, as it so often happens, most of the emphasis is put on forgiveness and right standing. In my opinion we should put about ten percent of the emphasis on forgiveness and about ninety percent on being righteous and holy through the atoning death of Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.)) This is the ideal state that we can, and should, be living in as born-again Christians. Holiness is not an optional matter for Christians (e.g., Heb. 12:14 NIV, KJV), and we must make holiness a top priority. Christians aren't automatically holy; the only way we can live in holiness is by grace/the Spirit through faith (a faith that is based on the good news that is spelled out in the New Testament).




A major problem we have in the body of Christ is that many Christians (even the majority) don't believe we can actually live in a state of holiness. Living in a state of holiness means to be set apart for God and living for Him in righteousness, doing things His way, by His grace, from the heart, through faith. It includes living with the victory over sin. The ideal, and it's not presented in the New Testament as an unrealistic ideal, is that we shouldn't sin at all (by God's definition of sin). But many Christians (even the majority) don't believe we can ever stop sinning in this life. (And they even cite a few verses from the Bible to supposedly prove that all Christians will necessarily continue to sin throughout their lives on the earth. For a start see pages 194-206 of my book, "Holiness and Victory Over Sin," The book is available on my website and at amazon.com.) If we aren't even aiming at the target (of total victory over sin), we certainly aren't going to hit the target.




It's commonly said, for example, that we all sin daily in thought, in word, and in deed. Because of their understanding of what the Bible teaches, they (by their own admission) don't have faith for holiness and victory over sin. (They don't think we're supposed to.) Also, even if you know and believe that the New Testament does call Christians to holiness and victory over sin, the victory still is very far from being automatic or always easy - the world, the flesh, and the devil are engaged in intense warfare against us. For a study on the meaning of holy/holiness, I recommend the last chapter of my book, "Holiness and Victory Over Sin." (Most of the book is relevant to the topic of walking in holiness with the victory over sin.) Included in that chapter are discussions of Eph. 5:27 and Col. 1:22, two other verses where Paul used the words "holy and blameless."]] In love [[The NASB (and the NIV), wrongly I believe, inserts a period before the words "in love." In the first place, as I mentioned, verses 3-14 are all one sentence in the Greek. It's common for English translations to split this sentence up into several sentences; I don't necessarily object to this, but if we add a period, we should add it after the words "in love," with no punctuation before "in love." My Greek New Testament (United Bible Societies, Fourth Revised Edition, 1993) and the NKJV have no punctuation before "in love" and a comma following. I prefer this translation. The Amplified Bible and the NRSV have no punctuation before "in love" and a period following. The KJV has no punctuation before "in love" and a colon following. I could live with either one of these translations. By inserting a period before "in love," the NASB (and NIV) wrongly (from my point of view) eliminates the important relationship (intended by Paul) between our being "holy and blameless" and our (fully) abiding IN AN EXPERIENTIAL LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. First we should think of God's love for us, but also included is our walking in love before Him (by His grace/Spirit), including our love for God, our love for the rest of the children in His born-again family (cf. 1:15), and for those outside the family.




We can speak of the love God had for us before we became Christians (e.g., Eph. 2:4, 5a; Rom. 5:8; John 3:16), but - and this is important - we aren't able to experience and abide in His love (at least not to any significant extent) while we are denying (or indifferent to) His existence and/or rebelling against Him, and before we come into a relationship with Him through the new covenant in the blood of Christ. Note, for example, what Paul said regarding the former (pre-Christian) status of the Christians from Gentile backgrounds in Eph. 2:1-3, 11-18; 4:17-19, 22; and 5:8-14. We can't be reconciled to God, have peace with Him (both mentioned, for example, in Eph. 2:16, 17), and abide in His love without changing our attitudes, motives, and priorities and beginning to truly submit to Him and live for Him in righteousness and holiness (by His grace in Christ). Our attitudes, motives, and priorities will be changed as we appropriate and cooperate with the saving grace of God in Christ. Being reconciled to God, having peace with Him, and abiding in His love involve much more than just being forgiven, as significant as that is.




On the important relationship between our being "holy and blameless" (living in accordance with the will of God) and our abiding in His love, see the discussion under Eph. 3:14-21 (especially on 3:17, 19), which is a very important cross-reference, in my "A Paper on Faith" (pages 53-55 in the internet version), and see, for example, Ex. 20:1-6; Deut. 5:6-10; 7:6-16; 2 Chron. 6:14; Psalm 5:4-7; 11:4-7; 103:11; 145:20; 146:8, 9; Dan. 9:4; Hos. 9:15; Matt. 7:21-23; John 14:15-24; 15:9-14; 16:27; 1 Cor. 2:9; 16:22; James 4:8; Jude 1:21; and Rev. 2:4, 5, 15, 16; 3:1-6; 15-22. We can love only because God first loved us and because we are now experiencing His love for us (cf. 1 John 4:7-21). We are caught up into His love - WE ARE CAUGHT UP INTO THE LOVE GOD THE FATHER HAS FOR GOD THE SON (cf. Eph. 1:6 ["in the Beloved"]; Col. 1:13 ["the Son of His love"]) - EVEN AS WE ARE CAUGHT UP INTO HIS LIFE, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND HIS HOLINESS. God is the only source for these things, and for everything else that is good.



A big part of what makes this work is the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is a very special, very personal love-gift from God to Christians (cf. Rom. 5:5, which is discussed on page 90 in my book "Holiness and Victory Over Sin"), who enables us to know of, and to directly experience, His love for us (cf. Rom. 8:14-16, 26, 27; 1 Cor. 2:12, 13; 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; 13:14; Eph. 1:13, 14; 2:18; 3:16-19; and 1 John 4:13), and who enables us to love (cf. Gal. 5:22).



There's a lot of teaching around the body of Christ about God's unconditional love. I believe much of this teaching is simply wrong, and it can be dangerous. It goes far beyond the balanced teaching of the Bible to tell people that God will always continue to love them just the same no matter what they believe in their hearts or what they do, or don't do. This out-of-balance teaching is one reason there's so little fear of God and so little repentance and motivation for righteousness and holiness in so many Christians.



Let's not see how far we can push the love and grace of God. IT'S NOT THAT WE CAN IN OURSELVES BE WORTHY OF, OR EARN, GOD'S LOVE, but if we continue to reject and disdain His love and grace, we will ultimately be confronted with His eternal wrath, which is very different than His supposed unconditional, eternal love. Compare, for example, Rom. 2:4-10; Gal. 5:19-21; 6:7-9; Eph. 2:3 ("children of wrath," on the path that culminates in God's wrath in the day of His wrath); 5:1-7; and Col. 3:5-11. The Old Testament verses that spoke of God's never-ending love for Israel, by the way, did not cover those individuals who willfully (and without repentance) forsook their covenant with God. Sincere Christians who love God and are living for Him in truth and righteousness are not in danger of facing God's eternal wrath, but they can block the full flow of His experiential love through failing to live in the center of His will. Let's not settle for less than God's will for us - for His full glory, and for our sakes. If we don't put God first in every area things cannot work right. In Luke 6:46, Jesus said, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" We must truly love God and His unique Son with a top priority, which includes obeying Him (cf. John 14:23, 24).



It's true, of course, that we must emphasize God's love, mercy, and forgiveness. (The devil and his hosts spend a lot of time attacking God's people, telling them that God doesn't love them, when He does; telling them they have committed the unpardonable sin, when they haven't; telling them that they never can stop sinning, that God's grace isn't sufficient; etc.) But it's not acceptable to put all the emphasis here. It won't work! We need the full gospel (which includes the balanced gospel)! God knows our hearts. He knows if we are making Him and His Word top priority in our hearts. If we're not, we're going to have to make it top priority to change (to repent) by His sufficient grace in Christ through faith.



I'm including a section titled "Further Discussion Aiming for a Balanced Biblical Understanding Regarding God's Love and the Love He Expects from His Born-Again Children" at the end of this study of Ephesians chapter 1.



Some Quotations. First I'll quote part of what Francis Foulkes said under Eph. 1:4 ("Ephesians" [Eerdmans, 1989], pages 55, 56). "This doctrine of election, or predestination, is not raised as a subject of controversy or speculation. It is not set in opposition to the self-evident fact of human free will. It involves a paradox that the New Testament does not seek to resolve, and that our finite minds cannot fathom. Paul emphasizes both the sovereign purpose of God and our free will. He took the gospel of grace and offered it to all. Then to those who had accepted the gospel he set forward the doctrine of election for two reasons, both of which we find linked similarly together in John 15:16; Romans 8:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9 and 1 Peter 1:2. Firstly, Christians need to realize that their faith rests completely on the work of God and not on the unsteady foundation of anything in themselves. It is all the Lord's work, and in accordance with his plan, a plan that reaches back before the foundation of the world. There is, therefore, no place for human boasting. [We must respond to God's grace with faith, and we must continue to cooperate with His grace by faith, but that is nothing to boast about.] Secondly, God has chosen us that we should be holy and blameless before him (cf. 5:27 and Col. 1:22). Election is not simply to salvation, but to holiness of life. We were 'created in Christ Jesus,' [Eph.] 2:10 is to express it, 'for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.' We were 'predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son' (Rom. 8:29).



The ideal and goal of the Christian life, therefore, is perfect holiness (cf. Matt. 5:48), expressed in its positive aspect as dedication of life...and negatively as freedom from every fault. Behind the [Greek] word "amomous," used similarly in Philippians 2:15, and here translated "blameless" (Revised Version 'without blemish'), lies a use in connection with Old Testament sacrifices. Only a perfect animal could be offered to God (e.g. see Lev. 1:3, 10). So, as Heb. 9:14 puts it, Christ offered himself morally and spiritually 'without blemish' to God (cf. 1 Pet. 1:19). The life of the Christian is also to be 'without blemish,' not merely by human standards but before him who is the witness of all that anyone does, and thinks, and says."



We will continue this verse-by-verse study of Ephesians chapter 1 in Part 2.



© Copyright by Karl Kemp

Author Resource:-> karlkempteachingministries.com Karl Kemp received BS and MS degrees in engineering from St. Louis University and worked on various space projects throughout the 60s. He became a born-again Christian in 1964, and he left engineering behind at the end of the 60s. He has been a Bible teacher in the greater St. Louis area for 45 years. He received an MA in Biblical Studies from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis in 1972 with high honors. He has taught some ten classes in New Testament Greek at a Bible college and churches using the textbooks used in seminary.

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