Verse: Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)
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,
Devotion
If you grew up in a “traditional” church setting, you probably remember singing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”, known as The Doxology. Beginning in verse 3 and extending for several more verses, Paul here offers his own doxology. Though this verse serves as an introduction to the specifics that will be addressed later, it is nonetheless rich in doctrine. Let’s take a look.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” – Paul’s version of “Praise God” dives a bit deeper, confirming the Lordship of both God the Father and of his Son, Jesus Christ. As we don’t have the capability to “bless” God in the same way he blesses us, this must obviously be an exaltation of his worthiness of our praise.
“who has blessed us in Christ” – Paul leaves no room for interpretation as to the giver of blessings. But who are “us”? We know that Paul himself was a Jew, while the majority of the church in Ephesus would have been Gentile. What then, do they have in common? They are believers “in Christ”, which means that “us” would also include those of us who are believers to this day. Let’s also notice that the tense Paul uses – “has blessed” – indicates an event which has already taken place. Because as soon as we receive Christ as our Savior, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and our inheritance as sons and daughters of the King is locked in place. The blessings are already ours, even if they are yet to be fully realized.
“every spiritual blessing” – not to be confused with earthly blessings: health, shelter, prosperity, etc. The spiritual blessings include the forgiveness of our sins, our adoption into the family of God, the promise of eternity with him, etc. But the word “spiritual” can also be taken here to reference the Holy Spirit, by which these blessings are delivered to us. We see now that in this one verse (and without even concluding his sentence) that Paul has spotlighted all the members of the Trinity.
“in the heavenly places” – this refers to not only the origin point of the blessings but also the location of some of them. For instance, we won’t be able to enjoy eternity in God’s presence until we come into his presence.
In a time of such turmoil, what a wonderful reminder Paul gives us that this world is not our home and that further blessings still await us!
Prayer
Thank you, God, for the rich blessings you have poured out on us, and for those that are yet to come. Amen.
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