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Ephesians 1

Paul joins praise and prayer to show that salvation rests in God’s gracious purpose and Christ’s supreme rule.

Paul addresses the saints at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus, opening with grace and peace. He praises God for choosing his people in Christ before creation, redeeming them through Christ’s blood, and sealing believers with the promised Holy Spirit. After hearing of their faith and love, Paul gives thanks and prays that they will know God’s hope and power. That power raised Christ from death and placed him above every authority, as head over the church.

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1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love,
5having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved.
7In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
8which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him.
11We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will,
12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ.
13In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
15For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love which you have toward all the saints,
16don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,
18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
20which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
22He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly,
23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ephesians 1:4God’s choice before creation grounds the opening praise and names holiness as the purpose of belonging to Christ.
Ephesians 1:11The inheritance belongs within God’s settled purpose, extending Paul’s praise from redemption to the fulfillment of God’s will.
Ephesians 1:7Christ’s blood is the means of redemption, and forgiveness displays the riches of the grace Paul celebrates.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans shares the themes of adoption and God’s purpose for those he calls, while Colossians shares redemption, forgiveness, and Christ’s headship over the church. The Spirit’s seal and pledge also appear in 2 Corinthians, linking God’s present gift with his promised future.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out to you about the purpose of God’s choice in verses 4–6?

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Which part of Paul’s prayer would you most want someone to pray for you, and why?

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Questions people ask about Ephesians 1

What does predestination mean in Ephesians 1?

Paul describes God’s purpose before creation: choosing his people in Christ for holiness and appointing them for adoption through Jesus Christ. Verse 11 connects their inheritance with God’s will. Christians differ over how this relates to human response, but the chapter places the emphasis on God’s grace and the praise of his glory.

What does it mean to be sealed with the Holy Spirit?

In verses 13–14, Paul says those who heard the Good News and believed in Christ were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. The seal marks them as belonging to God. Paul also calls the Spirit a pledge of their inheritance, connecting God’s present gift with the redemption still to come.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).