Our salvation is the product of God’s redemptive work through Christ on the cross. Through it we have forgiveness of our sins and that according to the riches of His grace. Those in Christ have had God’s grace lavished on them. Notice that the result of this is the gift of knowing the mystery of God’s will through His wisdom and insight. This is all according to God’s purpose.
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 (NASB)
The unregenerate cannot conceive of a religion unless it is fully entwined with the exercise of free will as an expression of devotion or belief. Genuine Christianity is not a religion if that is how religion is defined. Authentic Christianity consists of God’s work in the hearts of those whom He gave and drew to Christ. The Holy Spirit regenerated them at the will of the Father as they heard the gospel thereby enabling them to believe and repent. From that time forward they serve their Saviour and God as His disciples. Their divine faith, a gift from God, overcomes the world as they obey Him, love Him, and love their brethren. They share their faith with others thereby being obedient disciples whom God uses to bring others into the Kingdom.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6 (NASB)
The Greek word translated as “Blessed” here is eulogētos. We get the English word “eulogy” from this word, which means to praise or commend. Why did God create the Universe? It was for His glory. The supreme duty of all of God’s creatures is praise Him and bring Him glory. However, in Genesis 3 we learn that Man fell into sin. This caused our entire race to be born spiritually dead. Because this truth about God and His glory is not apparent to the spiritually dead they do all for self. However, they are without excuse because the glory of creation points all to the creator.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Romans 1:18-21 (NASB)
Since all unregenerate people live this way, no matter how religious they are, God did a magnificent work to redeem some of them for adoption into His family. Paul tells us that these are “blessed” in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Here in Ephesians 1:3 we have the adjective, participle and noun form of what is translated as “Blessed” or “Blessings.” We have looked at the first one, the adjective, where God is glorified. The participle, eulogeō, describes how God has blessed “us.” This is an aorist participle in active voice. This means that it could signify action prior to that of the main verb if its relationship to it is temporal. There are no verbs in v3 but vv3-6 is one sentence. We see the noun form where Paul states that all in Christ have every spiritual “blessing in the heavenly places.”
