Quick Devotional from Ephesians 1:3 (Observation from the Greek)

This is from my daily Greek exercise of sight reading a few weeks ago, courtesy of Vincent S Artale Jr.

Our text is Ephesians 1:3. Here’s my translation:

“SENTENCE 3 Εὐλογητὸς [T ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ T]
Blessed is God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

SENTENCE ‹ ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν
who bless us and with every spiritual blessing and in the heavenly in

Χριστῷ ›”
Christ

Here’s some observation:

• Twice in this verse we see the word “bless.”  Paul stating this twice shows this is an important subject in this verse.
• The first “bless” is an adjective to refer to God and the second is a participle describing God as the one who blesses us.
• Note how twice Christ is mentioned.
• Yet also notice how in the Greek God is the subject of this verse since it is in the nominative case and also being the subject of the participle since it in nominative case in simple apposition to “God.”
• In the Greek it is clear that “God and Father” is not two separate individual but two descriptions of one person.  God the Father is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• This verse states God is the one who blesses us “with every spiritual blessing and in the heavenly;” what are those exact blessings? The rest of the book of Ephesians would describe that to the readers!
• Note that the blessings is found in the sphere of Christ.  We must trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior to recieve these spiritual salvation which Ephesians is going to focus on our spiritual salvation.

Application:

• Do you realize that those who trust in Christ are blessed?  What are some of the blessings you know is taught in the book of Ephesians?
• When was the last time you thank God for all your blessings you have received from Him?  What can you thank Him for right now?
• Grace-based holiness is the opposite of self-righteous driven attempt to be “holy.”  Whereas self-righteousness is centered on pride of self and the attempt to earn God’s favor, Grace-based holiness is driven by the motivation of knowing and loving God for who He is and His grace already given to us.  Does your thanksgiving to God fuel you to lovingly obey Him?
• Not the emphasis on Christ even as God the Father is the subject of the verse.  Have you trusted in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ as the basis for your access to God and all His spiritual blessings?  If not, trust in Him today!