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Ephesians 1:3

in Ephesians 1

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:

KJV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

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This verse in Ephesians 1

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ephesians 1:3 · Written before 420.

Now the phrase "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" is to be read in a double sense. It first means that God is blessed as the maker of all things, this being the main clause. To this is then added "who is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." It means that both God and Father are to be referred in common to our Lord. Blessed is the God of the man who has been assumed and the father of him who was the Word of God with God in the beginning!

This site's exposition

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

The doxology opens the letter's long sentence, three to fourteen in the Greek running unbroken as one period, every clause hung on being in Christ. Blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places is the thread's first beat, epouranios naming the unseen world where every gift is located before it reaches earth. The blessing moves from Father to Son and out to the church in the shape the whole paragraph will keep, God the giver, Christ the location, the Spirit the seal at its close.

The record, by era

The Reformation1 voice

A commentator

John Calvin

1509–1564

Commentaries (1554)

The design of the apostle, therefore, in asserting the riches of divine grace toward the Ephesians, was to protect them against having their faith shaken by the false apostles, as if their calling were doubtful, or salvation were to be sought in some other way.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - This commences a sentence which continues to the close of Eph 1:12. The length of the periods in the writings of Paul, is one cause of the obscurity of his style, and renders an explanation often difficult. The meaning of this phrase is, that God has laid a foundation for gratitude for what he has done. The ground or reason of the praise here referred to, is that which is stated in the following verses.

The words behind it

22 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Peter 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,86 works2 Corinthians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,61 worksEphesians 2:6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,60 worksEphesians 6:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.47 worksPsalms 68:19Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah38 worksGenesis 22:18And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”37 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 5:9–14And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.36 works1 Chronicles 4:10And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez.31 worksJohn 10:29–30My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.30 worksEphesians 1:17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.29 worksEphesians 1:20which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,26 worksPsalms 72:19And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.23 worksEphesians 3:10His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,22 worksGalatians 3:9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.22 worksIsaiah 61:9Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.19 worksPsalms 134:3May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.18 worksJohn 17:21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.17 worksPsalms 41:13Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.17 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ephesians 2:6

    And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

    it leads to

    • Colossians 3:1–3

      Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

    • Romans 6:4–5

      We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of…

    • Colossians 2:12–13

      And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.

  • Through

    1 Peter 1:3

    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

    it leads to

    • 1 Peter 1:23

      For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

    • 1 John 5:4

      because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

    • Romans 15:13

      Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

    • Titus 3:4–6

      But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

    • Ephesians 1:7

      In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Where this verse is studied

About Ephesians

The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Ephesians: the study guide →Read Ephesians 1 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ephesians 1:3; John Calvin, Commentaries and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ephesians 1 →