These verses touch on the following things: blessings, choices, destiny, standing, goals, and the way of salvation.
Verse 3 begins with the proclamation: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Messiah Yeshua…”. Here we get a very Jewish perspective: Paul, having been raised as a Pharisee (very much like the rabbinical Judaism of our day) was very familiar with the Jewish prayers as he would’ve prayed them many times in his life. This verse is reminiscent of the verse that is quoted during a bar mitzva. This is an important detail to observe here since it helps us to understand Paul’s most likely audience here: Jews familiar with rabbinical Judaism. In using the phrase “God and Father,” Paul also uses language similar to that which Yeshua used during his earthly ministry.
Further on in verse 3, we see that it is written: “who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah.” Here is where we see the blessing: God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing! We deserved death and instead we have received life. Our blessing is found in Yeshua alone. We don’t need more than this. In essence, we have been fully blessed in the work of Yeshua.
In verse 4, Paul continues to speak about how God chose us even “before the foundation of the world”. This is similar to the message of John 15, which also speaks of how we as believers have been chosen by God. God did not choose us because we deserved it but rather had mercy on us and took the yoke that belonged to us upon his shoulders.
In verse 5, he proceeds to focus on our destiny and the reason that we were chosen. God wants us to be holy and without blemish, to live a life that brings glory to God as we love one another, holy and set apart from the rest. Our destiny is to be set sanctified as children of God. As such we are royalty in the Kingdom of God, adopted as children of the king.
In verse 6, we see why we are to be holy: “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved”. We are here because of the Will of God unto the praise of the glory of His grace. Does our life bring praise to the glory of His grace? Do we truly walk in that which we have been called?
Paul continues in verse 7 to focus on how we have received redemption through the blood of Yeshua. Our ability to be holy, receiving every spiritual blessing, and receiving sonship has been given to us through the work of Yeshua in his death and resurrection. In Yeshua’s death, we received life. With the life that we have received in Yeshua, we must honor God. We must live every day unto the Lord, being mindful of our destiny in this world, which we have received by the grace of God being filled with every blessing unto the splendor of our Father.
These verses touch on the following things: blessings, choices, destiny, standing, goals, and the way of salvation.
Verse 3 begins with the proclamation: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Messiah Yeshua…”. Here we get a very Jewish perspective: Paul, having been raised as a Pharisee (very much like the rabbinical Judaism of our day) was very familiar with the Jewish prayers as he would’ve prayed them many times in his life. This verse is reminiscent of the verse that is quoted during a bar mitzva. This is an important detail to observe here since it helps us to understand Paul’s most likely audience here: Jews familiar with rabbinical Judaism. In using the phrase “God and Father,” Paul also uses language similar to that which Yeshua used during his earthly ministry.
Further on in verse 3, we see that it is written: “who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah.” Here is where we see the blessing: God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing! We deserved death and instead we have received life. Our blessing is found in Yeshua alone. We don’t need more than this. In essence, we have been fully blessed in the work of Yeshua.
In verse 4, Paul continues to speak about how God chose us even “before the foundation of the world”. This is similar to the message of John 15, which also speaks of how we as believers have been chosen by God. God did not choose us because we deserved it but rather had mercy on us and took the yoke that belonged to us upon his shoulders.
In verse 5, he proceeds to focus on our destiny and the reason that we were chosen. God wants us to be holy and without blemish, to live a life that brings glory to God as we love one another, holy and set apart from the rest. Our destiny is to be set sanctified as children of God. As such we are royalty in the Kingdom of God, adopted as children of the king.
In verse 6, we see why we are to be holy: “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved”. We are here because of the Will of God unto the praise of the glory of His grace. Does our life bring praise to the glory of His grace? Do we truly walk in that which we have been called?
Paul continues in verse 7 to focus on how we have received redemption through the blood of Yeshua. Our ability to be holy, receiving every spiritual blessing, and receiving sonship has been given to us through the work of Yeshua in his death and resurrection. In Yeshua’s death, we received life. With the life that we have received in Yeshua, we must honor God. We must live every day unto the Lord, being mindful of our destiny in this world, which we have received by the grace of God being filled with every blessing unto the splendor of our Father.