Finding Grace In Ephesians: A 6-Day Bible StudySample

Paul Holds Nothing Back

Paul wasn’t accustomed to holding anything back. The vigor with which he persecuted the church before his salvation became the passion with which he later ministered.

Paul was all in, you might say.

He worked side by side with the Ephesians, and he taught them the same things whether they were Jews or Greeks. He told them to turn to God and have faith in Christ Jesus.

It was with equal passion that he wrote this first letter to Timothy and the church that had captured his heart. He takes a breath and exhales, and what comes out, in the original Greek, is one stunning, unbroken sentence. He holds nothing back.

Can you read Ephesians 1:3-14 in one breath?

I wonder how many times Paul had to re-dip his pen in the ink to slide it across the page. He was probably moving so fast that each line wore thin to the edge.

I imagine he might have had tears in his eyes as he considered what he most wanted his friends in Ephesus to know. He was eager for them to remember what he had taught them about the truth of the gospel.

This was always Paul’s heartbeat—the gospel story.

In his word-soaked, gospel-packed opening sentence, Paul was sure to pull the thread of salvation through each member of the Trinity—because each part is crucial.

I love how this note in The Voice Bible translation explains it:

This letter begins with praise and thanksgiving to:

1.  God the Father, who blesses us,

2.  Jesus, who redeems us,

3.  The Holy Spirit, who seals us.

We get to soak it all in as well.

I realize this might seem like a lot of doctrine for the opening lines of a letter. But we don’t want to miss any of it; these things matter deeply.