1:15
The first part of the letter has focused on what God has done, now Paul turns his attention to what this means for us, though this section ends up focusing on Christ! We should treat the section headings that are in most of our Bibles wisely. They are helpful here in marking the next step or phase in the letter, but we should also note that there is a clear thread through Ephesians, a clear stream of thought. “For this reason ..” For what reason? The reason is that God has a wonderful plan and purpose, and that we who believe are included in that plan and purpose. We are included in Christ. Note also that all of God’s plans are fulfilled through or in Christ, so if we are to be part of those plans we need to be in Christ. What are the reasons that Paul thought the Ephesians were “worth” praying for? Their faith in Christ and their love for other Christians or saints. It is only by having faith in Christ that can be in Christ. And if we do believe in Christ then we are in Him, and so in God’s plan and purpose. To use common terminology, there is a vertical and a horizontal. There is a God focused and a man focused aspect. So they believe in Christ, and they have love for all the saints. This is a repeated pattern in the Bible. We see it in the two greatest commandments, first love God, then love your neighbour. We cannot be truly God centred without being man centred. We cannot be man centred (in a good way) without being God centred.
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