Epheser 1

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KI zu diesem Kapitel fragen

Ephesians 1 opens with a blessing that in Greek is a single sentence of 202 words, running from verse 3 to verse 14. It praises God for every spiritual blessing in Christ: chosen before the foundation of the world, predestined for adoption, redeemed through his blood, forgiven, let in on the mystery of God's will to bring everything together in Christ, made heirs, and sealed with the promised Holy Spirit as the down payment on the inheritance, all "to the praise of His glory." Then Paul prays that his readers may know the hope of God's calling, the riches of his inheritance, and the greatness of his power, the power that raised Christ and seated him above every authority as head over everything for the church.

Kapitelkommentar öffnen

Ephesians 1 begins with a sentence that Paul, or his secretary, could not bring himself to end. From verse 3 to verse 14 it is one Greek sentence, 202 words long, and it is one of the great pieces of praise in the Bible. Blessed be God, it says, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Then it unrolls the blessings like a scroll. He chose us before the world was founded. He predestined us to be adopted as his children. He redeemed us with his Son's blood and forgave our trespasses, lavishly. He let us in on the secret of his plan, which is to gather everything in heaven and on earth under one head, Christ. He made us heirs. And he sealed us with the Holy Spirit, the first installment of an inheritance still to come. Three times the sentence catches its breath with the same phrase: to the praise of his glory. Only then does Paul turn to his readers, and what he does is pray for them. He asks that God would open the eyes of their hearts to see three things they already possess, the hope they were called to, the wealth of the inheritance, and the size of the power at work in them. To measure that power he points to the one place it has been fully shown: God raised Christ from the dead, seated him at his right hand above every authority and every name, put everything under his feet, and made him head over all of it for the sake of the church, which is his body. The letter has not asked anything of its readers yet. It is still telling them what they have.

Wichtige Bibelstellen

Ephesians 1:3-6 Ephesians 1:7-10 Ephesians 1:13-14 Ephesians 1:15-19 Ephesians 1:20-23 Romans 8:28-30

Historischer und literarischer Kontext

The letter was written from prison, traditionally Rome around AD 60 to 62, and the words "in Ephesus" are absent from the oldest manuscripts, so it was probably a circular letter to the churches of the Roman province of Asia, of which Ephesus was the capital. Ephesus was famous for the temple of Artemis and for magic, which gives the letter's emphasis on Christ above "all rule and authority, power and dominion" a local edge. The opening blessing follows the form of a Jewish berakah, "Blessed be God," and the language of election and inheritance is Israel's, now applied to a church of Jews and Gentiles. A seal marked ownership and authenticity, and the "pledge" was a first installment guaranteeing full payment. Some scholars think a disciple wrote the letter in Paul's name.

Wie sich das Kapitel entfaltet

Verses 1 and 2 are the greeting. Verses 3 to 14 are the blessing, which many divide by the three persons: the Father's choosing and predestining in verses 3 to 6, the Son's redemption and the revealed mystery in verses 7 to 12, and the Spirit's sealing in verses 13 and 14, each part ending with "to the praise of His glory." Verses 15 to 23 are the thanksgiving and prayer: thanks for their faith and love, the request for a spirit of wisdom and enlightened eyes, the three things to know, and the description of Christ's resurrection, enthronement, and headship over the church, which is his body and fullness.

Warum dieses Kapitel wichtig ist

The chapter is the New Testament's densest statement of election and predestination and has been the battleground for that doctrine since Augustine; it is also the source of the phrase "the praise of His glory" and of the picture of the Spirit as seal and deposit. Verse 10, God's plan "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ," has shaped Christian thinking about the cosmic scope of salvation. The prayer of verses 17 to 19 is one of the most prayed passages of Scripture, and verses 20 to 23, Christ seated above every power with everything under his feet, ground the church's confidence in a world of rival authorities. "The church, which is His body" begins the letter's great theme.

Auslegungsfrage im Blick behalten

Whether "He chose us" means God chose individuals for salvation or chose a people in Christ, and whether predestination is compatible with human freedom, are questions this chapter raises without settling, and Christian traditions have divided over it for sixteen centuries. The 202-word sentence resists translation, and every English version has to decide where to break it and how to attach phrases such as "in love." Verse 23, the church as "the fullness of Him who fills all in all," can mean that Christ fills the church or that the church completes Christ, and interpreters disagree. The letter's authorship and the missing "in Ephesus" remain open questions.

Fragen zu diesem Kapitel

  • The blessing lists what God has done before anyone asked. How does starting from God's initiative rather than your own change the way you pray?
  • Paul prays that the "eyes of your heart" be enlightened to know hope, inheritance, and power. Which of the three is hardest for you to see right now?
  • The power at work in believers is the power that raised Christ from the dead. Where in your life would you expect to see that kind of power?

Mit Kontext studieren

Nutze dies als Kapitel-Leitfaden und gehe dann tiefer in den Text selbst. Ziel ist es, die Beobachtung zu verlangsamen, die Struktur wahrzunehmen und bessere Fragen zu stellen, bevor man vorschnell zu Schlussfolgerungen kommt.

Zu Notizen hinzufügen
1 Paulus, Apostel Jesus Christi durch Gottes Willen, den Heiligen und Treuen in Christus Jesus, die in Ephesus sind: 2 Gnade euch und Friede von Gott, unserem Vater, und dem Herrn Jesus Christus! 3 Gepriesen sei der Gott und Vater unseres Herrn Jesus Christus, der uns gesegnet hat mit jeder geistlichen Segnung in den himmlischen [Örtern] in Christus, 4 wie er uns auserwählt hat in ihm vor Grundlegung der Welt, dass wir heilig und tadellos seien vor ihm in Liebe; 5 und uns zuvorbestimmt hat zur Sohnschaft durch Jesus Christus für sich selbst, nach dem Wohlgefallen seines Willens, 6 zum Preise der Herrlichkeit seiner Gnade, worin er uns begnadigt hat in dem Geliebten, 7 in dem wir die Erlösung haben durch sein Blut, die Vergebung der Vergehungen, nach dem Reichtum seiner Gnade, 8 die er gegen uns hat überströmen lassen in aller Weisheit und Einsicht, 9 indem er uns das Geheimnis seines Willens mitgeteilt hat, nach seinem Wohlgefallen, das er sich vorgesetzt hat in sich selbst 10 für die Verwaltung der Fülle der Zeiten: alles unter ein Haupt zusammenzubringen in dem Christus, das, was in den Himmeln, und das, was auf der Erde ist, in ihm, 11 in dem wir auch ein Erbteil erlangt haben, die wir zuvorbestimmt sind nach dem Vorsatz dessen, der alles wirkt nach dem Rat seines Willens, 12 damit wir zum Preise seiner Herrlichkeit seien, die wir zuvor auf den Christus gehofft haben; 13 auf den auch [ihr] gehofft, nachdem ihr gehört habt das Wort der Wahrheit, das Evangelium eures Heils, in dem ihr auch, nachdem ihr geglaubt habt, versiegelt worden seid mit dem Heiligen Geist der Verheißung, 14 der das Unterpfand unseres Erbes ist, zur Erlösung des erworbenen Besitzes, zum Preis seiner Herrlichkeit. 15 Weshalb auch ich, nachdem ich gehört habe von dem Glauben an den Herrn Jesus, [der] in euch [ist], und von der Liebe, die [ihr] zu allen Heiligen [habt], 16 nicht aufhöre, für euch zu danken, [euer] erwähnend in meinen Gebeten, 17 damit der Gott unseres Herrn Jesus Christus, der Vater der Herrlichkeit, euch gebe [den] Geist der Weisheit und Offenbarung in der Erkenntnis seiner [selbst], 18 damit ihr, erleuchtet an den Augen eures Herzens, wisst, was die Hoffnung seiner Berufung ist, [und] was der Reichtum der Herrlichkeit seines Erbes in den Heiligen 19 und was die überschwängliche Größe seiner Kraft an uns, den Glaubenden, nach der Wirksamkeit der Macht seiner Stärke, 20 in der er gewirkt hat in dem Christus, indem er ihn aus [den] Toten auferweckte; (und er setzte ihn zu seiner Rechten in den himmlischen [Örtern], 21 über jedes Fürstentum und [jede] Gewalt und Kraft und Herrschaft und jeden Namen, der genannt wird, nicht allein in diesem Zeitalter, sondern auch in dem zukünftigen, 22 und hat alles seinen Füßen unterworfen und ihn als Haupt über alles der Versammlung gegeben, 23 die sein Leib ist, die Fülle dessen, der alles in allem erfüllt;)

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