Reading for February 1st

Read Ephesians 1.1-14
In 1.1-2: The epistolary opening is typical for Paul's letters: identification of the letter's sender and recipients, followed by words of greeting.
In verses 3-14: Praise to God.
The repetitions of praise (vv. 6, 12, 14) divide the one Greek sentence into three parts (vv. 3-6, 7-12, 13-14).
In verse 3: Heavenly places occurs nowhere else in the New testament but Ephesians (1.20; 2.6; 3.10; 6.12).
In verses 5-6: Adoption, a favorite concept for Paul (Gal 4.15; Rom 8.15, 23; 9.4)); Paul never beloved to characterize Christ through later Christian writers, like Ignatius, do.
In verse 7: For Paul, redemption (a purchase payment) covers all of the believers' lives and is completed only at the second coming ('parousia").
(See 3.24; 8.23; 1 Cor 1.30; see also 1 Cor 15.23)
Ephesians holds a similar view but never mentions parousia.
In verse 8: Wisdom and insight emphasize adequate perception; the recipients should avoid deceit and spread truth (4.14, 25; 5.6; 6.14).
In verse 9: Mystery, Colossians reserves this expression for Christ (Col 1.26-27; 2.2; 4.3); here it indicates God's reconciliation of all things, including Jews and gentiles in the body of Christ (3.3-4,9).
In verse 10: Gather up, "head up; Jesus is the head of the body and the church grows towards that head.
In verse 11: Paul links adoption to inheritance vv. 7-12 to 13-14, anticipating the direct address to gentiles in 2.1 and 3.1.
A seal confirms authenticity; a pledge is a deposit against a full amount to be paid later; both are used similarly in Paul's undisputed letters (2 Cor 1.22; 5.5; Rom 8.23).
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