Ephesians 1:3-14 is a tangled mess, grammatically speaking. Our English translations (thankfully) break it up into multiple sentences (the ESV divides it into 5 sentences, each of them more lengthy than the average English sentence), but in Greek. One gigantic run-on sentence that spans 12 verses. It’s the longest sentence all the New Testament.
If you tried to diagram this sentence, you’d need one very large piece of paper. (I tried after taking the Ephesians class in my undergrad days I spoke of in my introduction to this series, and I ended up taping multiple sheets of typing paper together. If memory serves, it took something like 12 sheets.). Grammatically, that means that there’s one main verb, and every other verb in this passage somehow modifies the main verb.
That main verb is “blessed” at the beginning of verse 3. In Greek, the verb is ευλογητος1 (eulogētos) - the word from which we get the English term eulogy. It’s literally a “good word” about it’s subject - here “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The difference of course is that the modern word implies a funeral oration, whereas the original word does not carry that connotation.
God the Father is singled out here for praise. Why? Keep reading. “Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, which the subsequent verses will enumerate and expound on.
But before we look at that long (and frankly convoluted) list, a few general comments are in order.
It may be helpful to divide the passage thusly: 4-6; 7-12; 13-14. The first section focuses on the activity of the Father, the second on the Son, and the third on the Spirit. This is a very Trinitarian passage, showing how each member of the Trinity has contributed to our salvation.
There is also a temporal progression to the passage. Paul starts in eternity past, “before the foundation of the world” (v. 3) and runs all the way through the receipt of our future inheritance at the final resurrection in verse 14.
Next time: What in the world does “in the heavenly places” mean in verse 3?
Greek purists take note: I am not bothering with typing the Greek accents. If this bothers you, go sit down, breathe into a paper bag, and rethink your life choices.