1-2I, Paul, am under
God's plan as an apostle, a special agent of Christ Jesus, writing to
you faithful believers in Ephesus. I greet you with the grace and peace
poured into our lives by God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.
3-6How
blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our
Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in
him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind,
had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy
by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family
through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He
wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by
the hand of his beloved Son.
7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
*Headline from the Church of Ephesus worship bulletin
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