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Christmas · Second Sunday after Christmas · Year A

Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed with Every Spiritual Blessing

January 4, 2026

Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph, Rembrandt van Rijn
Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1656Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
The old man props himself up on the red bed and lays his right hand on the younger boy’s head, crossing his arms to do it. Joseph stands behind in a turban, one hand under his father’s wrist as if to move it back to the elder son, and Asenath watches from the right.He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will.Rembrandt van RijnRembrandt, late, painting a blessing that goes deliberately to the wrong head and letting nobody in the room object very hard.Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, KasselThe Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister at Schloss Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel.Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelLuke 2:40-52Lk 2:40-52
EpistleEph. 1:3-14Eph 1:3-14
Old Testament1 Kings 3:4-151 Kgs 3:4-15
PsalterPs. 119:97-104Ps 119:97-104

Overview & Insights

“he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” (Ephesians 1:4)

In Greek a single sentence runs from v. 3 to v. 14, a berakah in the Jewish form, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”, built of subordinate clauses that accumulate rather than advance. Its skeleton is a threefold refrain of praise to God’s glory (vv. 6, 12, 14), which some read as three stanzas answering to Father, Son and Spirit. The phrase “in Christ” or its equivalent occurs about a dozen times and does most of the real work. Two terms repay care: the “mystery” of v. 9 is not a secret withheld but a plan now disclosed, and the verb of v. 10, anakephalaiosasthai, to sum up or gather under one head, supplied later theology with the word recapitulation. Set as the epistle for the Sunday after Christmas, the passage places a choice made before the foundation of the world beside a Gospel about a boy of twelve.

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Commentary

Commentary on Ephesians 1:3-14Commentary on Eph 1:3-14 Working Preacher

Luther Seminary exegesis on election, adoption, and the mystery of God's will set forth in Christ, the RCL page for this Sunday.

Ephesians 1:3-14 CommentaryEph 1:3-14 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Reformed commentary on the great blessing hymn and being chosen before the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1 Commentary: Every Spiritual Blessing in ChristEph 1 Commentary: Every Spiritual Blessing in Christ Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's evangelical verse-by-verse study of predestination, redemption, and the sealing of the Spirit.

Ephesians 1:3 CommentariesEph 1:3 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentators aggregated on the blessing of God with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:3-4 CommentaryEph 1:3-4 Commentary Precept Austin

Deep verse-by-verse resource collating scholars and word studies on election and adoption in Christ.

Background & Word Study

Enter the Bible: EphesiansEnter the Bible: Eph Enter the Bible

Luther Seminary background on the letter's cosmic scope and its language of the heavenly places.

Ephesians OverviewEph Overview BibleProject

Animated overview tracing the letter's vision of unity in Christ across heaven and earth.

Ephesians 1:3 InterlinearEph 1:3 Interlinear BibleHub

Greek text with parsing and Strong's numbers for blessing (eulogia), adoption, and inheritance.

The Church Fathers

Catena: Ephesians 1Catena: Eph 1 Catena

Patristic comment gathered on election before the foundation of the world and adoption as God's children.

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