Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
(Ephesians 1:1-3 ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
(Ephesians 1:1-3 ESV)
We can’t help but tell others about things that we consider to be good.
CS Lewis puts it like this:
all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. The world rings with praise — lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game — praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. . . . I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?”
Praise is a natural response to great things, we can’t help it.Click to Tweet this
That’s what we see at the start of the book of Ephesians - Paul usually starts his letters with a greeting and then a prayer for the recipients. Both of those elements are in this letter, but they are interrupted with v3-14. These verses are a 200 word long sentence praising God. 200 word sentence/song/poem praising God for who he is and what he’s done. It’s like Paul can’t help himself.
Why not read slowly through Ephesians 1:3-14 and let this reminder of good news of the Jesus cause you to naturally respond in praise?
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