Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; NHEB
The blessings are spiritual because they come from the spiritual dimension. The Greek word translated here as “heavenly places” will appear four more times in Ephesians. The Adam Clarke Commentary explains it this way:
“Some think the word should be understood as signifying blessings of the most exalted or excellent kind, such as are spiritual in opposition to those that are earthly, such as are eternal in opposition to those that are temporal; and all these in, through and by Christ.
We have already seen, on Galatians 4:26, that the heavenly Jerusalem, or Jerusalem which is from above, is used by the Jews to signify the days of the Messiah, and that state of grace and glory which should follow the Levitical worship and ceremonies; and it is possible that St. Paul may use the word επουρανια, heavenly things, in this sense: God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things, or in this heavenly state, in which life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel. This is apparently the preferable sense”.
The Scottish theologian A.M. Hunter places people in one of two camps: one-world or two-world. Those with a one-world view see the world only as they can sense and experience it in a materialistic way. The Biblical perspective is that there is also a second, spiritual realm. In the Biblical perspective, these two worlds, while distinct, are not separate from each other.
We rarely talk about ascension. From Calvin’s perspective, it wasn’t about Jesus going somewhere but rather about becoming something. Christ passes from the visible reality to the invisible dimensions of the spiritual realm yet He is still providing spiritual blessings and guidance to us through the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world for us to be holy and blameless before Him, in love BLB
God has made a choice (i.e., an election). Some believe this choice was made prior to Genesis 1:1 while others believe it occurred between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. (See “Eternal Covenant” or “Everlasting Covenant”). “Chose us” points to justification while “holy and blameless” point to sanctification.
Throughout Scripture, God has elected people such as Abraham, Noah and David on the basis of His sovereign choice and not because they merited such special consideration. (Mary is another example as is Jeremiah).
In both the Koran and the Jewish Midrash, they have a story about Abraham to explain why God chose him. According to the story, Abraham’s father was an idol maker and one day while his father was away, Abraham destroys all of the idols except for one. When his father asks what happens, Abraham points to the remaining idol as the culprit. His father disagrees on the basis that a piece of inanimate wood isn’t capable of doing anything (which is precisely Abraham’s point). There is a similar story in Catholicism about Mary.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” BSB
The structure of God is eternal (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The language in this verse is particularly interesting because it is plural.
The first eleven chapters of Genesis is all about humanity as there are no Jews and Gentiles. The people end up in a mess as shalom has been undone so God calls Abraham (Genesis 12) to be a blessing to the world. This election is intended for the Jews to be the channel of salvation to all which they failed to do.
Our favorite rabbi is doing a lesson on Jonah and from his perspective, Jonah is a hero for arguing with God about engaging the Ninevites since God’s covenant is with the Jews. Jonah then pouts when they respond and repent.
Ephesians 1:5 For He pre-destined us to be adopted by Himself as sons through Jesus Christ–such being His gracious will and pleasure– WEY
The word “predestined” tends to make us think about God choosing the people who will be saved. That isn’t the case here as Paul is not teaching “who” but rather “how”. The “how” is that we will become sons and daughters through our belief in Jesus Christ. In other words, anyone who is saved will be saved through Christ.