Happy Father’s Day!
Most of you will do something today to honor the dads in your life. You will give gifts, attend church, cook lunch, make memories, or maybe even share a post on social media.
Rightly so! Fathers deserve honor for the care, wisdom, and sustenance they have provided throughout our lives.
That’s exactly what Paul does in today’s Scripture, but the apostle is not writing about an earthly dad.
He’s talking about the Father, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and calling his readers to recognize how this Father has poured out blessing upon blessing on his children.
Let’s see how he introduces us to the Father and his work. To summarize, the blessed One has blessed us with blessings.
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 1:3 (ESV)
That’s a lot of blessings; three to be precise! Last week, we took a look at the Hebrew word for “bless” (Hebrew: בָרַךְ; barak), literally conveying the idea of kneeling (Click here to read it). Since today’s New Testament passage was originally written in the Greek language, we face another word for blessing: eulogia (Greek: εὐλογέω), a combination of the Greek words for “good” and “word.” It is actually where we get the word “eulogy.”
Putting both of these ideas together, what is blessing? When we kneel before God in worship (Hebrew: barak), we are not just lowering ourselves. We’re lifting God up with our good words of praise (Greek: eulogia). Simply, we bless God the Father by talking good about him.
The Father is blessed.
And Paul uses the adjective “blessed” to begin his thesis of praise, telling us who God is before he tells us what God has done.
The form of the word he uses (eulogētos) is a specific adjective found only in the New Testament to describe the Father or Jesus.
It’s never used for Mary, the apostles, or any other human being. This word is exclusively applied to God, reserved for the One who is eternally worthy of worship.
The Father has blessed us.
In our verse, this blessed One has blessed us. That’s the second use of the word in this verse. This time it is a past-tense verb (eulogēsas) written in a form that shows this action was a one-time event that has already been completed.
God is still actively blessing us, yes. But that is not what Paul is getting at here.
The Father’s children have all the blessings.
Paul says God has blessed us “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” That’s the third use of the word blessing, this time as a noun (eulogia). It refers to the actual gifts we have received by being in Christ. And when you have received Jesus, God is not sparing us gifts, saving one of them for Christmas next year or our birthday. No, he has already given it all to you. Every spiritual blessing. All the grace. All of Christ. All of it is yours, now and forever.
So what are these blessings Paul says we’ve already received?
1. The Father has chosen you.
The moment you believed, you became something you were not—a child of God. But before you were born, before the world was created, God had already set his love on you. He chose you—personally, intentionally, lovingly—to be part of his family. This is why Paul describes salvation as adoption.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:4-6 (ESV)
We were orphans in need of a home, helpless children without a dad to provide and protect. But God chose action. He chose to take you into his home and gave you his name. That’s the heart of a Father. These words were not meant to start a debate, but to drive us to reflect on the Father’s amazing love. I want to encourage you here to, without objection, take God at his word here: We chose him, but he chose us first.
2. The Father has redeemed you.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us…
Ephesians 1:7-8 (ESV)
God didn’t just bring you into his family. He paid the full price to do it. Through Jesus, he has poured upon us the blessings of forgiveness and redemption. The Father has taken you in and restored you—no guilt or shame.
3. The Father has given you security.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined… [and] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it…
Ephesians 1:11, 13-14 (ESV)
Dads do their best to prepare their children for what is ahead, but God the Father has secured your “forever and ever.” In Christ, you have a heavenly inheritance. In the meantime, he has given you the Holy Spirit as a seal and a guarantee to remind you of these truths:
You belong to me. I love you. And I’m not going anywhere.
Bee-Attitude
Blessed are the adopted sons and daughters of God, for the Blessed One has already blessed them with every spiritual blessing.
Grant Turner is the editor of the Barnesville Buzz and an educator, coach, and writer based in Barnesville, Georgia. He shares stories that bridge community, faith, and personal growth. In addition to teaching and coaching, Grant is Director of Musical Worship and a Sunday School teacher at New Hope Baptist Church in Zebulon, Georgia. He lives in Barnesville with his wife, Haley.
