Ephesians 1:2

This is the usual salutation in the Pauline, as in the Petrine Epistles; 1 and 2 Timothy are exceptions.

3-14. This doxology or thanksgiving should be compared with that in 2 Corinthians 1:3. That is for a special deliverance; this is for God's general mercy in revealing His purpose to sum up all things in Christ. 'We Jews have long had this promise; but ye Gentiles also have been sealed with the Holy Spirit as an earnest of the inheritance.' The long sentence, with its accumulated richness of language, shows how difficult St. Paul finds it to express in words the majestic thoughts of which his mind is so full. 'I bless God, who has blessed us with the best of blessings, in virtue of our union with Christ. For this end He selected us from all eternity to live in His presence in holiness and love. All along He destined us to be His sons through the work of Jesus Christ. He did this simply out of His good-will, and to call forth our adoring gratitude. This was His grace to us in Him who is the Beloved, who redeemed us by His death, and freed us from our sins. What a wealth of grace is this! It conveys wisdom and understanding; for He has let us know His secret purpose, which directs and explains the course of ages, to bring all things, both in heaven and on earth, into harmony in Christ. In Christ, I say, in whom we have been chosen as God's portion; for all along He destined us, according to His all-wise will, that we Jews, who had fixed our hopes on Christ, should live to His glory. And with us Jews, you Gentiles also are now associated by faith in the gospel, and have received the Spirit as a pledge that you are His portion, and that His work of redemption is complete and redounds to His glory.'