Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Ephesians · About this commentary
To Sum Up All Things in Christ
Ephesians 1:7-10
7 In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace · WEB
Redemption is stated in the present tense, and the purpose behind it is given a scope that reaches past the readers entirely.
In him we have our redemption through his blood. The verb is present — a possession held, not a transaction remembered — and the means is named without softening. The word for redemption is the buying out of a slave or a captive.
Beside it stands the forgiveness of our trespasses, and the measure given for both is the riches of his grace. The letter uses that vocabulary of wealth repeatedly, and always of God rather than of anything the readers brought.
Verse 9 introduces the letter's key noun. God has made known the mystery of his will — and in this letter mystery never means a puzzle. It means something formerly hidden and now disclosed, which is exactly how chapter 3 will define it Ephesians 3:5. The word occurs six times here Ephesians 3:3 Ephesians 5:32 Ephesians 6:19.
Then verse 10, and it is the widest statement in the letter. The purpose is to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. The verb means to gather under one head, the way a total is drawn at the foot of a column.
That is the goal the whole letter serves, and it explains why chapter 2 treats two peoples becoming one as more than a social achievement. If the announced end is everything gathered under one head, then Jews and gentiles in one body is the first visible instalment of it — which is why the powers are said to be watching Ephesians 3:10.
The timing is given as the fullness of the times, an administration with an appointed season rather than an improvisation.
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