Bible Strands
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with a doxology, moving from the greeting of grace and peace (v. 2) into the body of the letter.
The words — εὐλογητός (eulogētos) is an adjective, not a noun; it literally means "praiseworthy" or "blessed be," functioning here as an exclamatory doxological formula rather than a statement about a blessing.
The thread — The identical phrase "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" opens 2 Corinthians 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:3, marking a fixed doxological pattern across these letters. Ephesians 2:6 grounds the "heavenly realms" language in the believer's resurrection and seating with Christ.
Why it lands — The verse is declarative, not hortatory: it states what God has already done, not what the reader must do. It asks the reader to receive the fact of their position before any application follows.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
- Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
- Genesis 22:18 And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- John 10:29 My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
- Ephesians 1:20 which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
- Psalms 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.
- Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
- Galatians 3:9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.