Ephesians 1:3-14 (Guide B)

Context of the Passage

Our text is part of the (usually brief) thanksgiving section of the epistle, which follows the greeting. In Paul's writing, such thanksgivings are typically short. In Ephesians it is not.

(Note: Ephesians is traditionally attributed to Paul, though this is now controversial among scholars. For simplicity, I will still refer to the author of Ephesians as Paul.)

Instead of a short thanksgiving, we find a rapturous eulogy for God. The form of this thanksgiving is argued to be connected to Jewish prayers by Pheme Perkins and others.

In Passover Seder prayers (and elsewhere in Jewish worship), the prayers begin with a berakah,…