redemption (v. 7) can be used for freeing a slave (Ex. 21:8), freeing from captivity (Isaiah 51:11). Christ’s death is to be understood as the sacrifice for humanity’s.

theodoret [393-466] - He has conferred on us the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He has given us the hope of resurrection, the good news of immortality, the promise of the kingdom of heaven, the dignity of sonship. These he calls the spiritual blessings. And he adds in heavenly places, because these gifts are heavenly. [1]

prayer as thanks:

This opening prayer introduces several motifs that echo through Ephesians: God’s rule over the universe, the holiness of God’s people, a religious life as light shining in darkness, the joy that we take in salvation. The writer Anne Lamott, apologizing for her simple religion, has said that she had only two basic prayers: "Help, help, help" and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Blessed be God" remind us that the first movements of prayer should be thanksgiving and praise directed to God. The moments of asking, lament, or reaching out in the emptiness of despair, equally necessary . . . make no sense without this framework. God is Lord of the universe, not a distant force unconcerned about human beings. God is our greatest benefactor . . . [thus], Ephesians has combined the traditional Jewish prayer with the familiar civic rhetoric of eulogy to drive home the point that God is the true source of goodness. Praise of God is the whole truth, not a pack of lies. [2]

 

[3] Recall a family (yours or another’s) that has opted to adopt a new family member. What of the joys and concerns that each parent has? What might some of the joys/concerns be of the one who has been adopted?

How might knowing that God has "adopted" you change the view you have of yourself and God?

block #1 - You might begin by envisioning the good life-what that might look like to different kinds of people.

block #2 - Move to the lesson; explore the texture of the passage, e.g. is this doxological? Praise-centered? A Thanksgiving? Praise-mixed-with-intercession? Liturgically, this could have been the words placed within a baptismal service. If so, what would such words teach a new Christian?

block #3 - Briefly visit and unpack the meaning of the five or six "blessings" that the pauline writer enumerates such that the listener is able to appreciate and also give thanks for what God in Christ has brought to us.

see also this week's sermon published on the Epistle lesson

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[1] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture  (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 110.
[2] New Interpreters’ Bible XI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), pp. 377-78.
[3] Serendipity Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1998), page 354.