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Ephesians 1:2-3 – Our Father, His Father
In Israelite culture, the oldest son and brother got a “double blessing.” That means when the father died, the oldest brother got twice as much as everyone else. As the second born son, that doesn’t sound fair to my modern ears.
While reading Ephesians I noticed how repetitious verses 2-3 were in the first chapter. I had to re-read because I couldn’t figure out why. That’s when I noticed slight but important differences. Here’s the text: Ephesians 1:2-3:“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.”
In v.2 it reads, “God our Father” followed by “and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In v.3 it reads, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The relational change is found in who has God as their Father. This makes Jesus our “Big Brother” (please don’t take offense at this phrase); and the firstborn as learned elsewhere. Our Brother received as His inheritance “everything” (1:22). Our inheritance comes through our Brother Jesus (1:11). Our inheritance is “every spiritual blessing in the heavens” (1:3). Jesus received everything and we receive every spiritual blessing. That’s a better deal than in the old days where the younger sons only received leftovers.
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