Who you are before it tells you what to do. Three chapters of identity, three of ordinary life.
Paul opens with a majestic berakah (blessing) tracing the sweep of salvation from pre-temporal election to eschatological inheritance. The Father chose believers in Christ before the foundation of the world; redemption comes through Christ's blood; the mystery (mystērion) of God's will is to unite all things in Christ. The Spirit serves as the arrabon (down payment/guarantee) of the inheritance. Paul's prayer for the Ephesians requests wisdom, revelation, and comprehension of the surpassing greatness of God's power—the same power that raised Christ and seated Him above all authority.
Ephesians may be a circular letter to multiple Asian churches, which would explain the absence of personal greetings despite Paul's long Ephesian ministry. The berakah form follows Jewish liturgical blessing patterns. The 'heavenly places' (epouraniois) framework, unique to Ephesians, establishes a cosmic scope for the letter's theology.
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