Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the holy ones who are [in Ephesus] faithful in Christ Jesus: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Father’s Plan of Salvation. 5-6
GOD THE CREATOR
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish…
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
Fulfillment through Christ. 7-10
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery* of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him…
Inheritance through the Spirit. 11-14
COME HOLY SPIRIT
…In him you also, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment* of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.
REFLECTION
In this first chapter of a letter to the Ephesians, Paul calls to mind the Most Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God in three Persons.
At the Council of Nicea 325 and Constantinople 381, the Bishops of the world declared definitively that Jesus the Word made Flesh was the same substance as the Father and that the Holy Spirit was the Lord and giver of Life proceeding from the Father and the Son
From all eternity, without beginning there is One God in three Divine Persons. It is a mystery of our Faith that we can never fully comprehend or exhaust but we are able to speak about it.
How do you relate to the Father??? to the Son??? To the Holy Spirit???
If a man loves me, says the Lord, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” John 17:21-23
Is our home (self) ready to receive the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? If not, what house cleaning must we do?
CLOSING PRAYER
Most Holy and Blessed Trinity we acknowledge you as the central mystery of our Faith. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are one God in Three Persons. Let this mystery of our faith not confound us but draw us into the abiding love you have for each other and for us, in Jesus’ name we pray!
