A Mighty Fortress is Our God

God’s Grace

This text is one of the richest sections on the blessings of grace in sacred Scripture.

God’s grace is proclaimed in grand and lofty terms, yet as it sinks in there is a personal grittiness that says, “It’s for me.”

In the original language, verses 3-14 are one single sentence.

This is not, however, simply a frenetic gushing run-on sentence.

If you’re familiar at all with musical theory, you know that a major chord is made up of 3 notes played at the same time.

Chords provide a depth to music, and in the same way, Paul expresses his praise in numerous 3-note chords throughout this section.

The first two are layered here for us in verse 3.

Notice the three-fold use of the word “bless.”

Ephesians 1:3 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Paul is writing to the Ephesians, but he directs this primarily to God.

In other words, he isn’t so much calling on the Ephesians to praise God as he is actually doing it himself.

The form of praise that we see here comes from the Old Testament where the Lord was regularly praised for his mighty acts.