Paul’s Great Thanksgiving (Ephesians 3:1-14)

This article is a little more theologically complex, but it is worth working through to find the blessing in understanding the fullness of God’s grace in salvation.  Warfield’s main point here is that Ephesians 1:3–14 is Paul’s overflowing doxology for the greatness of salvation, showing that every aspect of redemption comes entirely from God’s grace and therefore all glory belongs to Him alone.

Paul traces salvation from God’s eternal purpose, through Christ’s redeeming work, to the Spirit’s application of salvation, presenting the whole history of redemption as the work of the triune God. Whether the exact grammar of “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” is taken one way or another, Warfield insists the central truth remains unchanged: believers possess immeasurable blessings in Christ, all graciously given by God, so that the only fitting response is grateful praise—soli Deo gloria.

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This short study is part of a series from Warfield called Faith and Life, first published in 1916. Warfield spent much of his life close to home, caring for his sick wife. In the providence of God, this enabled him to give time to writing, and we are the beneficiaries. These short studies are taken from his Sunday afternoon classes with his students in Princeton, where he explores “the deeper currents of Christian faith and life.”

You can find the full book in PDF here.