Heavenly Blessings for Faithful Sojourners

Paul wrote Ephesians, likely a circular letter (routed to other churches) to the church of Ephesus, while in a Rome prison awaiting trial. He wrote the letter around AD 60, towards the end of Paul’s life

Ephesus was a leading center in the Roman Empire with major trade routes and home to one of the Wonders of Ancient Civilization — the Temple of the Greek goddess Artemis that towered over the bay entry for ships. Against a cultural environment rife with paganism, perversion, sorcerers, and precious metal idol makers, Paul emphasizes the universal church of Jews and Gentiles by salvation through Jesus Christ in the letter’s first three verses.

Paul expresses his wish for grace —God's unmerited favor — and peace from God and our Lord Jesus Christ while also showing an equal relational state between God and Christ. The peace Paul refers to for the believers is not a sense of quiet like a home with a TV turned off, social media devices put away or sitting in the woods reading a book. The peace Paul meant is a depth of contentment — a settled soul.

In Ephesians 1:3, Paul writes, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”

It reminds us that while we live in the fleshy/material world where the emphasis is a horizontal vision, our spiritual blessings that captivate and settle our soul are vertical, whose genesis is the heavenly realms. Why? Because as believers, we are united in Jesus Christ. In other words, while living an earthy life, we are to live with an upward heavenly vision where every spiritual enrichment provided to believers rests in Jesus Christ. This visionary and spiritual awareness should dictate our paths in life on this earth.

During our early morning walk, Cindy mentioned it was getting lighter each morning, making it easier for us to see what had been walking in the dark for months. I was mulling over this devotion and the emphasis on spiritual blessings and a vertical vision sourced from the heavenly realms when Cindy’s mention of light led me to search for a Leo Tolstoy reflection in his book A Confession. The famous Russian writer wrote it while he struggled with his current path in life, depression, and a search for God.

Tolstoy wrote, “Live to seek God, and life will not be without Him. And stronger than ever rose up life within and around me, and the light that then shone never left me again.” 1

A vision of eternal light Dante also saw when he poetically arrives in Paradise — the Heavenly Realms:

O grace abounding, by which I have dared

To fix my eyes through the eternal Light

Within that Light a person is so changed

It is impossible to give consent

Ever to turn from it to other sight 2

Paul had this eternal Light of Christ in mind, which lit his heart and flooded his soul with blessings and contentment writing his greetings of encouragement while reflecting on his dangerous and riotous but miraculous times in Ephesus. Encouraging words Paul knew believers would read while living in a pagan culture under the shadow of a Temple to a venerated Greek goddess who didn't bestow spiritual blessings. They are words of encouragement for us too as a reminder to give praise for our spiritual blessings and not abandon being united in Christ when faced with living in a culture increasingly agnostic to the Christian faith.

-Dan Nickel

1 Leo Tolstoy, A Confession [London: Walter Scott, 1887], Kindle 834-837. 2 Dante, Paradiso (Canto 33, Lines 97-102