“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:11, 12, NKJV).

 The believers in Ephesus seem to have lost a clear sense of who they are as Christians, to have “lost heart” (see Eph. 3:13). In line with what he has affirmed earlier (Eph. 1:3-5), Paul wishes again to shore up their identity as Christians. Believers are not victims of haphazard, arbitrary decisions by various deities or astral powers. They are the children of God (Eph. 1:5) and have access to many blessings through Christ based on the deep counsels and eternal decisions of God. It is God’s purpose, counsel, and will (Eph. 1:11) that is being worked out in their lives in line with the still wider plan of God to unite all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10). They may have unshakable confidence in their standing before God and in the effectiveness of the blessings He provides. Their lives should shout the message of Ephesians 1:3-14: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

 Compare the uses of the idea of “inheritance” in Ephesians 1:11, 14, 18. Why do you think this idea is important to Paul?

 Have you ever received an inheritance as the result of someone’s death? Perhaps a relative left you a valuable treasure or a considerable sum of money. In Paul’s view by virtue of the death of Jesus, Christians have received an inheritance from God (Eph. 1:14) and become an “inheritance” to God (Eph. 1:18).

 In the Old Testament, God’s people are sometimes thought of as being His “heritage,” or inheritance (Deut. 9:29, Deut. 32:9, Zech. 2:12). This sense of being or becoming God’s inheritance is clear in Ephesians 1:18 and is the likely meaning of the term in Ephesians 1:11 as well (which would then be translated, “In him we have become an inheritance”). As a central element in their Christian identity, Paul wishes believers to know their value to God. They not only possess an inheritance from God (Eph. 1:14, Eph. 3:6, compare Eph. 5:5), but they are God’s inheritance.