OD7

Unless something changes drastically this will be the last post on Ephesians 1:4.  We have been using it to look at both how to and the benefit of taking time to observe in your Bible Study.

The last phrase in the verse is, “in love.”  Note that this phrase follows the same format that I mention in the post about the phrase “in Him.”  So that means that this construction could be translated:

• In love
• By love
• With love 
• Among love

Work through all of those translations as you read through the verse.  Note the different nuance each rendering lends to your understanding of the passage.  The sense I am getting thinking through this is that God’s choice of us in Christ was an act of love that places us before Him blameless in a state of love, with the result that we respond in love.

The purpose of these seven posts was not to fully explore the content of Ephesians 1:4, we have not.  In fact we have just scratched the surface.  The purpose was to demonstrate that if we slow down and look, there is a lot, and I mean a whole lot, to see in passages with which we are very familiar.  If we do take the time, our understanding of the depth of both God’s book and His nature and character will be drastically increased.  The value in doing this is far greater than that we could ever get by reading someone else’s observations on a passage, including mine.

I pray you will engage.  If you do and you have questions, do not hesitate to ask.  I will help.

The posts in this series:

• Observation Demo
• Observation Demo 2
• Observation Demo 3 (OD3)
• OD4
• OD5
• OD6