Ephesians 1:3 Cross References - AUV

³ May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be praised, for He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in [fellowship with] Christ. [Note: The term “heavenly realms” is used somewhat differently throughout this book. Here it refers to Christians as part of the church on earth].

²⁸ Simeon took Jesus in his arms, praised God and said,

²⁹ What my Father has given me [i.e., my sheep] are greater than everything [else], and no one is able to steal them from the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

²⁰ When that day comes [i.e., after His ascension ?], you will know that I am in [fellowship with] the Father, and that you are in [fellowship with] me, and that I am in you [i.e., through the Holy Spirit].

² He will cut off [See verse 6] every branch [i.e., follower of Christ] who is in [fellowship with] me that does not bear fruit. And He will prune every branch that does bear fruit, so it will bear more fruit. ³ You people are already ‘clean’ [i.e., have been pruned of undesirable traits] because of [obedience to] the teaching I have given you. ⁴ Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains united to the vine, so neither can you people [bear fruit] unless you remain united to me. ⁵ “I am the vine; you people are the branches. The person who remains united to me, and I to him, will bear much fruit. For you cannot do anything if [you are] separated from me.

²¹ [I pray] that all of them may be one, just as you, Father, are [one] in [fellowship with] me, and I [am one] in [fellowship with] you, so that they also may be [one] in [fellowship with] us in order that the world may [see it and] believe that you sent me.

¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not ascended to the Father yet [Note: Apparently Jesus was discouraging Mary from embracing Him in worship as was done in Matt. 28:9, and thereby causing a delay of when the rest of the disciples would learn of His resurrection], but go to my brothers and tell them [I said] ‘I am [about] to ascend to my Father and to your Father, and to my God and your God.’”

⁵ In the same way, though we [Christians] are many, we are one [spiritual] body in [fellowship with] Christ, and each one of us is part of [all] the others.

⁶ so that in [genuine] unity and with one voice, you people may honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

³⁰ But God brought you into [fellowship with] Christ Jesus, who was made to be God’s wisdom for us. Through Christ you have received a right relationship with God, [as well as] holiness and redemption [i.e., being bought back from Satan].

¹² For [just] as the human body is one [unit], made up of many parts, and all the many parts make up a single body, so it is with Christ. [Note: Just as a human body is a single unit, and Christ is a single being, so the members of His body, the church, constitute one body. See verses 27-28].

³ May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Father of compassionate feelings and the God of all comfort, be praised.

¹⁷ Therefore, if any person is in [fellowship with] Christ, he is a new person. His old ways have passed away; now his ways have become new.

²¹ God considered Christ to be sinful on our behalf, even though He never sinned, so that we could be considered right with God through Him.

³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who should be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

⁹ So then, all those who have faith [in Jesus] receive a blessing along with Abraham, a man of faith.

¹⁰ [He did this] to fulfill His plan at the proper time, by bringing together everything [in the universe] under Christ’s headship --- things both in heaven and on earth.

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, will give you a spirit [i.e., a disposition] of wisdom and revelation [or, “give you the spiritual gifts of wisdom and revelation”], so you can have full knowledge of God.

²⁰ which He exerted when raising Christ from the dead and seating Him at His right side in the heavenly realms [i.e., heaven itself].

⁶ God raised us up with Christ [See Col. 2:12] and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms [i.e., in the church. See 1:3] in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus.

¹⁰ This was done so that now God’s many-sided wisdom could be made known through the church, to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms [Note: “Heavenly realms” here refers to the world around us, where these angelic beings (good or bad) view the unfolding of God’s wonderful plan],

¹² For our struggle is not [actually] against human beings, but against rulers and authorities and leaders of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [Note: “Heavenly realms” here refers to the struggle against Satanic powers which permeates life around us].

¹¹ and that everyone’s mouth should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

⁵ These priests serve [in a sanctuary] that is [only] a copy and a foreshadow of the heavenly one. Now Moses was warned [by God] when he was about to build the Tabernacle, for God said [Ex. 25:40], “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain [i.e., Mount Sinai].”

²³ Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things [i.e., the Tabernacle, its furniture and utensils, etc.] to be [ceremonially] cleansed by these things [i.e., the blood of animal sacrifices], but the heavenly things themselves [i.e., the church, both on earth and in heaven] require better sacrifices than these [i.e., the sacrifice of Christ].

³ God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to be praised for being so merciful as to have given us a new birth, which provides for us a hope of never ending life through the means of Jesus Christ’s return from the dead.

⁹ And whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to God, who sits on His throne and who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ [then] the twenty-four elders fall down in front of Him who sits on His throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. And they will throw their crowns in front of the throne and say, ¹¹ “Our Lord and our God, you deserve to receive the glory and the honor and the power for you created everything, and they exist because you wanted them to, so they were created.”

⁹ And they sang a new song [which went like this]: “You deserve to take the book and break the seals on it, for you were killed and, with your blood, you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and race and nation, ¹⁰ and you made them into a kingdom and a priesthood for [serving] our God, and they will rule on the earth.” ¹¹ Then I looked, and heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living beings and elders. They numbered in the tens of thousands, and thousands and thousands [more]. [Note: The Greek says “myriads of myriads”]. ¹² They were saying in a loud voice [See Note at 4:8], “The Lamb, who was killed, deserves to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and splendor and praise.” ¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the ocean and everything in them, saying [See Note at 4:8], “May there be praise and honor and splendor and power forever and ever, to God who sits on His throne and to the Lamb.” ¹⁴ And the four living beings said, “May it be so.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.