Ephesians 1:6 kjv

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 nkjv

to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 niv

to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Ephesians 1:6 esv

to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 nlt

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

Ephesians 1 verses

Ephesians 1 6 Meaning

Ephesians 1:6 declares that the supreme purpose of God's choosing and adopting believers is for the manifestation and adoration of His own glorious character, as displayed supremely through His unmerited favor. This grace, or divine enablement, has been poured out upon us completely without our deserving it, solely through and in Jesus Christ, whom God eternally loves and designates as His "Beloved Son." The verse points to God's glory as the ultimate goal of all His saving work.

Ephesians 1 6 Context

Ephesians 1:6 is embedded within Paul's opening benediction and doctrinal declaration in Ephesians 1:3-14, a sweeping and intricate doxology that reveals the cosmic scope of God's redemptive plan. The preceding verses establish that God chose believers in Christ before the foundation of the world (v.4) and predestined them for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ (v.5). Verse 6 directly states the ultimate purpose and grand finale of these divine acts: the praise of God's glory as displayed through His abundant grace. It underscores that God's plan, from election to adoption and sealing by the Spirit, is God-centered and God-glorifying, not man-centered. This segment of the letter establishes the profound spiritual realities and blessings believers possess "in Christ" before Paul moves on to practical implications. For the original audience, who might have struggled with various forms of idolatry or humanistic pursuits of worth, this verse reorients their understanding to God's inherent majesty and His sole prerogative in salvation.

Ephesians 1 6 Word analysis

• "to the praise": (Greek: eis epainon, εἰς ἔπαινον).

  • eis (to/for): denotes purpose, destination, or result.
  • epainos (praise/commendation): signifies vocal acknowledgment of worth, excellence, or achievement. It's not merely inner admiration but outward expression. The entire preceding divine work leads to this, making God's glory and worth apparent.

• "of the glory": (Greek: tēs doxēs, τῆς δόξης).

  • doxa (glory): In the biblical sense, refers to God's manifested radiance, inherent majesty, intrinsic worth, and awe-inspiring presence. It's the sum of God's perfect attributes unveiled.
  • The structure "praise of the glory" emphasizes that the glory itself is the object being praised.

• "of His grace": (Greek: tēs charitos autou, τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ).

  • charis (grace): Unmerited favor, undeserved kindness, a gratuitous gift from God. It refers to God's loving disposition and His powerful act of bestowing spiritual benefits without human desert or prerequisite. It is the character or attribute of God from which salvation flows.
  • "Glory of His grace" indicates that God's grace is a primary attribute through which His glory is most vividly seen and praised, particularly in the context of salvation.

• "which He has freely bestowed": (Greek: hēs echaritōsen, ἧς ἐχαρίτωσεν).

  • This is a strong, unique verb (charitoō, to grace, to favor highly, to endue with grace). It means to make one an object of grace or favor. The perfect active indicative verb tense (echaritōsen) shows a completed action in the past with ongoing results in the present. It underscores God's initiative, sufficiency, and the settled nature of the blessing. This grace is not a reciprocal exchange but an outpouring.

• "on us": (Greek: hēmin, ἡμῖν).

  • Refers to the believers—those chosen, adopted, and set apart by God. It personalizes the divine action.

• "in the Beloved": (Greek: en tō ēgapēmenō, ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ).

  • en (in): Denotes sphere or realm; it emphasizes union and identification. Our standing is within Christ.
  • ho ēgapēmenos (the Beloved One): A specific designation for Jesus Christ. This echoes divine affirmations at His baptism (Matt 3:17) and transfiguration (Matt 17:5), where God the Father publicly declared His supreme love and pleasure in His Son. Our reception of grace is not general but uniquely bound up with Christ's identity and work as God's Beloved. This phrase emphasizes that all of God's blessings, especially His grace, are mediated through and in Christ.

• Word-Groups Analysis:

  • "to the praise of the glory of His grace": This entire phrase delineates the ultimate purpose of salvation. God saves us, not because we merit it, but so that His own inherent character (glory) expressed through His gracious actions may be extolled and celebrated. It puts the focus on God, not on human achievement or benefit.
  • "which He has freely bestowed on us": This underscores the unmerited nature of this grace. It is not earned; it is gifted, initiated entirely by God's sovereign will and kindness. The past tense and specific verb "has graced" highlights its divine source and effectiveness.
  • "in the Beloved": This is the sphere and person through whom this grace flows. It makes clear that all blessings, election, adoption, and the impartation of grace, are only possible and become actual through union with Jesus Christ, God's perfectly loved Son. Our position of favor is inextricably linked to His standing with the Father.

Ephesians 1 6 Bonus section

• The profound trinitarian implications within this single verse, though implicitly: the Father as the Giver ("He has freely bestowed"), the Son as the Channel ("in the Beloved"), and the result (praise, which echoes the work of the Spirit in guiding us to worship, though not explicit here).
• This verse firmly establishes God's glory, not man's happiness or redemption, as the ultimate end of all creation and redemption. Human salvation is a means to that end.
• The emphasis on "freely bestowed" directly contrasts with any human effort, merit, or performance-based system for achieving divine favor, firmly grounding salvation in divine generosity alone. It undermines any form of pride or boasting in self-righteousness.
• The phrase "in the Beloved" stresses corporate identity and union. Our status of being "graced" is not isolated but tied to our incorporation into Christ. We are graced because we are in Him, who is preeminently "the Beloved."
• The repetition of the theme "to the praise of His glory" (Eph 1:6, 1:12, 1:14) acts as a doxological refrain, reinforcing the singular, supreme objective of God's entire redemptive plan across the ages and encompassing different aspects of His saving work (election, adoption, redemption, sealing).

Ephesians 1 6 Commentary

Ephesians 1:6 serves as a climactic statement within Paul's opening declaration of blessings, succinctly capturing the divine motive behind salvation: the glorification of God's character through His lavish grace. God's purpose in choosing and adopting us is not merely for our benefit, though we immensely profit, but for the praise of His own glory, specifically as revealed through His unparalleled, undeserved grace. This grace, far from being a distant theological concept, has been actively "freely bestowed" upon believers. The unique verb echaritōsen emphasizes God's sovereign, unforced initiative and the completed, effective nature of this divine bestowal. This means believers stand as eternal monuments to God's graciousness. Moreover, this entire operation of grace occurs exclusively "in the Beloved"—a designation for Jesus Christ highlighting His unique, chosen relationship with the Father. Our access to grace and our very status as adopted children of God are inextricably tied to Christ's identity and His mediatorial work. Therefore, the believer's existence is meant to be a living testament to, and an enduring expression of, the infinite praise due to God for His glorious grace, demonstrated and accessed in and through Christ. For example, when a life once lost in sin finds complete transformation and forgiveness through faith in Christ, it becomes a vivid demonstration of God's glory shining through His amazing grace, prompting praise from all who witness it.