Please note that all Biblical quotes, in this and all other lessons posted to Greek Thoughts, are from The Literal English Translation of the Bible produced by BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America.
This week we begin a four-part series on the adjective ἐπουρὰνιος (epouranios — Strong's #2032), which means "the heavenly regions" or "the spirit realm." ̓Επουρὰνιος is a compound word comprised of the preposition ἐπὶ (Epi — Strong's #1909) meaning "upon, on, at" and the noun ou¾rano/v (Ouranos — Strong's #3772), the Greek word used for "heaven." This adjective ἐπουρὰνιος is used in the New Testament to represent the spirit realm, which is the location of God's throne and the place where all spiritual beings and forces (whether good or evil) exist. The New Testament also teaches that believers are positioned in the ἐπουρὰνιος, or spirit realm, in Christ. This doctrine of the believer's spiritual position in Christ is the focus of our study.
Ephesians 1:3-14 is all one sentence in the Greek text, a fact that is important for understanding the establishment of the spiritual position of the believer from the Greek text; because it is from the complete sentence that we gain an understanding of those Paul has in mind when he uses "we" and "us" in verses 1-14. The definition of these pronouns is given in the part of the sentence labeled Ephesians 1:13; "us" and "we" refer to those who have already been saved.
Ephesians 1:3
Our focus this week is Ephesians 1:3. Paul begins this section with a Jewish BeRakhah, a benediction. He begins his benediction with the form used for the Jewish HaMidah prayer that was recited three times daily in the synagogue — "Praise be Adonai, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah." After opening with this benediction, Paul presents the blessings that have been bestowed upon "us."
Again, it is essential to our understanding of this section of scripture to know that the pronouns "we" and "us," found in verses 1-14, refer to those who have already been saved, as indicated by Ephesians 1:13: "In whom also you, after having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation; in Whom also after having believed, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit of the promise." Paul is saying that God is the One who has blessed those of us who have believed. He then uses three prepositional phrases, each beginning with ἐν (En — Strong's #1722), a preposition meaning "in." When considered in context, it denotes the manner and location in which God has blessed believers.
In the first prepositional phrase, "in every spiritual blessing," Paul uses two adjectives to describe the manner in which God has blessed believers. The first adjective, "spiritual," expresses that God's blessings upon us are spiritual blessings. "Every," the second adjective used by Paul, emphasizes that believers are blessed with "every" spiritual blessing, not just some.
The second prepositional phrase, "in the spirit realm," presents the location of these blessings. The word for "spirit realm" is our word of study, ἐπουρὰνιος. Paul is giving the understanding that all of our spiritual blessings are located in the spirit realm, where God's throne is, and where all spiritual forces exist — both good and evil.
Paul uses a third prepositional phrase to make the location even more specific by saying, "in Christ." Everyone who has believed and been sealed by the Holy Spirit is "in Christ" in the spirit realm.
In summary, God has blessed all who have believed and been sealed by the Holy Spirit with blessings that are spiritual, both in nature and realm; additionally, believers have been blessed, not with just some, but with every spiritual blessing. These spiritual blessings are located in the spirit realm where God and all other spiritual forces are functioning. Finally, Paul presents that believers are located in only one place in the entire spirit realm, and that is "in Christ." "In Christ" is the central theme of Ephesians, written by Paul to teach all believers that their permanent position in the spirit realm is in Christ.
Next week we will establish the position and location of Christ in the spirit realm as we consider Ephesians 1:20.
*EPOURANIOS is the English font spelling of the Greek word ἐπουρὰνιος.
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Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 41 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course.
He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.