The final statement of this great section of the Father's will leads us to

`The Beloved'.  We have already observed the sphere of our blessings `in the

heavenlies', but we have not paused to consider the most fundamental of all

spheres, without which all promises must for ever remain unfulfilled.  We refer

to the recurring words `in Christ', `in Him', `in Whom', that meet us at every

turn.  The spiritual blessings in heavenly places are `in Christ' (Eph. 1:3);

those thus blessed were chosen `in Him' before the overthrow of the world (Eph.

1:4); they are `accepted in the Beloved' (Eph. 1:6).  While the theme changes at

verse 7 to Redemption and `the Work of the Son', the passage opens with the

words `In Whom', and the goal of the ages, together with its inheritance, is

still found to be `in Christ' (Eph. 1:7-11).

An adequate exposition of all that is involved in the terms `in Christ',

`with Christ' and `by Christ' would exceed the limits of this book, but no

presentation of either doctrine, dispensation or practice is of any value that

does not place these terms in the very forefront of its exposition.

three occasions in Matthew upon which the Lord is spoken of as the

are connected with the word eudokeo which gives the words `good

which we have just been studying.  The passages are 3:17; 12:18 and

17:5, and

in each we read the added words `well pleased'.

In Colossians, which in many ways is seen to be a parallel epistle with

Ephesians, Christ is not called `The Beloved' but, literally, `The Son of His

love' (1:13).  In this Beloved One, the believer is `accepted'.  It will be

observed that the word `in' occurs twice in Ephesians 1:6:

`Wherein (literally "in which") He hath made us accepted in the Beloved'.

This word `which' is in the feminine gender and agrees with charis, the

word translated `grace' which immediately precedes it.  We now note that `He

hath made us accepted' echaritosen is also a word derived from charis `grace'.

Charitoo occurs in but one other passage in the New Testament, namely, Luke

1:28, where we read the salutation to Mary by the angel `Hail (thou that art)

highly favoured ... among women'.  The particular form of the word is unknown in

classical Greek, and occurs only in one passage in the Greek translation of the

Old Testament by Symmachus.

The two occasions upon which it is pronounced in the New Testament mark it

off as unique.  No woman, before or since, has or could be so uniquely set apart

and highly favoured as the woman who became the mother of the Saviour, the woman

through whom was fulfilled the Prophecy of Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6,

and the glorious revelation of 1 Timothy 3:16.  No company of believers, apart

from the Church of the One Body, have `heavenly places' as the sphere of their

blessings; no church but this one of Ephesians, was chosen in Christ before the

overthrow of the world, and no other calling, church or company from either

Israel or the nations, is ever said to be so `highly favoured' in the Beloved,

as this church of the dispensation of the Mystery.  Elsewhere we may read of the

riches of the Lord's grace, but it is reserved for the epistle to the Ephesians

to unfold the exceeding (hyperbole) riches of His grace (2:7) and the

unsearchable riches of Christ (3:8).