The grand soteriological paradigm in Paul's song of praise (Ephesians 1:3–14)

Abstract

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is not written in a theological vacuum. Having been schooled as a Jewish Pharisee Paul was well versed in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. On the occasion of his conversion (Ac 9) and later Christian scholarship (Gl 2:1), Paul formulates his Christian Theology crafted around this ‘grand soteriological paradigm’ stated in Ephesians 1:3-14. Though it’s phrased as a prayer of praise, it is certainly a deeply theological prayer centered on Jesus Christ. It is the intention to this article to provide the background motifs needed to better enable the reader of Ephesians 1:3-14 to appreciate the basic contents of these verses while also avoiding some of the Deterministic theology, Existentialist theology or Anthropocentric theology which have each claimed these verses in various ways to be germane to their cause