Ephesians is one of the most optimistic communications in the Bible. Whether or not authentically Paul's work, the fact remains that the distinctively Pauline nature of faith is presented here with a distinctively celebratory note. This week's epistle reading introduces one of the central tenets of this entire section - that of the special "inheritance" available to us through Christ.

Verse 11 declares that this inheritance is experienced once believers accept the fact of their destiny, their calling. In addition, the Ephesians are counseled to have confidence in this calling because it is based on God's divine power and might (or what the NRSV calls "counsel and will"). So great is this inheritance, so overwhelming the divine power making it possible, that the response of the faithful is …