The letter to the Ephesians opens with the lengthy prayer of thanksgiving. In Greek, these 13 verses are one long, continuous statement as though the author, so caught up in the wonder of God's work through Christ on our behalf, simply could not stop for breath. Consider all the theological issues covered in this prayer God's work through Christ, the plan of salvation effected, a repeated emphasis on God's sovereignty in this plan, the re-creation of humanity as a result of Christ's redemptive death, the forgiveness of sins, our adoption as God's children and the confirming seal of the Holy Spirit. Whew!

For the author of Ephesians, God's sovereignty and God's unceasing activity in the course of this world cannot be emphasized enough. Indeed, the writer seems to focus with such exclusivity…