Christians should bless or praise (Gr. eulogetos, speak well of) God the Father for bestowing these blessings. Paul was thinking of God as both the Father of believers (v. 2) and the Father of His Son (v. 3). God has already blessed believers in the ways the apostle proceeded to identify. This blessing happened before creation as will become evident in the following verses. "Spiritual"blessings are benefits that relate to our spiritual life in contrast to our physical life. Since God has already given us these things, we do not need to ask for them but should appropriate them by faith and give thanks for them.
"When you were born again into God's family, you were born rich."12
"In the heavenly places"or "realms"refers to the sphere in which these blessings operate. The heavenly realms are where Paul spoke of the believer as being presently in his or her spiritual life. Whereas physically we are on the earth, spiritually we are already with Christ in the heavens (cf. v. 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). God has united us with Jesus Christ so we are in that sense with Him where He is now. When we die, our immaterial part will go into Christ's presence (2 Cor. 5:6-8). When God resurrects our bodies they will go into His presence and unite with our immaterial part. Presently our lives are already with the Lord in the heavenly realms spiritually. We are there because of our present union with Christ. We are "in Christ."Union with Christ by saving faith places us in the heavenly realms.13
"The key thought of Ephesiansis the gathering together of all things in Jesus Christ."14
"Ephesians 1:3 tells much about God's blessings on believers: (a) when: eternity past; (b): with what: every spiritual [not material] blessing; (c): where: in the heavenly realms; (d): how: in Christ."15
"Ephesus was considered the bank of Asia. One of the seven wonders of the world, the great temple of Diana, was in Ephesus, and was not only a center for idolatrous worship, but also a depository for wealth. . . .
"Paul's letter to the Ephesians is as carefully structured as that great temple of Diana, and it contains greater beauty and wealth!"16
