Ephesians 1:6

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to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV)

to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Ephesians 1:6 (NIV)

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 (KJV)

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

Ephesians 1:6 (NLT)

to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 (ESV)

to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

To the praise of His glorious grace and favor, which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved [His Son, Jesus Christ].

Ephesians 1:6 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

To the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Ephesians 1:6 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

Charitoo: The Same Word the Angel Used to Gabriel

The Greek word charitoo, translated "accepted" or "bestowed freely" or "highly favored," appears only twice in the New Testament: here in Ephesians 1:6 and in Luke 1:28, where the angel greets Mary as "highly favored" (kecharitomene). Both uses are forms of the same verb: to bestow grace upon, to endue with grace, to make the recipient an object of divine favor. Paul is saying that what was said of Mary at the annunciation, that she was one on whom God had lavished grace, is now said of every believer in Christ. You have been charitoo'd. God has lavished His grace upon you in the Beloved.

In the Beloved: Where Acceptance Is Located

The phrase "in the Beloved" (en to egapemeno) is the locative key to the verse. The acceptance, the bestowed grace, is not located in the believer's performance or spiritual achievement. It is located in the Beloved, in Christ as the unique object of the Father's covenantal love. Because the believer is in Christ, in union with the one the Father loves, the Father's acceptance of the Beloved extends to all who are found in Him. Your acceptance before God is as secure as Christ's position before the Father, because your acceptance is located in Christ, not in yourself. To be in Him is to share His standing.

Ephesians 1:3-14 is grammatically one long sentence in Greek, a cascade of blessings that flows from the triune God to the believer. Verse 3 opens the cascade: every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Verse 4 grounds it in election before the foundation of the world. Verse 5 declares adoption as sons through Christ. Verse 6 is the first doxological pause: "to the praise of the glory of His grace." The structure of the passage shows that acceptance (charitoo) in the Beloved is not an incidental benefit but one of the core realities of the New Covenant that redounds to the praise of God's glorious grace. Your acceptance glorifies God.

Application for Your Life

Your Acceptance Is Not Based on How You Feel

Acceptance is an objective status, not a subjective experience. Many believers confuse the feeling of being accepted with the fact of being accepted. When they feel distant from God, unworthy, or spiritually dry, they draw the conclusion that they are less accepted than when they feel close and spiritually vital. Ephesians 1:6 locates your acceptance in Christ, in a position that does not fluctuate with your spiritual experience. You were made accepted in the Beloved. That charitoo was poured out on you at the moment of your union with Christ. It does not increase on good days and decrease on bad ones. It is the stable fact on which your relationship with God rests.

You Are as Accepted as the Beloved

The Beloved is Christ, the one the Father loves with the full weight of divine covenantal love. The Father's acceptance of the Son is total, unconditional, and permanent. When Paul says you have been accepted in the Beloved, he is saying that the Father's posture toward you is defined by your location in the one He loves completely. You are not accepted alongside the Beloved at a lesser degree of favor. You are accepted in Him, inside the sphere of that love. This does not mean you are the Son. It means your standing is derived from the Son's standing, and the Son's standing before the Father is what grounds your acceptance.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I receive this. You have made me accepted in the Beloved. You have poured out Your grace upon me in Christ, the same grace with which You regard Him. I am not striving to become accepted. I have been accepted. The charitoo has already been bestowed. I stand in the Beloved, and because I stand in Him, Your acceptance of Him is extended to me. Where I have been trying to earn what has already been given, where I have been living as though my standing before You depends on my spiritual performance, I repent of that unbelief. You have already settled the question of my acceptance. It is not a question. It is a declaration. To the praise of the glory of Your grace. In Jesus name. Amen.