The opening section of Ephesians (1:3–2:10), which describes the new life God has given us in Christ, divides itself naturally into two halves, the first consisting of praise and the second of prayer. In the ‘praise’ half Paul blesses God that he has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (1:3–14), while in the ‘prayer’ half he asks that God will open our eyes to grasp the fullness of this blessing (1:15–2:10). We shall be concerned with the apostle’s expression of praise.