Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:6-The Praise of the Father’s Glorious Grace

Ephesians 1:3 The God, namely the Father of the Lord ruling over us, who is Jesus Christ, is worthy of praise. Namely, because He is the one who has blessed each and every one of us by means of each and every kind of Spirit appropriated blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. 4 For He chose each and every one of us for His own purpose because of Him alone before creation in order that each and every one of us would be holy as well as uncensurable in His judgment. 5 He did this by predestinating each and every one of us for the purpose of adoption as sons because of His love through Jesus Christ for Himself according to the pleasure of His will. 6 This was for the purpose of praising His glorious grace, which He freely bestowed on each and every one of us because of the one who is divinely loved. (Lecturer’s translation)

Now, we come to Ephesians 1:6, which is composed of a prepositional phrase as well as a relative pronoun clause.

The prepositional phrase eis epainon doxēs tēs charitos autou (εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ), “for the purpose of praising His glorious grace” is expressing the purpose for the previous assertions in Ephesians 1:3-5.

Therefore, this indicates that the Father blessed the church age believer by means of each and every kind of Spirit appropriated blessing in the heavenlies in Christ (cf. Eph. 1:3) “for the purpose of” having His glorious grace policy praised by His creatures and specifically praised by church age believers and elect angels.

It also indicates that the Father elected the church age believer for His own purpose because of His Son before creation in order that they would be holy as well as uncensurable in His judgment “for the purpose of” having His glorious grace policy praised by His creatures in particular church age believers and elect angels.

Lastly, it indicates that the Father elected the church age believer by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as His sons because of His love through Jesus Christ for Himself according to the pleasure of His will “for the purpose of” having His glorious grace policy praised.

The noun charis(χάρις), “grace” refers to God the Father’s grace policy towards sinners, which manifests His attribute of love.

Paul asserts that this grace policy will be praised in the sense that it will receive approval and commendation as well as receiving affirmation of its excellence.

It will receive praise in the sense of admiration or approval from His creatures.

Those of His creatures who will be praising the Father’s grace policy towards the church age believer will be of course church age believers as well as elect angels who observe the church age believer working out their salvation in time (cf. 1 Pet. 1:12).

Paul describes the Father’s grace policy with the noun doxa, “glorious” which is expressing the idea that the Father’s grace policy towards church age believers possesses glory and is marked by great beauty and splendor.

It is also expressing the idea that the Father’s grace policy towards the church age believer is notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions.

Thus, the noun doxa means “glorious” since it is ascribing to the Father’s grace policy towards the church age believer the idea of being brilliantly outstanding because of the Father’s work in eternity past, and His work through both His Son and the Spirit’s work in time on behalf of the church age believer.

Grace is also a major theme in this epistle since the noun charis (χάρις), “grace” appears 12 times in this epistle (Eph. 1:2, 6, 7; 25:, 7, 8; 3:2, 7, 8; 4:7, 29; 6:24).

Grace is all that God the Father is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross.

It is God treating the sinner in a manner that they don’t deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God.

Grace means that God saved us and blessed us despite ourselves and not according to anything that we do but rather saved us and blessed us because of the merits of Christ and His work on the Cross.

It excludes any human merit in salvation and blessing (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and gives the Creator all the credit and the creature none.

By means of faith, we accept the grace of God, which is a non-meritorious system of perception, which is in total accord with the grace of God.

Grace and faith are totally compatible with each other and inseparable (1 Tim. 1:14) and complement one another (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8).

Grace, faith, and salvation are all the gift of God and totally exclude all human works and ability (Eph. 2:8-9).

These unmerited blessings flow to the sinner through the work of both the Son and the Spirit.

The crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session of Jesus Christ which provided them eternal salvation and unmerited blessings.

These events in the life of Jesus Christ provided the church age believer deliverance from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation and reconciled them to God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

This reconciliation with God and deliverance and victory over sin, Satan and the cosmic system that God accomplished through His Son’s crucifixion, burial, death, resurrection and session is received as a gift and appropriated through faith in Christ (John 3:16-18; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1-2).

At the moment of their justification, through the baptism of the Spirit, the church age believer was identified with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

Consequently, they were delivered positionally from the power of Satan, the old sin nature and the cosmic system of Satan (See Romans 5-7).

Positionally means that God views them as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.

This was accomplished at the moment of conversion through the baptism of the Spirit when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit placed them in an eternal union with Christ.

The unique Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross-is the source of grace (2 Cor. 8:9) and He is a gift from the Father (2 Cor. 9:15).

Jesus Christ was full of “grace and truth” (John 1:17) and the believer receives the grace of God through Him (John 1:16).

It is by the grace of God that Jesus Christ died a substitutionary spiritual death for all mankind (Heb. 2:9).

Therefore, the throne in which Christ sits is a “throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16).

The grace of God has been extended to every member of the human race because of the act of love and justice on the cross.

At the cross, the Father imputed the sins of every person in history-past, present and future to the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the Cross and judged Him as a substitute for the entire human race (Titus 2:11).

The message of God’s saving act in Christ is described as the “gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), and the “word of His grace” (Acts 20:32; cf. 14:3).

By His grace, God justifies the undeserving and unworthy through faith in His Son Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:24).

Grace is an absolute and is no longer grace if we are saved on the basis of human works (Rom. 11:6).

The unbeliever receives the grace of God at the moment of justification by obeying the voice of the Spirit, which is heard by the unbeliever through the communication of the Gospel for salvation by an evangelist or a believer operating under his royal ambassadorship.

The believer receives the grace of God by obeying the voice of the Spirit who speaks to the believer regarding the will of the Father through the communication of the Word of God by the believer’s divinely ordained pastor-teacher, or fellow-believer.

Now, in Ephesians 1:6, the relative pronoun clause hēs echaritōsen hēmas en tō ēgapēmenō (ἧς ἐχαρίτωσεν ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ), “which He freely bestowed on each and every one of us because of the one who is divinely loved” is making an assertion about the Father’s grace policy.

It asserts that the Father bestowed on the church age believer unmerited blessings, which flow from His grace policy towards sinners because of the one whom He loves, which of course is His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

The prepositional phrase en tō ēgapēmenō (ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ), “because of the one who is divinely loved” indicates that the Father bestowed His grace upon the church age believer “because” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Specifically, it indicates that the Father bestowed His grace upon the church age believer “because of” their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ and resultant union and identification with Him.

The articular dative masculine singular perfect passive participle conjugation of the verb agapaō(ἀγαπάω) contains the figure of metonymy which means that the one whom the Father loves, namely His one and only Son, Jesus Christ is put for the church age believer’s faith in Him at justification.

It is also put for the church age believer’s union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand, which is the direct result of their justification.

This prepositional phrase en tō ēgapēmenō (ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ), “because of the one who is divinely loved” continues the idea, which has already appeared in Ephesians 1:3 with the prepositional phrase en Christō (ἐν Χριστῷ), “in Christ,” Ephesians 1:4 with the prepositional phrase en autō (ἐν αὐτῷ), “because of Him alone” and in Ephesians 1:5 with the prepositional phrase dia Iēsou Christou (διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), “through Jesus Christ.”