Ephesians 1.9a-The Father Revealed the Mystery of His Will for the Benefit of Church Age Believers
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday March 23, 2023
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:9a-The Father Revealed the Mystery of His Will for the Benefit of Church Age Believers
Lesson # 26
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. 7 Because of whom, each one of us are experiencing that which is the redemption through His blood, namely the forgiveness of our transgressions according to His infinite grace. 8 This He provided in abundance for the benefit of each and every one of us because of the exercise of a wisdom, which is absolute and divine in nature resulting in the manifestation of an insight, which is absolute and divine in nature. 9 He did this by revealing the mystery of His will for the benefit of each and every one of us according to His pleasure, which He planned beforehand because of our faith in and resultant union and identification with Himself. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 1:9 is composed of a participial clause gnōrisas hēmin to mystērion tou thelēmatos autou, kata tēn eudokian autou (γνωρίσας ἡμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν αὐτοῦ), “He did this by revealing the mystery of His will for the benefit of each and every one of us according to His pleasure.” It is modified by a relative pronoun clause hēn proetheto en autō (ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ), “which He planned beforehand because of our faith in and union and identification with Himself.”
This verse continues Paul’s thought from Ephesians 1:7-8 because it presents the means by which the Father provided His infinite grace in abundance for the benefit of each and every church age believer.
Therefore, the apostle Paul is asserting in Ephesians 1:9 that the Father provided His infinite grace in abundance for the benefit of each and every church age believer “by means of” revealing the mystery of His will for the benefit of each and every church age believer according to His pleasure.
This the Father accomplished through the Holy Spirit teaching the members of the church this through the apostles’ teaching.
The relative pronoun clause identifies when the Father revealed the mystery of His will and asserts that the Father planned beforehand in eternity past to provide this revelation for the benefit of each and every church age believer.
It also identifies the reason why the Father did this, namely because of the church age believer’s faith in Christ at justification which resulted in them being identified with Christ.
In Ephesians 1:9, the verb gnōrizō (γνωρίζω) functions as a participle of means usually follows the main verb, which is the case here with the verb gnōrizō following the verb perisseuō, which appears in Ephesians 1:8 and is used in relation to the Father providing His infinite grace on behalf of each church age believer.
This type of participle indicates the means by which the action of its controlling verb is accomplished and so therefore, this would indicate that the Father abundantly provided His infinite grace on behalf of each church age believer “by means of” revealing the mystery of His will for the benefit of each church age believer.
Some interpret the participle conjugation of this verb gnōrizō as a temporal participle, which in relation to its controlling verb, answers the question, “when?”
Therefore, this type of participle would be expressing the idea of the Father abundantly providing His infinite grace on behalf of each church age believer “while” revealing the mystery of His will.
Though a participle might have a temporal force, one must determine if a more specific semantic value is intended before interpreting the participle as being temporal and this is the case here where gnōrizō has a more specific semantic value.
In Ephesians 1:9, the noun mustērion (μυστήριον), “mystery” speaks of a truth which was not known to Old Testament saints but has now been revealed by the Father through the Spirit during the church age to the apostles who communicated it to the church.
This mystery is identified by the word’s genitive adjunct which is tou thelēmatos autou (τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ), “of His will.”
This mystery of the Father’s will is identified in Ephesians 1:3-4 as the Father electing church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for His purpose because of His love through Jesus Christ.
Thus, it was according to His will to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for His purpose alone because of His love through Jesus Christ.
Now, the noun thelēma (θέλημα), “will” in Ephesians 1:9 means “will” referring to the Father electing church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for His purpose because of His love through Jesus Christ.
Thus, it was according to His will to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for His purpose alone because of His love through Jesus Christ.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:5, the noun eudokia (εὐδοκία), “pleasure” here in Ephesians 1:9 pertains to that which pleases someone.
In the latter, this word indicates that it pleased the Father to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself alone because of His love through Jesus Christ.
However, here in Ephesians 1:9, it indicates that it pleased the Father to reveal the mystery of His will for the benefit of each and every church age believer.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that the noun thelēma (θέλημα), “will” which appears in Ephesians 1:5 where it refers to the Father’s will to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for His purpose because of His love through Jesus Christ.
It is further indicated by Paul’s use of the noun eudokia (εὐδοκία), “pleasure” here in Ephesians 1:9 which he also employs in Ephesians 1:5.
In the latter, this word indicates that it pleased the Father to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself alone because of His love through Jesus Christ.
Now, here in Ephesians 1:9, it indicates that it pleased the Father to reveal the mystery of His will for the benefit of each and every church age believer.
Therefore, in Ephesians 1:9, Paul employs the noun eudokia (εὐδοκία), “pleasure” to assert that it pleased the Father to reveal the mystery of His will for the benefit of church age believers.
On the other hand, in Ephesians 1:5 it is used to assert that it pleased the Father to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself alone because of His love through Jesus Christ.
Thus, the fact that Paul employs the nouns thelēma (θέλημα), “will” and eudokia (εὐδοκία), “pleasure” in both Ephesians 1:5 and 9 indicates that he is linking the content of Ephesians 1:4-6 with the content of Ephesians 1:7-10.
Therefore, these two words are specifically linking the Father’s will and pleasure to electing church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself because of His love through their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ and His will and pleasure to make this known to church age believers.
Furthermore, the verb gnōrizō in Ephesians 1:9 is linked with the verb eklegomai (ἐκλέγομαι), which appears in Ephesians 1:4 and is used of the Father electing church age believers in eternity past.
Therefore, the content of this mystery of the Father’s will is not identified in Ephesians 1:10.
This is indicated by the fact that this verse is actually continuing Paul’s thought from the relative pronoun clause hēn proetheto en autō (ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ), “which He planned beforehand by means of our faith in and resultant union and identification with Him” which concludes Ephesians 1:9.
It is thus presenting the purpose of the Father’s pleasure in planning in eternity past to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself because of His love through their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ rather than the content of this mystery.
Therefore, Ephesians 1:10 presents the purpose of the Father’s pleasure in planning in eternity past to elect church age believers by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself alone because of His love through their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ is to head up all things in Christ.
This will take place during His millennial reign, which is being referred to by the phrase “the administration of the fullness of the times.”
Church age believers who are in union with Christ and identified with Him (Rom. 6; Col. 3:1-4; Eph. 2:6-8) and are members of His body (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 18, 20; Eph. 3:6; 5:30) and His bride (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:28-33; Rev. 19:7; 21:9; 22:17) will reign with Christ over the earth during the latter’s millennial reign.
In fact, the ultimate objective of this revelation of the Father’s will is to cause church age believers to praise Him, which is supported by Paul’s statement in Ephesians 1:3, which begins this doxology which ends in Ephesians 1:14.
This mystery is developed further in Ephesians 3:5-6 in that it asserts that the Gentile believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus with Jewish Christians.
Both groups compose those who have been elected by the Father which was accomplished by predestinating them for the purpose of adoption as sons for Himself alone because of His love through their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the development of this mystery in Ephesians 3:5-6 is that these verses are identifying that not only Jewish Christians are in elected and predestinated and in union with Christ and identified with Him but also Gentile Christians.
This development was necessary since the promise of the Holy Spirit was originally given to His apostles and disciples who were all Jewish since this promise was given to the Jewish people under the New Covenant (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:27) and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle were Gentile Christians.