Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:11-Paul Promotes Unity Between Jewish and Gentile Believers

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. 10 This was for the dispensation which brings to completion the various periods of history. Namely, to unite for the benefit of Himself each and every animate and inanimate object in the sphere of the sovereign authority of the person of the one and only Christ. Specifically, to unite for the benefit of Himself those things in the heavens as well as those things on the earth in the sphere of the sovereign authority of Himself. 11 Because of whom, each and every one of us has been claimed as a possession because of having been predestinated according to the predetermined plan. Namely, the one who is causing each and every animate and inanimate object to function according to His purpose, that is, His sovereign will. (Lecturer’s translation)

Now, there is an interpretative issue that we must address that is related to the contents of not only Ephesians 1:11 but also throughout the preface of this letter in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Why does Paul switch from the first person plural to the second person plural and back again in Ephesians 1:3-14?

Also, who is the referent of the first person plurals and the second person plural?

The former is translated “us” and “we,” while the latter is translated “you” but actually literally it means “all of you.”

Many expositors contend that the referent of the first person plurals in Ephesians 1:3-12 and 14 is Jewish believers and the Gentile believers are addressed with the second person plural in Ephesians 1:13.

However, this would mean that Paul is saying in this verse that the Gentile Christians were the first to believe in Christ, which does not agree with the contents of Acts 2, which makes it clear that chronologically, it was the Jews who were the first to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

It wasn’t until Acts 10 that we see Gentiles trusting in Christ as their Savior.

From the beginning of the Ephesian epistle, Paul makes no distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers.

In Ephesians 1:1, he make no distinctions between Jewish and Gentile believers but simply addresses them both as “saints” as well as “faithful” in this verse.

Then, in Ephesians 1:2, he addresses them with the second person plural form “all of you, you.”

He does this very same thing in Ephesians 1:13.

After addressing the recipients of this epistle in Ephesians 1:3-12 with the first person plurals, he then addresses them in Ephesians 1:13 with the second person plural.

He then switches right back to the first person plural in Ephesians 1:14 to address the recipients of the letter.

So therefore, Paul is not employing an “editorial we” or “epistolary we” in these verses, which means that although, he is using the first person plural, he is referring to only himself in reality.

He is also not using the “exclusive we,” which means that he is referring to himself and his associates (like Timothy) as distinct from the recipients of the letter.

If Paul is not making a distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers by switching from the first person plural to the second person plural on two occasions in this letter when addressing its recipients, then why is he doing so?

I believe that he employs the second person plural in Ephesians 1:2 but then switches to the first person plural in Ephesians 1:3-12 because he is simply attempting to identify with the recipients of the Ephesian epistle who were Gentile Christians.

This is indicated by the fact that he addresses them as Gentiles in Ephesians 2:11-22 and he of course, was a Jewish Christian.

When he makes this switch in Ephesians 1:13 and 14, it is for the same reason.

In other words, he, as a Jewish believer, is demonstrating his solidarity with the Gentile Christian community.

Though Paul never mentions any specific problem or problems taking place within the Christian community in this epistle, it can be inferred from the contents of the letter that he was concerned that the Christian community remained united experientially through practice of the command to love one another.

This is indicated by the fact that Paul opens the practical application of his teaching in the first three chapters by commanding the recipients of the letter to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in Ephesians 4:3.

This would be accomplished by living in a manner worthy of their calling and by practicing humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance of one another through the practice of the command to love one another, which Paul instructs them to do in Ephesians 4:1-2.

In fact, in Ephesians 2:11-22, he emphasizes this unity that exists among Jewish and Gentile believers in a positional sense through the baptism of the Spirit, which took place at the moment of justification.

Unity is the first major overriding theme in the Ephesian epistle because as we noted, this is the purpose of the letter.

Again, Paul was concerned that the Christian community remained united experientially through practice of the command to love one another.

They were unified in a positional sense through their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

Consequently, this set up the guarantee of being united in a perfective sense when they receive their resurrection bodies at the rapture or resurrection of the church.

This unity in a positional sense is taught in the first three chapters of the epistle.

This unity positionally sets up the potential to experience this unity when interacting with each other, which is accomplished through obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love one another as He loved them.

In fact, Paul makes a point of mentioned this unity in a positional sense in relation to Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians interaction with each other.

They would experience that which was true of them positionally through the practice of the command to love one another.

Consequently, they would reflect the character and nature of the Trinity, who are united eternally since this love is a part of their character and nature.

Therefore, in Ephesians 1:3-14, when Paul employs the first person plural to address the recipients of the Ephesian epistle, he is using an “inclusive we,” which refers to both himself as the author and the recipients of the letter.

By switching from the second person plural to the first person plural in Ephesians 1:2-12 and then back again to the second person plural to the first person plural in Ephesians 1:13-14, Paul, as a Jewish believer, it attempting to identify with Gentile Christians.

In other words, he is expressing his solidarity and promote unity among Jews and Gentiles in the Christian community in the Roman province of Asia.