Ephesians 1.12a-The Purpose of the Father Claiming Church Age Believers as His Possession
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday April 15, 2023
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:12a-The Purpose of the Father Claiming Church Age Believers as His Possession
Lesson # 36
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 12 in order that each and every one of us would belong to a particular group of people. Namely, those who are certain of possessing a confident expectation of blessing because of their faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ for the purpose of praising His glory. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 1:12 continues the thought from Ephesians 1:11 and contains three prepositional phrases and a participial clause.
The first prepositional phrase eis to einai hēmas (εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς), “in order that each and every one of us would belong to a particular group of people” modifies the first person plural aorist passive indicative conjugation of the verb klēroō (κληρόω), “each and every one of us has been claimed as a possession,” which appears in Ephesians 1:11.
This prepositional phrase is also itself modified by the articular participial clause tous proēlpikotas (τοὺς προηλπικότας), “Namely, those who are certain of possessing confident expectation of blessing.”
This participial clause is then modified by the prepositional phrase en tō Christō (ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ), “because of their faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ.”
Lastly, the second prepositional phrase eis epainon doxēs autou (εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης αὐτοῦ), “for the purpose of praising the Father’s glory,” not only modifies the participial clause tous proēlpikotas (τοὺς προηλπικότας), “Namely, those who are certain of possessing a confident expectation of blessing” but also the first prepositional phrase eis to einai hēmas (εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς), “in order that each and every one of us would belong to a particular group of people.”
Now, the first prepositional phrase eis to einai hēmas (εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς), “in order that each and every one of us would belong to a particular group of people” presents the purpose of the assertion in Ephesians 1:11 that the Father claimed each and every church age believer as His possession because of having predestinated them according to His predetermined plan.
Therefore, this indicates that the Father claiming each and every church age believer was “for the purpose of” each and every church age believer belonging to a particular group of individuals.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that the prepositional phrase eis to einai hēmas (εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς), “in order that each and every one of us would belong to a particular group of people” is marking the purpose of the first person plural aorist passive indicative conjugation of this verb klēroō (κληρόω).
Therefore, this indicates that the Father claiming each and every church age believer was “for the purpose of” them belonging to a particular group of individuals.
The first person plural aorist passive indicative conjugation of this verb klēroō (κληρόω) in Ephesians 1:11 identifies them as those who have been claimed by the Father as His own possession because of the Father predestinating them according to His predetermine plan.
The participial clause tous proēlpikotas (τοὺς προηλπικότας), “Namely, those who are certain of possessing a confident expectation of blessing” also identifies them as those who are certain of possessing a confident expectation of blessing because of their faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ.
In this prepositional phrase, the referent of the accusative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “each and every one of us” is Paul and the recipients of this epistle and all church age believers.
As we also noted in our introduction, the recipients of this epistle were not only members of the Christian community in Ephesus but also members of the various Christian communities in the Roman province of Asia.
This word not only speaks of Paul and the members of the Christian community and every church age believer as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
The latter therefore is expressing the idea that “each and every” church age believer belong to a group of people who were claimed by the Father as His possession because of having been predestinated according to His predetermined plan for the purpose of praising the Father’s glory.
Also, as we will note, it is expressing the idea that “each and every” church age believer are certain of possessing a confident expectation of blessing because of their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ for the purpose of praising the Father’s glory.
The present active infinitive conjugation of the verb eimi (εἰμί) means “to belong to a particular group of individuals,” who are identified by the participial clause tous proēlpikotas (τοὺς προηλπικότας), “Namely, those who are certain of possessing a confident expectation of blessing.”
Therefore, here it is expressing the idea of Paul and the recipients of this epistle and all church age believers “belong to a particular group of individuals” who are certain of possessing a confident expectation of blessing because of their faith in and union and identification with Jesus Christ.
In Ephesians 1:11, the first person plural aorist passive indicative conjugation of the verb klēroō (κληρόω) also identifies them as being those whom the Father claimed as His own possession because of the Father predestinating them according to His predetermined plan.