Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:4a-The Father is Rich With Regards to Mercy

Ephesians 2:1 Now, correspondingly, even though, each and every one of you as a corporate unit were spiritually dead ones because of your transgressions, in other words, because of your sins. 2 Each and every one of you formerly lived by means of these in agreement with the standard of the unregenerate people of this age, which is the production of the cosmic world system, in agreement with the standard of the sovereign ruler, namely the sovereign governmental authority ruling over the evil spirits residing in the earth’s atmosphere. Specifically the spirit who is presently working in the lives of those members of the human race who are characterized by disobedience. 3 Among whom, each and every one of us also formerly for our own selfish benefit conducted our lives by means of those lusts, which are produced by our flesh. Specifically, by indulging those inclinations which are produced by our flesh, in other words, those impulses, which are the product of our flesh. Consequently, each and every one of us caused ourselves to be children who are objects of wrath because of our natural condition from physical birth. Just as the rest correspondingly caused themselves to be children who are objects of wrath because of their natural condition from physical birth. 4 But because God is rich with regards to mercy, because of the exercise of His great love with which He loved each and every one of us. (Lecturer’s translation)

Ephesians 2:4-6 form a complete thought, which stands in a mild contrast to the contents of Ephesians 2:1-3.

In fact, the thought begun in Ephesians 2:1 is not completed until Ephesians 2:5-6, which thus creates an “anacoluthon” in Ephesians 2:2-4, which means that there is a break in the grammar.

Up to this point in Ephesians 2:1-3, the main verb and the subject have not been mentioned until now where the subject God the Father is mentioned here in Ephesians 2:4 and the main verb is mentioned in Ephesians 2:5, which is the verb syzōopoieō (συζωοποιέω), “made alive together” (NET).

Ephesians 2:1-4 is one incomplete sentence in order leave the readers in suspense as to how God the Father would solve the dilemma the recipients of this epistle were in prior to their justification.

Now, in Ephesians 2:4, the conjunction de (δέ) functions as a marker of a mild contrast.

This means that it is introducing an assertion which stands in mild contrast with the assertions in Ephesians 2:1-3, which describe the unregenerate state of Paul and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle and all church age believers prior to their justification.

This word introduces an assertion which appears not only in Ephesians 2:4 but also in Ephesians 2:5-6.

This assertion states that because the Father is rich with regards to mercy because of the exercise of His great love with which He loved the church age believer, even though they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions, He made them alive with His Son, Jesus Christ because of their faith in His Son at justification.

Correspondingly, the Father raised them up with His Son and seated them with Him in the heavenlies because of their faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ at justification.

Therefore, the conjunction de (δέ) is marking a mild contrast between the unregenerate state of the church age believer and their present state of being made alive with Jesus Christ resulting in them being identified with Him in His resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

Paul does not employ the strong adversative conjunction alla (ἀλλά) since he is not contrasting two fundamentally different groups of people but rather the same group of people, namely, church age believers.

As was the case in Ephesians 1:2-3, and 17, the noun theos (θεός), “God” refers to the Father which is indicated by the articular construction of the noun, which in the New Testament commonly signifies the Father unless otherwise indicated by the context.

In relation to Paul and the recipients of this epistle, God is their Father through regeneration by the Holy Spirit as the direct result of exercising faith alone in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, this word is clarifying for the recipients of this epistle who God is in relation to Paul and the recipients of this epistle.

Here in Ephesians 2:4, the accusative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “each and every one of us” since the word not only refers to Paul and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.

Now, many expositors contend that the referent of the first person plurals in Ephesians 1:3-2:3 is Jewish believers and the Gentile believers are addressed with the second person plural in Ephesians 1:13.

This author believes that the referent of the first person plurals is both Jewish and Gentile believers with Paul representing the Jewish remnant in the church and the referent of the second person plurals is the Gentile Christian community.

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.

Now, here in Ephesians 2:4, the adjective plousios (πλούσιος), “rich” is used in a figurative sense and pertains to being characterized by some particular trait which is conceived as being wealthy in material possessions.

Here the word is used in relation to the noun eleos (ἒλεος), “mercy,” which speaks of the Father’s mercy, which itself is related to the noun agapē (ἀγάπη), “love,” which speaks of the Father’s attribute of love.

The nominative masculine singular present active participle conjugation of the verb eimi (εἰμί) pertains to possessing a certain inherent characteristic.

Therefore, the verb eimi (εἰμί) is expressing the idea that the Father “possesses inherently the characteristic of being” rich with regards to mercy because of the exercise of His attribute of love with which He loved the church age believer.

The participle conjugation of this verb functions as a causal participle, which indicates that “because” God is rich with regards to mercy because of the exercise of His love with which He loved the church age believer, even though they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions, He made them alive with His Son.

Correspondingly, He also raised them up with Him and seated them with Him in the heavenlies because of their faith in Him at justification and union and identification with Him.

The noun eleos(ἒλεος), “mercy” is used in relation to the Father’s actions in relation to the church age believer when they were unregenerate or spiritually dead and were His enemies because they were sinners by nature and practice.

Thus, the word speaks of the Father being rich in mercy because He withheld judging them in order that He could make them alive or in other words, give them eternal life through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

In other words, it speaks of the Father being rich in mercy because He did not condemn them to eternal condemnation and experiencing His wrath for all of eternity in the lake of fire in order that He could make them alive or give them eternal life through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-7 teaches us that God’s attribute of love causes Him to be “merciful” meaning that God is compassionate towards His enemies and pardons them when they believe in Jesus Christ.

The mercy of God is related to the believer’s salvation since God saved us on the basis of His mercy and not on the basis of human merit or actions (Tit. 3:5).

Titus 3:4 But when the kindness, yes the love for mankind originating from the Savior who is our God was manifested, 5 He saved us, by no means on the basis of meritorious actions as constituting its source. In other words, on the basis of human self-righteousness which we ourselves have done. But rather on the basis of His mercy as constituting the standard, by means of a washing produced by regeneration, specifically, a renovation produced by the Spirit who is holy. (Lecturer’s translation)

God has been merciful to all believers in that He sent His Son to the cross while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:6-8).

Mercy is God acting upon His policy of grace and withholding judgment and is a manifestation of Who God is and is thus helps to compose His glory (Ex. 34:7).

Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. (NASB95)

Psalm 119:156 Great are Your mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your ordinances. (NASB95)

Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 9 The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. (NASB95)

James 5:11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. (NASB95)

David acknowledged and expressed in his song that God had been merciful to him (Ps. 30:1-3; Ps. 86:15; 103:1-14).

The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly manifested the mercy and compassion of God since He is the love of God incarnate who manifested perfectly the character and nature of God, and thus has explained the love of God (cf. Jn. 1:18).

The mercy of God as an expression of the love of God was manifested perfectly to the entire human race through the Father’s sacrifice of His Son at the cross of Calvary and the Son’s willingness to be that sacrifice.

The Lord Jesus Christ revealed the love of God through His mercy and compassion towards members of the human race during His First Advent (Mt. 9:27, 36; 14:14; 15:22, 32; 17:15; 20:30-31, 34; 23:37; Mk. 1:41; 5:19; 6:34; 8:2; 10:47-48; Lk. 7:13; 10:33; 15:20; 17:13; 18:38-39; Lk. 7:13; Jn. 11:35).

In Luke 6:35-36, the Lord taught His disciples to imitate the Father in being compassionate towards their enemies.

Mercy and compassion are chief tenants of God’s household (Matthew 5:7; Jn. 15:9-13; Rm. 12:8; 12:1; 12:9-16; 15:1-2; Ga. 6:2; Eph. 4:30-32; Col. 3:12-14; Jam. 2:8; 1 Jn. 4:16-18; Jude 22).