Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:5c-The Church Age Believer is Saved Because of God’s Grace

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, 5 even though each and every one of us as a corporate unit were spiritually dead ones because of our transgressions, He caused each and every one of us to be made alive together with the one and only Christ. Each and every one of you as a corporate unit are saved because of grace! (Lecturer’s translation)

Now, after the concessive clause in Ephesians 2:5, Paul employs the figure of asyndeton in order to solemnly emphasize the declarative statement chariti este sesōsmenoi (χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι), “Each and every one of you are saved because of grace.”

This declarative statement anticipates the assertion Tē gar chariti este sesōsmenoi dia pisteōs (Τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι διὰ πίστεως), “For by grace you are saved through faith” (NET), which appears in Ephesians 2:8.

Therefore, this figure emphasizes with the recipients of the Ephesian epistle that it was on the basis of the Father’s grace policy towards unregenerate sinners that He caused them to be made alive with His Son, Jesus Christ through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification even though they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions.

In other words, they emphatically did not earn or deserve this act on their behalf at their justification because the Father did this solely based upon the merits of His Son Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand.

He also did this based upon the merits of their union and identification with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand.

He also did this because the transgressions they committed against Him resulted in that they did not possess any merit with Him since He is holy or perfect.

This declarative statement chariti este sesōsmenoi (χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι), “Each and every one of you are saved because of grace” here in Ephesians 2:5 actually summarizes in emphatic terms the previous concessive clause in this verse because of Paul’s use of the figure of asyndeton.

In fact, this statement summarizes all of Paul’s teaching in Romans 1-8.

The apostle Paul employs the noun charis (χάρις), “grace” for the fourth time in this epistle (cf. 1:2, 6, 7) and in each instance, the word refers to God the Father’s grace policy towards unregenerate sinners, which manifests His attribute of love.

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; 2:5:, 7, 8; 3:2, 7, 8; 4:7, 29; 6:24).

Now, in the emphatic declarative statement in Ephesians 2:5, which follows the concessive clause in this verse, Paul employs again the verb eimi(εἰμί).

However, this time he uses the second person plural present active indicative conjugation of the verb.

Here it again pertains to certain persons who belong to a particular group of human beings who exist in the state or condition of possessing a particular characteristic.

The referent of the second person plural form of this verb refers to the recipients of the Ephesian epistle which Ephesians 2:11 identify as Gentile Christians.

The word not only refers to them as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing absolutely no exceptions expressing the idea that “each and every one” of them were saved because of grace.

The dative feminine singular form of the noun charis (χάρις), “by grace” and the nominative masculine plural perfect passive participle conjugation of the verb sozo (σῴζω), “you have been saved” identify them as those who exist in the state of belonging to a particular group of human beings who were saved by the Father’s grace policy.

Therefore, the verb eimi (εἰμί) is expressing the idea that each and every one of these Gentile Christians belong to a particular group of human beings who exist in the state of being saved because of the Father’s grace policy.

Now, in this emphatic declarative statement which brings to an end Ephesians 2:5, the verb sozo (σῴζω) is used of the act of the Father delivering a sinner from personal sins, the sin nature, Satan, his cosmic system, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death and eternal condemnation.

The Father delivers the unregenerate sinner through the voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross as well as His resurrection and session at His right hand of the Father.

This deliverance is appropriated by the unregenerate sinner when they exercise faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Consequently, the Father delivers the unregenerate sinner from personal sins, the sin nature, Satan, his cosmic system, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death and eternal condemnation.

The referent of the masculine plural form of this verb sozo (σῴζω) is of course each one of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle, who we noted were Gentile Christians according to the contents of Ephesians 2:11.

The word not only refers to them as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing absolutely no exceptions expressing the idea that “each and every one” of them were saved because of grace.

The verb sozo (σῴζω) is modified by the dative feminine singular form of the noun charis (χάρις), which we noted means “grace” and refers to God the Father’s grace policy towards unregenerate sinners who are under His wrath.

The latter function as a dative of cause, which means that the word indicates the cause or the basis of the action of this verb sozo(σῴζω).

Therefore, this indicates that the Father saved the church age believer “because of” His grace policy towards unregenerate sinners.

Therefore, this verb sozo (σῴζω) is expressing the idea that each one of these Gentile Christians “are saved” because of the Father’s grace policy on behalf of unregenerate sinners.

The perfect tense of the verb sozo (σῴζω) is an intensive perfect which is emphasizing the present state of every church age believer being saved because of the Father’s grace policy as a result of the Father declaring them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Again, simultaneously, He identified them with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand through the baptism of the Spirit.

The passive voice of this verb sozo (σῴζω) indicates that each and every church age believer received the action being saved because of the Father’s grace policy as a result of the Father declaring them justified through faith in His Son and simultaneously identifying them with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand through the baptism of the Spirit.

The participle conjugation of this verb sozo(σῴζω) functions as a periphrastic participle, which emphasizes with the recipients of the Ephesian epistle are saved from the Father’s wrath because of the Father’s grace policy when He made them alive together with His Son, Jesus Christ even though they were spiritually dead because of the transgressions they committed against Him prior to their justification.

There is one final interpretative issue that we must address with regards to this declarative statement chariti este sesōsmenoi (χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι), “Each and every one of you are saved because of grace” here in Ephesians 2:5.

This issue why did Paul switch from the first person plural to the second person plural?

The former speaks of Paul and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle who we noted are Gentile Christians.

Thus, Paul as a Jewish Christian employs the first person plural here in Ephesians 2:5 and throughout Ephesians 1:3-24 to promote unity and solidarity with these Gentile Christians.

The second person plural refers to these Gentile Christians exclusively.

I believe that Paul switches from the first person plural to the second person plural for two reasons.

First, he wants to emphasize with these Gentile Christians that they as unregenerate Gentiles did not earn or deserve being made alive with Christ and identified with Him in His resurrection but because of the Father’s grace policy toward unregenerate sinners.

Secondly, inextricably connected to the first reason, he wants to emphasize with these Gentile Christians how utterly amazing that the Father made them alive with His Son Jesus Christ when they unlike the Jews did not possess a covenant relationship with God.

Consequently, they did not possess the revelation and privileges that were given to the Jews because of their covenant relationship with the Lord.

In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul discusses at length this issue of the Gentiles being far away from God because they did not have a covenant relationship with the Lord as the Jewish people did.