Ephesians 2.6a-The Church Age Believer Has Been Raised with Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday September 30, 2023
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:6a-The Church Age Believer Has Been Raised with Christ
Lesson # 84
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! 6 Specifically, He caused each and every one of us as a corporate unit to be raised with Him. Correspondingly, He caused each and every one of us as a corporate unit to be seated in the heavenlies because of our faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 2:6 is composed of two elliptical declarative statements, which serve to explain the previous concessive clause in Ephesians 2:5.
The latter asserts that the Father caused the church age believer to be made alive together with Christ even though they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions.
The first elliptical statement in Ephesians 2:6 asserts that the Father raised the church age believer with His Son in the heavenlies, because of their faith in Christ Jesus at justification and their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
The second asserts that the Father caused the church age believer to be seated with His Son in the heavenlies because of their faith in Him at justification as well and because of their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
These assertions mean that the church age believer was identified with Christ in His resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father through the baptism of the Spirit.
This took place when the Father declared them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
Simultaneously, the Father identified the church age believer with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand through the baptism of the Spirit.
Therefore, these elliptical declarative statements here in Ephesians 2:6 indicate that when Paul asserts that the Father made the church age believer alive with Christ, he means that they were identified with Christ in His resurrection and session through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
The verb sunegeirō (συνεγείρω) pertains “to causing someone to be raised to life together with someone else” and is conceived as causing someone to wake up and arise out of bed along with others.
The referent of the third person singular form of this verb is God the Father.
The apostle Paul employs the figure of ellipsis here in Ephesians 2:6 because he is deliberately omitting the accusative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ) and the dative masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), though they are clearly implied from Ephesians 2:5.
As was the case in verse 5, here in verse 6 the referent of the accusative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ) is Paul and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle, who were Gentile Christians according to the contents of Ephesians 2:11.
This word functions as the accusative direct object of the verb sunegeirō (συνεγείρω) indicating it receives this verb’s action.
Therefore, this indicates that each and every church age believer received the action of being raised with Jesus Christ at their justification through the baptism of the Spirit.
The referent of the dative masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός) is Jesus Christ.
This word functions as a dative of association which indicates that the Father caused Paul and each one of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle and all church age believers to be raised “together with” or “in association with” His Son, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, these three words refer to the church age believer’s identification with Jesus Christ in His resurrection which took place by means of the baptism of the Spirit when they were declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
Like the active voice of the verb suzōopoieō (συζωοποιέω) in Ephesians 2:5, which speaks of the Father causing the church age believer to be made a live with Christ, so the active voice of this verb sunegeirō (συνεγείρω) here in Ephesians 2:6 is a causative active voice.
Therefore, this indicates that the Father is the ultimate cause of Paul and these Gentile Christians and every church age believer being identified with Jesus Christ in His resurrection but not directly involved in it because He accomplished it through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
This interpretation is supported by the contents of Colossians 2:12 and Romans 6:1-10.
Not only does the apostle Paul speak of the church age believer’s identification with His Son, Jesus Christ in His resurrection in Ephesians 2:6 but also in Colossians 2:12.
Colossians 2:8 Don’t stop making it your habit of watching out for anyone belonging to a group who would seek to take each one of you captive through empty, deceitful philosophy based upon the tradition produced by human beings, based upon the elementary teachings promoted by the cosmic system, which are by no means based upon the teaching originating from Christ. 9 The reason for this command is that in Him, the totality of attributes which compose the divine nature permanently dwell in bodily form. 10 Also, by means of your union and identification with Him, each one of you is made complete, who is the head over each and every ruler and authority. 11 Furthermore, because of your faith in Him, each one of you was circumcised by means of a circumcision which was not performed by human beings, by means of the removal of your body composed of that which is flesh, by means of this circumcision which is specifically your identification with the Christ. 12 Specifically each one of you were buried with Him by means of the baptism which is essential and superior. Correspondingly, by means of which each one of you were raised together with Him by means of your faith in God the Father’s exertion of power who caused Him to be raised out from the dead ones. (Lecturer’s translation)
Not only does Paul speak of the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His resurrection in Ephesians 2:6 and Colossians 2:12 but also in Colossians 3:1.
In fact, he also speaks of the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His session at the right hand of the Father in Colossians 3:1.
In Colossians 3:1-5, Paul discusses the implications of this identification with Christ in His resurrection and session in relation to the spiritual life of the church age believer.
The church age believer’s union and identification with Jesus Christ enables the Father to restore mankind as sovereign ruler over the earth, which was His original plan with Adam and Eve (cf. Gen. 1:26-27).
However, they lost the rulership of the earth to Satan and his angels (cf. Luke 4:6; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19) and which rulership is only temporary because at His Second Advent, Jesus Christ and His bride the church will be installed as permanent rulers over the earth.
As was the case in Ephesians 2:6, the apostle Paul taught the Colossian Christian community in Colossians 3:1-4 that they are identified with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection.
Then, in Colossians 3:5-14, he brings out the implications of this identification with regards to their lifestyle.
Colossians 3:1 Therefore, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you have been raised up with Christ and we agree that this is true. Then, continue to make it your habit of diligently seeking after the things above, where Christ is, as an eternal spiritual truth existing in a state of being seated at God’s right hand. 2 Each and every one of you continue making it your habit of concentrating on the things above, not on the things on earth 3 because each and every one of you has died. Consequently, the life of each and every one of you is concealed with Christ by means of the power of God the Father. 4 When Christ, the life of each and every one of you, enters into the state of being revealed, then, at that time, each and every one of you will, as a certainty be revealed with Him in a state of glory. 5 Therefore, I solemnly charge each and every one of you to put to death the members of that which belongs to your earthly nature with regards to the practice of sexual immorality, sexual impurity, sexual lust, evil desire as well as that which is greed which is, as an eternal spiritual truth characterized as idolatry. (Lecturer’s translation)