Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:7b-The Reasons the Father Will Display His Incomparable Wealth During the Ages to Come

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. 7 He did this so that He could enter into the state of displaying for His own glory during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace because of kindness for the benefit of each and every one of us because of our faith in and union and identification with Christ, who is Jesus. (Lecturer’s translation)

Ephesians 2:7 is a hina (ἵνα) purpose clause, which is composed of the declarative statement hina endeixētai to hyperballon ploutos tēs charitos autou…ephʼ hēmas (ἵνα ἐνδείξηται τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ… ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς), “so that He could display for His own glory the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace.”

This declarative statement presents the purpose of the Father making the church age believer alive with Christ by raising and seating them with His Son despite the fact that they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions.

This declarative statement is modified by four prepositional phrases.

The first of these is ephʼ hēmas (ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς), “for the benefit of each and every one of us.”

This prepositional describes each and every church age believer as benefiting from the Father’s intended action of displaying His incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy.

The second is en tois aiōsin tois eperchomenois (ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις), “during the ages, which are certain to come.”

This prepositional phrase identifies when the Father will display for His own glory His incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of each and every church age believer.

It identifies the millennial reign of Christ and the eternal state as when the Father will display for His own glory His incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of each and every church age believer.

The third prepositional phrase is en chrēstotēti (ἐν χρηστότητι), “because of kindness” and identifies the Father’s kindness as the reason why He will display for His own glory His incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of each and every church age believer.

Lastly, the fourth and final prepositional phrase is en Christō Iēsou (ἐν Χριστῷ* Ἰησοῦ), “because of our faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ, who is Jesus.”

It identifies another reason why the Father will display for His own glory His incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of each and every church age believer because of His kindness.

It identifies the church age believer’s faith in Christ at justification and union and identification with Him as the ultimate reason why the Father will display for His own glory His incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of each and every church age believer.

The Father will do this in the future for each and every church age believer not only because of His kindness but because of their faith in Christ at justification and union and identification with Him.

In other words, He could not express this kindness in the future on behalf of the believer unless He first declared them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ and at which time, He identified them with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session through the baptism of the Spirit.

The noun chrēstotēs(χρηστότης), “kindness” pertains to the quality of being warmhearted, considerate, gentle and sympathetic and it also pertains to an event or activity which is benevolent.

This kindness was expressed by making the church age believer alive with Christ by raising and seating them with Christ despite the fact that they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions.

This word is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which can be interpreted as a marker of manner, which means that it is marking this word as the manner in which the Father will display for His own glory during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace on behalf of the church age believer.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase en chrēstotēti (ἐν χρηστότητι) expresses the idea that the Father will for His own glory enter into the state of displaying during the ages, which are certain to come in the future, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace “expressed in a kind manner” on behalf of the believer.

However, I believe that it is better to interpret this preposition as a marker of cause or reason, which means that the preposition en (ἐν) is marking the noun chrēstotēs (χρηστότης), “kindness” as the reason why the Father will display for His own glory during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace on behalf of the church age believer.

This interpretation is supported by the contents of Ephesians 2:4-5, which assert that the Father made the church age believer alive with Christ when they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions because of His mercy and specifically because of the exercise of His great love.

Ephesians 2:6 defines what it means to be made alive with Christ by asserting that it means to be raised and seated with Christ.

Therefore, a comparison of Ephesians 2:4 with 2:6 would indicate that the Father raised and seated the church age believer with His Son because of His mercy and specifically because of the exercise of His great love.

Notice in Ephesians 2:5 that Paul asserts that the Father is rich in mercy “because of” His attribute of love.

Correspondingly, he is asserting here in Ephesians 2:7 that the Father will display the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of the church age believer “because of’ His kindness, which like His mercy, flows from the exercise of His attribute of love.

Now, in Ephesians 2:7, 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 the Ephesian epistle, who were Gentile Christians according to the contents of Ephesians 2:11.

This word is not only speaking of Paul and these Gentile Christians as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.

Therefore, the idea expressed here with this word is that the Father will display for His own glory during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace because of His kindness on behalf of “each and every” church age believer as “a corporate unit.”

This word is the object of the preposition epi (ἐπί), which functions as a marker of benefaction or advantage.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase ephʼ hēmas (ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς) is expressing the idea that the Father will display for His own glory during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace because of His kindness “on behalf of” or “for the benefit of “each and every” church age believer as “a corporate unit.”

The proper name Christos (Χριστός) contains the figure of metonymy which means that the one and only Christ is put for the church age believer’s faith in Him at justification and their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.

The noun Christos(Χριστός) is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which functions here as a marker of cause or reason.

Therefore, this indicates that the church age believer’s faith in Christ at justification as well as their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit at justification is the “reason” why the Father will for His own glory display during the ages, which are certain to come in the future, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy because of kindness.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase is expressing the idea that the Father will display for His own glory during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace because of His kindness for the benefit of each and every church age believer and “because of” their faith in His Son at justification as well as “because of” their union and identification with His Son through the baptism of the Spirit, which took place at their justification.

This interpretation is supported by the fact that Paul teaches throughout his writings as well as in Ephesians that the church age believer receives every spiritual blessing because they were declared justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Correspondingly, he teaches that the Father identified the church age believer with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session through the baptism of the Spirit when He declared them justified through His Son (cf. Rom. 6; Col. 2-3; Eph. 2:4-6).