Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:7a-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 the one and only 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.

Lasty, 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.”

Now, in the second prepositional phrase, we have the articular dative masculine singular form of the noun aiōn (αἰών), “the ages,” which pertains to a particular period of history which has some distinctive feature, which is distinguished from other periods of history.

Here in Ephesians 2:7, the referent of the word is the millennial reign of Jesus Christ as well as the eternal state in the new heavens and new earth.

Together, they constitute the future age in which Jesus Christ and His bride the church will rule over the works of God’s hands.

They stand in marked contrast to the present age, in which Satan and his angels rule the world (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19) and which age began with the Fall of Adam but will end with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

This word aiōn(αἰών), “the ages” is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), “during” which functions as a marker of an extent of time within a unit.

Therefore, this preposition marks the periods of human history within human history as when the Father will for His own glory display the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of church age believers.

Specifically, it marks the millennial reign of Jesus Christ and the eternal state as when the Father will for His own glory display the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy because of His kindness on behalf of church age believers.

The verb eperchomai(ἐπέρχομαι), “which are certain to come” is used in relation to time and pertains to an event taking place in the future.

The referent of the dative masculine plural form of this verb is of course articular dative masculine singular form of the noun aiōn (αἰών), “the ages.”

Therefore, the former refers to the ages of human history which are the millennial reign of Christ and the eternal state.

These we noted constitute future ages in which Christ and His bride, the church will rule over the works of God’s hands and stand in contrast to the present age, in which Satan and his angels rule the world.

The word functions here as a dative of simple apposition, which means that it stands in apposition to the articular dative masculine singular form of the noun aiōn(αἰών), “the ages,” which begs to be defined and thus, the former defines the latter as the ages, which will come in the future.

The present tense of the participle conjugation of this verb eperchomai (ἐπέρχομαι) is a futuristic present which describes these future ages with the connotation of the certainty of them both taking place in the future.

The noun ploutos(πλοῦτος), “wealth” is used in a figurative sense to refer to a spiritual and material abundance of material and spiritual possessions and spiritual resources possessed by God the Father.

In other words, it is used figuratively of the spiritual and material prosperity of the Father.

The noun charis(χάρις) refers to God the Father’s grace policy towards sinners, which manifests His attribute of love.

Specifically, it speaks of the Father’s grace policy which benefits the church age believer because of the Father declaring them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Correspondingly, it speaks of His grace policy on behalf of the church age believer because of their union and identification with His Son.

This noun functions as a genitive of production, which indicates that it “produces” this incomparable wealth.

In other words, it indicates that the Father’s incomparable wealth, both spiritually and materially is “produced by” His grace policy towards the church age believer or is “the product” of His grace policy.

The articular nominative neuter singular present active participle conjugation of the verb hyperballō (ὑπερβάλλω), “incomparable” pertains to something that is eminent and beyond comparison.

Thus, it describes the Father’s wealth as conspicuous and beyond comparison.

The verb endeiknumi(ἐνδείκνυμι) means “to display” since the word pertains to exhibiting something or making something evident ostentatiously.

The referent of the third person singular form of this verb is of course God the Father.

The aorist tense of this verb is an ingressive aorist, which emphasizes the Father “entering into the state of” displaying during the coming ages (millennial reign and eternal state) the incomparable riches, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of each and every church age believer.

The middle voice of this verb is an indirect or benefactive middle which is expressing the idea of the Father displaying “for His own glory” during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy on behalf of each and every church age believer.

Therefore, the verb endeiknumi (ἐνδείκνυμι) is expressing the idea that “for His own glory,” the Father will “enter into the state of displaying” during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth, which is the product of His grace policy because of His kindness on behalf of each and every church age believer.