Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:10b-The Father Created the Church Age Believer For Producing Actions That Are Divine Good

Ephesians 2:10 For each and every one of us are His creative workmanship. For each and every one of us has been created by means of our faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus in order to produce actions, which are divine good. These God prepared in advance so that each of us would conduct our lives by means of them. (Lecturer’s translation)

Ephesians 2:10 begins with the causal clause autou gar esmen poiēma (αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα), “For each and every one of us are His creative workmanship.”

This is followed by the causal participial clause ktisthentes en Christō Iēsou (κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ), “For each and every one of us has been created by means of our faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ who is Jesus.”

It refers to the Father’s creating the church age believer who along with His Son, Jesus Christ compose the new humanity, which will rule over His creation.

The passive voice of the verb ktizo (κτίζω) indicates that each and every church age believer as a corporate unit received the action of being brought into existence as a result of the Father declaring them justified through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

It also indicates that each and every church age believer as a corporate unit received the action of being brought into existence as a result of the Father identifying them with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.

The participle conjugation of this verb ktizo (κτίζω) is functioning as a causal participle, which would indicate that the church age believer is the Father’s creative workmanship “because” He created them the moment He declared them justified through faith in His Son.

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 nominative case of the participle conjugation of the verb ktizo (κτίζω) functions as a nominative of simple apposition, which indicates that the participle conjugation of this verb ktizo (κτίζω) defines or explains Paul’s previous assertion that the church age believer is the Father’s creative workmanship.

Therefore, it describes the church age believer as the Father’s creative workmanship because He created them the moment He declared them justified through faith in His Son.

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 proper name Christos (Χριστός), “Christ” 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 dative masculine singular form of the proper noun Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), “Jesus” refers to the human nature of the incarnate Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth.

The word functions as a dative of simple apposition and simply clarifies who is Christ here, namely Jesus of Nazareth since there were many in the first century who made the claim.

The noun Christos(Χριστός), “Christ” is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), “by means of,” which 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 “means by which” the Father created the church age believer.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase en Christō Iēsou (ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ), “by means of faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ, who is Jesus” is expressing the idea that the Father created the church age believer by means of their faith in His Son at justification.

Simultaneously, He created them by means of their union and identification with His Son through the baptism of the Spirit, which took place at their justification.

As we noted, this causal participial clause ktisthentes en Christō Iēsou (κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ), “For each and every one of us has been created by means of our faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus” is modified by the prepositional phrase epi ergois agathois (ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς), “in order to produce actions, which are divine good.”

The latter expresses the purpose for which the Father created the church age believer as the new humanity which would rule over His creation.

He created them to be the new humanity ruling over His creation for the purpose of producing actions, which are divine good in quality and character.

The noun ergon(ἒργον), “produce actions” pertains to actions performed by the church age believer while in fellowship with God.

They are produced by the Holy Spirit through them when they exercise faith in the Word of God.

This faith results in obedience to the will of the Father, which is revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.

It speaks of the works or actions that the Holy Spirit performs through the church age believer as a result of their faith in the Word of God, which results in obedience to the various commands and prohibitions in the Word of God, which are inspired by the Holy Spirit.

This noun ergon(ἒργον), “produce actions” contains the figure of metonymy which means that these actions, which are divine good in quality and character are put for producing them.

Therefore, it indicates that the purpose for which the Father created the church age believer as the new humanity which would rule over His creation was that they would produce actions, which are divine good in quality and character.

The noun ergon(ἒργον) is modified by the adjective agathos (ἀγαθός), “which are divine good” describes these actions as good in the sense that they are divine in quality and character because they are in accordance with the Father’s will.

They are in accordance with the Father’s will because they are the direct result of the church age being influenced by the Spirit.

This word describes these works or actions as being intrinsically valuable, intrinsically good, inherently good in quality but with the idea of good which is also profitable, useful, benefiting others, benevolent because they are based upon and motivated by the teaching of the Spirit in the Word of God.

It describes these works or actions as being intrinsically valuable, intrinsically good, inherently good in quality but with the idea of good which is also profitable, useful, benefiting others.

The noun ergon(ἒργον) is the object of the preposition epi (ἐπί), which marks this noun as the purpose for which the Father created the church age believer as the new humanity which would rule over His creation.

The causal participial clause is also modified by the relative pronoun clause hois proētoimasen ho theos (οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ θεός), “which God prepared in advance.”

The referent of this word is the dative neuter plural form of the noun ergon(ἒργον), “works” and the dative neuter singular form of the adjective agathos (ἀγαθός), “good” since they agree in gender (neuter) and number (plural).

Therefore, the referent of the dative neuter plural form of the relative pronoun hos (ὅς) are actions performed by church age believer which are divine good in quality and character.

This relative pronoun functions as a dative of simple apposition, which means it stands in apposition to the dative neuter plural form of the noun ergon(ἒργον), “works” and the dative neuter singular form of the adjective agathos (ἀγαθός), “good.”

The relative pronoun introduces the assertionproētoimasen ho theos, hina en autois peripatēsōmen(προητοίμασεν ὁ θεός, ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν), “God prepared beforehand so we may do them” (NET).

Therefore, this relative pronoun clause is describing these actions, which are divine good in quality and character as being prepared by God beforehand in eternity past in order that the church age believer would practice or perform or produce them.

The noun theos (θεός) refers to the Father which is indicated by the fact that the articular construction of this word in the Greek New Testament commonly signifies the first member of the Trinity unless otherwise indicated by the context.

The verb proetoimazō(προετοιμάζω) pertains to preparing something at a previous time in expectation of an event.

Therefore, it refers to the work of God the Father in eternity past in preparing good works to be produced by the church age believer as a result of electing them in eternity past by predestinating them to adoption as His sons.

It indicates that God the Father prepared in advance in eternity past actions which are divine good in quality and character for the church age believer to produce after their justification.

This word refers to the work of God the Father in eternity past in preparing good works to be produced by the church age believer as a result of electing them in eternity past by predestinating them to adoption as His sons.

This verb is thus related to the election of the church age believer in eternity past, which was accomplished by means of predestinating them to adoption as His sons, which is what Paul discusses in Ephesians 1:4-5.

Therefore, in Ephesians 2:10 when Paul asserts that the church age believer was created by means of their faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus in order to produce actions, which are divine good, which the Father prepared in advance so that they would conduct their lives by means of them, he is tracing the whole process of salvation to the Father’s eternal purpose.