Ephesians 3.6a-Gentile Church Age Believers are Fellow Heirs with Jewish Church Age Believers
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday April 13, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:6a-Gentile Church Age Believers are Fellow Heirs with Jewish Church Age Believers
Lesson # 145
Ephesians 3:1 For this reason, I myself, Paul, the prisoner owned by and under the authority of the one and only Christ who is Jesus for the benefit of each and every one of you as a corporate unit, who are Gentiles—2 if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you as a corporate unit have surely heard about the stewardship, which is unique to the grace, which originates from the one and only God, which was given to me for the benefit of all of you as a corporate unit without exception. (Of course, every one of you have in fact heard about it.) 3 Namely that, the mystery was made known for the benefit of myself as revelation as I wrote beforehand in a concise manner. 4 Concerning which, that is, by each one of you making it your habit of hearing read publicly, all of you will for your own benefit become able to comprehend my insight into this incomparable mystery, which is produced by your unique union and identification with Christ. 5 This mystery was by no means made known to members of the human race in previous generations as it has now been revealed through the personal agency of His holy apostles as well as prophets by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit. 6 Namely, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body likewise fellow partakers of the promise because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus by means of the proclamation of the gospel. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:6 is composed of the infinitival appositional clause einai ta ethnē synklēronoma kai syssōma kai symmetocha tēs epangelias (εἶναι τὰ ἔθνη συγκληρονόμα καὶ σύσσωμα καὶ συμμέτοχα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας), “Namely, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs as well as fellow members of the body likewise fellow partakers of the promise.” (Lecturer’s translation)
It is modified by two prepositional phrases.
The first is en Christō Iēsou (ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ), “because of justification by faith in and union and identification with Christ Jesus.” (Lecturer’s translation) and the second is dia tou euangeliou (σ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου), “by means of the proclamation of the gospel.” (Lecturer’s translation)
The infinitive conjugation of the verb eimi (εἰμί) functions as an appositional infinitive, which means that it introduces a clause which defines the content of this mystery.
Namely, that Gentile and Jewish church age believers are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ, and fellow partakers of the Messianic promise with Jewish church age believers because of their faith in Christ Jesus at justification and union and identification with Him.
As was the case in Ephesians 2:11 and 3:1, the noun ethnos (ἒθνος), “the Gentiles” here in Ephesians 3:6 means “the Gentiles” since the word is used of those members of the human race who are not of Jewish racial descent and thus not members of the covenant people of God, Israel.
The adjective sygklēronomos (συγκληρονόμος), “fellow heir” is used to describe Gentile church age believers as “joint heirs” of God with Jewish church age believers.
This came about because they both have been declared justified by the Father because of the merits of their faith, Jesus Christ and simultaneously, placed in union with Christ and identified with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
Being a fellow or joint heir with Jesus Christ means that Gentile and Jewish church age believers possess a share in the spiritual and temporal blessings, which the Father bestowed on His Son, Jesus Christ as a result of His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
These events in the life of our Lord provided salvation or deliverance for unregenerate humanity from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death, the consequences of personal sins, and enslavement to the sin nature and Satan and his cosmic system.
Jewish and Gentile church age believers appropriated this great deliverance when the Father declared them justified because of the merits of the object of their faith, Jesus Christ.
Simultaneously, the Father placed them in union with Christ and identified them with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father through the baptism of the Spirit.
Being a joint or fellow heir is related to the church age believer’s inheritance.
The reader will recall that in Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul asserts that the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit is the down payment of the church age believer’s inheritance.
Ephesians 1:13 Correspondingly, because of whom, each and every one of you were sealed by means of the omnipotence of the one and only promised Spirit, who is holy because each and every one of you obeyed the one and only message, which is truth, namely, the proclamation of the one and only gospel, which produced your salvation. Specifically, because each one of you believed in Him. 14 The Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance until He redeems His possession for the praise of His glory. (Lecturer’s translation)
The noun klēronomia (κληρονομία), “inheritance” to the church age believer not only receiving a resurrection body at the rapture or resurrection of the church but also rewards for faithful service at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church, which immediately follows the resurrection or rapture of the church.
With regards to rewards for faithful service, this word also speaks of the church age believer acquiring valuable possessions, property and exalted position of authority from the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat as a reward because of faithful service on earth.
This exalted position of authority would refer of course to being a member of Jesus Christ’s millennial government.
The apostle Paul not only speaks of the church age believer’s inheritance in Ephesians but also in Colossians.
Colossians 3:23 Whenever any of you, at any time, should do something, each of you from your entire being, for your own benefit, must continue making it your habit of working hard as for your one and only true Lord, indeed, never for people 24 The reason for this command is that each of you know without a doubt that each of you will certainly receive for your own benefit your reward, which is your inheritance. Each of you continue making it your habit of serving the Lord, who is the Christ. (Lecturer’s translation)
Paul mentions this inheritance in Colossians 1:12.
Colossians 1:9 For this reason also, from the day we ourselves heard about all of you, we never permit ourselves to cease making it our habit of occupying ourselves with praying on behalf of each and every one of you. Specifically, we make it our habit of occupying ourselves with making urgent requests that (God) would cause all of you to be filled with that which is knowing His will experientially by means of a wisdom which is absolute resulting in a discernment which is spiritual. 10 The purpose would be all of you living your lives in a manner worthy of the Lord so as to be fully pleasing to Him. This would result in all of you bearing fruit by means of each and every kind of action which is divine good in quality and character and in addition increasing in knowing experientially God the Father. 11 This is because of all of you are empowered by means of a power which is absolute, because of a power which is sovereign, namely, His glory. The purpose of which is to perfectly embody perseverance as well as patience with joy. 12 All the while, all of you making it your habit of giving thanks to the Father who has qualified each and every one of you with regards to sharing in the saints’ inheritance residing in that which is characterized by light. (Lecturer’s translation)
Every church age believer has the opportunity to receive their eternal inheritance if they fulfill the condition of being faithful till death or the rapture whichever comes first and thus executes the Father’s will for their life.
The apostle Paul not only mentions the church age believer’s inheritance in Ephesians 1:14 but also in Ephesians 1:18 when he presents the first of two intercessory prayers on behalf of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia.
Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, after I myself heard about the faith among each and every one of you in the one and only Lord Jesus as well as you are practicing divine-love, which is on behalf of each and every one of the saints, 16 I never permit myself to cease regularly expressing thanks to the one and only God because of each and every one of you. I do this while disciplining myself to make it my practice of remembering each and every one of you during my prayers. 17 I make it a habit of occupying myself with praying that God, that is, the glorious Father of the one and only Lord ruling over each and every one of us as a corporate unit, who is Jesus Christ, would cause each and every one of you to receive divine wisdom, specifically, divine revelatory wisdom provided by the one and only Spirit with respect to an experiential knowledge of Himself. 18 Namely, that the eyes of your heart are enlightened in order that each and every one of you would possess the conviction of what constitutes being the confident expectation of blessing produced by His effectual call, what constitutes His glorious, rich inheritance residing in the person of the saints. (Lecturer’s translation)
The noun klēronomia (κληρονομία), “inheritance” is two-fold: (1) The church age believer being in the presence of the Lord at physical death or in a resurrection body at the rapture of the church (2) The church age believer receiving rewards for faithful service at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church, which immediately follows the resurrection or rapture of the church.
Now, Paul also uses the adjective sygklēronomos (συγκληρονόμος), “fellow heir” in Romans 8:17 but uses a different referent for the word than the one he uses in Ephesians 3:6.
Romans 8:17 Furthermore, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument, we are children. Of course, we are! Then, we are also heirs: On the one hand, we are God’s heirs while on the other hand, we are joint-heirs sygklēronomos (συγκληρονόμος) with Christ, if in fact, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument, we habitually suffer with Him (Of course, we are) in order that we also would be glorified with Him. (Lecturer’s translation)
When Paul speaks of the believer being a joint-heir with Christ, he is referring to the believer being glorified with Christ during His millennial reign as a result of receiving his inheritance and rewards for faithfully enduring undeserved suffering while on planet earth.
The Scriptures teach that the Father will bestow upon the believer an eternal inheritance and rewards if the believer does His will (1 Corinthians 9:25; Ephesians 1:11; James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).