Ephesians 3.12a-Church Age Believers Possesses Bold Access with Confidence to the Presence of the Father
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday June 8, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:12a-Church Age Believers Possess Bold Access with Confidence to the Presence of the Father
Lesson # 163
Ephesians 3:12 On the basis of our faith in and union and identification with Him, each and every one of us are experiencing boldness, namely access with confidence to the presence of the Father by means of His faithfulness. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:12 is composed of the following:
(1) Prepositional phrase en hō (ἐν ᾧ), “On the basis of our faith in and union and identification with Him” (Author’s translation)
(2) Declarative statement: echomen tēn parrēsian kai prosagōgēn (ἔχομεν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν), “each and every one of us are experiencing boldness, namely access” (Author’s translation)
(3) Prepositional phrase: en pepoithēsei (ἐν πεποιθήσει), “with confidence” (Author’s translation)
(4) Prepositional phrase (due to the use of the figure of ellipsis): pros ton patera (πρὸς τὸν πατέρα), “to the presence of the Father” (Author’s translation)
(5) Prepositional phrase dia tēs pisteōs autou (διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ), “by means of His faithfulness” (Author’s translation)
Therefore, we can see that Ephesians 3:12 is built upon the declarative statement echomen tēn parrēsian kai prosagōgēn (ἔχομεν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν), “each and every one of us are experiencing boldness, namely access.”
It is modified by four prepositional phrases and one of which is implied due to the figure of ellipsis.
The prepositional phrase en pepoithēsei (ἐν πεποιθήσει), “with confidence” is actually modifying prosagōgēn (ἔχομεν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν), “access” and is completing the latter’s thought.
Together, they are defining the articular expression tēn parrēsian (τὴν παρρησίαν), “boldness.”
The prepositional phrase pros ton patera (πρὸς τὸν πατέρα), “to the presence of the Father” is omitted but implied due to Paul’s use of the figure of ellipsis.
It is completing the thought of the declarative statement echomen tēn parrēsian kai prosagōgēn (ἔχομεν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν), “each and every one of us are experiencing boldness, namely access.”
The prepositional phrases en pepoithēsei (ἐν πεποιθήσει), “with confidence” and pros ton patera (πρὸς τὸν πατέρα), “to the presence of the Father” are also doing so as well.
Lastly, the prepositional phrases en hō (ἐν ᾧ), “On the basis of our faith in and union and identification with Him” and dia tēs pisteōs autou (διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ), “by means of His faithfulness” are also modifying the declarative statement.
They also serve as bookends for this declarative statement and the prepositional phrases, which modify it.
The former is fronted for emphasis and the latter completes the verse.
The former expresses the reason for the declarative statement and the prepositional phrases that modify it and the latter expresses the means for them.
Together, they serve to emphasize that the new humanity composed of both Jewish and Gentile Christian communities owes its very existence to the Lord Jesus Christ because His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father serves as the basis for its very existence.
In the declarative statement, the noun parrēsia (παρρησία), “boldness” is used in relation to access to the Father and describes the church age believer’s access to the Father as being characterized by openness with Him, which stems from freedom to speak freely with a lack of fear in His presence.
The noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή), which appears in this declarative statement means, “access” and not simply “entrance” since the former accurately reflects the meaning of the word because it denotes not only entrance into the presence of the Father but also the continuing availability of that access to the presence of the Father.
This word also appears in Ephesians 2:18 and in Romans 5:2.
It means, “to lead someone into the presence of another” with the assistance of another and with the implication that the person doing the receiving is of higher status.
In these passages, the noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) is used in relation to God the Father, thus the word denotes the sinner being led into the presence of the Father through the intermediary agency of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to experience an eternal relationship and fellowship with the Father.
Therefore, the noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) indicates that because Jewish and Gentile church age believers have been declared justified by the Father through faith in Jesus Christ and have been identified with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father through the baptism of the Spirit, they always possess access to the presence of the Father.
They have permanent access to His presence in the sense that they always possess an eternal relationship with the Father.
The word also indicates the continuing availability of this access to the presence of the Father or in other words, it indicates the continued availability of approaching the Father for fellowship.
The expression tēn parrēsian kai prosagōgēn (τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν) is an object-complement double accusative construction.
Both words are in the accusative case with the noun parrēsia (παρρησία) functioning as the object and the noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) functioning as its complement.
This is indicated by the fact that in such constructions the articular noun functions as the object whereas the anarthrous noun functions as the complement.
The noun parrēsia (παρρησία) functions as the object in object-complement construction because it is articular and the noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) functions as the complement in object-complement construction because it is anarthrous.
However, contrary to normal usage, the complement is definite and the object is qualitative.
This is indicated by the fact that the noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή) is speaking of access to the presence of the Father whereas the noun parrēsia (παρρησία) is qualitative because it describes the quality of this access, namely, it is characterized by boldness on the part of the church age believer.
The noun pepoithēsis (πεποίθησις), “confidence” describes the church age believer’s relationship to the Father as being characterized by intimacy which is marked by freedom from uncertainty, diffidence or embarrassment.
It describes the manner in which the church age believer is certain of their relationship to the Father as His child.
This word is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which functions as a marker of manner, which expresses the idea that this access to the presence of the Father, which is characterized by boldness, is also characterized by confidence.
Now, this prepositional phrase en pepoithēsei (ἐν πεποιθήσει), “with confidence” serves to modify and complete the thought begun by the noun prosagōgē (προσαγωγή), “access.”
Thus, together, they serve to identify what the noun parrēsia (παρρησία), “boldness” is related to.
Therefore, this object-complement double accusative construction expresses the idea that because of the church age believer’s faith in Jesus Christ at justification and their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit, they are experiencing “boldness, namely access with confidence” to the presence of the Father.
The verb echō (ἔχω) means “to experience” a state or condition indicating because of the church age believer’s faith in Jesus Christ at justification and their union and identification with Him Jewish and Gentile church age believers are “experiencing” boldness, yes access with confidence to the presence of the Father.
The first person plural of this verb is an inclusive “we” or literary plural which is used to include both the author and his audience.
Paul was of course a Jewish Christian and the recipients of this letter were Gentile Christians according to Ephesians 2:11.
Therefore, Paul employs the first person plural because he is referring to both himself and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle with himself representing the Jewish Christian community.
The present tense of this verb echō (ἔχω) is a customary present or stative present which would indicate that because of the church age believer’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at justification and their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit, they “exist in the state of” experiencing boldness, namely access with confidence to the presence of the Father.
The present tense can also be interpreted as a gnomic present which would indicate that because of the church age believer’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at justification and their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit, they are “as a general timeless truth” or “as an eternal spiritual truth or axiom” experiencing boldness, namely access with confidence to the presence of the Father.