Ephesians 4.6d-God the Father Works Through Every Church Age Believer
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday December 14, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:6d-God the Father Works Through Every Church Age Believer
Lesson # 211
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore, I myself, the prisoner because of the Lord’s will, exhort and encourage each and every one of you as a corporate unit to live your lives in a manner worthy of your effectual calling with which each and every one of you as a corporate unit have been effectually called 2 with the fullest expression of that which characterizes humility resulting in that which characterizes gentleness. Specifically, by each and every one of you as a corporate unit continuing to make it your habit of tolerating one another with that which characterizes patience by means of the practice of divine love. 3 In other words, by all of you without exception continuing to cause yourselves to make it a habit of making every effort to maintain the unity produced by the Spirit by means of the bond, which produces a peace, which is divine in quality and character. 4 It is defined by one body as well as one Spirit just as each and every one of you as a corporate unit were also effectually called into the state of experiencing one confident expectation of blessing which was produced by your effectual call. 5 It is also defined by one Lord. It is also defined by one faith. It is also defined by one baptism. 6 It is defined by one God, namely the Father of each and every one of us as a corporate unit. The one possessing authority over each and every one of us as a corporate unit as well as working through each and every one of us as a corporate unit and in addition bodily in union with each and every one of us as a corporate unit. (Lecturer’s translation)
The fourth elliptical assertion which appears in Ephesians 4:6 states the Father works through each and every member of the body of Christ after justification.
This assertion contains the dia pantōn (διὰ πάντων), “working through.”
In this assertion, Paul once again employs the genitive masculine plural form of the adjective pas (πᾶς) and as was the case in the first two instances, it functions as a substantive with the referent of this word being the Christian community.
It is again not only pertaining to the members of the Christian community in their totality and thus emphasizing them as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions and thus emphasizes them as individuals who compose this community.
However, this time the adjective pas (πᾶς) is the object of the preposition dia (διά), “working through,” which emphasizes that God the Father is “ultimately responsible for working through” the members of the body of Christ after their justification and which work He performs through both His Son and the Spirit.
The Father works through the following post-justification ministries performed by the Holy Spirit: (1) Empowers the believer to execute the plan of God (John 14:16, 26; Galatians 5:16, 25; Ephesians 5:18; Philippians 2:13). (2) Reproduces Christ-like character in the believer (Galatians 4:19; 5:5, 16-23). (3) Teaches the believer the doctrines of Christ (John 14:26; 1 Co. 2:10-16; 1 John 2:20, 27). (4) Convicts the believer of sin (John 16:7-11; Romans 8:4-14; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Th. 5:18). (5) Leads the believer in worshipping the Father (John 4:24; Philippians 3:3; Romans 8:4-13). (6) Promotes spiritual maturity (Galatians 5:1-5; He. 5:11-6:6). (7) Applies truth to the believer’s experience (John 14:26; Romans 8:16; Ephesians 6:18). (8) Gives power to the believer’s prayer life (John 15:7; Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20). (9) Promotes worship of God (John 4:23-24; Ephesians 5:18-21; Philippians 3:3; Isaiah 59:1-2). (10) Gives capacity, burden and direction for witnessing (Acts 1:8; 1 Th. 1:5). (11) Gives capacity for ministry (1 Co. 1:12-14). (12) Provides fellowship for the believer (2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:1).
The Father works through His Son Jesus Christ by means of the nature of His Son, which every church age believer received at the moment of justification through regeneration.
As we noted in our study of Ephesians 3:16, Paul asserts that he made it his habit of occupying himself with praying that according to the wealth produced by His glory God the Father would cause each and every one of the recipients of this letter to be given strength by means of power through the personal intermediate agency of His Spirit for the benefit of their inner being or new Christ nature.
We noted in our study of this verse that the expression ton esō anthrōpon (τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον) also appears in Roman 7:22 with the same referent.
Romans 7:22 For you see, I habitually and joyfully agree with God’s Law with respect to my inner man. (Lecturer’s translation)
In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul employs a similar expression ho exō hēmōn anthrōpos (ὁ ἔξω ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος), “our inner person” to refer to the new indwelling nature of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. (NET)
Therefore, these expressions in these three verses all refer to the new Christ nature that the church age believer received through regeneration the moment they were declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
At the moment a sinner is declared justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, the Holy Spirit creates a human spirit for the imputation of eternal life by God the Father, which makes the believer a new spiritual species meaning they now possesses the divine nature.
This is called in theology “regeneration.”
Now, as we noted in our study of Ephesians 3:16, the noun anthrōpos (ἄνθρωπος) means “human being” and in context speaks of the unique person of history, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the new creation in contrast to the head of the old humanity whose head is the first human being, Adam.
The articular construction of this noun functions as a possessive personal pronoun referring to the recipients of this letter who Paul identifies in Ephesians 2:11 as Gentile church age believers in the Roman province of Asia.
This expresses the idea that this inner human being is “the possession of” these Gentile church age believers.
This noun is modified by the adverb of location esō (ἔσω), which identifies the location of this new humanity or the new head of the human race is located, namely, within the human body and soul of the church age believer.
Paul teaches in Colossians 3:10 that this new Christ nature located in the church age believer desires to be replenished for the purpose of an experiential knowledge in conformity with the image produced by the One who created him.
In this passage, he describes the new indwelling nature of Jesus Christ as the “new man” or “new self” or “new humanity” in Colossians 3:10.
Colossians 3:1 Therefore, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you have been raised up with Christ and we agree that this is true. Then, continue to make it your habit of diligently seeking after the things above, where Christ is, as an eternal spiritual truth existing in a state of being seated at God’s right hand. 2 Each and every one of you continue making it your habit of concentrating on the things above, not on the things on earth 3 because each and every one of you has died. Consequently, the life of each and every one of you is concealed with Christ by means of the power of God the Father. 4 When Christ, the life of each and every one of you, enters into the state of being revealed, then, at that time, each and every one of you will, as a certainty be revealed with Him in a state of glory. 5 Therefore, I solemnly charge each and every one of you to put to death the members of that which belongs to your earthly nature with regards to the practice of sexual immorality, sexual impurity, sexual lust, evil desire as well as that which is greed which is, as an eternal spiritual truth characterized as idolatry. 6 These things are the reason why the wrath exercised by God the Father, as an eternal spiritual truth is and will be directed against the people characterized by disobedience. 7 Each and every one of you also lived your lives among them at one time when each and every one of you were continually living among them. 8 But now, I also solemnly charge each and every one of you, for your own benefit to lay aside each and every one of the following: destructive, uncontrolled anger, malice, slander, filthy language from the mouth of each and every one of you. 9 Each and every one of you continue making it your habit of not lying to one another because each and every one of you for your own benefit have stripped off the old man with its practices. 10 Likewise, each and every one of you have clothed yourselves with the new man which is, as an eternal spiritual truth existing in the state of desiring to be replenished for the purpose of an experiential knowledge in conformity with the image produced by the One who created him. 11 In the sphere of which, absolutely no distinctions are, as an eternal spiritual truth existing between Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free person. But rather, Christ as an eternal spiritual truth exists in the state of being everything as well as in each and every person. (Lecturer’s translation)
In 1 John 3:9, when John refers to the Father’s nature indwelling the believer, he is referring to the believer’s new nature, which Paul mentions in his writings.
This new nature is the human spirit which contains eternal life.
In other words, this human spirit with eternal life imputed to it composes the believer’s new nature, i.e., the new self and this new nature is the nature of Christ.
This act of regeneration makes the believer a new spiritual species, which is the nature of Christ that can never sin and that is described in Scripture by many phrases such as the “new self, new man, newness of life, new creation.”
1 John 3:9 Every person who has been fathered by God never practices sin because His nature lives in him. In other words, he has received the capacity to never sin because he has been fathered by God. (Lecturer’s translation)
When John mentions the believer being “fathered by” God in 1 John 2:29 and 3:9, he is referring to the doctrine of regeneration, which is one of seven ministries the Holy Spirit performs on behalf of every believer the moment they are declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
John mentions this new spiritual birth in 1 John 3:9, 4:7, 5:1, 4 and 18 and he also mentions this doctrine in his gospel (cf. John 1:12-13; 3:3-8).
“Regeneration” refers to the spiritual birth of the sinner who is declared justified by the Father through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
Regeneration takes place at the moment of conversion when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit appropriates for the sinner justified by faith in Jesus Christ, the benefits of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
