I wrote this study for Paul’s Shorter Epistles at Bob Jones University in the fall of 2001 and lightly revised it in 2008.
Introduction: The book of Ephesians is one of the most theology-packed books in the New Testament. It parallels the theological depths of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Both are supreme expositions of rich doctrinal truth focusing of the salvific purposes of God, but both are as well full of a wealth of ethical implications. Paul’s method in these two books is basically the same. He begins by unfolding the doctrinal section (Romans 1–11 and Ephesians 1–3) after which he follows with the practical implications (Romans 12–16 and Ephesians 4–6). These two epistles serve as a paradigm for all theological studies and practical exhortations. People cannot be effectively exhorted to live a certain type of life without an understanding of the theology behind it. To say it another way, Christians cannot effectively do the what until they know the why. Theology serves as the necessary foundation and backdrop for all of the Christian experience, and to separate these two is to cut the heart out of true religion and lead men into legalism. Conversely, to have theology without an understanding of the implications of it is most dangerous as well. Let us follow the example of Paul in understanding the richness of our position in Christ, which leads us to live a life “worthy of the calling with which [we] have been called” (Ephesians 4:1).
In this epistle in which Paul deals with the full gamut of spiritual blessings, grace functions as a summary of all that believers have and experience in the gospel. In this epistle, the term grace occurs 12 times (1:2; 1:6; 1:7; 2:5; 2:7; 2:8; 3:2; 3:7; 3:8; 4:7; 4:29; 6:24), an average of two times per chapter—second only to Romans, which has 18 occurrences. While this may not seem like much, do not underestimate the importance of this theme in the book, for it nearly pervades every verse and concept that Paul deals with. All that the believer has and is flows from the gracious working of God, and all that the believer is exhorted to do is enabled by the grace of God as well. From initial salvation, to sanctification, to glorification, all is the work of God’s free and unmerited grace in Jesus Christ.
In the opening of the book, Paul begins by offering praise to God and says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (1:3). Then Paul proceeds to expound upon the various elements of this spiritual blessing—a blessing which flows from the grace of God in Christ. Just as the theme “in Christ” runs throughout and gives unity to the whole book, so the theme of grace goes hand in hand with it. These spiritual blessings, which all stream from the free and gracious working of God, include election (1:4), predestination (1:5, 11), adoption (1:6), redemption (1:7), forgiveness (1:7), being appointed as hears (1:11), the sealing of the Spirit (1:13), regeneration (2:5), salvation (2:5, 8), and union with Christ—just to list a few. And it is God’s grace that sums up all of the redemptive working of God from eternity past where it was planned, to the cross where it was purchased, to the individual experience of it, and ultimately to eternity future where it will be brought to its full consummation.
No verse better sums up the theology of God’s grace as we find it here in Ephesians than Paul’s conclusion at the end of Romans 11 which says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” This will serve somewhat as the structure of this message as we give consideration to this theme of grace throughout the Epistle of Ephesians.
I. How and Why Does God Give His Grace: Its Characteristics and Cause “From Him”
Much is learned about the very nature of God’s grace through an examination of its uses throughout Scripture. Grace has commonly been defined as unmerited favor, and this unmerited quality of grace is clearly communicated through the writings of Paul, especially here in Ephesians. But grace is more than just unmerited favor on the undeserving. It is unmerited favor on the undeserving who ought to have nothing but the fullness of God’s wrath.
The second verse of this book reads, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul customarily opens His books with a prayer for God’s grace to be given to His people. The source of this grace is God the Father and His Son. All grace ultimately comes from Him. Paul always points men to God as the fountain from which grace flows. But how does God dispense of His grace, to whom does He dispense it, and why? These are questions that Paul answers throughout the book.
A. God’s grace is dispensed sovereignly
The freeness of the sovereign bestowment of grace is seen by its being set over against works in 2:8–9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Were salvation something that man could do something to attain, he would have cause for boasting. But God has ordained that salvation be a gracious gift from beginning to end, even the faith through which that salvation is received, so that all the praise might go to Him. Apart from this, man is in no condition to earn the grace of God even if he somehow could (see 2:1–3). This sovereign dispensing is likewise clear from the references in chapter 1 to grace as the cause of God’s redemptive work. When Paul is telling the believers of their election, predestination, adoption, forgiveness of sins, etc., he does not say that they received these things because they did anything to deserve them. Rather he points to God’s freedom in giving His grace to whom He desires. In verse 5 he says that believers experience God’s grace “according to the kind intention of His will,” and in verse 6 he refers to “grace [as that] which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved,” and in verse 7 our redemption and forgiveness is “according to the riches of His grace.” (See Romans 9:15, 18.)
B. God’s grace is dispensed abundantly
Another thing that is clear about God’s grace is that it comes from an inexhaustible source. There is no limit or shortage of God’s grace; it flows from the infiniteness of His very being. Paul iterates this throughout the epistle as well. For example in both 1:7 and 2:7 he refers to “the riches of His grace,” a phrase which emphasizes not only the abundance of grace but also its incredible value. In 1:8 Paul also points to the overflowing character of this grace, which he describes as a grace “which He lavished on us.” The word in the Greek is περίσσευω, a word which means “to be present in abundance, exceed, surpass, be more than enough, overflow with, be extremely rich in, or grant richly.”
C. God’s grace is dispensed effectually
A third description of God’s grace is its effectuality. This theme is implied in numerous texts but most clearly seen in 3:7 where Paul says, “I was made a minister [of the gospel], according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.” The Greek phrase here is κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, which is similar to the phrase used in 2:2 that describes Satan as energizing the sons of disobedience. Paul mentions often the grace that was given to him to minister the gospel, a grace that most certainly accomplished its divine intent. Also, God gives grace to His church for its edification, something which God has made certain will happen. It also follows logically that if God gets all the credit for what He does in salvation and the building of His church, His grace alone must be the cause of it or else man would have ground to boast—a thought which is inconceivable to Paul. Let us praise God for His grace that has made us what we are (see 1 Corinthians 15:10)!
II. How Can God Give His Grace: Its Basis “Through Him”
We have seen that God is the source and cause of His grace, a grace which is sovereignly, abundantly, and effectually dispensed. Secondly, let us notice how it is that God is able to show this abundant grace to undeserving sinners without compromising His justice. Probably the most dominant theme of the book is the theme of the believer’s union with Christ. The phrase “in Christ” (or another referent to the second person of the trinity) is used some 30 times in this epistle alone. Our current theme and this one cannot be separated. There is no grace apart from Christ and our union with Him, and there is no being “in Christ” that is not solely a work of God’s grace.
To attempt to fully deal with this theme would take at least a separate sermon if not a series, so I will just be suggestive citing a few of the many examples. Paul makes is clear right at the opening of the epistle that this grace cannot be separated from Christ: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:2). Then in the very next verse he says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” He continues by referencing the “grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (1:6). Our union with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session is also discussed by Paul in 2:5–7: “When we were dead in our transgressions, [God] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
In the perfect life and death of Christ, God has planned in His manifold wisdom a way to maintain His justice and pour out His mercy and grace. In Christ, God can be both “just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus” (Romans 3:25). Christ’s substitutionary death by which He bore the wrath of God, the penalty for the broken law, gives God the ground upon which He might acquit guilty sinners and grant them forgiveness. And Christ’s perfect fulfillment of the law of God by which He earned merit and favor with God, the reward for the fulfilled law, gives just grounds upon which God might give a standing of righteousness and eternal life to sinners. This is why the “in Christ” concept is so essential to the grace of God. There is no salvific grace apart from Him.
Here is where man may have connection to the grace of God. Come and receive the Christ of God and you will receive the grace of God. While God’s grace is undeserved and unmeritable, it is promised to all who submit to Christ as Lord and Savior. O sinner, you who see your need for this grace but realize that you cannot do anything to get it, come to Christ. In Him there is abundant grace to be found! O Christian, you who are weak in fighting against sin and powerless to serve God as you ought, come to Christ. In Him there is fullness of grace to be found! Come, but after you have come, realize with that it was grace that led you all the way.
III. Why Does God Give His Grace: Its Purpose “For Him”
One of the major emphases of this book is the unveiling of the purposes of God in redemption, in the free pouring out of His grace. Why has God chosen a people and determined to save them through the work of His Son? If this question were asked to one thousand evangelical Christians today, the answer would undoubtedly return with man at the center. Some would answer, “Because we are worth it to God. Just look how great a price he paid for us.” Others would reply, “Because God loves us. We must be pretty special for God to give His only Son for us.” Still others might say, “God is lonely and needs our fellowship, besides He needs someone to help Him get His work done. He couldn’t do it without us.” Regardless of what other answers may be posited, the far majority of Christians would put man at the center of the redemptive purposes of God. And while it is true that God does love us and did give His Son for us, His love for us is not the ultimate end of redemption. The purpose of the bestowal of God’s grace does not ultimately end on man. Any view of redemption that finds in consummation on man is an unbiblical one. The Bible, from cover to cover, portrays God as acting always for the display of His greatness and the manifestation of His glory. God is at the center of all that He does, and this is especially seen in His gracious work of redemption.
Paul primarily addresses three different purposes of God’s grace. But it must be quickly pointed out that these purposes are not all on the same level. The first two work in a cycle together. God graciously saves men so that they will preach the gospel of saving grace in Christ so that others will in turn come to experience the grace of God and continue the cycle. These two purposes are not the end or goal of God’s gracious salvation. Both of these function as means to promote the ultimate purpose of God, namely the glorification of His great name through the display of His grace in Christ. Let us look at each of these three, taking special notice how they all consummate in God.
A. To bring men to Christ
The first theme mentioned in the book concerning the purpose of God’s grace has to do with the salvation of sinful men. This is the immediate goal of God’s grace, or its instrumental end. Paul, in the opening verses, discusses the full range of salvific blessings as follows: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (1:3–8). All of these things are manifestations of and flow from His grace. This is all the gracious working of God, from election, to predestination, to adoption, to redemption, to forgiveness, to our union with Christ and our standing of righteousness in Him. God first of all pours out His grace upon undeserving men to bring them to the experience of His riches. This is God’s immediate purpose of His grace, to save needy sinners. Oh, what a wonderful salvation that we have because of God’s grace!
In chapter two Paul again emphasizes this work of God in bringing sinners, who were dead in sins (v. 1), controlled by Satan (v. 2), fulfilling the flesh (v. 3), and destined for wrath (v. 4), into a position of incomprehensible spiritual blessing. After painting this dreadful picture of the misery and need of man he contrast by saying, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (2:4–9). Here he emphasizes three times God’s grace. The full experience of salvific blessing is all of God’s grace.
B. To make men ministers of Christ
This second theme of the purpose of God’s grace is to minister. God’s grace not only rescues men from sin and makes them His children, but it also equips them for service and ministry. The book of Ephesians is a book about the church, stressing its unity as Christ’s body. In 4:7 Paul says, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” This falls in the context of Christ gifting His church for its edification and unity. God gifts every one of His people to take part in this building ministry of the church. God’s grace comes and creates channels for the further dispensing of that grace. This is what Paul said in 3:7–8, “I was made a minister [of the gospel], according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.” God graciously saved Paul turning Him into a minister of that same grace to see others saved and built up unto maturity and in turn become ministers as well. Previously in verse 2 Paul had said, “Indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you.” He had the responsibility now of being a channel for the dispensing of God’s grace to others. In 4:29 Paul even stressed the fact that all believers have this same obligation, even in something as practical and mundane as speech: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” We who have received God’s grace are responsible to be channels through which God can work graciously in others.
C. To exalt the glory of God in Christ
This final theme comes right at the beginning of the book as Paul begins to unfold the spiritual blessings that the believer has in Christ. He starts back in eternity with election and says, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (1:4–6). The reason God has show us this grace in election, predestination and adoption is “for the praise of the glory of His grace.” God wants to be glorified and praised. That is why he saves men. As God puts His grace on display in turning dead, sinful haters of God into living, holy servants of God, He is displaying His manifold wisdom, greatness, power, and love. And he does that so that He might be the object of worship and praise for all eternity. So that no one miss this grandiose theme of God’s self-exaltation, Paul echoes it again two more times in this first chapter, in verse 12, “To the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory,” and in verse 14, “Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
After moving into prayer for the believers, Paul picks back up in chapter 2 with the theme of God’s gracious salvation. He points out again very clearly that God has done all of this for Himself. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (2:4–7). The purpose of God in saving miserable sinners from their sin and uniting them to Christ is expressed here as desiring to show His grace. God does all that He does to put on display His greatness.
One final explicit passage in this doctrinal section of the book occurs in 3:8–11 and warrants noticing. Paul says, “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is a very interesting passage, for it not only reemphasizes the desire of God to display His glory in redeeming His church through the work of Christ, but it also reveals who the ones are to whom God is showing these things—angelic beings. God is putting on display for all other intelligent beings His glory through His gracious working in the church. This Paul says was His eternal purpose—the reason why He has created and permitted the fall—His own glory.
Conclusion: What a grace, what a salvation—one that begins with God in His free and sovereign will, one that He dispenses abundantly and effectually, one that is intrinsically connected to Christ, and one that brings sinful men to salvation, making them channels for God’s grace to others all for the purpose of displaying the glory of His grace and getting eternal worship and praise from all of His elect created beings. God truly is worthy of praise for the glory of His grace. Let us adjust our theology to the theology of Paul’s as it concerns God’s grace. Ultimately grace is about God, not about men. Men are definitely the recipients of God’s incomparably rich blessings; let us not in any way undermine this. But God and His glory is the one chief and ultimate end and goal of all things; man and his gracious salvation is the primary means that God uses to accomplish that goal. Let us join together with the angelical hosts in praising God for His graciousness to us the undeserving as we take part in fulfilling God’s eternal purpose. Let us come to experience a deeper fullness of His grace as we know more of Christ and His work for us. And let us be the channels of God’s grace through which we can minister grace for the building up of the church and the salvation of sinners.
Bibliography
Best, Ernest. The International Critical Commentary: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians. Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark, 1998.
Gaebelein, Frank E. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Volume 11 (Ephesians – Philemon). Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 1978.
Lenski, R. C. H. Commentary on the New Testament: The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, and to the Philippians. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1998.
O’Brien, Peter T. The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999.