ek – Page 2 – Ministry of Grace Church

Ephesians 3:15 – Father, God

from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Truth to Learn

God, the Father, is the head of our holy family.

Behind the Words

“From” is translated from the Greek preposition ek, which most often translates as “out of.” When used with the genitive case, as it is here, it indicates “coming from the origin or source of something.”

The word “whole” is from pas, which can be translated as “all, any, every, or the whole.” Expressed here in the singular defining a singular noun (family), it expresses the idea of “all” or “the whole.”

The word “family” is translated from patria, which is derived from pater, meaning “father.” Patria expresses a group of people descendent from the same father. Thus, the most accurate translation of the opening of this verse is “from whom the whole family …” as we have in our translation here.

Meaning Explained

Continuing from yesterday’s study, we saw that Paul was expressing the notion of bowing his knee, that is worshipping, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In that verse we made a special point that of the three persons of the Trinity we are to worship and pray to the Father, not the Son or the Holy Spirit.

You may recall back in verse eleven we talked about the plan that the three persons of the Godhead put together before anything was created. As part of that plan, those who would be saved were chosen (Ephesians 1:4) and the method of revealing the mystery of the church was determined. Another significant part of that plan was how the three persons of the Trinity were to relate to each other. The father was to be the highest in authority, which Jesus (the Son) affirmed:

Then Jesus said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. (John 8:28)

He made similar statements in John 5:19; John 5:30; John 7:28; and John 14:10. Likewise, Jesus told us that both He and the Father had authority over the Holy Spirit:

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you … (John 14:26)

But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth … (John 15:26)

And, it is with this same authority, given by the Father, that Jesus sent His disciples:

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)

Now Paul tells us that he worships the Father and identifies Him as the supreme authority, saying from Him the whole family gets its name. Not the name “Christian,” for that only describes those of us in the church age who are saved, but the family of God the Father of the righteous in heaven and earth.

Application

Christians have a very special place in the family of God. Not only are we His children, but we have been set-apart as the bride of His Son. We will inherit His eternal estate and we will live in His home with Him forever! Hallelujah!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 9:10 – Sovereign Above All

And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac

Truth to Learn

God is absolutely sovereign. His choices are His alone.

Behind the Words

The expression “by one man” is translated from ek enos koitēn. Ek means “out of,” and enos is the number “one.” The word koitēn is derived from the verb keimai, meaning “to lie down.” Koitēn refers to “a bed” and metaphorically refers to “the marriage bed.” By extension, it refers to “the man or his seed responsible for conception of a child.”

“Conceived” is translated from the Greek word echō, meaning “to have or to hold,” implying possession. Hence, a literal translation of the phrase “Rebecca also had conceived by one man” would be, “Rebecca also took possession from one bed.” However, in English this does carry the meaning intended. This is an example where a literal word-for-word translation is less appropriate than a paraphrase which carries a more accurate expression of the idea in English.

Meaning Explained

Paul has just told us that Isaac was the son of the promise whereas Ishmael was not. Ishmael, the first born of Abraham, should have received the blessing and should have been the inheritor of Abram’s lineage, but he was not because God does not honor the fleshly lineage but the spiritual lineage which only He can determine. God chose Isaac; He did not choose Ishmael.

It could be argued, however, that Ishmael was not the son of Abram’s wife but of her maid servant. Since he wasn’t the first son by Abraham’s wife, God choose to reject him. That is, his rejection was based on lineage after all. It could also be argued that perhaps God chose Isaac because Ishmael displayed jealousy and mocked Isaac when he was circumcised. We read about this in Genesis chapter twenty-one:

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. (Genesis 21:8, 9)

So we see that some could argue that God saw what kind of a person Ishmael was going to be and therefore did not choose him.

To counter these two potential arguments, Paul now highlights another situation among the patriarchs in which not only did God choose contrary to natural lineage, but He chose while the two were still unborn and had not demonstrated their character yet. This example will be of Jacob and Esau who were twins. Esau was the firstborn and, therefore, the rightful inheritor of the line of Isaac, but, as we will see in the next two verses, God chose Jacob.

Application

God is sovereign and He answers to no one; that is, He has supreme power and authority. He doesn’t have to answer to us and He doesn’t have to play by our rules because He makes all the rules. He always does that which is right and which will bring praise and glory to Himself no matter what we think is right. If He chooses to bless one person over another, there’s nothing we can say or do about it. God is sovereign above all!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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