humble ministry is of first importance to us all. "But" is a word that should not be lightly

passed over. It is "a disjunctive conjunction" which at first sounds like a contradiction in

terms. "It is a conjunction in which the second sentence or clause is in opposition to the

one preceding it, and arrests an inference which that first sentence or clause would else

have suggested" (Bain). The close of the last sentence was "children of wrath, even as

others". The word "but" does indeed most blessedly "arrest an inference", for without

God and His grace, the only inference that we could draw from this state of things

would be gloomy in the extreme. An adversative conjunction, however, is of itself of

little value, and of no point. The glory of the change that is here manifested is only to

be discovered when we say "But God". The structure already given, shows that in

verse thirteen the same break is made with the words "but now". In the one it is the

intervention of God, Who is rich in mercy, in the other it is the intervention of the person

and work of Christ. The original instead of saying "God Who is rich" says ho de theos

plousios on, using a participial clause "God being rich". This gives the ground of all that

Instead of looking upon us in our sinful state with loathing, He looked upon us in

compassion and mercy. Mercy looks upon wretchedness, grace upon unworthiness.

Here mercy is to the fore, rather than guilt is evidently uppermost in Eph. 2: 2, 3. Eleos

mercy, gives us eleinos "miserable"  (I Cor. 15: 19;  Rev. 3: 17)  and must be

distinguished from the word used by the Publican when he cried "God be merciful to me

a sinner" for there the word is hilaskomai, a word implying atonement. If we take the

epistle to the Romans as the repository of fundamental doctrine, we shall discover

that the word "mercy" does not enter into the teaching of Rom. 1:-8:  It is found in

Rom. 9:, 11:, 12: and 15:, and especially in connexion with the dispensational position.

So we discover that even though the first part of Eph. 2: is largely doctrinal (sins,

death, wrath, salvation, grace, faith, works), and the second half largely dispensational

(uncircumcision, distance, aliens, strangers, made nigh, access), yet the whole of the

doctrine of Ephesians is an instrument which leads to the supernal glory of heavenly

places, and so the dispensational word "mercy" comes early in the record here. God has

riches of grace where redemption is in view (Eph. 1: 7), and riches of glory where the

inheritance is in view (Eph. 1: 18), and exceeding riches of grace, when the ages to come

are in view (Eph. 2: 7) but here, in the riches of His mercy, He stoops to lift the wretched

sons of disobedience and children of wrath to the highest place that glory affords! This

rich mercy originates not in our misery, neither does it arise out of any covenant with our

"fathers", it is "For His great love wherewith He loved us". The word agape "love"

occurs ten times in Ephesians, six of these references being used of the believer's love

manifested to the saints (Eph. 1: 15; 4: 2, 15, 16; 5: 2; 6: 23). The phrase "in love"

occurs six times also, being used of God (Eph. 1: 4) and of the believer (Eph. 3: 17;

4: 2, 15, 16 and 5: 2).

Reverting to Romans again for a comparison, we discover that the Apostle could

traverse the whole story of redemption in Rom. 1:-4:, without mentioning the love of

God once, this being reserved for Rom. 5: 1, where he can say: