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No.44.
The Throne Room (1: 19 - 2: 7).
An exhibition of kindness in the ages to come.
pp. 161 - 164
We have mounted in faith the rungs of the ladder "with Christ" until we find ourselves
potentially "there, where Christ sitteth", the last and highest anticipation of the glory of
the Mystery, until faith shall be exchanged for sight, and hope to realization. The final,
the seventh rung of the ladder, is reserved for Col. 3: to make clear that when Christ,
Who is our life, shall appear or be made manifest, we shall appear or be made manifest
"with Him" in glory. The verse of Eph. 2:, which concludes the present section, namely
verse seven, takes us forward to that day of glory, but instead of dwelling on the one
great moment of manifestation, it surveys the remainder of intervening time before the
consummation is reached, and gives a glimpse of the nature of our reception and the kind
of treatment we may expect when we are presented "without spot or wrinkle or any such
thing" at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The first call to pause and consider is the
purpose that is expressed in the word "that" with which verse seven opens.
Hina. Some words translated "that" focus attention on the manner and method
adopted, as II Thess. 1: 12 "so that the name . . . . . may be glorified", and in I Cor. 1: 29
"so that no flesh may boast"; others on comparison, or to time, but hina focuses attention
on purpose and result. In the generality of cases, hina is followed by the subjunctive "in
order that He may, or that He might". This is the condition of the sentence now before us
in Eph. 2: 7. The "purpose" or "intention" of all that has gone before is now to be
unfolded. This union with Christ in His death, resurrection and present session at the
right hand of God, is "in order that" the way may be cleared for such an outpouring of
kindness as to exhaust the possibility of language to describe. We give a new translation
of verse seven:
"In order that He might exhibit in those ages which are coming, the surpassing riches
of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2: 7).
"Exhibit" A.V. "shew". "Shew" may mean "to make manifest" as in II Pet. 1: 14,
but here in Eph. 2: 7 the thought rather is to "exhibit". The original word is derived
from deiknumi, the word used in Rev. 1: 1 and so gives "example" (Jude 7), and "make a
shew" (Col. 2: 15). Paul uses this word when he speaks of himself "that in me first
Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern" (I Tim. 1: 16), or in
Phil. 1: 28 "an evident token".
Hupodeigma is translated "example" (Heb. 8: 5), and "patterns" (Heb. 9: 23).
Some, like Pharaoh, are exhibitions of wrath; some through mercy are exhibitions of
grace, and Rom. 9: which speaks of the exhibition of wrath in Pharaoh, contrasts the
vessels of wrath with other vessels of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory.
Let us never forget that all such vessels of mercy were "children of wrath" even as those
that were left; consequently we can understand the interposition of the words "by grace