Here's and example of para (beside) which is used with all three cases, combining the preposition's idea of beside and the case idea of movement or rest.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/παρά
Preposition
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πᾰρᾰ́ • (părắ) (
governs the genitive, dative and accusative)
- [with genitive]
- from
- because of
- [with dative]
- at, beside, by, near
- μένειν παρὰ τισί ― ménein parà tisí ― to stay at someone's house/home
- [with accusative]
- contrary to
- beside, by, near (w/ verbs of coming or going; w/ verbs of past motion; w/ verbs of striking or wounding)
- παρ’ ἔμ’ ἵστασο ― par’ ém’ hístaso ― stand by/beside me
So. 1. We have the idea with the genitive of from + beside, so from or because of.
2. We have the idea with the dative of at + beside, so at, beside, near. used for staying at someone's [house}
3. We have the idea with the accusative of towards + beside, so with verbs of coming or going, coming near (to beside) going near (to beside). Also if someone is coming near, they may also bump into you and push you where you were not intending to go, hence contrary to, opposed to. Or, you bring two items side by side to compare them easier, hence contrary to. because one is mixing these two aspects with prepositions and cases, there are a number of possible words that could be used to express the preposition depending on the context> But hopefully, you can see the nuances that the Greeks had in mind.
Looking at en + dative, or the dative with an implied "en", a fish swimming in water swims by means of water, so en + dative can mean by means of, as well. by means of the grace in which we are immersed.
Looking at dia + genitive, a fish entering and swimming through a kelp bed and leaving it would be dia (through). A fish entering from utside and on its way through a kelp bed but still in it, would be eis (into). A fish swimming from inside a kelp bed and exiting it, would be ek/ex (out from). Picture a fish fleeing a predator and escaping into a kelp bed. Think of grace as the water and faith as the kelp bed, and swimming as work. The exit boundary of the kelp bed is the completion of faith. The fish is saved by means of/in water swimming into, through and out of the kelp bed, i.e. completing the work of swimming through the kelp bed. We are told elsewhere, that faith is completed by the works done out of faith.
But in fact, it is also already saved by entering the kelp bed and resting hidden in the kelp bed.
Jas 2:22
Do you see how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect (eteleiOthE: completed/ finished - the same verb Jesus used to say "It is finished" on the cross).
I have been meditating on this "fish in the sea" analogy for understanding the prepositions and cases in "saved in/by means of grace through faith". I would like to tweak it a little.
All fish, both the good and the predatory, live and move and have their being in the sea. The sea water is in this case analogous to God. We all, both good and evil, live and move and have our being in Him. Sea water is a complex mix of ingredients, God is a complex mix of attributes.
One ingredient of sea water is dissolved oxygen. Oxygen means life. One attribute of God is life.
The ubiquitous provision of this dissolved oxygen necessary to keep alive every creature in the sea, and all the other ingredients in the seawater that are
ubiquitously available to sea creatures, whether a good serving pilot fish or a murderous predator, is like grace: the ubiquitous provision of life and intellect and emotions and sunshine and rain to both the just and the unjust.
And if access to this ubiquitous oxygen is stopped for some particular fish, by being hauled out of the sea by a hook and line for instance, that fish will die.
All fish live within
the ubiquitous undifferentiated provision of ingredients of sea water. All humans live in the being of God, God's being includes all of God's attributes, which attributes are encompassing us and are available to us: that is, we all dwell in grace.
All fish are working within the sea water's ubiquitous provision of whatb they need for life. . All humans are working within God's gracious provision of life's necessities.
A small fish is susceptible to death, while alone and enjoying the ubiquitous provision of the open sea. A small fish being chased by a predator needs a place to hide. It may flee from the open sea into a thick kelp bed that hinders the larger predator and then exit the other side back into the open sea minus the pursuing predator. There is sea water in the open sea and also in the kelp bed.
Likewise a human is susceptible to death, while alone and enjoying the ubiquitous provision of God's blessings. A human also needs somewhere to go to escape from death. There is grace available to the person outside the faith, and the same grace is available to the one in the faith.
W can say of the fish that entered and left the kelp bed that it has been saved from death, both
within and by means of the ubiquitous unrestricted unprejudiced characteristics of the sea that are available without distinction to both the small fish and the predator, and also
through and by means of the kelp bed.
We can say of the person who entered the faith and then left the faith that they have been saved from death, both
in/by means of grace (dative:
tOi chariti) i.e. in/by means of God's ubiquitous unrestricted unprejudiced provision, and also
through/by means of faith (dia tEs pistos).
The fish was working (swimming) in the open sea and it is working (swimming) in the kelp. It is working (swimming) wherever it is. It is not saved by swimming, but by
where it chooses to swim. A fish entering the kelp and abiding in the kelp
is being saved . A fish that enters the kelp and abides in the kelp and then leaves the kelp,
has been saved. He could be saved again, if he returns to the kelp when it becomes aware again of a predator stalking it. Swimming within the kelp doed not save it. Being in the kelp is what saves it.
A person is working, whether outside of faith or in the faith. He is working wherever he is. He is not saved by working, but by where he chooses to work. The person entering the faith and abiding in the faith and then leaving the faith behind is someone who
has been saved. They could be saved again later, if they return to the faith when they become aware again of death stalking them. A person who enters the faith and is abiding in the faith
is being saved. Working in the faith does not save. Being in the faith is what saves us.
And now you can add on top of all your errors that men can physically die without ever knowing God in this age because God will save them in the next age? And your error also implies that eternal life is not a reality in this age -- only in the next one -- only when men are physically raised from the dead. Yet, the very substance of life eternal in this age is having a true knowledge of the Father and Son!
