Does Paul’s use of θεοῦ πατρὸς in Ephesians 1:2 prove Sharp’s Rule is invalid in verse 3?

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Granville Sharp identified texts in the New Testament which he believed described a single person with two attributes. The validity of Sharp’s Rule is debated, and, in my opinion, is unnecessarily complicated, largely due to Sharp’s own explanation and methods.

Very simply the issue is how does a writer assign two attributes to a single person. For example, how would one describe one person as both God and Savior and how would one use God and Savior to describe two different persons?

For those who accept Sharp’s Rule the basic premise can be illustrated as follows:¹

One: T-S1-K-S2
Two: T-S1-K-T-S2

Passages like 2 Peter 1:1 and Titus 2:13 are debated since, if the rule is valid, they state Jesus is God.

In the discussions over the validity of the rule, it becomes apparent there is a double standard. Texts are examined with great scrutiny if they apply to Jesus; yet similar texts are dismissed if they describe the Father. For example:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3 ESV)
Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις Χριστῷ

The T-S-K-S construction is accepted without question because it is assumed, Paul does not intend to make a distinction between "God" and "Father." Rather, as Sharp described he is simply describing one person with two attributes. However, if this is so, then one may ask why Paul first makes a more explicit identification of God as Father:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:2)
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

θεοῦ πατρὸς = God Father is explicit. In addition, never do we find a similar identification for Jesus, θεοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, God Jesus Christ.²Biblical Unitarians among others make the argument, if Paul wanted to say Jesus is God, why did he fail to do so. After all, it is not a difficult thing to say, as θεοῦ πατρὸς shows.

Now if Sharp’s Rule is invalid, then in the many places where Paul uses the phrase ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ, he is in fact making a distinction between God and Father. Moreover, what other explanation is there to say θεοῦ πατρὸς immediately before saying ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ.

Does Paul’s use of θεοῦ πατρὸς in Ephesians 1:2 prove Sharp’s Rule is invalid in verse 3?

<sub>1. T = the article; S1 = first substantive; K = καὶ; S2 = second substantive.
2. God Son is frequently used.</sub>