Summary of Ephesians, Chapter 2

God has loved and saved them [words from verse 5 -- the sentence is long], when they were dead because of their transgressions and sins, in which they once lived, following the aeon of this world, the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that now is at work in disobedient sons. We Christians once lived in the desires of the flesh, doing what the flesh and their thoughts wanted. For Christians were by nature sons of wrath, like other humans. But God who is rich in mercy, on account of His great love with which He loved them, even though they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions, He made them alive together with Christ -- for they have been saved by grace [not by works] and He raised them up again together with Christ, and caused them to sit together with Christ in heavenly places, as members of Christ Jesus, and through Christ Jesus. He did this to show to the ages [or: aeons] to come, the excessive riches of his love, in His kindness towards them in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace that they are saved, through faith, which is not their own doing, but it is the gift of God, which is not given on the basis of works -- so no one has a right to boast of His own goodness. For Christians are His creation, are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has planned in advance for Christians to do, so they may walk in them.

So they, the gentiles in the flesh, should remember that they who were called uncircumcised by those who had the so-called circumcision which is made by hands in the flesh [the Jews] -- they should remember that they were at that time without Christ, were shut out from citizenship in Israel, were foreigners to the covenants of the promise, and had no hope, and were without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, the gentile Christians who were once far off, have become close, in the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who made both Jew and gentile one, who broke down the barrier of the wall, and the enmity. In His flesh he annulled the law of the commands with its rules, so He might make the two in himself into one new man, and make peace, so He might reconcile the two, Jew and Gentile, in one flesh to God, through the cross, slaying the enmity in Himself. And when He came, He preached peace to the gentiles who were then afar, and to the Jews who were near. For through Christ both Jew and Gentile have access in one spirit to the Father. So the gentile Christians are no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow citizens of the holy ones, members of God's household, being built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Christ Jesus, in whom the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom they are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Comments on Chapter 2

Preliminary note: In this chapter, Paul begins with a plural you, and then changes to we (in verse 7).

Paul tells the Ephesians that they were once dead spiritually because of their sins, in which they followed the lead of the aeon of the world, the ruler of the power of the air. Paul probably has in mind both Satan and his minions, and is also striking at the spirit powers in whom his opponents believed, and whom they said should be honored along with Christ (as in Colossians). It would be foolish to charge Paul with superstition here -- as has been done! -- when really he is just adopting the language of his opponents to strike the better at them. In a somewhat similar way, Christ Himself spoke (Mt 12:43-45) of the devil who was expelled from a man and then walked through desert places, without rest, until he got seven worse devils, and then went in to make that man who had been delivered worse than before. Matthew 12:43-45 is clearly a sort of parable, as shown by the last line: "So also it will be with this wicked generation." It means: Christ came to break the power of Satan over the Jews. They rejected Him, and so fell back worse than before.

The words "sons of wrath" have been much discussed. St. Augustine and a minority of commentators today think they refer to original sin. But the context shows that it means personal sins, for Paul speaks of walking in the desires of the flesh, which is personal sin. Further, St. Thomas holds that original sin alone does not call for any positive punishment.³ Hence the word wrath would not be very appropriate. So most commentators and several Fathers (St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, Theophylact) agree Paul merely means people who deserve God's anger because of personal sins. So "by nature" means man as he naturally is, without the help of Christ.

God rescued us through Christ who died for us even when we were sinners, and in that sense, enemies. This is the same as the beautiful thought of Romans 5:6-9.

God made us alive together with Christ and caused us to sit with Christ in heavenly places -- this is simply the syn Christo theme we have seen several times. Paul here extends it to sitting with Christ.

God wills to thus show his rich love to the ages or time periods to come -- or we could render the word aeons, spirit powers of whom his opponents speak so much.

In saying we are saved by faith, Paul simply restates his great theme of justification by faith. Here he adds that even faith itself is a gift of God. However this does not mean a blind predestination or reprobation: God offers the grace of faith to all. Those who do not reject it, receive it.⁴

Yet, God wants us to do good works, and has even prepared them in advance, in the sense that just as we know from Philippians 2:13 we are not even capable of making positive acceptance of grace -- grace does that -- so too God more specifically has plans for each good work.

In verse 11 he begins to develop the idea that the gentiles were once without hope, without God. He does not mean that no gentiles believed in God -- anthropology shows a belief in God or gods is widespread. And Romans 2:14-16 implies an acceptance of God in gentiles. But many did not know the true God explicitly. And Paul is here in a focused style of presentation: the system of being a gentile as such does not give hope.⁵ Not all pagans knew of any reward and punishment in the next life. On the problem of when the Jews came to know this, please see again our comments on Philippians 1, and 2 Corinthians 5.

But now those who once were far off from being members of the people of God (gentiles), and those who were near are joined in the blood of Christ. So He is our peace. He broke down the wall -- may allude to the wall in the temple area which gentiles could not pass beyond. By His death He has removed the old regime of the law: all depends on faith. (In saying the old regime of the law is gone, Paul is not contradicting Jesus. Jesus said that He came not to destroy but to fulfill the law. But He also said we must become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven: children know that their inheritance and the care of their parents is not earned. Yet they could earn to lose it. 2 Peter 3:15-16 tells us Paul often speaks unclearly. Very true. In his own way, Paul says the same thing as Jesus had said, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 where he [Paul] lists the chief sins and says those who do them, "will not inherit the kingdom." So Paul does not contradict Jesus in saying we are free from the law, and depend on faith. Children do not, on the positive side, earn their inheritance, but could earn to lose it. We could add this: Actually, obedience is an essential part of faith, as we see in Romans 1:5, even though obedience does not earn salvation. In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit, and says [5:18]: "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law," for the Spirit leads one to act as Christ did, and that means not breaking the law).

He has made all into one new man. He has removed the former enmity. Paul of course here refers to Jews who have accepted Christ, not to those who still rejected Him. The Jews who accepted Christ are made into one people of God, with the gentile converts.

Paul says both Jew and gentile have access in one spirit to the Father. Then it was hard to gain access to a king. Even today, it is hard to gain access to an important person, even just the president of a corporation. But Christians have access to the Father. Hence they are no longer outsiders, but are fellow citizens of the people of God. They are a temple built on the foundation predicted by the prophets, laid by the Apostles. Its cornerstone is Christ. Since He is that, the whole building is fitted together, and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, by whose action they are made into a living temple of the Spirit.