Deeper Commentary
CHAPTER 2
2:1 You once were dead in the trespasses and sins- We were
spiritually dead and have now been resurrected, in spiritual terms, made
alive in Christ (:5). This is indeed an allusion to baptism, but the
connection is to the preceding argument in 1:19,20- that the same Spirit
which raised the Lord Jesus is mightily at work within us, internally
transforming us into His image (as taught in Rom. 8:11). There is an
allusion here to the LXX of Is. 57:4, and we shall find allusions to that
part of Isaiah throughout this section : :1= 57:4; :12 "no hope"=
56:10; :2 =57:5; :14=57:19; :5 =57:10 (RV) ;:19 = 56:1; :6 = 57:15; :21 =
56:7; :12 = 56:7; :19 =56:6 (RV) ;:22 = 57:15. The Isaiah references
are to the possibility of revival at the time of the restoration from
Babylon, and also at the time of Hezekiah. The returned exiles could have
entered the new covenant and received the working of the Spirit to
transform them into God's new people, according to Jer. 31 and Ezekiel
34-37. But they refused. And so the new covenant community, those baptized
into Jesus and partaking in the new covenant, therefore have the same
promises of Spirit-led restoration and transformation. Judah dead in sins
without hope could indeed have been revived by the Spirit; but they
preferred to remain in spiritually dead Babylon. And so the promises were
fulfilled but with a somewhat altered focus- in that they were transferred
to those who were baptized into the Lord Jesus in New Testament / covenant
times.
2:2 In which you once walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the powers of the air, according to the spirit
that now works in the sons of disobedience- The transformation of the
believer from dead in sins to alive in Christ is by his Spirit. But this
Spirit is antithetical to the spirit of the world, whereby sin and
selfishness are the spirit which shapes all thought and action.
“The prince of the power of the air” is one of the references in Ephesians
which specifically refers to problems in the Ephesus area. This clearly alludes to
the mythological concepts of Zoroaster – the kind of thing which Paul’s
readers once believed. Paul says that they once lived under
“the prince of the power of the air”. In the same verse, Paul defines this
as “the spirit (attitude of mind) that… works” in the natural man.
Previously they had believed in the pagan concept of a heavenly
spirit–prince; now Paul makes the point that actually the power which they
were formally subject to was that of their own evil mind. Thus the pagan
idea is alluded to and spoken of, without specifically rebuking it, whilst
showing the truth concerning sin.
But Paul re-casts the "prince of the air" as essentially referring to the
life of the flesh, and thereby makes his specific allusion to a local problem in
Asia relevant to all believers (see on :1). “Walking” (i.e.
living) according to the prince of the power of the air, is defined in :3
as living according to the lust of our fleshly mind. The “lusts of our
flesh” come from within us (Mk. 7:21–23; James 1:14) not from anything
outside of us. “The prince” is “the spirit that now works in the children
of disobedience”. The spirit frequently refers to an attitude of mind
(e.g. Dt. 2:30; Prov. 25:28; Is. 54:6; 61:3; Ez. 18:31; Mk.14:38; Lk.
2:40; 2 Cor. 2:13; 12:18; Eph. 4:23). This is confirmed by :3 – such
peoples’ lives are controlled by “fulfilling the lusts of our flesh (which
come from our heart – James 1:14), fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind”. Fleshly people do not allow their lives to be controlled by
a physical “prince” outside of them, but by following their fleshly
desires which are internal to their minds. A physical being cannot exist
as a “spirit” in the sense of an intangible essence. A spirit does not
have flesh and bones, i.e. a physical body (Lk. 24:39); therefore because
“the prince” is a “spirit”, this must be a figurative expression, rather
than referring to a physical being. The “spirit” or attitude of mind is a
figurative prince, as sin is a figurative paymaster (Rom. 6:23). This
passage (and :11) speaks of their former Gentile lives. 1 Pet. 4:3 speaks
of life before conversion as: “In the time past we wrought the will of the
Gentiles… we walked in lusts”. Their own flesh was their “prince”.
Thus walking according to the prince of the air is parallel with walking
in the flesh (:11). The more common antithesis to walking in spirit is
walking after the flesh – here termed “the course of this world”.
George Lamsa, a native speaker of Aramaic, understands “the prince of the
power of the air” to be the dynamic equivalent of the Arabic / Aramaic
resh shultana, which he claims would’ve been understood as meaning
simply ‘the head of the government’, with no intended reference to the
literal air (George Lamsa, New Testament Light (San Francisco:
Harper & Row) p. 24). So the allusion could be to how they had lived under
Roman or Jewish spiritual domination, which they were now liberated from
in Christ.
Athanasius argued that the death of Jesus cleansed the air where the
demons / fallen angels now live, and therefore physically opened up a way
for [supposed] immortal souls to find a way into Heaven (See Nathan K. Ng,
The Spirituality of Athanasius (Bern: Lang, 2000)). Not only was
all this unBiblical, it reflects a literalism which reduces God to a being
hopelessly bound by physicality. In short, this kind of thinking arose
from a basic lack of faith in God as the Almighty, who doesn’t need to
build bridges over problems which men have created for Him in their own
minds. It should be noted that the idea of saying “Bless you!” when
someone sneezes derives from Athanasius’ idea that demons can become so
small that they enter a person from the literal air. This is what happens
if we insist that the Devil was thrown out of heaven and some of his
angels are still in the literal air – it’s literalism gone wrong.
Verse 1 defines the “you” as the believers who had formerly
been dead in sins. Verses 2 and 3 then express the reason for this in four
parallel ways:
(a) “...you walked according to the course of this world”
(b) “...according to the prince of the power of the air”
(c) “...the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience”
(d) “...were by nature the children of wrath”.
The “whole world lays in wickedness (1 Jn. 5:19). “The children of
disobedience” show this by their lives “fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind” (vv. 1,3). Thus “the prince of the power of the
air” is re-cast as our evil, fleshly mind, i.e. the real Devil. There are
many links between Ephesians and Colossians. One of the clearest is
between these verses and Colossians 3:3–7. Colossians 3:3 speaks of us
having died to sin as Ephesians 2:1 does. Verses 5–7 amplify what are “the
lusts of the flesh” which “the children of disobedience” fulfil: “Mortify
therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is
idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children
of disobedience: in the which you also walked some time, when you walked
in them”. These things of v. 5 are “the works of the flesh” mentioned in
Galatians 5:19. These things come from within us, not from anything
outside (Mk. 7:21–23). Therefore the prince of the power of the air, which
causes these things, is again redefined as our evil desires.
2:3 Among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing
the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by our natural
condition destined to be children of God’s wrath, even as the others-
See on :2. The contrast drawn in this section is between how believers
were before baptism, and the status they are now in. The "we" here are
different to "the others", the world generally. Our status as being the
children of wrath has now been changed, as we no longer live in the lusts
of our flesh. So it would be wrong to think that "children of wrath"
refers to some natural condition we are born into by nature and can only
get out of by ceasing to be human. "Children of..." is a Hebraism that
doesn't refer to natural birth as children. The children of peace or of a
town mean the people associated with that thing or place. So "children of
wrath" doesn't mean we are born into a situation where God is as it were
mad with us. The wrath of God is not upon every foetus conceived or baby
born. His wrath refers to His condemnation of sin actually committed in
thought or deed. But we are not now related to that, since we are now in
Christ with His status and righteousness counted to us. We are not sinners
by nature; for all we posit about human nature we state about the Lord
Jesus, who was of our nature, and was all the same holy and undefiled
before God in His life.
We don’t sense enough, perhaps, that this world is not just passively
disinterested in God. All outside of Christ are active enemies towards
Him, subjects of God’s wrath (Eph. 2:3,15). This isn’t how we tend to see
the world around us. But to the first century believer, it was clearly so.
The greatness of the gulf that divides was clearly felt. Our world is
(overall) more tolerant than it has ever been; but let’s not forget that
the ruling powers are ‘satan’, an embodiment of the flesh. All around is
subtly articulated enmity against true spirituality and the cause of
Christ. The more we see that, the more we will realise how close we are to
each other who are the other side of the great divide, “in Christ” along
with us. What differences of emphasis and personality there may be between
us we will more naturally overlook. The world is therefore seen by God as
actively sinful. For the man who does not accept salvation in Christ, "the
wrath of God abideth on him" (Jn. 3:36)- it isn't lifted. We are
therefore subject to the wrath of God until baptism (Eph. 2:3). It doesn't
seem or feel like this. And yet God experiences this sense of anger with
sin, albeit unexpressed to human eyes. But it need not "abide" on us, we
need not remain by nature the children of wrath- for we can come into
Christ.
2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, for the sake of His great love with
which He loved us- God's great love is exhibited in the manner in
which He intervened in our lives whilst we were still sinners (:5). He
didn't notice our righteousness and respond accordingly. His love was and
is the way He takes the initiative to intervene and call. And this is the
love we are to emulate in all areas of life; from radical forgiveness of
the impenitent to grace in family squabbles to taking the initiative to
present the call of God's grace to those in the world who were not even
looking for it. The same word for "riches" is used in Rom. 2:4 of how
God's rich mercy is shown in Him leading us to repentance; taking the
initiative to call the impenitent and unrighteous. But that wealth of
mercy can be "despised" if we refuse to respond. Romans goes on to speak
of the "riches" of grace manifest in God's sovereign calling of us, when
not all have been called (Rom. 9:23; 11:12,33). God's intervention in our
lives is His grace and the richness of His mercy; that He simply wants
me to be saved. All the endless questions about "And what about all
the others?" remain as they do, with various possible responses; but they
are not to take us away from the riches of His mercy in calling us. In
this sense, love is taking the initiative, intervention by grace and not
in response to goodness. And we are to reflect it.
2:5 Even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace have you been saved!)- See on :4. We
were made alive when we were dead. A dead person can do nothing. In this
God's grace is revealed in connection with our salvation. The reference is
to baptism, but 'making alive' is also speaking of the way in which God's
Spirit is the vehicle for His grace in provoking new spiritual life and
enlivening us spiritually. It is the Lord Jesus through His Spirit who
makes us alive (Jn. 5:21; 6:63). We must choose to be baptized, we
are not merely manipulated, but on the other hand, it is also His Spirit
which made us alive. Hence Rom. 6 says that we were buried with Him in
baptism. A dead man cannot bury himself. The force of the figure of burial
is that this was done to us. It is the Spirit of Jesus in us right now
which makes us alive and shall be the same principle by which are mortal
bodies are changed to immortal at the last day (Rom. 8:11). The Lord Jesus
is a Spirit which makes alive (1 Cor. 15:53), right now, and not only at
the last day. It is the Spirit which 'makes us alive' (2 Cor. 3:6 s.w.).
As made clear in Romans 8, so here- the enlivening work of the Spirit is
what gives us life spiritually, and is the parade example of God's grace.
But the Spirit doesn't just zap an unbeliever and make them believe
regardless. We who were dead in sins were "quickened together with Christ"
(Eph. 2:5 AV). If we believe in Christ Jesus' resurrection, we will
therefore repent, confess our sins and know His forgiveness. Thus
believing in His raising and making confession of sin are bracketed
together in Rom. 10:9,10, as both being essential in gaining salvation.
2:6 And raised us up with him; and in Christ Jesus, has made us sit
with him in the heavens- Again the initiative and power is
with Him. We were raised up, just as we were buried with Him in baptism
(see on :5). Burial and resurrection require these things to be done to
us. Baptism is therefore a submission to His process. The two stages of resurrection are laboured;
we were made alive with Him (:5), and raised up with Him. And just as He
is in Heaven as a result of the ascension, so are we, in spiritual terms.
All that is true of Him becomes true of us if we are "in Christ Jesus".
The term "Christ [Messiah] Jesus" may be a reminder that the Jewish
Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth- another hint that as in every church
founded by Paul, there was Jewish opposition to his work, and so he
addresses Gentiles in terms appropriate to Judaism.
Our difficulty in believing ‘we will be there’ is perhaps related to our
difficulty in believing that in prospect, we ‘are there’ right now,
through being “in Christ”. This most basic truth, that we are “in Christ”
through baptism, carries with it very challenging implications. We are
well familiar with Paul’s reasoning in Romans 6, that through being
immersed in water at baptism, we share in the Lord’s death and
resurrection. As He rose from the dead, so we rise from the waters of
baptism. But what happened to Him next? He ascended to Heaven, and sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God in glory. And each of those
stages is true of us right now. We are now in ‘the heavenlies’; and not
only so, but we sit together there with Christ. And He now sits
upon His throne of glory. Even now we in a sense sit with Him in His
Heavenly throne, even though in another sense this is a future thing we
await (Lk. 22:30; Rev. 3:21). No wonder Paul goes on to make a profound
comment: “That in the ages to come [the aions of future eternity], He
might show [Gk.- to indicate by words or act] the exceeding riches of his
grace [which was shown through] his kindness toward us through Christ”.
Throughout the ages of eternity, God will demonstrate how pure and
wonderful His grace was to us in the few brief years of this life- in
that, He will demonstrate, He counted us right now in our mortality
as having resurrected, ascended to Heaven, and reigning / sitting with
Christ in glory. The wonder of what we are experiencing now, the height of
our present position, is something that will be marvelled at throughout
eternity as an expression of God’s grace and kindness. And we will be the
eternally living witnesses to it. And we can start that witness right now.
So often does Paul speak of life "in Christ". We become "in Christ" by
entering into the body of Christ by baptism; yet the "body of Christ"
refers to the body of believers. A fair case can be made for interpreting
Paul's phrase "in Christ" as very often having some reference to life in
the community of believers. "In Christ" appears to be often a shorthand
way of saying "in the body of Christ". It's because we are of "the same
body" that we are sharers in all that is "in Christ" - whatever is true of
Him becomes true of us. If He is the seed of Abraham, then so we are we,
etc. (Eph. 3:6; Gal. 3:27-29). Salvation was "given us in Christ
Jesus" (2 Tim. 1:9) as a community, just as Israel were saved as a body,
"the body of Moses", when they were baptized at the Red Sea. This is why
we usually read about "you" plural as being "in Christ", rather than of an
individual alone being "in Christ". We were created "in Christ"
(Eph. 2:10); "all you that are in Christ" (1 Pet. 5:14); you
are now all made near "in Christ" (Eph. 2:13); we are in
heavenly places "together... in Christ" (Eph. 2:6); all
God's children are gathered together in one "in Christ" (Eph. 1:10;
Gal. 3:28). God's whole purpose is "in Christ" (Eph. 3:11); His plan to
save us was through our joining a community, the body of Christ, headed up
in the person of Jesus. It can't really be so, therefore, that a believer
can live "in Christ" with no association with the rest of the body of
Christ. This is how important fellowship is
2:7 His intention was that throughout the ages to come He might show
the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus-
We note "intention"; for God will never force. His passionate desire is to
lavish His grace upon us eternally; but many ignore or resist His love.
The "will" of God should be read more as His "intention", rather than a
determinate force which shall make itself come true one way or another in
the life of a person. That is the way of Islam, but it is not the God
revealed in Christ.
Just as God must’ve ‘thought out’ His wonderful plan of lavishing grace
upon us [for ‘the word’ existed first and then ‘became flesh’], we too
will need to take time to think out our plans for showing grace to others.
Eph. 2:5-8 speaks of God working with us now, so that He can lavish His
grace upon us for eternity. This is what He is all about. And it’s what we
should be all about; taking a Divine joy in forgiving, being generous,
caring, showing grace. God simply loves lavishing grace; there is no
response to human goodness as deserving it. And so our showing of grace
should be likewise. Being kind and gracious for the sake of it, rather
than as some calculated response to behaviour.
2:8 For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that faith is
not of yourselves, it is a gift from God- This is grace indeed. In the
same way as repentance is given as a gift of the Spirit (Acts 3:25,26), so
is faith. As noted on :5, we were made alive whilst we were dead, when we
could do nothing. Faith in this grace is also a gift. It was God's
psychological intervention in our lives and thinking which gave it to us,
a setting up of situation and circumstance which resulted in our
believing.
But this is not to say that human response is totally not required. If we
believe and grasp the wonder of it all, we cannot be passive. Time and
again, faith and works are bracketed together. Abraham was justified by
faith, Paul argues in Romans; and by works, says James. Even within
Genesis, his faith was counted for righteousness in Gen. 15:6; but Gen.
22:15-18 stress that because he had "done this thing" and been obedient,
thereby was he justified. The Centurion meekly said to the Lord: “I am not
worthy... neither thought I myself worthy"; but his faith, not his
humility [as we might have expected] was commended by the Lord.
That faith brought forth humility; just as John's letters see faith and
love as parallel. The woman who washed the Lord's feet was likewise
commended for her 'faith', although her actions were surely acts of
devotion. But the Lord's analysis cut through to the essence that lay
behind them: faith. There is a beauty to all this, in that salvation is by
faith that it might be by grace (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8). And therefore Hab.
2:4 says that living by faith is the antithesis of being proud. The life
of faith, trusting thereby in grace, is a life of humility. All the fruits
of the Spirit thereby come together. In this sense, salvation is not by
works. But if we can comprehend something of the purity of that grace, of
God's willingness to save us regardless of our works; then we will
believe it. And if we believe it, we will live a life of active and
humble working for the Lord, not that we might be saved, but in
thankful faith and gratitude for the magnitude of our experience of a
grace, the height and depth of which, unfathomed, no man knows. We will
"live", i.e. work through life, by faith (Hab. 2:4). If we truly accept
God’s ways, then we will walk in them; to not walk in them is to reject
them (Ez. 5:6). This ultimately is the importance of doctrine.
2:9 It is not of works, that no one should boast- As noted on :8, faith cannot be passive; it will issue in works. Salvation is not "of works" but works are not irrelevant. But those works are not the basis of our salvation. And Paul emphasizes this. For both Judaism and paganism considered works as the basis for salvation. The good news of salvation without works is unique to true Christianity. The connections with Romans continue here, in that boasting was associated with Jewish boasting in legalistic obedience (Rom. 2:17,23). Our boasting instead is in our sure hope of salvation by grace through the cross of the Lord Jesus. Seeing Paul would boast in nothing but the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14), we are to read his other references to glorying only in the Lord [Jesus] as meaning specifically glorying in His victorious death for me (1 Cor. 1:31; Phil. 3:3). We boast not in our works, but in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), a word which refers to both moral and physical weakness. And so we also boast in nothing but the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14), and thereby we boast in sure Hope of the glory of God, boasting "in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation" (s.w. Rom. 5:2,11). This idea of glorying / boasting is thus a common theme with Paul. This is the life of glory and victory- in Him, and not of ourselves, boasting that our lack of achievment, our weakness, our failure, has been met in Him who was crucified in weakness, so that we may be "weak in Him".
2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God beforehand prepared that we should walk in them-
Having said that salvation is not by works, we are told that the worker is
God, the potter as it were working on us the clay. Baptism into Christ is
a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), which means that through the Spirit, He will
be working on us with hopes and expectations of our response to His grace
in specific ways. Man is never better than when working at what is clearly
his calling and empowered by God in doing so. He is the worker,
but we are to walk in good works- again the idea is of surrender to Him.
Those good works are something we "walk in". Not a few flashes of devotion
but a way of life, working for Him. We need to pray that God
will reveal to us what are those specific works which He has prepared for
us to do- and make them the thrust of our lives. For it's unlikely that
His intention and hope was that we should get qualified, climb the career
ladder, improve our homes, go up the ladder of cars, holiday homes and
expensive gadgets... and die in a comfortable nursing home leaving what
was left over to our kids or someone else as a kind of short cut towards
that same sad life we thought we did so well in. The only other time the
Greek word for "workmanship" occurs is in the enigmatic Rom. 1:20- and I
have noted so far many connections with the early chapters of Romans.
There we learn that God's invisible principles are made known to the
Gentile world by "the things that are made". Those "things" are "His
workmanship"- us. Entry into Christ, therefore, is a beginning and not an
end. Nor is it merely an assent to the correctness of a set of theological
truths. Rather is it an opening of ourselves to His workmanship upon us,
and working for Him.
"Beforehand prepared" suggests we were prepared for the performing of our good works from a specific beginning point. And that surely was at 'the beginning'. Our entire genetic history, the nature of our early childhood experiences and surrounding family, was prepared so that we would be born with the wiring required to do the works intended. To turn away from those works, through disinterest, laziness, wilful lack of perception, self absorption... is to waste so much. We on our side must be prepared unto every good work (2 Tim. 2:21); "be eagerly ready [s.w. prepared] unto every good work" (Tit. 3:1). We are to abound in good works (s.w.) because of God's abounding grace to us (2 Cor. 9:8). The good works are therefore a way of life and not some occasional good charitable deeds. We will be 'established' in this life of good works (2 Thess. 2:17); we are to "follow every good work" (1 Tim. 5:10), a strange phrase until we undertsand that the good works were prepared for us ahead of time, and we are to follow after them. We are to be on the look out, prepared, for those good works.
We were "beforehand prepared to glory" (Rom. 2:10, the only other usage of the Greek word). We were intended for salvation, the Kingdom and our place at the Messianic wedding banquet were "prepared" (a related word; Mt. 22:4; 25:34). But not all shall be saved, because they have wasted God's intention and not responded to it. We note the word "intention" in :7. By sitting at the Lord's table now we show our willingness to go along with His intention that we shall sit there eternally. We note the usage of the same word, repeatedly, about how the last supper [breaking of bread] was "prepared" ( "Where will you have us prepare for you the Passover to eat?... he will show you a large upper room prepared and ready; there prepare it for us. And the disciples went into the city and found as he had said to them. And they prepared the Passover", Mk. 14:12,15,16). The first breaking of bread was prepared for them ahead of time [just as our good works were "beforehand prepared"], although they had to prepare it. This all speaks of how our place at the final Messianic banquet is prepared for us, but we must accept the invitiation; and we show that by sitting at the banquet now.
2:11 Wherefore remember, that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who
are called Uncircumcision by those called Circumcision (which is in the
flesh and made with hands)- The reference to circumcision as being
"made with hands" connects with the preceding statement that we are not
saved by works [what is done with hands] but we are instead the work of
God (:10). Instead of circumcision of the flesh, done with human hands, we
have God working upon our most intimate and personal inner being by His
transforming Spirit. The connection is again to Romans: "But he is a Jew
who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit
not in the letter; whose praise is not of men but of God" (Rom. 2:29). In
this sense "we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and
glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil. 3:3).
churches. Let us look again at Col.4:16. He writes: "And when this letter
has been read among you, have it read also in the church at Laodicea; and
see that you read also the letter from Laodicea." Paul does not say that
the Colossians must read the epistle to Laodicea; they must read the
epistle from Laodicea. It is as if Paul said: "There is a letter
circulating; at the present moment it has reached Laodicea; when it is
sent on to you from Laodicea be sure to read it." That sounds very like as
if there was a letter circulating among the Asian churches,. and we
believe that letter was Ephesians". This would explain the lack of
personal greetings in the letter. There is some evidence that the letter
was originally called the epistle to the Laodiceans. This would mean that
Eph. 1:1 "to the saints that are at Ephesus" simply refers to the circular
letter being sent to them at this point.
The strong similarities with Colossians suggest that that letter was
reworked by Paul, under inspiration, into this circular general letter
which we have as 'Ephesians'.
2:12 You were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of the promise,
having no hope and living without God in the world- This is clear
evidence that not all religious roads lead to the true God. Apart from
Christ, we have no hope and are without [relationship with] God.
Separation or [Gk.] distance from Christ is parallel with alienation from
the community of "Israel", the people of God. Paul will go on to
demonstrate that therefore connection with Christ is connection with the
community of believers. The covenants of promise are clearly understood by
Paul as being the basis of the Christian Gospel. For the promises to
Abraham are presented by him in Romans as being the foundation of the new
covenant or testament. The "hope" in Christ is therefore the hope of
Israel, salvation in the Messiah Jesus. How hard it would be for Roman
citizens, or those who aspired to it, to realize that the highest honour
was to be part of “the commonwealth of Israel”, that pokey, undeveloped,
despised corner of the great Roman empire. And the call of Christ to
middle class modern citizens is just as radical.
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you that once were far off are made near
by the blood of Christ- The allusion is to Is. 57:19 LXX: "Peace upon
peace [Biblical "peace" often refers to forgiveness and peace with God] to
them that are far off, and to them that are nigh: and the Lord has said, I
will heal them". Judaism spoke of Gentile converts as coming near when
they became proselytes. The idea of being made near continues the thought
of :12, that we were once separate, at a distance, from both the Lord
Jesus and from the community of God's people. Being made near therefore
speaks not only of connection with the Lord Jesus, but also with the
community of "Israel", God's people, who are in Him.
2:14 For he himself is our peace-
"Peace" continues
the allusion to Is. 57:19 (see on :13). The Lord Jesus was our peace in
the sense He is the source of our peace, our peace offering. The enmity
["hostility"] is the 'alienation' from the community of Israel spoken of
in :12, physically manifest in the stone dividing wall between the court
of the Gentiles and the temple proper. The first century unity between Jew
and Gentile must have been especially impressive. Philo records of Jamnia:
“There lived a mixed population, the majority of them Jews but the rest a
number of foreigners who had nested there as vermin from neighbouring
territories”. And there are many other such references to the bitter
hatred between them. This “enmity” (AV) between them was taken away for
those who were in Christ (Eph. 2:14; Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28). It must have
made a startling and arresting witness. And yet sadly, it didn’t continue;
the old tensions and feelings rent apart that unity. The issues facing the
body of Christ today are not simply Jew : Gentile tensions; there are
enmities and oppositions between groups and persons which are only
resoluble by common membership in the body of Christ.
The offerer put his hand on the head of the animal, thereby associating
himself with it. In a sense, the animal therefore represented the offerer.
But it had to be "without blemish" (Lev. 3:1), and to produce a "sweet
savour" when burnt (Lev. 3:16). But how are we to offer ourselves as an
unblemished sacrifice? We are surely each aware of our desperate
sinfulness. The answer is in the fact that the language of the peace
offering sacrifice is applied to Jesus. "He is our peace" (Eph. 2:14), our
peace offering by metonymy (in the same way as Christ was made “sin" for
us, i.e. a sin offering). He is the unblemished animal (1 Pet. 1:19), and
if we are in Christ, we too will be counted as being without spot and
blemish (Eph. 5:27). We ought to know whether we are in Christ. If we are,
we will be seen by God as just as pure as He is. See on Eph. 5:2. We
thereby become mediators of peace to all manner of divided groups and
persons.
W
2:15- see on Lk. 11:22; Heb. 2:14.
Having abolished in the flesh the enmity, the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself of the two one
new man, making peace-
The source of alienation between Jew and Gentile was the Law, but the
thought here goes far beyond that. It was human sin, transgression of
God's commandments, which created alienation between God and man. This too
has been removed, with the result that connection with the Father and Son
is likewise connection between all others who are in Christ, i.e. the
community of God's people, "Israel". But that unity has to be felt and
expressed by us in practice. Hence Paul uses the fact that we are all "in
Christ" as the basis of His appeal for true unity amongst the believers-
with all the patience, forbearing etc. which this involves. By baptism
into Christ, we are baptized into the same body of Christ as many others
(Rom. 12:5). Therefore we "sit together... in Christ" (Eph. 2:6; 1:10). He
has made in Himself one new man, so making peace between all those in Him
(Eph. 2:15). This is why division between those in Christ is ultimately an
impossibility. Christ is not divided (1 Cor. 1:10).
The body of Christ is Christ; the members of that body between them
reflect every aspect of the Lord Jesus (Eph. 2:15,16). We may each be
given a different aspect to reflect, and groups of believers in different
historical periods may have been focused on different aspects, but the end
result is that at the second coming, the body of believers will have
reflected Christ fully. We were redeemed in one body by the cross; and
therefore, Paul reasons, we are "fellowcitizens with [all]
the saints, and of [all] the household of God... in whom all
the building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the
Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of
God" (Eph. 2:16-22). Christ died for all of us in the one body, and
therefore we who benefit from this are built up together into a
temple in which God will eternally dwell. To refuse fellowship to other
stones of the temple is surely a denial that they are part of that one
body which was redeemed by the cross. He died to make us all one, to
abolish all that humanly might keep us apart, "for to make in himself one
new man, so making peace" (Eph. 2:13-15). To uphold division and
disharmony within the "one new man" is well nigh a blasphemy against the
body and blood of the Lord. From the Lord's pierced side came His bride,
after the pattern of Eve from Adam, through the blood (memorial meeting?)
and water (baptism?). The creation of the one body was a direct result of
His death. The Greek word for "fellowship", koinonia, is used
outside the New Testament to refer to peoples' joint sharing of a common
property. We are "in fellowship" with each other by reason of our relation
to a greater whole in which we have a part. And that 'property', the
greater whole, is the person and work of the Lord Jesus- for our
fellowship is "in Him". This background of the word shows that it's
inappropriate to claim to have 'withdrawn fellowship' from anyone who is
in Christ. They are joint sharers in Christ just as much as we are- so we
cannot tell them that they don't share koinonia with us. To say
that is to judge either them or ourselves to be not sharing in Christ- and
according to the Lord's plain teaching, any such judgment will lead to our
condemnation. It is the Lord's body, His work, and He invites who He
wishes to have koinonia in Him. It's not for us to claim that we
have withdrawn fellowship from anyone who has koinonia in Him.
2:16 And might reconcile them both in one body to God through the
cross, thereby having slain the enmity- The enmity between God and man
has been dealt with in Christ, and this means that likewise the natural
enmity between persons has likewise been ended for all those in Christ.
Reconciliation with our separated brethren therefore can be achieved;
because potentially the enmity is slain, we are already reconciled in one
body by the cross. It’s for us to live this out in practice. We can move
away from the tribal, jungle mentality that ‘my enemy’s friend is my
enemy’- if we see and believe how God loves them too as His dear children.
The Lord Jesus reconciled all true believers unto God "in one body by the
cross". All who are reconciled by the Lord's sacrifice are therefore in
the one body, and therefore we have a duty to fellowship with others in
the one body. If we refuse to do this, we in some way attempt to nullify
the aim of the cross. He died in the way that He did in order that the
love which He had showed might be manifested between us (Jn. 17:26). To
break apart the body is to undo the work of the cross.
2:17 And he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace
to them that were near- He could remind the Ephesians that Christ
personally “came and preached peace to you” after His resurrection, when
it was in fact Paul who did this, motivated as he was by the resurrection
of Christ. Paul, like us, was therefore the manifestation of the Lord
Jesus when he preached Him. As the Lord is the light of the world, so we
are the light of the world. All that is true of Him becomes true of those
"in Christ" and we are to act accordingly. Those considered by Judaism
'far' [Gentiles] and 'near' [Jews] all needed the good news of peace
preached to them. The idea of the Lord Jesus coming and preaching to
people is found also in 1 Pet. 3:19 (see note there). The language of
going, coming or moving is often used in relation to the preaching of a
person – e.g. Mt. 9:13: “but go and learn what that means”. The
Lord didn’t intend that they literally went away somewhere. Likewise Dan.
12:4 and Hab. 2:2 bid those who understand God’s word to “run” – not
literally, but in response to the word preached. God Himself is spoken of
as coming, descending etc. when He ‘preaches’ to humanity (e.g. Gen. 11:5;
Ex. 19:20; Num. 11:25; 2 Sam. 22:10). In Jer. 39:16, the imprisoned
Jeremiah is told to “go, tell Ebed-melech...” a word from the Lord about
him. Jeremiah couldn’t have literally left prison to do so – but the idea
is that a person encountering the Lord’s word has as it were experienced
the Lord ‘going’ to him or her. And in this sense the message of the Lord
Jesus (in its essence) could ‘go’ to persons without Him physically going
anywhere or even existing consciously at the time.
2:18 For through him we have our joint access in one Spirit to the
Father- The extent of our peace with God is that we have access to the
Father in the Spirit. There is only one Spirit- not one for the Jews and
another for the Gentiles. 1 Pet. 3:18 has a connected idea; and we noted
on :17 that 1 Pet. 3:19 is connected also to this passage: "Christ once
suffered for sins... that He might bring us [s.w. "have access"] to God
[on account of having been] put to death in the flesh, but made alive in
the Spirit". We too have been made alive with Him by the Spirit (see on
:5). "To the Father" , pros the Father, is a phrase used about the
status and place of the ascended Lord Jesus now (Jn. 13:1,3; 14:12,28;
16:10,16,28; 17:11; 20:17; 1 Jn. 2:1). Those references in John are
largely in the context of the Comforter, the gift of the Spirit, enabling
us to be pros the Father as the Lord Jesus now is. Or as Ephesians
2 has put it, we died, rose and ascended to Heaven with the Lord Jesus if
we are in Him. This access to God is for both Jew and Gentile. We are both
brought to the same place, in the Father's presence in Heaven, by the work
of the Spirit which we received because we are in Christ. This of itself
should unite us in our earthly relationships. Paul goes on to say that he
prays pros the Father (Eph. 3:14).
2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and pilgrims, but you are
fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God- We who
were "strangers" have been accepted; and this in practice should motivate
us to accept "strangers" (Mt. 25:35,38 s.w.). The Lord's crucifixion led
to "strangers" being able to be buried within Jerusalem (Mt. 27:7 s.w.).
In a sense we are "strangers and pilgrims" to the surrounding world (Heb.
11:13). But not to God. In first century society, there was a strong sense
of identity based upon geographical origin. To sacrifice this for the sake
of an abstract association with the citizenship of God's people, "Israel"
(:12), was no small thing. And it is no less radical for us- to exchange
our sense of identity and social security for association with the still
immature community of "Israel". Paul again urges them to see their
connection with God as a connection also with His family.
The Romans allowed the existence of the autonomous politaea, the
city-state, so long as within its religion it featured the worship of the
Emperor. And yet the NT writers speak of the ecclesia as a city which is
independent, defiantly devoted to the worship of the one and only true God
(Eph. 2:19; 3:20; Heb. 12:22; 13:14; Rev. 21). The writers must have
nervously penned those inspired words, knowing the problems it would
create. The Spirit of God could have chosen not to so directly challenge
this world; and yet there is a chasmic difference between the community of
God and the surrounding world, which the New Testament unashamedly
triumphs in. The whole basis of this radical separation is the fact that
Christ died for us. He died to unite us who believe in what the NT terms “the
unity”, without seeking to further define it (Jn. 11:52; 17:23; Eph. 1:10;
2:14; 4:3). We were reconciled to each other as well as to God “in one
body by the cross” (Eph. 2:16). His death unites us in that standing
before His cross, all our pettiness disappears, and we are impressed again
with the reality that if He so laid down His life for us, so we must lay
down our lives for the brethren (1 Jn. 3:16). It really and truly is a
case of one for all, and all for one.
2:20 Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone- The reference is
surely to the New Testament prophets whose inspired utterances formed the
New Testament documents, which were the foundation of the new temple of
God's people. The Heavenly Jerusalem of the closing visions of Revelation
likewise features the apostles as the foundation stones. What was then all
so abstract will be turned to visual reality when the Lord returns, and
reveals how things really are from God's viewpoint. We are "being built",
rather like we are the workmanship of God (:10). The metaphor requires us
to allow ourselves to be shaped and put into place within God's wider plan
for saving a community. His building is done through other builders (1
Cor. 3:10,12) and through our response to the word of grace which builds
us up (Acts 20:32 s.w.). In that sense we build ourselves up (Jude 20)
through allowing His building of us.
2:21 In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a
holy temple in the Lord- The equivalent in Colossians is the statement
that we are "grounded and built up in Him" (Col. 2:7). The whole process
of preparation, which is what building is largely about, involves being
used in cooperation with the other materials in the building. So much of
His work with us therefore involves our association and dovetailing with
others; and this is exactly the aspect of His work which leads so many to
give up. This is exactly why the frictions which are part of church life
are all so necessary. To opt out by pushing off into splendid isolation,
whilst professing to maintain our faith in Christ, is to miss the purpose
of His work with us; and risks us being left out of the final total
building. This is not to say we should not quit abusive churches and
church situations, but the essence of "being fitted together" must not be
ignored. This same word is only used again in 4:16, where in a different
metaphor, we are the body parts which cannot exist separately to each
other, but are all fitted together by God's operation in order to
function. Solomon built the temple of stone already prepared (1 Kings
6:7); Christ is the builder of the spiritual temple, in which the stones
should fit together without strife (Eph. 2:21 alludes to 1 Kings 6:7).
2:22 In whom you also are being built up together for a dwelling place
of God in the Spirit- The repeated "in whom" (:21) again suggests that
"in Christ" is a terms which often has reference to our collective
experience with others who are in His body. As noted on :21, the metaphor
emphasizes how we are built "together". The Spirit of God dwells in the
assembled temple, and not just in isolated individuals who want nothing to
do with the building as a whole. The churches to whom Paul was writing
were extremely immature; yet he never once advocates separating from them.
Nor does the Lord in His letters to the churches. And it is the perceived
immaturity of others in the church which is the main reason why believers
push off into isolation. Such impatience and quitting of the building
site, as it were, should not be glorified as 'standing up for the Truth'.
It is nothing of the sort- just being cranky and selfish, and failing to
perceive God's work through the Spirit. God is now dwelling within us,
individually and collectively, by the Spirit; but this is in anticipation
of how He shall do so eternally. To be without the Spirit now means we
shall not be eternally inhabited by it.
Previous Chapter
Next Chapter 
