CHAPTER 2
. GOD'S LOVE
AND GRACE IN
QUICKENING US,
ONCE DEAD,
THROUGH CHRIST. HIS
PURPOSE IN DOING
SO: EXHORTATION
BASED ON OUR
PRIVILEGES AS BUILT
TOGETHER, AN HOLY
TEMPLE, IN CHRIST,
THROUGH THE SPIRIT.
1. And you—"You also,"
among those who have experienced His mighty power in enabling them to
believe (Ephesians 1:19-23).
hath he quickened
—supplied from the Greek (Ephesians 1:19-49).
dead—spiritually. (Ephesians 1:19-49). A living corpse: without the gracious presence of God's
Spirit in the soul, and so unable to think, will, or do aught that is
holy.
in trespasses . . . sins—in
them, as the element in which the unbeliever is, and through which he
is dead to the true life. Sin is the death of the soul. Isaiah 9:2;
John 5:25, "dead"
(spiritually), 1 Timothy 5:6.
"Alienated from the life of God" (1 Timothy 5:6). Translate, as Greek, "in your trespasses,"
c. "Trespass" in Greek, expresses a FALL
or LAPSE, such as the
transgression of Adam whereby he fell. "Sin." (Greek,
"hamartia") implies innate corruption and
ALIENATION from God
(literally, erring of the mind from the rule of truth),
exhibited in acts of sin (Greek, "hamartemata").
BENGEL, refers
"trespasses" to the Jews who had the law, and yet revolted
from it "sins," to the Gentiles who know not God.
2. the course of this world—the
career (literally, "the age," compare ), or present system of this world (1 Corinthians 2:6;
1 Corinthians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 3:18;
1 Corinthians 3:19, as opposed to "the
world to come"): alien from God, and lying in the wicked one
(1 John 5:19). "The age"
(which is something more external and ethical) regulates "the
world" (which is something more external).
the prince of the power of
the air—the unseen God who lies underneath guiding "the
course of this world" (1 John 5:19); ranging through the air around us: compare 1 John 5:19, "fowls of the air" (Greek, "heaven")
that is, (Ephesians 2:15), "Satan"
and his demons. Compare Ephesians 6:12;
John 12:31. Christ's ascension
seems to have cast Satan out of heaven (Revelation 12:5;
Revelation 12:9; Revelation 12:10;
Revelation 12:12; Revelation 12:13),
where he had been heretofore the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:13). No longer able to accuse in heaven those
justified by Christ, the ascended Saviour (Romans 8:33;
Romans 8:34), he assails them on
earth with all trials and temptations; and "we live in an
atmosphere poisonous and impregnated with deadly elements. But a
mighty purification of the air will be effected by Christ's coming"
[AUBERLEN], for Satan
shall be bound (Revelation 12:12;
Revelation 12:13; Revelation 12:15;
Revelation 12:17; Revelation 20:2;
Revelation 20:3). "The power"
is here used collectively for the "powers of the air"; in
apposition with which "powers" stand the "spirits,"
comprehended in the singular, "the spirit," taken also
collectively: the aggregate of the "seducing spirits" (Revelation 20:3) which "work now (still; not merely, as in your
case, 'in time past') in the sons of disobedience" (a
Hebraism: men who are not merely by accident disobedient, but who are
essentially sons of disobedience itself: compare Revelation 20:3), and of which Satan is here declared to be "the
prince." The Greek does not allow "the spirit"
to refer to Satan, "the prince" himself, but to "the
powers of the air" of which he is prince. The powers of the
air are the embodiment of that evil "spirit" which is the
ruling principle of unbelievers, especially the heathen (Revelation 20:3), as opposed to the spirit of the children of God (Revelation 20:3). The potency of that "spirit" is shown in the
"disobedience" of the former. Compare Revelation 20:3, "children in whom is no faith" (Isaiah 30:9;
Isaiah 57:4). They disobey the
Gospel both in faith and practice (2 Thessalonians 1:8;
2 Corinthians 2:12).
3. also we—that is, we
also. Paul here joins himself in the same category with them,
passing from the second person (Ephesians 2:1;
Ephesians 2:2) to the first person
here.
all—Jews and Gentiles.
our conversation—"our
way of life" (2 Corinthians 1:12;
1 Peter 1:18). This expression
implies an outwardly more decorous course, than the open
"walk" in gross sins on the part of the majority of
Ephesians in times past, the Gentile portion of whom may be specially
referred to in Ephesians 2:2. Paul and
his Jewish countrymen, though outwardly more seemly than the Gentiles
(Acts 26:4; Acts 26:5;
Acts 26:18), had been essentially
like them in living to the unrenewed flesh, without the Spirit of
God.
fulfilling—Greek,
doing.
mind—Greek, "our
thoughts." Mental suggestions and purposes (independent of God),
as distinguished from the blind impulses of "the flesh."
and were by nature—He
intentionally breaks off the construction, substituting "and we
were" for "and being," to mark emphatically his and
their past state by nature, as contrasted with their present
state by grace. Not merely is it, we had our way of life fulfilling
our fleshly desires, and so being children of wrath; but we
were by nature originally "children of wrath," and so
consequently had our way of life fulfilling our fleshly desires.
"Nature," in Greek, implies that which has grown
in us as the peculiarity of our being, growing with our growth, and
strengthening with our strength, as distinguished from that which has
been wrought on us by mere external influences: what is inherent, not
acquired (Job 14:4; Psalms 51:5).
An incidental proof of the doctrine of original sin.
children of wrath—not
merely "sons," as in the Greek, "sons of
disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2),
but "children" by generation; not merely by
adoption, as "sons" might be. The Greek order
more emphatically marks this innate corruption: "Those who in
their (very) nature are children of wrath"; Ephesians 2:2, "grace" is opposed to "nature" here; and
salvation (implied in Ephesians 2:5;
Ephesians 2:8, "saved") to
"wrath." Compare Article IX, Church of England Common
Prayer Book. "Original sin (birth-sin), standeth not in the
following of Adam, but is the fault and corruption of the nature of
every man, naturally engendered of Adam [Christ was supernaturally
conceived by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin], whereby man is very far
gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined
to evil; and therefore, in every person born into this world, it
deserveth God's wrath and damnation." Paul shows that even the
Jews, who boasted of their birth from Abraham, were by natural birth
equally children of wrath as the Gentiles, whom the Jews despised on
account of their birth from idolaters (Romans 3:9;
Romans 5:12-14). "Wrath
abideth" on all who disobey the Gospel in faith and practice
(John 3:36). The phrase,
"children of wrath," is a Hebraism, that is, objects of
God's wrath from childhood, in our natural state, as being born in
the sin which God hates. So "son of death" (John 3:36, Margin); "son of perdition" (John 17:12;
2 Thessalonians 2:3).
as others—Greek,
"as the rest" of mankind are (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
4. God, who is rich—Greek
"(as) being rich in mercy."
for—that is, "because
of His great love." This was the special ground of God's
saving us; as "rich in mercy" (compare Ephesians 2:7;
Ephesians 1:7; Romans 2:4;
Romans 10:12) was the general
ground. "Mercy takes away misery; love confers
salvation" [BENGEL].
5. dead in sins—The best
reading is in the Greek, "dead in our (literally,
'the') trespasses."
quickened—"vivified"
spiritually, and consequences hereafter, corporally. There must be a
spiritual resurrection of the soul before there can be a comfortable
resurrection of the body [PEARSON]
(John 11:25; John 11:26;
Romans 8:11).
together with Christ—The
Head being seated at God's right hand, the body also sits there with
Him [CHRYSOSTOM]. We are
already seated there IN
Him ("in Christ Jesus," Romans 8:11), and hereafter shall be seated by Him; IN
Him already as in our Head, which is the ground of our hope; by
Him hereafter, as by the conferring cause, when hope shall be
swallowed up in fruition [PEARSON].
What God wrought in Christ, He wrought (by the very fact) in all
united to Christ, and one with Him.
by grace ye are saved—Greek,
"Ye are in a saved state." Not merely "ye are being
saved," but ye "are passed from death unto life" (Romans 8:11). Salvation is to the Christian not a thing to be waited for
hereafter, but already realized (Romans 8:11). The parenthetic introduction of this clause here (compare
Ephesians 2:8) is a burst of Paul's
feeling, and in order to make the Ephesians feel that grace
from first to last is the sole source of salvation; hence, too, he
says "ye," not "we."
6. raised us up together—with
Christ. The "raising up" presupposes previous quickening of
Jesus in the tomb, and of us in the grave of our sins.
made us sit together—with
Christ, namely, in His ascension. Believers are bodily in heaven in
point of right, and virtually so in spirit, and have each their own
place assigned there, which in due time they shall take possession of
(Philippians 3:20; Philippians 3:21).
He does not say, "on the right hand of God"; a
prerogative reserved to Christ peculiarly; though they shall share
His throne (Revelation 3:21).
in Christ Jesus—Our
union with Him is the ground of our present spiritual, and future
bodily, resurrection and ascension. "Christ Jesus" is the
phrase mostly used in this Epistle, in which the office of the
Christ, the Anointed Prophet, Priest and King, is the prominent
thought; when the Person is prominent, "Jesus Christ" is
the phrase used.
7. Greek, "That He
might show forth (middle reflexive voice; for His own glory, Ephesians 1:6;
Ephesians 1:12; Ephesians 1:14)
in the ages which are coming on," that is, the blessed ages
of the Gospel which supersede "the age (Greek, for
'course') of this world" (Ephesians 1:14), and the past "ages" from which the mystery was
hidden (Colossians 1:26; Colossians 1:27).
These good ages, though beginning with the first preaching of the
Gospel, and thenceforth continually succeeding one another,
are not consummated till the Lord's coming again (compare Ephesians 1:21;
Hebrews 6:5). The words, "coming
on," do not exclude the time then present, but imply
simply the ages following upon Christ's "raising them up
together" spiritually (Hebrews 6:5).
kindness—"benignity."
through Christ—rather,
as Greek, "in Christ"; the same expression as is so
often repeated, to mark that all our blessings center "IN
HIM."
8. For—illustrating "the
exceeding riches of His grace in kindness." Translate as in , "Ye are in a saved state."
through faith—the
effect of the power of Christ's resurrection (Ephesians 1:19;
Ephesians 1:20; Philippians 3:10)
whereby we are "raised together" with Him (Ephesians 2:6;
Colossians 2:12). Some of the oldest
manuscripts read, "through your (literally, 'the')
faith." The instrument or mean of salvation on the part of the
person saved; Christ alone is the meritorious agent.
and that—namely, the
act of believing, or "faith." "Of yourselves"
stands in opposition to, "it is the gift of God" (Colossians 2:12). "That which I have said, 'through faith,' I do not
wish to be understood so as if I excepted faith itself from
grace" [ESTIUS].
"God justifies the believing man, not for the worthiness of his
belief, but for the worthiness of Him in whom he believes"
[HOOKER]. The initiation,
as well as the increase, of faith, is from the Spirit of God, not
only by an external proposal of the word, but by internal
illumination in the soul [PEARSON].
Yet "faith" cometh by the means which man must avail
himself of, namely, "hearing the word of God" (Colossians 2:12), and prayer (Luke 11:13),
though the blessing is wholly of God (1 Corinthians 3:6;
1 Corinthians 3:7).
10. workmanship—literally, "a
thing of His making"; "handiwork." Here the spiritual
creation, not the physical, is referred to (Ephesians 2:8;
Ephesians 2:9).
created—having been
created (Ephesians 4:24; Psalms 102:18;
Isaiah 43:21; 2 Corinthians 5:5;
2 Corinthians 5:17).
unto good works—"for
good works." "Good works" cannot be performed until we
are new "created unto" them. Paul never calls the works of
the law "good works." We are not saved by, but
created unto, good works.
before ordained—Greek,
"before made ready" (compare 2 Corinthians 5:17). God marks out for each in His purposes beforehand, the
particular good works, and the time and way which tie sees best. God
both makes ready by His providence the opportunities for the
works, and makes us ready for their performance (John 15:16;
2 Timothy 2:21).
that we should walk in
them—not "be saved" by them. Works do not justify,
but the justified man works (2 Timothy 2:21).
11. The Greek order in
the oldest manuscripts is, "That in time past (literally, once)
ye," c. Such remembrance sharpens gratitude and strengthens
faith (Ephesians 2:19) [BENGEL].
Gentiles in the flesh—that
is, Gentiles in respect to circumcision.
called Uncircumcision—The
Gentiles were called (in contempt), and were, the
Uncircumcision the Jews were called, but were not truly, the
Circumcision [ELLICOTT].
in the flesh made by hands—as
opposed to the true "circumcision of the heart in the Spirit,
and not the letter" (Romans 2:29),
"made without the hands in putting off the body of the sins of
the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" (Romans 2:29).
12. without Christ—Greek,
"separate from Christ"; having no part in Him; far
from Him. A different Greek word (aneu) would be
required to express, "Christ was not present with you"
[TITTMANN].
aliens—Greek,
"alienated from," not merely "separated from."
The Israelites were cut off from the commonwealth of God, but it was
as being self-righteous, indolent, and unworthy, not as aliens
and strangers [CHRYSOSTOM].
The expression, "alienated from," takes it for granted that
the Gentiles, before they had apostatized from the primitive truth,
had been sharers in light and life (compare Ephesians 4:18;
Ephesians 4:23). The hope of redemption
through the Messiah, on their subsequent apostasy, was embodied into
a definite "commonwealth" or polity, namely, that
"of Israel," from which the Gentiles were alienated.
Contrast Ephesians 2:13; Ephesians 3:6;
Ephesians 4:4; Ephesians 4:5;
Psalms 147:20.
covenants of promise—rather,
". . . of the promise," namely, "to thee and
thy seed will I give this land" (Romans 9:4;
Galatians 3:16). The plural implies the
several renewals of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and
with the whole people at Sinai [ALFORD].
"The promise" is singular, to signify that the covenant, in
reality, and substantially, is one and the same at all times, but
only different in its accidents and external circumstances (compare
Hebrews 1:1, "at sundry times
and in divers manners").
having no . . . hope—beyond
this life (1 Corinthians 15:19). The
CONJECTURES of heathen
philosophers as to a future life were at best vague and utterly
unsatisfactory. They had no divine "promise," and therefore
no sure ground of "hope." Epicurus and Aristotle did not
believe in it at all. The Platonists believed the soul passed through
perpetual changes, now happy, and then again miserable; the Stoics,
that it existed no longer than till the time of the general burning
up of all things.
without God—Greek,
"atheists," that is, they had not "God" in the
sense we use the word, the Eternal Being who made and governs all
things (compare Acts 14:15,
"Turn from these vanities unto the living God who made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things therein"),
whereas the Jews had distinct ideas of God and immortality. Compare
also Galatians 4:8, "Ye knew not
God . . . ye did service unto them which are no gods" (Galatians 4:8). So also pantheists are atheists, for an impersonal God is
NO GOD, and an ideal
immortality no immortality [THOLUCK].
in the world—in
contrast to belonging to "the commonwealth of Israel."
Having their portion and their all in this godless vain world (Galatians 4:8), from which Christ delivers His people (John 15:19;
John 17:14; Galatians 1:4).
13. now—in contrast to "at
that time" (Ephesians 2:12).
in Christ Jesus—"Jesus"
is here added, whereas the expression before (Ephesians 2:12) had been merely "Christ," to mark that they know
Christ as the personal Saviour, "Jesus."
sometimes—Greek,
"aforetime."
far off—the Jewish
description of the Gentiles. Far off from God and from the people of
God (Ephesians 2:17; Isaiah 57:19;
Acts 2:39).
are—Greek, "have
been."
by—Greek, "in."
Thus "the blood of Christ" is made the seal of a covenant
IN which their nearness to God consists. In Acts 2:39, where the blood is more directly spoken of as the
instrument, it is "through His blood"
[ALFORD].
14. he—Greek, "Himself"
alone, pre-eminently, and none else. Emphatical.
our peace—not merely
"Peacemaker," but "Himself" the price of our
(Jews' and Gentiles' alike) peace with God, and so the bond of union
between "both" in God. He took both into Himself, and
reconciled them, united, to God, by His assuming our nature and our
penal and legal liabilities (Ephesians 2:15;
Isaiah 9:5; Isaiah 9:6;
Isaiah 53:5; Micah 5:5;
Colossians 1:20). His title, "Shiloh,"
means the same (Genesis 49:10).
the middle wall of
partition—Greek, ". . . of the partition"
or "fence"; the middle wall which parted Jew
and Gentile. There was a balustrade of stone which separated the
court of the Gentiles from the holy place, which it was death for a
Gentile to pass. But this, though incidentally alluded to, was but a
symbol of the partition itself, namely, "the enmity"
between "both" and God (Genesis 49:10), the real cause of separation from God, and so the mediate
cause of their separation from one another. Hence there was a twofold
wall of partition, one the inner wall, severing the Jewish people
from entrance to the holy part of the temple where the priests
officiated, the other the outer wall, separating the Gentile
proselytes from access to the court of the Jews (compare Ezekiel 44:7;
Acts 21:28). Thus this twofold
wall represented the Sinaitic law, which both severed all men,
even the Jews, from access to God (through sin, which is the
violation of the law), and also separated the Gentiles from the Jews.
As the term "wall" implies the strength of the
partition, so "fence" implies that it was easily removed by
God when the due time came.
15. Rather, make "enmity"
an apposition to "the middle wall of partition"; "Hath
broken down the middle wall of partition (not merely as English
Version, 'between us,' but also between all men and
God), to wit, the enmity () by His flesh" (compare Ephesians 2:16;
Romans 8:3).
the law of commandments
contained in—Greek, "the law
of the commandments (consisting) in ordinances." This law was
"the partition" or "fence," which embodied the
expression of the "enmity" (the "wrath" of God
against our sin, and our enmity to Him, Romans 8:3) (Romans 4:15; Romans 5:20;
Romans 7:10; Romans 7:11;
Romans 8:7). Christ has in, or by,
His crucified flesh, abolished it, so far as its condemning and
enmity-creating power is concerned (Romans 8:7), substituting for it the law of love, which is the
everlasting spirit of the law, and which flows from the realization
in the soul of His love in His death for us. Translate what follows,
"that He might make the two (Jews and Gentiles) into one new
man." Not that He might merely reconcile the two to each other,
but incorporate the two, reconciled in Him to God, into one new man;
the old man to which both belonged, the enemy of God, having been
slain in His flesh on the cross. Observe, too, ONE new man; we are
all in God's sight but one in Christ, as we are but one in Adam
[ALFORD].
making peace—primarily
between all and God, secondarily between Jews and Gentiles; He being
"our peace." This "peace-making" precedes its
publication (Ephesians 2:17).
16. Translate, "might
altogether reconcile them both in one body (the Church, ) unto God through His cross." The Greek for
"reconcile" (apocatalaxe), found only here and in
Colossians 1:20, expresses not only a
return to favor with one (catallage), but so to lay aside
enmity that complete amity follows; to pass from enmity to
complete reconciliation [TITTMANN].
slain the enmity—namely,
that had been between man and God; and so that between Jew and
Gentile which had resulted from it. By His being slain, He
slew it (compare Hebrews 2:14).
thereby—Greek,
"therein"; "in" or "by the cross," that
is, His crucifixion (Colossians 2:15).
17. Translate, "He came and
announced glad tidings of peace." "He came" of His own
free love, and "announced peace" with His own mouth to the
apostles (Luke 24:36; John 20:19;
John 20:21; John 20:26);
and by them to others, through His Spirit present in His Church (John 20:26). Acts 26:23 is
strictly parallel; after His resurrection "He showed light to
the people ('them that were nigh') and to the Gentiles ('you that
were afar off')," by His Spirit in His ministers (compare Acts 26:23).
and to them—The oldest
manuscripts insert "peace" again: "And peace to them."
The repetition implies the joy with which both alike would dwell
again and again upon the welcome word "peace." So Acts 26:23.
18. Translate, "For it is
through Him (John 14:6; John 14:6) that we have our access (Ephesians 3:12;
Romans 5:2), both of us, in (that
is, united in, that is, "by," Romans 5:2, Greek) one Spirit to the Father," namely, as
our common Father, reconciled to both alike; whence flows the removal
of all separation between Jew and Gentile. The oneness of "the
Spirit," through which we both have our access, is necessarily
followed by oneness of the body, the Church (Romans 5:2). The distinctness of persons in the Divine Trinity appears
in this verse. It is also fatal to the theory of sacerdotal priests
in the Gospel through whom alone the people can approach God. All
alike, people and ministers, can draw nigh to God through Christ,
their ever living Priest.
19. Now, therefore—rather, "So
then" [ALFORD].
foreigners—rather,
"sojourners"; opposed to "members of the household,"
as "strangers" is to "fellow citizens." Philippians 3:19;
Philippians 3:20, "conversation,"
Greek, "citizenship."
but—The oldest
manuscripts add, "are."
with the saints—"the
commonwealth of (spiritual) Israel" (Philippians 3:20).
of God—THE
FATHER; as JESUS
CHRIST appears in Philippians 3:20, and THE SPIRIT
in Ephesians 2:22.
20. Translate as Greek,
"Built up upon," c. (participle having been built up
upon; omit, therefore, "and are"). Compare 1 Corinthians 3:11;
1 Corinthians 3:12. The same image in 1 Corinthians 3:12, recurs in his address to the Ephesian elders (1 Corinthians 3:12), and in his Epistle to Timothy at Ephesus (1 Timothy 3:15;
2 Timothy 2:19), naturally suggested by
the splendid architecture of Diana's temple; the glory of the
Christian temple is eternal and real, not mere idolatrous gaud. The
image of a building is appropriate also to the Jew-Christians; as the
temple at Jerusalem was the stronghold of Judaism; as Diana's temple,
of paganism.
foundation of the apostles,
c.—that is, upon their ministry and living example (compare 2 Timothy 2:19). Christ Himself, the only true Foundation, was the grand
subject of their ministry, and spring of their life. As one with Him
and His fellow workers, they, too, in a secondary sense, are called
"foundations" (2 Timothy 2:19). The "prophets" are joined with them closely for
the expression is here not "foundations of the apostles
and the prophets," but "foundations of the
apostles and prophets." For the doctrine of both was
essentially one (1 Peter 1:10;
1 Peter 1:11; Revelation 19:10).
The apostles take the precedency (Revelation 19:10). Thus he appropriately shows regard to the claims of the
Jews and Gentiles: "the prophets" representing the old
Jewish dispensation, "the apostles" the new. The "prophets"
of the new also are included. BENGEL
and ALFORD refer the
meaning solely to these (Ephesians 3:5;
Ephesians 4:11). These passages imply,
I think, that the New Testament prophets are not excluded; but the
apostle's plain reference to Ephesians 4:11, "the head stone of the corner," proves that the
Old Testament prophets are a prominent thought. David is called a
"prophet" in Acts 2:30.
Compare also Isaiah 28:16;
another prophet present to the mind of Paul, which prophecy leans on
the earlier one of Jacob (Isaiah 28:16). The sense of the context, too, suits this: Ye were once
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel (in the time of her Old
Testament prophets), but now ye are members of the true Israel,
built upon the foundation of her New Testament apostles and Old
Testament prophets. Paul continually identifies his teaching with
that of Israel's old prophets (Acts 26:22;
Acts 28:23). The costly
foundation-stones of the temple (Acts 28:23) typified the same truth (compare Acts 28:23). The same stone is at once the corner-stone and the
foundation-stone on which the whole building rests. Paul supposes a
stone or rock so large and so fashioned as to be both at once;
supporting the whole as the foundation, and in part rising up at the
extremities, so as to admit of the side walls meeting in it, and
being united in it as the corner-stone [ZANCHIUS].
As the corner-stone, it is conspicuous, as was Christ (Acts 28:23), and coming in men's way may be stumbled over, as the Jews
did at Christ (Matthew 21:42;
1 Peter 2:7).
21. In whom—as holding
together the whole.
fitly framed—so as
exactly to fit together.
groweth—"is
growing" continually. Here an additional thought is added to the
image; the Church has the growth of a living organism, not the
mere increase of a building. Compare ; "lively stones . . . built up a spiritual
house." Compare Ephesians 4:16;
Zechariah 6:12, "The Branch
shall build the temple of the Lord," where similarly the
growth of a branch, and the building of a temple, are joined.
holy—as being the
"habitation of God" (Zechariah 6:12). So "in the Lord" (Christ) answers to "through
the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22;
compare Ephesians 3:16; Ephesians 3:17).
"Christ is the inclusive Head of all the building, the element
in which it has its being and now its growth" [ALFORD].
CHAPTER 2
. GOD'S LOVE AND GRACE IN QUICKENING US, ONCE DEAD, THROUGH CHRIST. HIS PURPOSE IN DOING SO: EXHORTATION BASED ON OUR PRIVILEGES AS BUILT TOGETHER, AN HOLY TEMPLE, IN CHRIST, THROUGH THE SPIRIT.
1. And you—"You also," among those who have experienced His mighty power in enabling them to believe (Ephesians 1:19-23).
hath he quickened —supplied from the Greek (Ephesians 1:19-49).
dead—spiritually. (Ephesians 1:19-49). A living corpse: without the gracious presence of God's Spirit in the soul, and so unable to think, will, or do aught that is holy.
in trespasses . . . sins—in them, as the element in which the unbeliever is, and through which he is dead to the true life. Sin is the death of the soul. Isaiah 9:2; John 5:25, "dead" (spiritually), 1 Timothy 5:6. "Alienated from the life of God" (1 Timothy 5:6). Translate, as Greek, "in your trespasses," c. "Trespass" in Greek, expresses a FALL or LAPSE, such as the transgression of Adam whereby he fell. "Sin." (Greek, "hamartia") implies innate corruption and ALIENATION from God (literally, erring of the mind from the rule of truth), exhibited in acts of sin (Greek, "hamartemata"). BENGEL, refers "trespasses" to the Jews who had the law, and yet revolted from it "sins," to the Gentiles who know not God.
2. the course of this world—the career (literally, "the age," compare ), or present system of this world (1 Corinthians 2:6; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 3:19, as opposed to "the world to come"): alien from God, and lying in the wicked one (1 John 5:19). "The age" (which is something more external and ethical) regulates "the world" (which is something more external).
the prince of the power of the air—the unseen God who lies underneath guiding "the course of this world" (1 John 5:19); ranging through the air around us: compare 1 John 5:19, "fowls of the air" (Greek, "heaven") that is, (Ephesians 2:15), "Satan" and his demons. Compare Ephesians 6:12; John 12:31. Christ's ascension seems to have cast Satan out of heaven (Revelation 12:5; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 12:12; Revelation 12:13), where he had been heretofore the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:13). No longer able to accuse in heaven those justified by Christ, the ascended Saviour (Romans 8:33; Romans 8:34), he assails them on earth with all trials and temptations; and "we live in an atmosphere poisonous and impregnated with deadly elements. But a mighty purification of the air will be effected by Christ's coming" [AUBERLEN], for Satan shall be bound (Revelation 12:12; Revelation 12:13; Revelation 12:15; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 20:2; Revelation 20:3). "The power" is here used collectively for the "powers of the air"; in apposition with which "powers" stand the "spirits," comprehended in the singular, "the spirit," taken also collectively: the aggregate of the "seducing spirits" (Revelation 20:3) which "work now (still; not merely, as in your case, 'in time past') in the sons of disobedience" (a Hebraism: men who are not merely by accident disobedient, but who are essentially sons of disobedience itself: compare Revelation 20:3), and of which Satan is here declared to be "the prince." The Greek does not allow "the spirit" to refer to Satan, "the prince" himself, but to "the powers of the air" of which he is prince. The powers of the air are the embodiment of that evil "spirit" which is the ruling principle of unbelievers, especially the heathen (Revelation 20:3), as opposed to the spirit of the children of God (Revelation 20:3). The potency of that "spirit" is shown in the "disobedience" of the former. Compare Revelation 20:3, "children in whom is no faith" (Isaiah 30:9; Isaiah 57:4). They disobey the Gospel both in faith and practice (2 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Corinthians 2:12).
3. also we—that is, we also. Paul here joins himself in the same category with them, passing from the second person (Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:2) to the first person here.
all—Jews and Gentiles.
our conversation—"our way of life" (2 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Peter 1:18). This expression implies an outwardly more decorous course, than the open "walk" in gross sins on the part of the majority of Ephesians in times past, the Gentile portion of whom may be specially referred to in Ephesians 2:2. Paul and his Jewish countrymen, though outwardly more seemly than the Gentiles (Acts 26:4; Acts 26:5; Acts 26:18), had been essentially like them in living to the unrenewed flesh, without the Spirit of God.
fulfilling—Greek, doing.
mind—Greek, "our thoughts." Mental suggestions and purposes (independent of God), as distinguished from the blind impulses of "the flesh."
and were by nature—He intentionally breaks off the construction, substituting "and we were" for "and being," to mark emphatically his and their past state by nature, as contrasted with their present state by grace. Not merely is it, we had our way of life fulfilling our fleshly desires, and so being children of wrath; but we were by nature originally "children of wrath," and so consequently had our way of life fulfilling our fleshly desires. "Nature," in Greek, implies that which has grown in us as the peculiarity of our being, growing with our growth, and strengthening with our strength, as distinguished from that which has been wrought on us by mere external influences: what is inherent, not acquired (Job 14:4; Psalms 51:5). An incidental proof of the doctrine of original sin.
children of wrath—not merely "sons," as in the Greek, "sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2), but "children" by generation; not merely by adoption, as "sons" might be. The Greek order more emphatically marks this innate corruption: "Those who in their (very) nature are children of wrath"; Ephesians 2:2, "grace" is opposed to "nature" here; and salvation (implied in Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 2:8, "saved") to "wrath." Compare Article IX, Church of England Common Prayer Book. "Original sin (birth-sin), standeth not in the following of Adam, but is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, naturally engendered of Adam [Christ was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin], whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil; and therefore, in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation." Paul shows that even the Jews, who boasted of their birth from Abraham, were by natural birth equally children of wrath as the Gentiles, whom the Jews despised on account of their birth from idolaters (Romans 3:9; Romans 5:12-14). "Wrath abideth" on all who disobey the Gospel in faith and practice (John 3:36). The phrase, "children of wrath," is a Hebraism, that is, objects of God's wrath from childhood, in our natural state, as being born in the sin which God hates. So "son of death" (John 3:36, Margin); "son of perdition" (John 17:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3).
as others—Greek, "as the rest" of mankind are (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
4. God, who is rich—Greek "(as) being rich in mercy."
for—that is, "because of His great love." This was the special ground of God's saving us; as "rich in mercy" (compare Ephesians 2:7; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 2:4; Romans 10:12) was the general ground. "Mercy takes away misery; love confers salvation" [BENGEL].
5. dead in sins—The best reading is in the Greek, "dead in our (literally, 'the') trespasses."
quickened—"vivified" spiritually, and consequences hereafter, corporally. There must be a spiritual resurrection of the soul before there can be a comfortable resurrection of the body [PEARSON] (John 11:25; John 11:26; Romans 8:11).
together with Christ—The Head being seated at God's right hand, the body also sits there with Him [CHRYSOSTOM]. We are already seated there IN Him ("in Christ Jesus," Romans 8:11), and hereafter shall be seated by Him; IN Him already as in our Head, which is the ground of our hope; by Him hereafter, as by the conferring cause, when hope shall be swallowed up in fruition [PEARSON]. What God wrought in Christ, He wrought (by the very fact) in all united to Christ, and one with Him.
by grace ye are saved—Greek, "Ye are in a saved state." Not merely "ye are being saved," but ye "are passed from death unto life" (Romans 8:11). Salvation is to the Christian not a thing to be waited for hereafter, but already realized (Romans 8:11). The parenthetic introduction of this clause here (compare Ephesians 2:8) is a burst of Paul's feeling, and in order to make the Ephesians feel that grace from first to last is the sole source of salvation; hence, too, he says "ye," not "we."
6. raised us up together—with Christ. The "raising up" presupposes previous quickening of Jesus in the tomb, and of us in the grave of our sins.
made us sit together—with Christ, namely, in His ascension. Believers are bodily in heaven in point of right, and virtually so in spirit, and have each their own place assigned there, which in due time they shall take possession of (Philippians 3:20; Philippians 3:21). He does not say, "on the right hand of God"; a prerogative reserved to Christ peculiarly; though they shall share His throne (Revelation 3:21).
in Christ Jesus—Our union with Him is the ground of our present spiritual, and future bodily, resurrection and ascension. "Christ Jesus" is the phrase mostly used in this Epistle, in which the office of the Christ, the Anointed Prophet, Priest and King, is the prominent thought; when the Person is prominent, "Jesus Christ" is the phrase used.
7. Greek, "That He might show forth (middle reflexive voice; for His own glory, Ephesians 1:6; Ephesians 1:12; Ephesians 1:14) in the ages which are coming on," that is, the blessed ages of the Gospel which supersede "the age (Greek, for 'course') of this world" (Ephesians 1:14), and the past "ages" from which the mystery was hidden (Colossians 1:26; Colossians 1:27). These good ages, though beginning with the first preaching of the Gospel, and thenceforth continually succeeding one another, are not consummated till the Lord's coming again (compare Ephesians 1:21; Hebrews 6:5). The words, "coming on," do not exclude the time then present, but imply simply the ages following upon Christ's "raising them up together" spiritually (Hebrews 6:5).
kindness—"benignity."
through Christ—rather, as Greek, "in Christ"; the same expression as is so often repeated, to mark that all our blessings center "IN HIM."
8. For—illustrating "the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness." Translate as in , "Ye are in a saved state."
through faith—the effect of the power of Christ's resurrection (Ephesians 1:19; Ephesians 1:20; Philippians 3:10) whereby we are "raised together" with Him (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12). Some of the oldest manuscripts read, "through your (literally, 'the') faith." The instrument or mean of salvation on the part of the person saved; Christ alone is the meritorious agent.
and that—namely, the act of believing, or "faith." "Of yourselves" stands in opposition to, "it is the gift of God" (Colossians 2:12). "That which I have said, 'through faith,' I do not wish to be understood so as if I excepted faith itself from grace" [ESTIUS]. "God justifies the believing man, not for the worthiness of his belief, but for the worthiness of Him in whom he believes" [HOOKER]. The initiation, as well as the increase, of faith, is from the Spirit of God, not only by an external proposal of the word, but by internal illumination in the soul [PEARSON]. Yet "faith" cometh by the means which man must avail himself of, namely, "hearing the word of God" (Colossians 2:12), and prayer (Luke 11:13), though the blessing is wholly of God (1 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 3:7).
9. Not of works—This clause stands in contrast to "by grace," as is confirmed by Romans 4:4; Romans 4:5; Romans 11:6.
lest—rather, as Greek, "that no man should boast" (Romans 3:27; Romans 4:2).
10. workmanship—literally, "a thing of His making"; "handiwork." Here the spiritual creation, not the physical, is referred to (Ephesians 2:8; Ephesians 2:9).
created—having been created (Ephesians 4:24; Psalms 102:18; Isaiah 43:21; 2 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
unto good works—"for good works." "Good works" cannot be performed until we are new "created unto" them. Paul never calls the works of the law "good works." We are not saved by, but created unto, good works.
before ordained—Greek, "before made ready" (compare 2 Corinthians 5:17). God marks out for each in His purposes beforehand, the particular good works, and the time and way which tie sees best. God both makes ready by His providence the opportunities for the works, and makes us ready for their performance (John 15:16; 2 Timothy 2:21).
that we should walk in them—not "be saved" by them. Works do not justify, but the justified man works (2 Timothy 2:21).
11. The Greek order in the oldest manuscripts is, "That in time past (literally, once) ye," c. Such remembrance sharpens gratitude and strengthens faith (Ephesians 2:19) [BENGEL].
Gentiles in the flesh—that is, Gentiles in respect to circumcision.
called Uncircumcision—The Gentiles were called (in contempt), and were, the Uncircumcision the Jews were called, but were not truly, the Circumcision [ELLICOTT].
in the flesh made by hands—as opposed to the true "circumcision of the heart in the Spirit, and not the letter" (Romans 2:29), "made without the hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" (Romans 2:29).
12. without Christ—Greek, "separate from Christ"; having no part in Him; far from Him. A different Greek word (aneu) would be required to express, "Christ was not present with you" [TITTMANN].
aliens—Greek, "alienated from," not merely "separated from." The Israelites were cut off from the commonwealth of God, but it was as being self-righteous, indolent, and unworthy, not as aliens and strangers [CHRYSOSTOM]. The expression, "alienated from," takes it for granted that the Gentiles, before they had apostatized from the primitive truth, had been sharers in light and life (compare Ephesians 4:18; Ephesians 4:23). The hope of redemption through the Messiah, on their subsequent apostasy, was embodied into a definite "commonwealth" or polity, namely, that "of Israel," from which the Gentiles were alienated. Contrast Ephesians 2:13; Ephesians 3:6; Ephesians 4:4; Ephesians 4:5; Psalms 147:20.
covenants of promise—rather, ". . . of the promise," namely, "to thee and thy seed will I give this land" (Romans 9:4; Galatians 3:16). The plural implies the several renewals of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with the whole people at Sinai [ALFORD]. "The promise" is singular, to signify that the covenant, in reality, and substantially, is one and the same at all times, but only different in its accidents and external circumstances (compare Hebrews 1:1, "at sundry times and in divers manners").
having no . . . hope—beyond this life (1 Corinthians 15:19). The CONJECTURES of heathen philosophers as to a future life were at best vague and utterly unsatisfactory. They had no divine "promise," and therefore no sure ground of "hope." Epicurus and Aristotle did not believe in it at all. The Platonists believed the soul passed through perpetual changes, now happy, and then again miserable; the Stoics, that it existed no longer than till the time of the general burning up of all things.
without God—Greek, "atheists," that is, they had not "God" in the sense we use the word, the Eternal Being who made and governs all things (compare Acts 14:15, "Turn from these vanities unto the living God who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things therein"), whereas the Jews had distinct ideas of God and immortality. Compare also Galatians 4:8, "Ye knew not God . . . ye did service unto them which are no gods" (Galatians 4:8). So also pantheists are atheists, for an impersonal God is NO GOD, and an ideal immortality no immortality [THOLUCK].
in the world—in contrast to belonging to "the commonwealth of Israel." Having their portion and their all in this godless vain world (Galatians 4:8), from which Christ delivers His people (John 15:19; John 17:14; Galatians 1:4).
13. now—in contrast to "at that time" (Ephesians 2:12).
in Christ Jesus—"Jesus" is here added, whereas the expression before (Ephesians 2:12) had been merely "Christ," to mark that they know Christ as the personal Saviour, "Jesus."
sometimes—Greek, "aforetime."
far off—the Jewish description of the Gentiles. Far off from God and from the people of God (Ephesians 2:17; Isaiah 57:19; Acts 2:39).
are—Greek, "have been."
by—Greek, "in." Thus "the blood of Christ" is made the seal of a covenant IN which their nearness to God consists. In Acts 2:39, where the blood is more directly spoken of as the instrument, it is "through His blood" [ALFORD].
14. he—Greek, "Himself" alone, pre-eminently, and none else. Emphatical.
our peace—not merely "Peacemaker," but "Himself" the price of our (Jews' and Gentiles' alike) peace with God, and so the bond of union between "both" in God. He took both into Himself, and reconciled them, united, to God, by His assuming our nature and our penal and legal liabilities (Ephesians 2:15; Isaiah 9:5; Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 53:5; Micah 5:5; Colossians 1:20). His title, "Shiloh," means the same (Genesis 49:10).
the middle wall of partition—Greek, ". . . of the partition" or "fence"; the middle wall which parted Jew and Gentile. There was a balustrade of stone which separated the court of the Gentiles from the holy place, which it was death for a Gentile to pass. But this, though incidentally alluded to, was but a symbol of the partition itself, namely, "the enmity" between "both" and God (Genesis 49:10), the real cause of separation from God, and so the mediate cause of their separation from one another. Hence there was a twofold wall of partition, one the inner wall, severing the Jewish people from entrance to the holy part of the temple where the priests officiated, the other the outer wall, separating the Gentile proselytes from access to the court of the Jews (compare Ezekiel 44:7; Acts 21:28). Thus this twofold wall represented the Sinaitic law, which both severed all men, even the Jews, from access to God (through sin, which is the violation of the law), and also separated the Gentiles from the Jews. As the term "wall" implies the strength of the partition, so "fence" implies that it was easily removed by God when the due time came.
15. Rather, make "enmity" an apposition to "the middle wall of partition"; "Hath broken down the middle wall of partition (not merely as English Version, 'between us,' but also between all men and God), to wit, the enmity () by His flesh" (compare Ephesians 2:16; Romans 8:3).
the law of commandments contained in—Greek, "the law of the commandments (consisting) in ordinances." This law was "the partition" or "fence," which embodied the expression of the "enmity" (the "wrath" of God against our sin, and our enmity to Him, Romans 8:3) (Romans 4:15; Romans 5:20; Romans 7:10; Romans 7:11; Romans 8:7). Christ has in, or by, His crucified flesh, abolished it, so far as its condemning and enmity-creating power is concerned (Romans 8:7), substituting for it the law of love, which is the everlasting spirit of the law, and which flows from the realization in the soul of His love in His death for us. Translate what follows, "that He might make the two (Jews and Gentiles) into one new man." Not that He might merely reconcile the two to each other, but incorporate the two, reconciled in Him to God, into one new man; the old man to which both belonged, the enemy of God, having been slain in His flesh on the cross. Observe, too, ONE new man; we are all in God's sight but one in Christ, as we are but one in Adam [ALFORD].
making peace—primarily between all and God, secondarily between Jews and Gentiles; He being "our peace." This "peace-making" precedes its publication (Ephesians 2:17).
16. Translate, "might altogether reconcile them both in one body (the Church, ) unto God through His cross." The Greek for "reconcile" (apocatalaxe), found only here and in Colossians 1:20, expresses not only a return to favor with one (catallage), but so to lay aside enmity that complete amity follows; to pass from enmity to complete reconciliation [TITTMANN].
slain the enmity—namely, that had been between man and God; and so that between Jew and Gentile which had resulted from it. By His being slain, He slew it (compare Hebrews 2:14).
thereby—Greek, "therein"; "in" or "by the cross," that is, His crucifixion (Colossians 2:15).
17. Translate, "He came and announced glad tidings of peace." "He came" of His own free love, and "announced peace" with His own mouth to the apostles (Luke 24:36; John 20:19; John 20:21; John 20:26); and by them to others, through His Spirit present in His Church (John 20:26). Acts 26:23 is strictly parallel; after His resurrection "He showed light to the people ('them that were nigh') and to the Gentiles ('you that were afar off')," by His Spirit in His ministers (compare Acts 26:23).
and to them—The oldest manuscripts insert "peace" again: "And peace to them." The repetition implies the joy with which both alike would dwell again and again upon the welcome word "peace." So Acts 26:23.
18. Translate, "For it is through Him (John 14:6; John 14:6) that we have our access (Ephesians 3:12; Romans 5:2), both of us, in (that is, united in, that is, "by," Romans 5:2, Greek) one Spirit to the Father," namely, as our common Father, reconciled to both alike; whence flows the removal of all separation between Jew and Gentile. The oneness of "the Spirit," through which we both have our access, is necessarily followed by oneness of the body, the Church (Romans 5:2). The distinctness of persons in the Divine Trinity appears in this verse. It is also fatal to the theory of sacerdotal priests in the Gospel through whom alone the people can approach God. All alike, people and ministers, can draw nigh to God through Christ, their ever living Priest.
19. Now, therefore—rather, "So then" [ALFORD].
foreigners—rather, "sojourners"; opposed to "members of the household," as "strangers" is to "fellow citizens." Philippians 3:19; Philippians 3:20, "conversation," Greek, "citizenship."
but—The oldest manuscripts add, "are."
with the saints—"the commonwealth of (spiritual) Israel" (Philippians 3:20).
of God—THE FATHER; as JESUS CHRIST appears in Philippians 3:20, and THE SPIRIT in Ephesians 2:22.
20. Translate as Greek, "Built up upon," c. (participle having been built up upon; omit, therefore, "and are"). Compare 1 Corinthians 3:11; 1 Corinthians 3:12. The same image in 1 Corinthians 3:12, recurs in his address to the Ephesian elders (1 Corinthians 3:12), and in his Epistle to Timothy at Ephesus (1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Timothy 2:19), naturally suggested by the splendid architecture of Diana's temple; the glory of the Christian temple is eternal and real, not mere idolatrous gaud. The image of a building is appropriate also to the Jew-Christians; as the temple at Jerusalem was the stronghold of Judaism; as Diana's temple, of paganism.
foundation of the apostles, c.—that is, upon their ministry and living example (compare 2 Timothy 2:19). Christ Himself, the only true Foundation, was the grand subject of their ministry, and spring of their life. As one with Him and His fellow workers, they, too, in a secondary sense, are called "foundations" (2 Timothy 2:19). The "prophets" are joined with them closely for the expression is here not "foundations of the apostles and the prophets," but "foundations of the apostles and prophets." For the doctrine of both was essentially one (1 Peter 1:10; 1 Peter 1:11; Revelation 19:10). The apostles take the precedency (Revelation 19:10). Thus he appropriately shows regard to the claims of the Jews and Gentiles: "the prophets" representing the old Jewish dispensation, "the apostles" the new. The "prophets" of the new also are included. BENGEL and ALFORD refer the meaning solely to these (Ephesians 3:5; Ephesians 4:11). These passages imply, I think, that the New Testament prophets are not excluded; but the apostle's plain reference to Ephesians 4:11, "the head stone of the corner," proves that the Old Testament prophets are a prominent thought. David is called a "prophet" in Acts 2:30. Compare also Isaiah 28:16; another prophet present to the mind of Paul, which prophecy leans on the earlier one of Jacob (Isaiah 28:16). The sense of the context, too, suits this: Ye were once aliens from the commonwealth of Israel (in the time of her Old Testament prophets), but now ye are members of the true Israel, built upon the foundation of her New Testament apostles and Old Testament prophets. Paul continually identifies his teaching with that of Israel's old prophets (Acts 26:22; Acts 28:23). The costly foundation-stones of the temple (Acts 28:23) typified the same truth (compare Acts 28:23). The same stone is at once the corner-stone and the foundation-stone on which the whole building rests. Paul supposes a stone or rock so large and so fashioned as to be both at once; supporting the whole as the foundation, and in part rising up at the extremities, so as to admit of the side walls meeting in it, and being united in it as the corner-stone [ZANCHIUS]. As the corner-stone, it is conspicuous, as was Christ (Acts 28:23), and coming in men's way may be stumbled over, as the Jews did at Christ (Matthew 21:42; 1 Peter 2:7).
21. In whom—as holding together the whole.
fitly framed—so as exactly to fit together.
groweth—"is growing" continually. Here an additional thought is added to the image; the Church has the growth of a living organism, not the mere increase of a building. Compare ; "lively stones . . . built up a spiritual house." Compare Ephesians 4:16; Zechariah 6:12, "The Branch shall build the temple of the Lord," where similarly the growth of a branch, and the building of a temple, are joined.
holy—as being the "habitation of God" (Zechariah 6:12). So "in the Lord" (Christ) answers to "through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22; compare Ephesians 3:16; Ephesians 3:17). "Christ is the inclusive Head of all the building, the element in which it has its being and now its growth" [ALFORD].
22. are builded together—Translate, "are being builded together."
through—Greek, "in the Spirit." God, by His Spirit in believers, has them for His habitation (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16).