Ephesians

2:1-10

2. The gospel and the church, 2:1-22

i] How we are united with God through Christ

In his opening eulogy, 1:3-14, Paul introduces his readers to God's eternal plan of unifying all things in heaven and earth in Christ, of gathering a people, both Jew and Gentile, and building them into the church, the body of Christ, inevitably bringing all powers under his feet. Paul goes on to pray that this elect called out people, redeemed by Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit, will understand fully the extent of God's plan. Paul now, in the passage before us, gets into the body of the divine plan by explaining how a person moves from wrath to grace to become a member of God's called-out community. The process involves making sinners alive, raising them up, seating them with Christ, and bestowing on them "the incomparable riches of his grace", the full appropriation of the promised blessings of the covenant. The means is God's love / mercy facilitated through Christ; "by grace you have been saved through faith ... not by works."

i] Context: See 1:1-2. We now come to the central argument of Paul's letter / address; the probatio, the argument proper, an exposition of rhetorical proofs. Chapter 2 and 3 could be classified as an example of a narratio in rhetorical criticism, but the weight of theological information contained in them is in line with a probatio.

Paul has shared his thesis / proposition with us in 1:10, namely that in Christ, all things are unified in heaven and on earth, and now he develops this thesis in chapters 2 and 3:

The gospel and the church, 2:1-22;

All one in Christ, 3:1-21.

In 2:1-10 Paul examines the means by which a person moves from death to new life in Christ, of the exercise of God's life-giving power in Christ. Then, in 2:11-22, Paul follows up this examination of the saving grace of God with an exposition on the incorporation of the Gentiles into Israel, into the house of God, God's elect people.

O'Brien thinks that chapter two is really an extension of 1:18-23, rather than a move to the argument proper, a probatio. This is indicated by the kai in 2:1, yet, as Hoehner notes, this kai is not part of the series of coordinate conjunctions evident in the previous verses. Each of these is followed by a main verb, unlike this kai, and sits in the context of God acting in relationship to Christ, unlike here where God is acting on behalf of sinners. So here "it furnishes a bridge to begin a new section", Hoehner.

ii] Background: See 1:1-2

iii] Structure: An examination of the divine process of salvation:

iv] Interpretation:

v] Exposition: A simple verse-by-verse exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

United with Christ, v1-10: i] Gentiles, prior to their conversion, were dead in their transgressions and sins, v1-3. In this sinful state, they followed the lead of Satan, living in bondage to the dark powers which manipulate this age. Of course, not just Gentiles, but also Jews; all Israel was in similar state.

kai "as for" - and. Transitional connective, probably used instead of de because of the need to make a link "with the whole of the preceding pericope", Lincoln.

uJmaV pro. "you" - you all. Emphatic use of the pronoun. "You" is plural = "you Gentiles." "The power of God historically and presently operating in Christ is also working in you", Hoehner.

ontaV (eimi) pres. part. "were" - being. Here introducing a parenthesis which continues through to v4, so interrupting the sentence "and you ..... he made alive in/with Christ. The participle is probably adverbial, concessive; "although dead in your transgressions and sins." Note the concessive clause is repeated at the beginning of v5 as Paul picks up again on his main point, although there it is "we" not "you"; "so (kai coordinating) although we were dead in trespasses he made [you/us] alive in/with Christ."

nekrouV adj. "dead" - "Spiritually dead", TEV.

toiV paraptwmasin (a) dat. "in [your] transgressions" - [in] the falling away, slips, trespasses, sins. The dative here is probably not instrumental, ie., dead "by means of your transgressions", and certainly not causal, "dead because you sinned and fought against God", CEV", rather, it is descriptive of the state of death; their death is not like Christ's, but is a death in/of sin, dead while alive because of sin, ie., a local dative of sphere, as NIV.

uJmwn gen. "your" - of you. The genitive is possibly subjective, so Larkin, but better possessive.

In this sinful state, "you" followed the lead of "the prince of the power of the air", the devil, living in bondage to dark powers, daily manipulated by the powers of darkness.

en + dat. "in" - in [which]. Local, sphere.

periepathsate (peripatew) aor. "you used to live" - you walked about [once]. A term Paul uses for life-style, particularly with moral connotations. It reflects the word "way", a term which encapsulates the Christian life. The word has the same meaning as "lived" in v3, so "to conduct oneself."

kata + acc. "when you followed" - according to. Normally expressing a standard, but possibly adverbial, expressing manner, "after the manner of [the values of the world]". Introducing a prepositional phrase which "describes the walk before conversion", Hoehner.

tou kosmou (oV) gen. "[the ways of this] world" - [the age / eon of this] world. The genitive is adjectival, attributive; "worldly age." The phrase is not easily rendered in English. It's "this age" and "this world", both describing a single entity, a space / time entity that is passing away and will soon be replaced by the age to come; an entity the believer is to live in, but not be conformed to. "This present evil age", Gal.1:4.

kata + acc. "and" - according to. Standard, or manner, "after the manner of [the prince of darkness]", as above.

ton arconta (wn ontoV) "ruler" - the prince, ruler, governor. Here a term for Satan, Beelzebub, the prince / power of darkness.

thV exousiaV (a) gen. "of the kingdom" - of the power, authority / domain, realm. The genitive is adjectival, of subordination, "the ruler over the domain of the air", or attributive, "the evil powers who haunt the air", Barclay. Probably as NIV, "kingdom", in the sense of the domain where authority is exercised.

tou aeroV (ahr) "of the air" - of the air, atmosphere. The genitive is adjectival, limiting kingdom by describing or specifying "the kingdom" in mind - attributive, "air kingdom", or epexegetic. It was believed that Satan and his minions operate in the space between God's domain and earth, and as such are closer to human existence than God. In 3:10 and 6:12, Paul states that "the heavenly realms" are inhabited by "rulers and authorities" who are "spiritual forces of evil", indicating "the kingdom of the air" and "the heavenly realm" are one in the same. Probably Paul is expressing the idea of multiple layers of rule in the "heavenly realms." Possibly even working off the idea that Satan and his minions are confined to the lower reaches, close to earth, confined to the deep / the waters which are above and under the earth / surround the earth. "The ruler of the spiritual powers in space", TEV.

tou pneumatoV (a atoV) gen. "the spirit" - of the spirit. This genitive is somewhat problematic. We are best to follow O'Brien who argues that it stands in apposition to the accusative ton arconta, "the ruler", being genitive by attraction to the preceding genitive phrase. So, the "spirit" referred to here is "the devil. See Lincoln for the view that it stands in apposition to thV exousiaV, "of the realm", such that "the ruler", Satan, rules over the "the air" and "the spirit" = either "the ruler over the spirit of this age", or "the ruler over all spiritual forces."

tou ... energountoV (energew) pres. part. "who is [now] at work" - the one [now] working. The participle is adjectival, attributive; "the ruler of the spirit of this age who is now working ...."

en + dat. "in" - local, space; "among".

thV apeiqeiaV (a) gen. "[those] who are disobedient" - [the sons] of disobedience. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "sons". A Hebraism = "the disobedient ones." There are numerous "sons of ......" in the scriptures. "Everyone who doesn't obey God", CEV.

Having identified the sorry origins of his Gentile readers, Paul points out that he, along with all Israel, were in a similar state. Religious people can follow "the ways of this world" just as easily as pagans, cf., Matt.23:23. Thus, the Jew also faces the wrath of God.

kai hJmeiV "all of us also" - [among whom] we and = also. Probably "we" = Jews, so, "we Jewish believers also", so O'Brien, although panteV, "all", "we all", Jews and Gentiles, is also possible, so Hoehner. If "we" = Jewish believers, then Paul is saying that the Jews were in a similar situation; they too were "sons of disobedience" (v2), following their own sinful desires and facing God's judgment because of it.

anestrafhmen (anastrefw) aor. pas. "lived" - [all] conducted ourselves, followed (in the sense of imitated) [once]. "We Jews, like all humanity, did what we wanted to do."

en + dat. "among them" - in = among [whom / which]. Local, space, "among whom", ie., "among the sons of disobedience", or sphere, "in which state of sin."

en + dat. "-" - in [the lusts]. Expressing the sphere of their walk / life, so adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of their living "among them", namely "lived a life dominated by the desire of our lower nature", Barclay.

thV sarkoV (x koV) gen. "of [our] sinful nature" - of the flesh. The genitive is usually treated as subjective here, such that it is the flesh that produces the desires, but better adjectival, possessive, in that the desires belong to the flesh, are a natural accompaniment of the flesh, or attributive, "fleshly passions", Barth. The term usually takes a negative sense, of the corrupted flesh, of humanity in rebellion against God, and thus with a negative ethical connotation.

hJmwn "our" - of us. Again the problem is, "Jews" or "all humanity"?

poiounteV (poiew) pres. part. "and following [its desires]" - doing [the desires of the flesh]. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of their living "among them" = "among the sons of disobedience", but possibly instrumental, means, "by doing its desires and thoughts."

twn dianoiwn (a) "thoughts" - [and] of the thoughts, intentions. The genitive may again be subjective, or simply possessive; "performing the desires of the flesh and [the desires] of the reasoning process." Often the word "heart" is used in the scriptures to represent the seat of understanding. All humanity is sinful through and through, acting out the natural urges of the body and the deceitful reasonings of the mind.

kai "-" - and. Here epexegetic; "that is / namely, we (Jews ??) deserve God's anger like the rest of humanity."

fusei (iV ewV) dat. "by nature" - [were] by origin, descent / inherent to nature, natural condition / created nature. The first sense is likely, while the dative is instrumental, "we were by descent (by means of the inheritance of our parent's sin) objects of divine anger", or possibly causal, "because of." Either way, the issue is original sin. Describing a condition without moral overtones - "tis the way I am."

orghV (h) "[objects] of wrath / deserving wrath" - [children] of wrath [as also the rest]. A Hebraism similar to "sons of disobedience." The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / destination; "children destined for wrath." "Destined to suffer God's anger", TEV.

ii] Yet, although once lost, God, in his mercy, has made believing Jews and Gentiles alive with Christ, v4-7. The wrath of God is only part of the picture. God is also a merciful and loving God, and it is because of this that believers are no longer under condemnation. "Having discussed the terrible situation of the unregenerate, Paul now demonstrates the gracious act of God in redeeming people from their desperate straits", Hoehner.

de "but" - but/and [god, being rich in mercy]. Transitional, indicating a step in the argument, usually expressed as an adversative, as NIV.

dia + acc. "because of" - because of, on account of. Causal; "out of his great love", BAGD.

h}n pro. "for [us]" - [the great love of him] with which [he loved us]. Accusative by attraction. Introducing a relative clause indicating that the divine love is directed toward "us". Although the "we" of v3 may be "we Jews", the "us" here is most likely not believing Jews, but all God's people, ie., it is inclusive.

w]n (eimi) pres. part. "who is" - [god] being. The participle is possibly adjectival, attributive, "God who is rich in mercy", or adverbial, causal, "because he was rich in mercy", so Lincoln, Larkin, or temporal, "God, being as he is, rich in mercy, because of his great love, (v5) even though we were dead in sins, made us alive ....", so Ellicott, Hoehner.

plousioV adj. "rich" - The adjective serves as a substantive, nominative predicate of the participle "being", fronted for emphasis; "God being rich", cf. Larkin.

en + dat. "in [mercy]" - Reference / respect, "with respect to mercy", Larkin, or simply spacial / sphere, "the sphere in which God is rich, namely, in mercy", Hoehner.

Paul now picks up on where he began in v1. Once dead, but now, through "our" identification with ("in") Christ, we are "made.... alive". Notice it is " we" - both Jew and Gentile. "Made alive", in a moral as well as a spiritual sense. Paul adds, in a parenthesis, his formula for justification. This he develops in v8.

sunezwopoihsen (suzwpoiew) aor. "made us alive with" - [and = even we being dead in trespasses] he quickened, make alive together with. Main verb of the sentence covering v1-7. The word is used only here and in Colossians 2:13. Barth suggests the meaning may be "to keep alive" in the sense of preserve life. The move from "made", v5, to "raised", v6, is not progressive. "Raised us to life with Christ", Barclay.

tw/ Cristw/ dat. "Christ" - [he made us alive] in/with christ. Dative of direct object of the sun prefix verb "made alive together with." Prompted by the verb, the meaning is one of identification with Christ, here an identification with his resurrection.

o[ntaV (eimi) pres. part. "even when [we] were" - [we] being. As in v1, the participle is adverbial, best treated as concessive; "although we were dead", but possibly temporal, "when were were dead ...." Resumptive, ie., Paul is picking up on the thought he began with in v1.

toiV paraptwmasin (a) "in transgressions" - in trespassers. Locative dative, sphere / metaphorical.

cariti (iV ewV) dat. "by grace" - by grace, favor, gratitude, kindness. The dative is probably instrumental, expressing means, but cause / basis is possible. In the New Testament it means "grace", used in the sense of a gift or blessing given to believers by God through Christ. In a more specific sense, particularly when reflecting an Old Testament use, it means "God's covenant mercy", his "favor" toward his covenant community in the realization of his covenant promises. With Paul it is often used with a defining genitive, eg., "the grace/favor/kindness of God."

seswsmenoi (swzw) perf. part. "you have been saved" - you are having been saved. The perfect participle with the present tense of the verb to-be este forms a periphrastic perfect, probably serving to emphasize aspect, "the resulting state", Best, Larkin. It is not present / durative, as if salvation is a process, nor is it aorist / punctiliar, as if salvation is a single divine act, nor is it imperfect as if only a past continuous act, but rather it is perfect in that it is a past act with present permanent ongoing consequences / a state of being - stative.

The idea that a believer is already seated with Christ in the heavenlies is driven by Paul's understanding of the gospel. The gospel / the mystery manifests, and thus facilitates, the "righteousness of God" / God's righteous reign / his setting all things right, and this on the basis of the grace of God appropriated by faith in the faith / faithfulness of Christ. The person who is justified / set right with God / who lives, actualizes the fullness of new life in Christ such that they already possess the totality of God's promised blessings. So, even now we are with Christ in the heavenlies, experiencing the fullness of God's promised new life. Given Paul's understanding of this truth, it is no wonder that he gets distressed by the notion that a believer can promote their Christian life by law-obedience, as if we can add to what Christ has already achieved for us. As the saying goes, Christ supplemented is Christ supplanted.

kai "and" - O'Brien and Schnackenburg suggest that the particle here is epexegetic such that the following two verbs explain the verb "sunezwopoihsen, "made alive with"; "God made us alive with with Christ, that is, he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly place ... "

sunhgeiren (sunegeirw) aor. "God raised us up with Christ" - he raised us up together with him. The "us" and "Christ" is understood. This verb, as with "made alive" and "seated with" are all "aspects of the same act of God", Best. Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, we too were dead and through our identification with Christ we are raised from the dead (dead to sin and therefore raised from spiritual death) and have ascended with Christ.

sunekaqisen (sunkaqizw) aor. "seated us with" - [and] seated together with, sat down together with him. "Has given us a place beside Christ in heaven", CEV.

en "in" - in [the heavenly, heaven, spiritual sphere]. The preposition is local, sphere, "in"; it is in the sphere of spiritual activities where Christ reigns.

en + dat. "in" - in [christ jesus]. Expressing association; believers have been made alive with Christ, raised with him and are seated with him in the heavenlies, so Best, O'Brien, Lincoln. Larkin opts for a local sense, "incorporative union".

By this means, God in his grace, has made it possible for believers to appropriate, now and forever, "the incomparable riches of his grace" - new life in Christ.

iJna + subj. "in order that" - that. Introducing either a final or consecutive clause; Christ was glorified for the purpose of / with the result that ...

en + dat. "in" - in [the ages]. The preposition here serves to introduce a temporal clause, "the time when God will demonstrate his kindness", Hoehner; "in the ages to come", Cassirer.

toiV epercomenoiV (ercomai) pres. part. "coming" - The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "ages"; "the ages which are coming." "Future ages", Barclay.

endeixhtai (endeiknumi) aor. subj. pas/mid. "he might show" - he might display, demonstrate, manifest, give evidence to, show forth. "He might display", Bruce.

to uJperballon (uperballw) pres. part. "the incomparable" - the exceeding, surpassing, extraordinary. The participle is adjectival, limiting "riches / abundance / wealth". From the idea of throw beyond. "Extraordinary greatness", TEV.

thV caritoV (iV itoV) gen. "of [his] grace" - of the grace, unmerited favor [of him]. The genitive is adjectival, attributed, where the head noun "[incomparable] riches" limits / modifies the genitive "grace". Larkin suggests epexegetic, Hoehner "of the thing"; "the surpassing wealth which is his grace", cf., 1:7.

en + dat. "in" - in. Possibly adverbial, expressing manner, "in kindness toward us", so Larkin.

crhstotthti (hV htoV) "his kindness" - his goodness, kindness. Of showing kindness toward another, that which is useful, what is benevolent, benevolence*. "That he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in (expressed in) his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

ef (epi) + acc. "to" - towards [us]. Spacial, as NIV.

en + dat. "in" - in [christ jesus]. Locating the action of God's unmerited favor which operates toward us, so Hoehner, Best. Larkin opts for a local sense, "incorporative union", so also O'Brien; Abbott opts for reason, "because of Christ"; and Calvin goes for instrumental, "by Christ".

iii] Now, alive with Christ, believers, both Jew and Gentile, are a new creation, v8-10. The doctrinal statement, "by grace you have been saved", v5, is now repeated and developed. First, it is through faith, faith in the faithfulness of Christ. Second, it is apart from works of the Law. God's salvation of mankind is not achieved, confirmed, maintained, or progressed by an effort of our will, it is totally a gift. Although salvation is wholly a gift of grace, we are saved for a particular purpose, namely, service to God. God's good work is partly played out here in the gathering of a people to be with him, in the reconciliation of all things as part of God's setting all things right.

gar "for" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining how salvation (being made alive, raised up and seated with Christ) is all of God's grace, apart from works of the law.

th/ .. cariti (is ewV) dat. "it is by grace" - The dative is instrumental, expressing means; "by the means of God's unmerited favor" we are saved. Unlike v5, there is an article, but this simply indicates that the statement is being repeated from v5, ie., anaphoric, cf., Wallace 250; "for by this grace (the grace I was speaking about earlier) ....

este sesw/smenoi (swzw) perf. pas. part. "you have been saved" - A periphrastic perfect construction emphasizing aspect, here "the resulting state", Larkin, Best.

dia + gen. "through [faith]" - through / by means of the instrumentality of [faith]. It is always difficult to know how Paul intends us to understand the word "faith". He seems to use it in a technical sense where there is a relationship between Christ's faith / faithfulness, his obedience to the will of God on our behalf, and our faith in Christ's faithfulness. The presence of an article may indicate that both ideas are intended, the preposition ek "out of" / "on the basis of" possibly stresses Christ's faithfulness, while the preposition dia, as here, possibly stresses our reliance / trust. If we take "faith" to mean "reliance on the faithfulness of Christ" we probably come close to what Paul intends.

kai "and" - Possibly epexegetic; "that is to say, ...."

touto pro. "this" - Although neuter, the potential antecedents are either feminine or masculine. Barth points out that the pronoun could refer back to either "faith", "saved", or "grace. Hoehner thinks it refers indirectly to all three, ie., "the concept of salvation by grace through faith." If this is the case, then "this" is referring to a salvation achieved apart from works of faithfulness, rather than "faith" itself. In support of "faith", the Westminster Shorted Catechism states that saving faith is a gift of God's grace by which the Holy Spirit acts to "persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel".

ex + gen. "from" - [not] out of, from [you = yourselves]. Source. The pronoun "you" takes a reflective sense, as NIV.

qeou (oV) gen, "of God" - [it is the gift] of god. The genitive is ablative, source / origin, or adjectival, possessive; "from God / God's." Since God is the predicate: "it is a gift and the gift is from God / is God's"

Salvation is not achieved, confirmed, maintained, or progressed by an effort of our will, it is totally a gift.

ex + gen. "by [works]" - [not] of [works]. Basically expressing source, "out of, from", here leaning toward result, "not the result of works", Cassirer, or means, "by", as NIV. For a Jew, the "works" are obviously the "works of the law", but for Gentiles a wider sense is implied, ie., "human effort", Hoehner. Just as salvation is not because of human initiative, v8, then neither is it a reward for good deeds, cf., O'Brien.

iJna mh + subj. "so that" - lest. Introducing a negated final clause expressing purpose. "Any achievement of ours is ruled out to make it impossible for anyone to boast", Barclay.

kauchshtai (kaucaomai) aor. subj. mid. "can boast" - [anyone] should boast, exalt proudly. When it comes to salvation, we have nothing to boast about because we have nothing to do with it - salvation rests totally on the faithfulness of Christ.

Although salvation is wholly a gift of grace, the saved are saved for a particular purpose, namely, service to God.

gar "for" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why this salvation is not of human works, so Larkin.

autou gen. pro. "[we are] God's" - [we are masterpiece] of him. Emphatic by position. The genitive may be adjectival, possessive, "his creation", or verbal, subjective, "he created us", Merkle.

poihma (a atoV) "workmanship" - product, design, created thing, masterpiece. A difficult word to render and only used in one other place in the New Testament, Rom.1:20. The LXX uses it for God's handiwork in the creation, so possibly "design", as in the creation of a work of art.

ktisqenteV (ktizw) aor. pas. part. "created" - having been created, founded, made. The participle is adverbial, probably causal; "because we were shaped in Christ for good works."

en "in" - in [christ]. This preposition always cause problems when we try to translate a prepositional phrase like "in Christ." The sense may be local, incorporative, "in our union with Christ Jesus", TEV, or instrumental, expressing means, "created by Christ Jesus", "through Jesus Christ we have been created", Barclay. The undecided, as NIV, live with "in".

epi + dat. "to do" - upon = for. Here expressing purpose, "with a view to."

epi ergoiV agaqoiV "good works" - good works. "That we may do good works." Although salvation is achieved apart from / independent of good works, the consequence of salvation is the creation of a people who will perform good works - the fruit of faith. So, the divine purpose is fulfilled in good works by a people who are formed apart from good works. The "good work" is undefined and therefore may be justice (Biblical ethics), love of the brotherhood, and certainly the communication of the gospel, but is likely also to have an eternal purpose yet to be revealed (the reconciliation of all things?). It is often stated that the purpose of the "good work" is God's glory, a glory set before all powers and authorities, earthly and heavenly. Yet, such a purpose does seem to smack of self-aggrandizement and so is surely less than the full picture.

oi|V dat. pro. "which" - Dative by attraction to egoiV agaqoiV, "good works."

prohtoimasen (proetoimazw) aor. "prepared in advance" - [god] previously prepared, prepared beforehand. The eternal purpose was in the mind of God even before the creation of the world.

iJna + subj. "for" - that. Forming a final clause expressing purpose; "in order that we might walk in them." "The divine intention .... is that we should walk in good deeds ...... show all the hallmarks of the new creation", O'Brien.

en + dat. "-" - in [them]. Local, sphere, "the sphere in which believers should walk", Merkle; "so that we might enjoy our lives in the doing of them (ie. the good works)", Cassirer.

peripathswmen (peripatew) aor. subj. "us to do" - we should walk. "That we might walk", "walk" in the sense of "live out", "do."

Ephesians Introduction.

Exposition

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