Eph 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:1-10 is one of the clearest, most expressive, and most loved descriptions of salvation in the New Testament. It contains the first of five explicit “formerly-now” contrasts, which distinguish a life of sin and alienation before Christ from a life of faith in Christ. These contrasts constitute one of the main subjects in Ephesians (Snodgrass 2,782).

1. The former way of life in sins (2:1–3)

2. God’s merciful salvation in Christ and its purpose (2:4–7)

3. Further explanation of salvation by grace (2:8–10) (Snodgrass 2,783)

2:1 DEAD. They were spiritually dead. TRESPASSES AND SINS. These two words refer, respectively, to active wrongdoing (sins of commission) and passive failure (sins of omission).

2:2 RULER OF THE POWER OF THE AIR. This is the first of several references in Ephesians to Satan. NOW WORKING. Satan’s activity is not only past nor only in the future. It is here and now in this present evil age. IN THE DISOBEDIENT. They are, in fact, in active rebellion against him.

2:3 OUR FLESHLY DESIRES. The word here is literally “the flesh,” and it refers to self-centered human nature which expresses itself in destructive activities of both body and mind.

2:4 BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE THAT HE HAD FOR US. Love is God’s reason for rescuing fallen humanity. RICH. Paul makes more allusions to “riches” in Ephesians than anywhere else in his writings. MERCY. Not only love but mercy motivates God. Love and mercy are closely related.

2:5 MADE US ALIVE. Paul coins this word to describe exactly what happens to us when we are “in Christ”; namely, we share in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and enthronement. BY GRACE! This resurrection from spiritual death cannot be earned. It is simply given. Grace is God’s unmerited favor or gift to us (Coleman 1886).

2:8 FOR YOU ARE SAVED BY GRACE. This is the second time Paul acclaims this amazing fact (v. 5). THROUGH FAITH. Salvation does not come about because of faith. Salvation comes by grace through faith.

2:8–9 NOT FROM YOURSELVES … NOT FROM WORKS. Salvation is not a reward for being good or keeping the law.

CONSIDER (VV. 8–9): Why do we often attempt to set up “works” as the basis of our relationship with God?

2:10 GOOD WORKS. Although good works do not save a person, they are a result of salvation.

CONSIDER (VV. 1–10): What are the two phases of life Paul described in these verses? What are the characteristics of each of those phases?

FOR GROUPS (V. 10): If you have time, challenge your group members to leave your meeting space and do something kind for someone else, then get back to the group in fifteen minutes.

Eph 2:11-22

This passage might be the key and high point of the whole epistle. In fact, it is perhaps the most significant ecclesiological text in the New Testament (Snodgrass 2,820).

1. Distance from God and his purposes, privileges, and people until made near in Christ (2:11–13)

2. Peace with God and his people because Christ has brought peace (2:14–18)

3. The people of God as the dwelling of God (2:19–22) (Snodgrass 2,822).

2:11 REMEMBER. In vv. 1–3, Paul reminded his Gentile readers that once they were trapped in their transgressions and sins and so were spiritually dead and alienated from God.

2:12 WITHOUT CHRIST. In contrast to the great blessings which come as a result of being “in Christ,” at one time the Gentiles were outside Christ. EXCLUDED FROM THE CITIZENSHIP. Gentiles were not part of God’s kingdom. Israel was a nation founded by God, consisting of his people, and Gentiles were outside that reality. FOREIGNERS TO THE COVENANTS. Not only did Gentiles have no part in God’s kingdom, they also stood outside all the agreements God made with his people. WITHOUT HOPE. During this particular historical era, the Roman world experienced a profound loss of hope. WITHOUT GOD. Gentiles had no effective knowledge of the one true God.

2:13 BUT NOW … BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Paul pinpoints how this great change occurred. It is as a result of Jesus’s death on the cross that union with God is possible (1:7).

2:14 OUR PEACE. Jesus brings peace; that is, he creates harmony between human beings and God. He also creates harmony between human beings. THE DIVIDING WALL OF HOSTILITY. Paul might have in mind an actual wall which existed in the temple in Jerusalem beyond which Gentiles could not go. They were cut off by a stone wall (“the dividing wall”) bearing signs that warned in Greek and Latin that trespassing foreigners would be killed.

2:16 RECONCILE. Literally, “to bring together estranged parties.” Here the reference is to bringing both Jew and Gentile to God.

2:17 HE CAME AND PROCLAIMED THE GOOD NEWS. Christ’s first words to the stunned apostles after his resurrection were, in fact, “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20:19).

2:19 FOREIGNERS. Nonresident aliens were disliked by the native population and often held in suspicion. STRANGERS. These are residents in a foreign land. They pay taxes but have no legal standing and few rights. FELLOW CITIZENS. Whereas once the Gentiles were “excluded from the citizenship of Israel” (v. 12), now they are members of God’s kingdom. MEMBERS OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD. In fact, their relationship is far more intimate. They have become family.

2:20 CORNERSTONE. The stone which rested firmly on the foundation and anchored two walls together, giving each its correct alignment.

2:21 PUT TOGETHER. A term used by a mason to describe how two stones were prepared so that they would bond tightly together. TEMPLE. The new temple is not like the old one, carved out of dead stone—beautiful but forbidding and exclusive. Rather, it is alive all over the world, inclusive of all, and made up of the individuals in whom God dwells.

CONSIDER (VV. 11–22): What can we learn from the imagery used in these verses? What were some likely divisions between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians during this time? What are some divisions you see between Christians in the church today? 

APPLY: Where do you see God’s grace at work in your life? Are you actively participating in divisions and discord within the church? (Coleman 1887)

Works Cited

Coleman, Lyman. Life Connections Study Bible. Holman Bibles, 2019.

Snodgrass, Klyne. "Ephesians." The Niv Application Commentary: Pauline Epistles, Kindle edition, Zondervan Academic, 1996.