Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2 is the second of the six chapters of Ephesians. Chapter 1 closes by stating that God raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the heavenly places. Chapter 2 builds on this, declaring that God has likewise made believers alive together with Christ and made them sit together in heavenly places.

Outline

• Verses 1–3: The former condition of believers. They were dead in trespasses and sins, walked according to the course of this world and "the prince of the power of the air," and were by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:1–3).
• Verses 4–7: God, who is rich in mercy, made them alive together with Christ because of his great love. He raised them up together and made them sit together in heavenly places, so that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace.
• Verses 8–10: Salvation is the gift of God, received by grace through faith, and is not of works. Believers are God's workmanship, created for good works.
• Verses 11–13: The Gentiles were formerly called "Uncircumcision" by those of the circumcision; they were without Christ and strangers from the covenants. Now they have been made nigh by the blood of Christ.
• Verses 14–18: Christ is "our peace." He broke down the middle wall of partition, made of the two one new man, and reconciled both to God through the cross. As a result, both have access by one Spirit unto the Father (Ephesians 2:14–17).
• Verses 19–22: Gentile believers are no longer strangers but members of the household of God. Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the chief corner stone, they are being built together into a temple for God's habitation.

Key Verses

• Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith" — regarded as the most concise expression of salvation by grace.
• Ephesians 2:10 "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" — addresses the relationship between salvation and good works (Ephesians 2:10).
• Ephesians 2:14 "hath broken down the middle wall of partition" — addresses the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles, that is, the unity of the church.

People and Places

• Jesus Christ — presented as our peace and as the chief corner stone.
• Gentiles and Israel — the two becoming one body is the theme of the second half of the chapter.
• The prince of the power of the air — the spirit that works in the children of disobedience, commonly interpreted as referring to Satan.

Points for Reflection

• The referent of "that" in verse 8: The Reformed tradition often reads faith itself as included in the gift of God. The Wesleyan and Arminian traditions regard salvation as a whole as the gift but explain faith as a human response enabled by prevenient grace (grace given beforehand so that people are able to respond).
• Verses 8–10 and James: Protestants cite verses 8–9 as grounds for the teaching that justification (God's declaring the sinner righteous) is not of works. The good works of verse 10 are read as the fruit of salvation. The passage is often read alongside James 2:21–24, which addresses the relationship between works and faith.
• The "middle wall" of verse 14: Some interpret the phrase as an allusion to the barrier in the Jerusalem temple that kept Gentiles from entering. The text itself, however, does not state this explicitly.
• "Having abolished… the law" in verse 15: Many interpreters hold that this refers not to the law as a whole but to the ordinances that divided Jews from Gentiles. The verse is discussed together with Jesus' teaching on the law in Matthew 5.
• The foundation of the apostles and prophets in verse 20: Many denominations read this foundation as one already laid. By contrast, some in the New Apostolic Reformation cite this verse in support of present-day apostolic and prophetic offices.
• Connections elsewhere in Scripture: The corner stone links to Psalm 118:22. The temple imagery connects with 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 and 1 Peter 2:5.

In the Korean Church

Verses 8–9 are frequently used in new-member classes and in evangelism to explain assurance of salvation. They are widely memorized and are also a common sermon text on Reformation Sunday. The phrase "hath broken down the middle wall" in verses 14–16 is often quoted in sermons on reconciliation and Korean reunification.