Ephesians, Chapter 2
© Copyright 1998 Darroll Evans-all rights
reserved
Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened,
who were dead in trespasses and sins;
"Hath he quickened" is an added
praise. It does not appear in the Greek text.
However, I have difficulty arguing with the
truth of the statement. He has given us life.
Did you know that before you accepted Christ,
you were dead?
Oh, you may have been walking around with a
smile on your face, but you were dead in sins and trespasses.
The Holy Spirit, sent by God, caused you to
come to life.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power
of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Before we accepted Christ, we conducted our
lives according to the rules of conduct set down and approved by society.
Society has not established its rules of
conduct according to what God considers correct.
The spirit of disobedience is alive and well.
The list of individual sins of society is so
long that it defies our ability to count.
Christians understand what it means to be a
lost.
We were there. However, those that are living
without Christ do not understand what it is to be at peace with God.
Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had
our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others.
"Conversation" means the way a
person conducts his or her life.
Prior to meeting Christ Jesus we acted in
manner unpleasing to Him.
Our lives were filled with things that were
alien to our well being.
As a whole, society is still acting in a
manner that is not in its best interest.
American heathen have no intention to change
for the good.
At this very moment, society is going 100
miles per hour toward a brick wall with no idea what is ahead.
In the year 2000, the majority of those
sitting on the U. S. Supreme Court showed its callousness toward God by
declaring it improper to pray prior to public school sporting events.
I truly believe that one day those that
espouse a vulgar form of "civil liberties" shall ask the high court
declare the U. S. Constitution unconstitutional, because it speaks of a
"Creator."
Furthermore, the high court may do it!
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Every day we should thank God for His mercy.
There is no rule that says God must give us
mercy.
God's mercy comes from the goodness of His
heart.
We are rich in His mercy because He chose to
make use rich in His mercy.
Unfortunately, most people measure wealth
only in monetary terms!
When did God direct His love toward us?
It was while we were dead in sins.
He took pity on us and gave us life, real
life, not that stuff that passes for life.
God does not love us because we come to Him.
He loved us before we came to Him.
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Here, we find an odd phrase, "hath
quickened us together with Christ."
Due to our native tongue being English we
lose much of the meaning.
"Hath quickened us together with"
is just one word, but it has an important prefix.
The prefix is sun (sun).
It means, "with."
Now, that sounds simple enough doesn't it?
It is not.
Let me describe that word.
If you drew a line on a piece of paper, then drew
another line exactly on top of the first.
The second line would be "with" the
first.
"To quicken" speaks of coming to
life from a state of death.
We were dead, but now we are alive with
Christ.
Now, let's re-read that verse.
“Even when we were dead in sins, hath caused
us to become alive together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).”
Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
God not only raised us up "with"
Christ but He "made us sit together (with Christ) in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus."
The first part of the Greek word translated
"sit together" is again the prefix sun.
Notice that we are sitting "IN"
heavenly places.
The Greek denotes a fixed position of rest.
We are WITH
Christ IN heavenly places.
We may not physically see it, but it is true.
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he
might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus.
Why would God choose grace?
There are two reasons.
First, we are incapable of self-salvation.
Salvation by works does not work.
Adam had only one commandment, "Do not
eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
He couldn't handle just one commandment.
Neither can we!
Second, He did it so that in the ages to come
He might display in us the exceeding riches of His grace and kindness through
Christ Jesus.
Freedom
through grace is a universal
object lesson.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
These verses seem redundant.
They are a re-affirmation.
In the ancient custom is a thing is repeated
it is given greater emphasis.
This repetition is giving greater emphasis to
the earlier statement in Ephesians 2:5.
It is impossible to overstate the importance
of grace in our lives.
Now, we not only have the emphasis on grace,
but why salvation must be by grace.
It is by grace so that no human can brag in
the presence of God about what he or she has done to deserve salvation.
You may be thinking that if it is entirely up
to God that means we are all just a bunch of robots.
Don't flatter yourself!
You and I are just lumps of clay.
We are not far enough along to be considered
robots.
Clay may be molded into a useful or
decorative vase.
First, the clay is thrown onto the wheel.
That wheel is spinning.
Some of us have experienced situations that
made us think our lives were spinning out of control.
Just remember that the Master Potter is in
control.
The Potter pushes, pulls, bends, and reshapes
the ugly lump of clay.
The Potter thrusts his hand into the midst of
the clay.
That is done to form an inner place so the
vase may become a useful container.
Inner space is more important than outer
space in molding clay.
If hollow spaces are not dealt with properly,
the object may collapse.
The master Potter uses both hands to bring
the top of the vase up to a level that is correct for the intended use of the
vase.
He pushes and tugs some more to add certain
qualities to the vase that cannot be accomplished by just one hand doing the
molding.
The result is pressure inside and out.
Notice that the vase is never left alone to
form itself.
Suddenly, the wheel begins to slow down.
The spinning stops.
The vase is overjoyed to have come through
the spinning experience and survived.
The Potter takes the vase and paints it
extremely beautiful colors.
The vase thinks, "How lovely I must
be."
That is the moment the vase is placed into
the kiln, the furnace.
President Harry Truman said, "If you
can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
In life, the heat may seem intolerable, but
there is no way out of the kitchen.
We are clay in the hands of the Master
Potter.
What I have told you is not my imagination
working overtime.
That is a scriptural description of our
relationship to God Almighty.
In Isaiah we find these words, "But now,
O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all
are the work of thy hand" (Isaiah 64: 8).
I have been in many homes, and seen many
beautiful pottery pieces.
I have yet to hear one of them brag about
having made itself so lovely or useful.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.
We are the creation. God is the Creator.
The Greek Word translated "created"
has great meaning to it.
In indicates something that was created as an
original, or fabricated by the
proprietor.
It does not in any way indicate a job that
has been sub-contracted.
"Hath before ordained" means
prepared in advance.
If a thing has been "before
ordained," it has been predestined.
There are some good things that God
predestined us to accomplish.
Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye
being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that
which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Let me explain what seems to be a complex
concept.
This one teaching will increase your
understanding.
Many sincere and believing Christians think
that they are Gentiles.
Physically that may be true, but Christ deals
with the spiritual.
At this time, you may be thinking, "Oh
no, he is trying to tell us all Christians are Jews.”
I don't see any harm in that, BUT it's not true.
All Christians are not Jews.
Some are. At this time most are not.
No person is born a Christian.
Some are born as a Jew, some as Gentile.
Whether Jew or Gentile, we may be "born
again" as Hebrew.
The origin of the word Hebrew is both
physical and spiritual.
It means "those who crossed over."
The ancient Hebrews "crossed over"
the Red Sea and the
That symbolized baptism.
Following Christ's death on the cross and his
resurrection, in Christ there are no more Jews or Gentiles.
However, all are Hebrews.
All in Christ have crossed over from death to
life.
A Jew is part of a Semitic race!
The majority of Semites is spoken of as
Gentile.
Palestinians are part of that Semitic race.
Abraham was not a Jew.
He was Chaldean (Genesis 11:27-28).
In the spiritual realm, a Hebrew is one who
had an encounter with God, and passed over from death to life.
A Christian may not be a Jew, but he/she is a
spiritual Hebrew.
Abram had an encounter with God and became
Abraham, the father of many nations (Genesis 17:5).
Jacob had an encounter with God and became
Saul (Paul) the Pharisee had an encounter
with God and became Paul the Apostle.
Encounters with God cause change.
That is why Paul could make a bold past tense
statement, saying that in the past you were "Gentiles in the
Flesh."
You "were" a Gentile, an
unbeliever.
Now you are one who has passed over.
You are a spiritual Hebrew.
As a Christian, you have had an encounter
with God.
Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Paul continues his theme, by saying that,
"at that time you were without Christ."
That fact made you, and all others that are
without Christ "aliens" from the
Many Jews today are, at this time
"aliens" from the
You and I We were strangers to the covenants and promises.
Being strangers we were without hope.
As strangers we had no hope, because we were
lacking something.
That something was the spark of life that
only God, through Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit, can give.
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Here, Paul gets to the good stuff.
In Christ Jesus, those who were remote and
without a relationship have been brought into close relationship to God by the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
I may make some Jews angry, but our
relationship to God is totally based on out relationship to Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
Some of the Jewish faith may become angry
saying, "I believe in God! Do you mean that I am not saved because I don't
accept Jesus as my Messiah?"
Let me be blunt!
That is exactly what I am saying!
Whether Jew or Gentile, if you have not
accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, you are lost.
I also firmly believe that no matter what you
say or feel at this moment, you will proclaim Him to be Lord.
Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who
hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between
us;
Do you want peace?
There is only one way to gain lasting peace.
Jesus said, "I am the way" (John
14:6a).
As the “Way”, Christ is not only the route to
God!
He is the means of conveyance!
As a Christian, you have a right to God's
peace.
Jesus said, "My peace I give unto you.
Not as the world gives do I give you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid (John 14:27).
The peace of Jesus Christ is belongs to all
that acknowledge Him as Lord.
Many will try to tell you that there are many
ways to God.
WRONG!
There is only ONE WAY.
Christ Jesus is that way.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, there was always a
wall between Jew and Gentile.
Now, Christ broke down the wall that
separated us.
That the wall has crumbled, and it will never
be rebuilt.
Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his
flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to
make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Here, Paul speaks of God having abolished in
Christ's flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments, contained in
ordinances.
Many mistakenly believe that the Ten
Commandments were destroyed on the cross.
Not so!
Grace does not nullify the Ten Commandments.
It enhances them.
In Matthew 5:18 we read that Jesus
said, For "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Have heaven and earth passed?
Has all been fulfilled?
If not, the Law of God is still valid.
Paul wrote to the Roman Church, "Do
we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the
law" (Romans 3:31).
This misunderstanding came about because most
Christians and Jews do not understand that the law of God was never intended to
save man.
It points the way to the Savior of man.
I believe in the Sabbath, Friday night till
Saturday night.
I attend Church on Sunday, but
I believe in the Sabbath.
Some teach that the Sabbath of God was
nullified by grace.
Now, please do not misunderstand, I don't
care which day you attend Church.
That is immaterial to me.
However, grace does not nullify the God's
Sabbath.
Didn't Christ break the Sabbath?
In the gospel of John, the writer tells of
Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath.
John wrote that the Jews sought the more to
kill Jesus, because He broke the Sabbath, and in doing that He tried to make
Himself equal with God (John 5:18).
That
is a false translation.
The Greek word mistranslated
"broken" is elue.
It comes from the Greek root luw which means to free,
loosen, unbind, or unfasten, to set free, set at liberty, or deliver.
They sought to kill Christ because he freed
the Sabbath from their ungodly rule!
In reading the Bible or any other book, you
must read IN CONTEXT.
What does that mean?
It means, read what is around it.
The context must be considered in determining
what is meant.
Let me set the scene. Jesus had just healed a
man on the Sabbath.
That was against "man's" law.
The men who first translated the Bible had no
revelation as to why Christ did things.
So, they mistranslated this verse as a
political statement in support of Sunday worship.
*Keep in mind, I go to church on Sunday. I am
not attempting to get you to leave your Church. I am explaining what happened
and why.
In healing the man on the Sabbath, Jesus
"freed" the Sabbath from man's arbitrary, ungodly rule.
The only thing in the 7 days of creation that
was sanctified by God was the seventh day Sabbath.
Christ lived a perfect life under the Law.
That was how He could take upon Himself our
sins.
If He had broken the least Law of God, He
could not have been a lamb without blemish.
Jesus told us that the Sabbath was made for
man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
He also openly proclaimed that the Son of man
is Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5).
Now that I have totally upset you, let's
continue with the study of abolishing the Law.
What law did Paul say was abolished?
It was "the law of commandments
contained in ordinances."
He did not say that the Ten were abolished.
What would have happened if the Ten were
annulled?
There would be no basis for God's judgment!
Christ came to set us free. He used the
Sabbath as an object lesson.
I am also using the subject of the Sabbath to
make a point.
I want you to concentrate your studies on the
Word and the words.
The phrase "first day the week"
appears in the New Testament only in the English.
It is not
to be found in the Greek text.
Each and every time you read the English
phrase "first day of the week" in the New Testament, the words
"of the week" will have been added.
They are not in the Greek text.
The Greek will use the words Sabbaton-Sabbaton, or Sabbata-Sabbata.
There
are no exceptions.
The only thing Sabbaton and Sabbata mean is
the 7th day Sabbath, Friday sundown until Saturday sundown.
In each case the Greek should have been
translated "one of the Sabbaths," or "the first of the
Sabbaths."
Keep in mind that I am a member in good
standing of a "Sunday" Church.
My Church membership does not alter the Greek
text.
Isn't Easter mentioned in the Bible?
It sure is!
You will find it in Acts 12:4, "And when
he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four
quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people."
That is not what the Greek text says!
First, the word translated Easter is Pascha-Pasca.
That is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew
word "Pesach," meaning Passover.
It is not the same as Christian Easter.
It's better.
According to 1 Corinthians 5:7, Christ is our
Passover.
That verse says, "Purge out therefore
the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.
For even Christ
our Passover is
sacrificed for us."
But, wasn't Christ resurrected on Easter
Sunday morning?
Again, that is not what the Greek text says.
The Greek text should be interpreted in the
light of Jewish tradition because Jesus was a Jew.
Here is what it really says with a
parenthetical note to explain it in Christian terms. I will use Luke's Gospel.
The same will be true of the others.
Let's Look at Luke 24:1…
Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day (Gr. Sabbaton) [of the week] (added),
very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices
which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
Personal: "Now, on the first of the Sabbaths (leading to
Pentecost), very early in the morning...."
Passover is a period of multiple Sabbaths.
What day of the week was it? I will not discuss that point. Ask a Rabbi.
The phrase "first day of the week"
was placed in the English Bible as an anti-Semitic political statement.
Now, all that stuff about the Sabbath and Law
is good, but doesn't the Bible say that we have been freed from the Law?
No!
Not at all!
In the Bible, God caused Paul to write,
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us" (Galatians 3:13a).
We have been redeemed from the CURSE
of the Law, not from the Law.
We may not be able to follow the Law to
perfection as Christ did. Nevertheless, we are to find delight in it as Paul
did.
Paul wrote, "I delight in the law of God
after the inward man" (Romans 7:22).
Now, back to grace and law.
Lawlessness is not freedom.
It is anarchy!
Did Christ come to establish anarchy?
I don't think so.
Antichrist is the Lawless one.
The law of man is another matter.
Moses gave a law regarding divorce.
Christ told the Jews that Moses did it
because of the callousness of their hearts.
Christ Jesus said, "It has been said
that Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of
divorcement. But I tell you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for
the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery. And, whosoever shall
marry her that is divorced also commits adultery (Matthew 5:31-32).
Moses law was temporary.
God's Law is permanent.
By bringing both Jew and Gentile under the
same Law of grace, God took two and made them one.
Ephesians 2:16 And that he might reconcile
both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
God sent Christ Jesus so that He might
reconcile both Jew and Gentile, male and female to Himself in one by virtue of the
cross of Jesus Christ.
He did it by nullifying those things that
were artificially been placed between God and man.
Man's lack of revelation concerning the Law
of God has led to an unnatural, synthetic, and counterfeit law being enacted by
man.
Those "religious" laws have been
abolished!
Many will deny it, but the truth is that all
things shall be reconciled to God by Christ!
Rom
11:36 of Him and through Him and to
Him are all things
That verse is a simple statement of fact!
Rom
11:32 For God hath concluded them all
in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
That is another simple statement of fact!
There are many such facts that the mainstream
Church will not now accept!
Ephesians 2:17 And came and preached peace
to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Jesus came and preached peace to us at a time
that we were separated from God.
He did not wait until we got our act
together.
Because He took the first step we have been
brought to God.
The Holy Spirit continues that mission of
evangelism to this very day.
Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both
have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Because of Jesus' work on the cross and the
sending of the Holy Spirit, we have access to the Father.
None may come to the father except by way of
the Son! (John 14:6)
And, none may acknowledge the Son except by
the Holy Spirit! (1 Cor 12:3b)
Due to the work of the Son and the Holy
Spirit, we can go boldly into the Father’s throne room knowing that Christ
Jesus, our Savior and friend is at God's right hand interceding on our behalf!
The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of immediate
access.
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no
more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the
household of God;
Those born into Gentile families are no
longer strangers to God and alien to the promises of God.
You and I are now fellowcitizens with all the
saints.
We are members of the household, the family
of God.
Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief
corner stone
We have been taken off the faulty foundation
of sin, and placed on a solid foundation of Christ Jesus represented by the
apostles and prophets.
Jesus Christ is the Church's Chief Corner
Stone.
I recently received an email from Arthur Eedle.
He wrote concerning this chapter in
Ephesians.
I do not translate every verse when doing
commentary. Perhaps I should have.
Arthur wrote that that "chief
corner" (Gr. akrogooniaiou-akrogwniaiou)
actually means "capstone."
The Church is built from the top (Christ)
down, not the base up.
Ephesians 2:21 In whom all the building
fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
We have been made into a holy temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that we
are the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
God inhabits us.
This verse seems almost surreal.
Truth is sometimes that way.
The Church is a temple, and yet it has not
been built with human hands.
It also has no denominational sign on the
front door.