Ephesians Series: The Contents of Ephesians 2:11-13 Presents a Strong Inference from the Contents of Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh—who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands—2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 2:14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, 2:15 when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, 2:16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. 2:17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 2:18 so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 2:20 because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 2:21 In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (NET)

Ephesians 2:11 begins a new section of the epistle which comes to an end in Ephesians 2:22.

This section teaches that Gentile church age believers are united with Jewish church age believers through their union and identification with Jesus Christ, which took place at their justification through the baptism of the Spirit.

This section is broken out into three parts: (1) Ephesians 2:11-12 describes the Gentile church age believer’s pre-justification unregenerate state in relation to the Jews (2:11-12) (2) Ephesians 2:13-18 describes the Gentile church age believer’s post-justification regenerate state and it also teaches that Jesus Christ reconciled the Jew and Gentile races through His substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross. (3) Ephesians 2:19-22 describes the new status of these Gentile Christians in that they along with Jewish Christians form the new humanity with Jesus Christ and the teaching of His apostles as the foundation of this new humanity.

The contents of Ephesians 2:11-13 present a strong inference from the contents of Ephesians 2:1-10, which speaks of the church age believer’s union and identification with Christ, which was the product of God’s grace policy which flows from the function of His attribute of love.

As we noted, in Ephesians 2:1-6, the apostle Paul employs a concessive clause.

Ephesians 2:1-3 is the protasis of this concessive clause whereas Ephesians 2:4-6 is the apodosis.

In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul describes the unregenerate state of the recipients of this epistle whereas in Ephesians 2:4-6, he describes their present regenerate state.

In Ephesians 2:1, Paul describes the recipients of this epistle as spiritually dead ones because of their transgressions, in other words, because of their sins.

Then in verse 2, he describes them prior to their justification through faith in Jesus Christ as living their lives by means of these sins and transgressions in agreement with the standard of the unregenerate people of this age, and which standard is the production of the cosmic world system.

He then elaborates on the cosmic world system by asserting that prior to their justification, the recipients of this letter lived their lives in agreement with the standard of the sovereign ruler, who is of course Satan or the devil.

Paul further describes Satan as the sovereign governmental authority ruling over the evil spirits residing in the earth’s atmosphere.

He then describes the devil as the spirit who is presently working in the lives of those members of the human race who are characterized by disobedience, which is a reference to unregenerate humanity.

Then, in Ephesians 2:3, Paul describes both the unregenerate state of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle and himself as selfishly conducting their lives by means of those lusts, which are produced by their flesh, which is a reference to the indwelling Adamic sin nature.

He then elaborates further on their unregenerate state as indulging those inclinations which are produced by their flesh, in other words, those impulses, which are the product of their flesh, i.e. their old Adamic indwelling sin nature.

Consequently, each of them caused themselves to be children who are objects of God’s wrath because of their natural condition from physical birth, which is a reference to the imputation of Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden at the moment of physical birth.

Paul then completes this description of their unregenerate condition as corresponding to the rest of unregenerate humanity who like them caused themselves to be children who are objects of God’s wrath because of their natural condition from physical birth.

In Ephesians 2:4-5, he asserts that because God is rich with regards to mercy, and specifically because of the exercise of His great love with which He loved the church age believer, even though they were spiritually dead ones because of their transgressions, He caused them to be made alive together with Christ.

He then asserts that each of them are saved because of grace.

In Ephesians 2:6, he defines what he means that the Father caused them to be made alive together with the one and only Christ and he defines it as causing them to be raised with the one and only Christ.

Correspondingly, he also defines it as causing them to be seated in the heavenlies because of their faith in Christ at justification and correspondingly, because of their union and identification with Christ.

Therefore, this concessive clause in Ephesians 2:1-6 asserts that the Father made the recipients of this epistle alive together with His one and only Son, Jesus Christ even though they were spiritually dead and enslaved to the indwelling Adamic sin nature and Satan’s cosmic world system.

The Father made them alive together with His Son by identifying them with His Son in His resurrection and session at His right hand because of their faith in His Son at justification and their union and identification with His Son.

In Ephesians 2:7, Paul presents the purpose of identifying them with Christ, namely, the Father did this so that He could display for His own glory during the ages, which are certain to come, the incomparable wealth.

This incomparable wealth is the product of His grace because of kindness for the benefit of each and every church age believer because of their faith in and union and identification with His Son, Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians 2:8, Paul asserts that the recipients of this epistle are saved because of grace by means of faith or in other words, their salvation never originated from any one of them as a source but rather it originated as the gift from God.

In Ephesians 2:9, the apostle Paul asserts that their salvation never originated from meritorious actions as a source so that they can never for their own glory enter into the state of boasting.

Lastly, in Ephesians 2:10, he asserts that the church age believer is the Father’s creative workmanship and then presents the reason why this is the case by asserting that the church age believer has been created by means of their faith in Jesus Christ at justification and their union and identification with Him.

The purpose of which he asserts is that the church age believer would produce actions, which are divine good, which God prepared in advance in eternity past so that the church age believer would conduct their life by means of them.

Now, Ephesians 2:11 and 12 are both hoti (ὅτι) direct object clauses whose thought is completed by the contents of Ephesians 2:13.

Also, like Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul in Ephesians 2:11-12 describes the unregenerate state of the recipients of this letter, however, unlike Ephesians 2:1-3, here in Ephesians 2:11-13, he describes them as Gentile Christians.

Therefore, he is describing the unregenerate state of these Gentile Christians in Ephesians 2:11-12 and in fact, he is also comparing their unregenerate state in relation to the covenant people of God, namely the Jewish people.

Thus, he is comparing the unregenerate state of these Gentile Christians in relation to the Jewish people in order to accentuate or emphasize what the Father has accomplished for them through their faith in His Son at justification and their union and identification with His Son.

What the Father accomplished for them at their justification through the baptism of the Spirit was in accordance with His grace policy, which flowed from the exercise of the Father’s attribute of love.

In Ephesians 2:11, the apostle describes the unregenerate state of these Gentile Christians as being uncircumcised and then in Ephesians 2:12, he describes them as being without the Messiah, i.e. the Christ and alienated form the citizenship of Israel and were strangers to the covenants of promise.

Consequently, he describes them as possessing no confident expectation of blessing from God because they do not possess a covenant relationship with Him like the Jews possessed with Him.

Then, like Ephesians 2:4-6, Paul in Ephesians 2:13 describes the regenerate state of these Gentile Christians by asserting that they were brought near to God and His covenant people Israel by the blood of Christ because of their faith in Christ at justification and their union and identification with Christ.

So therefore as we noted, the contents of Ephesians 2:11-13 present a strong inference from the contents of Ephesians 2:1-10.

What is being inferred is that these Gentile Christians must remember that they were brought near to God and His covenant people because of their faith in His Son Jesus Christ at their justification and resultant union and identification with Him when they possessed absolutely no relationship with either God or His covenant people.

In fact, the contents of Ephesians 2:14-22 teaches that the Father created a new humanity, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles who He declared justified through faith in His Son, who is the head of this new humanity.

Consequently, the Father identified both groups with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand through the baptism of the Spirit and together, this passage asserts that they form the temple of God.