Ephesians 2.11b-The Uncircumcision Versus the Circumcision
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday November 11, 2023
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:11b-The Uncircumcision Versus the Circumcision
Lesson # 102
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. (NET)
Now, as we noted the command in Ephesians 2:11 is modified by a hoti (ὅτι) direct object clause.
It describes the recipients of this epistle as receiving the designation “uncircumcision” with respect to the human body by those who receive the designation “circumcision” with respect to the human body, which is performed by human beings.
It asserts that the recipients of this epistle who were Gentile Christians who are called “uncircumcision” by those who are called “circumcision” were brought near to God and His covenant people Israel by the blood of Christ because of their faith in Christ at justification and union and identification with Christ.
Therefore, this would indicate this action on the part of God of bringing these Gentiles near to Himself and His covenant people by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ through their faith in His Son was to receive the action of being remembered by these Gentile Christians.
Ephesians 2:12 is also a hoti (ὅτι) direct object clause, which also describes the unregenerate state of these Gentile Christians and 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.
Therefore, this would indicate this action on the part of God of bringing these Gentiles near to Himself and His covenant people by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ because of their faith in His Son at justification despite the fact that they possessed absolutely no relationship whatsoever with God or His covenant people was to receive the action of being remembered by these Gentile Christians.
Ephesians 2:13 continues the hoti (ὅτι) direct object clause in Ephesians 2:12 by presenting a contrast with the contents of Ephesians 2:12.
In Ephesians 2:13, Paul describes these Gentile Christians as having been brought near to God and His covenant people Israel by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ because of their faith in Christ at justification and their union and identification with Christ.
Therefore, these two hoti (ὅτι) direct object clauses in Ephesians 2:11-13 identify what these Gentile Christians must continue to make it their habit of remembering.
Specifically, they must continue to make it their habit of remembering that despite the fact that they had absolutely no relationship with God and His covenant people Israel, God the Father brought them near to Himself and His covenant people Israel by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
He did this because of their faith in His Son Jesus Christ at justification and union and identification with Him.
The indefinite temporal particle pote (ποτέ), “formerly” refers to their unregenerate state.
The two hoti (ὅτι) direct object clauses in Ephesians 2:11 and 12 describe this state as possessing absolutely no relationship with God or His covenant people Israel.
The referent of the nominative second personal plural form of the personal pronoun su (σύ), “each and every one of you as a corporate unit” is of course the recipients of this epistle who Paul describes here in Ephesians 2:11 as Gentile Christians.
The word means “each and every one of you as a corporate unit” since the word not only refers to these Gentile Christians living in the various Christian communities throughout the Roman province of Asia as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
The articular nominative neuter plural form of the noun ethnos (ἒθνος),
“those who are Gentiles” pertains to those members of the human race who are not allied with and trusting in the God of Israel who is Jesus Christ and is used in a collective sense for these people.
Thus, this word is used of those members of the human race who are not of Jewish racial descent and thus not members of the covenant people of God, Israel or in other words, they are not descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (i.e. Israel) who are the progenitors of the nation of Israel.
The prepositional phrase en sarki (ἐν σαρκί) means “with respect to the human body” and expresses the idea that the recipients of this epistle are Gentiles “with the respect to their human body” because they did not practice the rite of circumcision.
This hoti (ὅτι) direct object clause in Ephesians 2:11 is then modified by the participial clause hoi legomenoi akrobystia hypo tēs legomenēs peritomēs en sarki cheiropoiētou (οἱ λεγόμενοι ἀκροβυστία ὑπὸ τῆς λεγομένης περιτομῆς ἐν σαρκὶ χειροποιήτου), “Specifically, those who receive the designation ‘uncircumcision’ by those who receive the designation ‘circumcision’ with respect to the flesh performed on the body by human hands” (Lecturer’s translation).
This participial clause serves to further describe these Gentiles Christians as those who called the “uncircumcision” by the Jews.
The articular nominative masculine plural present passive participle conjugation of the verb legō (λέγω) pertains to persons who identified by a particular designation or name that reflects a bodily characteristic.
The noun akrobustia (ἀκροβυστία), “the uncircumcision” pertains to the state of being uncircumcised which speaks of the state of not having the foreskin of the penis cut off.
This word was a derogatory term emphasizing that non-Jewish people are outsiders in relation to God’s covenant with Israel.
The referent of the masculine plural form of this verb is the recipients of this epistle, who Paul identifies as Gentile Christians because in context Paul is asserting that these individuals were described by the Jewish people with the derogatory term “uncircumcision.”
The passive voice of this verb legō (λέγω) means that the recipients of this epistle who are identified as Gentile Christians receive the action being designated “uncircumcision” by an expressed agency, which is the “circumcision,” which is a reference of course to the Jewish people.
The uncircumcision of the Gentiles was evidence that they did not possess a covenant relationship with God unlike the Jews who did possess a covenant relationship with God and circumcision was evidence of that relationship.
The verb legō (λέγω) appears once again in Ephesians 2:11 but this time we have the articular genitive feminine singular present passive participle conjugation of the word and again pertains to a person or persons being identified by a particular designation or name that reflects a bodily characteristic.
This time the bodily characteristic is identified by the genitive feminine singular form of the noun peritomē (περιτομή), “circumcision,” which is used in a literal sense of cutting off the foreskin of the male genital organ as a visible mark which distinguishes them from the rest of the human race as the covenant people of God.
The referent of the masculine plural form of this verb are the Jewish people because the term “circumcision” was a term the Gentiles gave to the Jews because they performed the rite of circumcision on their baby boys at eight days old as an identification mark that they were His covenant people through faith in Him.
Once again, we have the prepositional phrase en sarki (ἐν σαρκὶ), which expresses the idea that those who call the Gentiles “uncircumcision” are the circumcision with the respect to the human body because they do practice the rite of circumcision.
The passive voice of the verb legō (λέγω) indicates that the Jews receive the action of being designated “circumcision” from the Gentiles.
The participle conjugation of this verb is in the genitive case when it is used here a second time because it functions as the object of the preposition hupo (ὑπό), which functions as a marker of agency, which indicates that the Jews are the agency which designates Gentiles as “the uncircumcised.”
Now, the articular genitive feminine singular form of the adjective cheiropoiētos (χειροποίητος) denotes something created by finite and temporal humanity as opposed to the infinite and eternal God or in other words, it speaks of something that is man-made rather than created by God.
This word functions as a genitive of production, which is expressing the idea that this circumcision was “produced by” or “performed by” human hands or human beings.
Paul employs the adjective cheiropoiētos (χειροποίητος) to emphasize that the rite of circumcision, which the Jews were commanded by God to practice, stands in stark contrast to the circumcision produced by God Himself, which he mentions in Colossians 2:11-13, Philippians 3:3 and Romans 2:29.
This is indicated by the fact that the former is the product of human beings.
The latter corresponds to the circumcision of the heart which God spoke about to the Jews in the Old Testament (cf. Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4).
The circumcision Paul mentions in Colossians 2:11-13 is accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit at the moment of justification and is identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
In Philippians 3:2-3, Paul makes the contrast between the circumcision performed by human hands that which is performed by the Holy Spirit when a sinner is declared justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
In Romans 2:29, Paul asserts that the circumcision of the sinner’s heart by the Holy Spirit is vastly superior to the circumcision which is merely performed by human beings.
This circumcision performed by the Holy Spirit on the justified sinner is not only superior to the circumcision which the Jews practiced in obedience to God’s command but also can be performed on both Jew and Gentiles and both male and female.
The circumcision performed by human hands is vastly inferior to the circumcision by the Holy Spirit at the sinner’s justification.