Session 1: When Races Collide

Joseph Duerr

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Ephesians 2:11–22

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Background

For Paul the unity between Jew and Gentile in Christ was the prime witness to the unity which God intended for all creation. In 2:11–22 he developed this theme from a salvation-historical perspective. Looked at from this vantage point, the Gentiles were formerly not among God’s people. Now, in Christ all that has changed, and the Gentiles have equal access to God.

In this passage, which continues the discussion of Eph 2:1–10, Paul presents the broader scope of God’s reconciliation—one new humanity saved in Christ, composed of both Jews and non-Jews alike. Paul first describes Christ’s destruction of the barrier that previously separated people (vv. 13–16), and then he highlights the work of the Spirit, who joins believers together as one family and temple of God (vv. 18–22).

Background

Let’s start with

Ephesians 2:11–12 NIV

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Who were “the circumcision” and why do you think Paul made it a point to say “which is done in the body by human hands”?

The Jewish nation had forfeited their special position with God, because, while they were physically circumcised, their heart attitude was not one of submission to God. So Paul says the Jews were called to circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands.

He implies that, while they were physically circumcised, their heart was not, as it were, circumcised (submissive to God).

The Ephesian church seems to have experienced friction between Jewish and Gentile Christians. That would explain why Paul goes into a discussion of the relationship between those two groups at this point.

Circumcision was a source of pride for the Jews. It was a visible sign of their historic relationship with God. Therefore, it was a term of derision—a religious slur, if you will—for the Jews to call the Gentiles uncircumcised.

God’s plan of salvation in the Old Testament came through the Jewish nation. That still didn’t mean that all Jews were truly redeemed. It only meant that the message of redemption came through the Jewish nation.

Relates to

Reconciliation in Paul

Isaiah 29:13 NIV

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

What were the “covenants of the promise”?

2:11 Paul urges the Gentile believers to recall their life before Christ, just as the Israelites were often told to remember what God had done for them (see Exod 13:3).

A derogatory term emphasizing that non-Jewish people are outsiders in relation to God’s covenant with Israel. This category includes most members of the churches planted or empowered by Paul.

The Greek word used here, cheiropoiētos, portrays circumcision as a human rite. In the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the ot), this word is used to refer to idols (e.g., Lev 26:1; Isa 2:18; 10:11; Dan 5:4).

Ver. 11. Wherefore remember, that ye, etc.—All that follows in the verse serves to define the “ye,” the verb following in ver. 12 after the repeated “ye”—“ye were without Christ.” “Called Uncircumcision … called the Circumcision.” As much rancour lies in these words as generally is carried by terms of arrogance on the part of those only nominally religious, and the scornful epithets flung in return. They can be matched by our modern use of “The world” and “Other-worldliness.”

Verses 11–12 depict the former state of the Gentiles: they were the uncircumcised. Since circumcision was viewed as the external mark of membership in God’s covenant people, this meant that Gentiles were outsiders. They were “foreigners,” totally alienated from the people of God. They were “separate from Christ,” that is, they had no share in the messianic salvation. Though they had many gods of their own, they were without the one and only true God. All that had changed with Jesus Christ. The Gentiles who were once so far from the divine promises, so without hope of salvation, now have “come near” in Christ.

Refers to the covenants between God and His people in the ot.

2:12 Refers to Gentiles (see Eph 1:11 and note).

Paul may be emphasizing the Gentiles’ lack of knowledge or relationship with Christ. Alternatively, he may be comparing the Gentiles to the Jews, whom God entrusted with the promises about the Messiah.

Gentiles were separate from Israel; they were without the law and without God. Despite this separation, God revealed Himself to them through Christ and called them to Himself. In addition, Paul was made a minister to them (see 3:1, 8; Acts 9:15; Rom 11:13; Gal 2:9).

Refers to the covenants between God and His people in the ot.

Paul probably is referring to the covenants God made with Abraham (; ), Isaac (), Jacob (), Moses (), and David (). Each of these covenants involved a promise from God.

Genesis 15:7–21 NIV

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

Genesis 17:1–21 NIV

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”

Genesis 26:2–5 NIV

The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”

Genesis 28:13–15 NIV

There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Exodus 24:1–8 NIV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.” When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

2 Samuel 7:14–16 NIV

I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

Paul emphasizes that the Gentiles were:

• separate from Christ

• excluded from citizenship in Israel

• foreigners to the covenants of the promise

• without hope

• without God in the world

True Gentiles were utterly without hope even with their many religions and many gods. The one God did not acknowledge them because they did not acknowledge him.

Let’s move to

Ephesians 2:13–18 NIV

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

2:13. God, because of his mercy and love, did not leave them in this hopeless condition. Christ abolished the distinction between Jew and Gentile. All people are now considered the same before God. His death on the cross made this wonderful thing possible.

Hosea 2:23 NIV

I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’ ”

Romans 9:24 NIV

even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

Romans 9:25 NIV

As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”

At verse 13 Paul alluded to the text of Isaiah 57:19, which spoke of peace coming both to those who were far off and those who were near. Paul developed a homily on this text in verses 14–18, quoting it explicitly in verse 17. In the context, the “near” were the original Jewish members of God’s covenant people, the “far” were the Gentiles.

Christ is described as the means of bringing peace between the alienated Jews and Gentiles. He destroyed the wall of hostility that separated them. Did Paul have a particular wall in mind? Some think he may have intended the wall of Gnostic speculation, which was believed to separate the spiritual world from the terrestrial world, However, there is nothing in the immediate context to indicate this sort of cosmological thought. Others have suggested Paul may have been thinking of the oral law, which the rabbis described as a “fence” around the Torah, but the rabbinic traditions would have had little meaning for the Gentile recipients of Ephesians. More likely is the suggestion that Paul was talking about the written Torah itself, whose provisions in many ways separated Jews from Gentiles. Verse 14 would indicate that this was indeed the dividing point Paul had in mind. But does the picture of the law as a “wall” have a more specific reference? If it does, the most likely candidate would be the stone barrier around the sanctuary in Jerusalem that warned Gentiles to proceed no farther. Paul had been mobbed in the temple square under the false accusation that he had violated that sanction. It was the reason he now lay in Roman custody. Would Gentiles have known of the temple barrier? Probably. The temple was the most well-known landmark in Israel. Had they not already known of it, the Pauline coworker who circulated the epistle would surely have shared with them the story of Paul’s arrest.

2:14 Paul echoes Isaiah’s description of God’s Messiah as the “Prince of Peace” (see Isa 9:6). Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would end hostility and establish an era of well-being. Christ produces this peace; He is the essence of it. He brings harmony and wholeness to people’s relationship with God and one another, a theme that fits with Paul’s purpose of unifying Jews and Gentiles.

The external distinctions between Jews and Gentiles are no longer grounds for hostility and division (compare Eph 3:6). This is the core message of the letter.

Probably a figurative reference to the law (see v. 15). Alternatively (or perhaps additionally), this phrase might refer to the wall in the Jerusalem temple that divided the Court of the Gentiles from the Jewish areas.

Here, Paul refers to Jesus’ physical body that was crucified. Christ’s body is the real source of hope and is meant as a contrast to “flesh” in v. 11. There, “flesh” serves as a symbol of Jewish inclusion in the covenant community (circumcision) and a means of identification as the ot people of God.

2:14. God wants peace to be both horizontal and vertical. That is, he wants Jews and Gentiles to be at peace with one another; and he wants both of them, now reconciled to each other, to be at peace with him. Christ is the one who gives us peace with God, for he himself is our peace. Mutual animosity and hatred toward each other erected a wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles. Christ abolished the wall by making them one before him.

Ver. 14. For He is our peace, who hath made both one.—“Not the Peacemaker merely, for indeed at His own great cost He procured peace, and is Himself the bond of union of both” (Jew and Gentile). The middle wall of partition.—M. Ganneau, the discoverer of the Moabite Stone, found built into the wall of a ruined Moslem convent a stone, believed to be from the Temple, with this inscription: “No stranger-born (non-Jew) may enter within the circuit of the barrier and enclosure that is around the sacred court; and whoever shall be caught [intruding] there, upon himself be the blame of the death that will consequently follow.” Josephus describes this fence and its warning inscription (Wars of the Jews, Bk. V., ch. v., § 2). It is rather the spirit of exclusiveness which Christ threw down. The stone wall Titus threw down and made all a common field, afterwards.

2:15 Christ’s death on the cross fulfills the law of Moses (primarily seen in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and removes the necessity of the regulations that once divided Jews from Gentiles (compare Rom 10:4; Gal 3:23–25).

Refers to Jews and Gentiles (non-Jewish people) being united in Christ.

This phrase is rooted in Paul’s “new creation” theology. Just as God created humanity in His image in Gen 1–2, He has now re-created humanity in Christ. Elsewhere in his letters Paul calls believers “new creations” (2 Cor 5:17) and describes both circumcision and uncircumcision as worthless in light of being a “new creation” (Gal 6:15).

2:15. The Jews kept the law, with its commandments and regulations. Gentiles did not. This created a barrier between them. Jesus’ death satisfied the law and therefore eliminated it as a barrier. Since neither Jew nor Gentile had to obey the law to find salvation, the means of distinguishing between the two kinds of people vanished. Again, this created peace between hostile parties.

Ver. 15. Having abolished in His flesh the enmity.—The enmity of Jew and Gentile; the abolition of their enmity to God is mentioned later. “First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift,” for reconciliation to God. The law of commandments contained in ordinances.—The slave whose duty it was to take the child to his teacher might say, “Don’t do that.” St. Paul does not regard the function of the law as more than that (Gal. 3:23–25). One new man.—Trench, in an admirable section, distinguishes between the new in time (recens) and the new in quality (novum). The word here means new in quality, “as set over against that which has seen service, the outworn.” “It is not an amalgam of Jew and Gentile” (Meyer).

The real wall that separated Jew and Gentile was the Jewish law (v. 15). Paul particularly had in mind the ceremonial aspects of the law, like circumcision, the food regulations, and the strict Sabbath provisions. These set the Jews apart from others and were difficult for would-be proselytes to fulfill without having to leave the Gentile community altogether. Destroying the barrier, Christ made it possible for Jew and Gentile to come together, no longer as two distinct entities but as “one new person.” Gentiles were no longer “far off” from the covenants of promise. In Christ they had come near (v. 17). They shared equal access to God through possessing the same Spirit (v. 18).

When Paul spoke of Christ’s redemptive work as creating one new person out of the two (v. 15), it was an advance over the salvation-historical perspective of Romans 11. In Romans Paul spoke of the Gentiles being grafted into the root stock of Israel. Israel remained the original people of God, now redefined in light of Christ, now open to the inclusion of the Gentiles. In Ephesians 2, however, Paul seems to have developed his view. Now it became a matter of a new people, a new creation formed out of the two formerly separate peoples.

2:16 Describes the restoration of a broken relationship. Christ’s death makes it possible for the hostility that often existed between Jews and Gentiles to be destroyed and for them to be restored together to God.

Paul’s use of the terminology near and far echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 52:7 speaks of preaching good news of peace, and in Isa 57:19 Yahweh speaks peace to those near and far. Paul likely regarded Christ’s preaching to those near (Jews) and far (Gentiles) as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s hope of salvation—not just for Jews, but for all humanity (Isa 49:6; 56:6–8).

2:16. God’s purpose included more than simply uniting two parties previously at war. He wanted the new creation of one party now united horizontally to find vertical union with God. The cross destroyed both the human hostility and the hostility between people and God. This is true reconciliation—overcoming human barriers and breaking down walls that separate people from God.

Ver. 16. That He might reconcile both unto God.—The word “reconcile” implies “a restitution to a state from which they had fallen, or which was potentially theirs, or for which they were destined” (Lightfoot, Col. 1:20). The cross having slain the enmity.—Gentile authority and Jewish malevolence met in the sentence to that painful death; and both Gentile and Jew, acknowledging the Son of God, shall cease their strife, and love as brethren.

In Ephesians 2:16 Paul spoke of Christ’s death on the cross as the means of reconciling Jew and Gentile to God. Reconciliation is one of Paul’s most important soteriological terms. Like justification, it speaks of how one becomes right with God through the atoning work of Christ. Rather than expressing this in legal terminology (justification), it does so in the language of human relationships. Reconciliation is the restoration of personal relationship between parties who have been alienated from one another. In the language of reconciliation, salvation is the removal of the barrier of human sin which separates us from God. With the removal of sin, relationship to God is once again made possible; we are given “access” to God (v. 18).

Paul spoke of Christ’s work in terms of reconciliation in four of his epistles. The first reference occurs in Romans 5:10, where it depicts how the enmity to God created by human sinfulness has been removed through the death of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:18–20 Paul again spoke of God’s reconciling work in Christ, this time combined with the language of justification (“not counting their trespasses against them”). What is most distinctive about 2 Corinthians is the reference to Paul’s being an “ambassador” with a “message of reconciliation,” calling others to be reconciled to God by responding to Christ. A third reference to reconciliation is found in Colossians 1:20, where Paul spoke of God’s eternal purpose of reconciling “all things” to himself through Christ. This picture of “cosmic reconciliation” is very close to the image in Ephesians 1:10 of all things being “brought together” (“headed up”) in Christ. The final reference is here in Ephesians 2:16, where Paul spoke of Jew and Gentile being both reconciled to God through the death of Christ.

Taking these four references together, several things stand out in Paul’s understanding of reconciliation. First, people are seen as needing reconciliation to God. Human sin has created a barrier between them and God. Sin has alienated them from God. Thus, humans are wholly responsible for this state of enmity. Second, God himself initiates the work of reconciliation. The idea of the offended party being the one who initiates reconciliation was totally unique to Paul. It is, of course, a way of expressing God’s grace. Third, God’s reconciling work took place in the cross of Jesus. It was through Christ’s “blood” or by his “death” that God removed the enemy barrier of sin and restored us to right relationship to himself. (Here it is especially clear that reconciliation is an alternative expression along with justification for atonement.) A fourth emphasis is that the primary relationship to be restored is one’s relationship to God; that is the key to the reconciliation of all other relationships. In Ephesians 2:16 both Jew and Gentile are described as being reconciled “to God in one body through the cross” (NKJV). The phrase “in one body” highlights a fifth emphasis of reconciliation; it embraces human relationships. The “peace” between Jews and Gentiles, their incorporation into one body in Christ, was enabled by their being both reconciled to God. There can be no real human reconciliation apart from a prior removal of the archetypal alienation from the Creator. Only when reconciled with God are we in a real position to be reconciled to one another. Paul would probably add that if we are truly reconciled to God we will seek reconciliation with one another.

A sixth emphasis in Paul’s teaching on reconciliation is that of being ambassadors, as found in 2 Corinthians 5:20. Those who have been reconciled to God become proclaimers of reconciliation, calling others to the reconciling love of Christ. Finally, as Paul indicated in Colossians 1:20, the scope of reconciliation is cosmic. God wills nothing short of the reconciliation and unification of all the created order. This is not a far-fetched hyperbolic statement. It has strong implications for ecology. God desires nothing less than a completely harmonious and unified world as he created it to be. Those of us who have been reconciled to God in Christ should seek to be ministers of reconciliation on every level—among our fellow human beings and toward the natural order as well.

Paul probably sometimes found the language of justification perplexing to his Gentile converts. Not coming from a religious background steeped in law, they may not always have understood the forensic terminology of justification. Everyone knows the language of human relationships, of alienation and reconciliation. Paul probably found this an effective manner of communicating the message of God’s redemptive work in Christ. For our world, with all its human barriers and human alienation, it still provides a particularly effective form in which to proclaim the gospel.

2:17. Paul quoted Isaiah 57:19 to show the Word of God expected the Messiah to bring reconciliation of Jew and Gentile. Those who were far away are the Gentiles. Those who were near are the Jews.

Ver. 17. Came and preached peace.—By means of His messengers, as St. Paul tells the Galatians that Christ was “evidently set forth crucified amongst them.” To you afar off, and to them that were nigh.—Isaiah’s phrase (57:19). The Christ uplifted “out of the earth” draws all men to Him.

2:18 The Greek expression used here refers to the privilege to address one’s superior.

In the ot Scriptures, God provided specific instructions for building the tabernacle (Exod 26). He designated it as His dwelling, the place of worship and sacrifice. God gave the priesthood access to this tent to perform various duties, but He restricted other Israelites from it. Because of Christ’s sacrificial death and the indwelling presence of the Spirit, believers—individually and corporately—have become the temple of God (Eph 2:21).

2:18. Jesus, the Messiah, did preach the message of peace to Jews and Gentiles. In the cross he reconciled them to each other. He sent the Holy Spirit to all who believe. The Spirit opened the door to God’s immediate presence. Here we see the Trinity’s work in salvation. The Father developed a plan of grace for salvation through faith. The Son carried out the plan in his ministry to Jew and Gentile and in his death on the cross. The Spirit became the means of immediate access to God the Father.

Ver. 18. For through Him we both have access.—St. Paul’s way of proclaiming His Master’s saying, “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved”; including the other equally precious, “I am the way: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” “Access” here means “introduction.”

Let’s move to Ephesians 2:19-22

2:19 In contrast to their previous status (see note on v. 12), Gentiles are now included in the people of God through His generosity in Christ.

Although Gentiles used to be outsiders, they now belong to God’s family. God has adopted Jew and Gentile alike through His Son, Jesus Christ (1:5).

2:19. Redeemed Jews and Gentiles are no longer estranged from each other but are fellow citizens of the kingdom of God. Race or nationality make no difference. All are redeemed people through Christ’s cross. God’s people represents the niv interpretation of the Greek hagion, literally, “holy ones.” Other interpreters see the holy ones as Israel, Jewish Christians, the first Christian generation, all believers, or the angels of heaven. The contrast may be between who the Gentiles were—aliens—and who they now are—kingdom citizens along with those who have always been kingdom citizens—Jews. In that case they have extended the meaning of holy ones so that it is no longer limited to Jews but also includes Gentiles, now meaning all believers. The reference could maintain the discussion of being seated in the heavenly realm and allude to the angels as other inhabitants there. Most likely, it is a general reference to people of God from all generations and uses the contrast of the Gentiles’ previous state to enhance the understanding of their present state. Alienated foreigners with no citizenship papers, they have joined the people of God with heavenly citizenship. Not only are they citizens of a heavenly kingdom, but they are also members of a spiritual family, God’s household.

Ver. 19. So then.—Inference of vers. 14–18. Strangers and foreigners.—By the latter word is meant those who temporarily abide in a place, but are without the privileges of it. There is a verb “to parish” in certain parts of England which shows how a word can entirely reverse its original meaning. It not only means “to adjoin,” but “to belong to.” Fellow-citizens with the saints.—Enjoying all civic liberties, and able to say, “This is my own, my native land,” when he finds “Mount Zion and the city of the living God” (cf. Heb. 11:13, 14). And of the household of God.—The association grows more intimate. The words might possibly mean “domestics of God” (Rev. 22:3, 4); but when we think of the “Father’s house” we must interpret “of the family circle of God.”

2:20 Refers to the early leaders of the Church who imparted God’s message to the people. The apostles include the twelve apostles who knew Jesus during His earthly ministry (with Matthias replacing Judas Iscariot; see Acts 1:15–26) as well as Paul, and perhaps others (see Acts 14:14). The prophets may include other influential leaders who were outside of the circle of apostles (compare Acts 13:1; 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 3:5; 4:11).

Alternatively, the prophets may refer to people with the gift of prophecy (Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:10), or Paul could be pointing to the role of the ot prophets in laying the foundation for God’s work through Christ.

Refers to the first and most important stone laid in a new building. Proper placement of a cornerstone ensured a straight and level foundation. Applied to Christ, this metaphor shows Christ’s central role in the Church. See Acts 4:11 and note; compare note on Matt 21:42; note on Psa 118:22.

2:20. Paul switches to the metaphor of a building and declares that both Jews and Gentiles are “stones,” as it were, of a building. The building rests on a solid foundation—the faith, testimony, and life of Christ’s closest followers, his apostles. It also rests on the foundation of prophets. These are usually taken as New Testament prophets who proclaim and explain the Word of God. It may well include also the work of the Old Testament prophets in laying the foundation on which Christ built.

The key is not the foundation, however, but the cornerstone, a term taken from Isaiah 28:16 and probably interpreted in light of Psalm 118:22. The question is which building stone is meant: the cornerstone to which all other stones of the foundation are connected, or the capstone or keystone which is the last stone placed in the top of the structure over the gate. Isaiah 28:16 apparently refers to the foundation or cornerstone, but Psalm 118:22 may refer to the top keystone. Ephesians can be interpreted in light of either imagery, but the setting of Christ as head over all things (1:10, 20–23) may point to the keystone interpretation as the most appropriate here.

Ver. 20. Being built upon the foundation.—From the figure of a household St. Paul passes easily to the structure, based on “the Church’s One Foundation.” The chief corner-stone.—“The historic Christ, to whom all Christian belief and life have reference, as necessarily conditions through Himself the existence and endurance of each Christian commonwealth, as the existence and steadiness of a building are dependent on the indispensable cornerstone, which upholds the whole structure” (Meyer). The difference between our passage and 1 Cor. 3:11 is one of figure only.

2:21 The temple in Jerusalem had an outer area called the Court of the Gentiles. Gentiles could not enter the temple courtyard; they were segregated from the Jews. Through Christ’s work of reconciliation, Gentiles are brought together with Jews (see Eph 2:14 and note).

2:21. The stones are forming a living, spiritual temple to glorify the Lord. In the Old Testament, the presence and glory of God inhabited a literal stone building. Now God dwells not in a stone building but in the hearts of believers. Christ is the unifying factor that takes the separate stones and creates a temple. This temple is holy, set apart for God. In this temple God receives worship and praise. The hearts of believers is thus the basic worship place in God’s kingdom on earth.

Ver. 21. All the building.—R.V. “each several building.” Fitly-framed-together.—One word in the original, found again only in 4:16 in this form.

2:22 Paul identifies believers with the temple. Compare 1 Cor 3:16–17; 6:19–20.

The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in ad 70, but it was still standing when Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians. He boldly suggests that believers have become the location of God’s presence on earth—the place where He is glorified on earth.

The Holy Spirit is essential to Christian unity. It is the seal of salvation for believers (Eph 1:13), gives all believers access to the Father (v. 18), and dwells in the believer for righteous living (5:18).

2:22. Paul concludes with a pointed reminder to the Gentile Ephesians. They had no room or reason for self-pity. God included them. In Christ they are being built into God’s temple along with the Jewish Christians. All together they form one worship center where God lives through the presence of his Spirit.

MAIN IDEA REVIEW: God’s grace gives you life and unites you with him and with people from whom you are alienated.

Ver. 22. For a habitation.—The word so translated is found again only in Rev. 18:2, a sharp contrast to this verse.

IV. LIFE APPLICATION

God Is Not Finished with You Yet!

What does it mean to be God’s workmanship? I vividly remember attending, almost back-to-back, showings of the works of two major artists. The first, at the University of Notre Dame, was a display of the etchings of Rembrandt. The second was a display of most of the major works of Georgia O’Keefe at the Chicago Art Institute. Each well-known artist has a distinctive style that sets him apart from all other artists. After learning about a given artist, you often can readily identify many of his works.

If you see weird little color cubes that look like pieces of a puzzle put together wrong, you know you are looking at Pablo Picasso. If you see limp objects draped like wet laundry over foreboding landscapes, you know you are looking at Salvador Dali. If you see figures that are stretched up two or three times their normal height, you are looking at El Greco.

You can tell much about an artist by looking at his art. You can observe Van Gogh’s gradual progression into insanity by looking at his succession of several self-portraits painted over a period of years. Look at Michaelangelo, and you see an idealist. Look at Norman Rockwell, and you see an optimist. Look closely at the art, and you will discover the artist. You and I are works of art; and we will be on display, in a sense, throughout eternity, to manifest to the universe the glory of God.

Now, catch yourself, resist the temptation to say, “If I’m a work of art, it isn’t going to be much of a display!” The first reaction which most of us have is to denigrate ourselves. Let’s look at it in another way that may help us to believe that it is true. Rather than seeing yourself as a painting, imagine yourself as a marble statue. You’ve heard at least one of the versions of the old story about when a sculptor was asked how he created his stone masterpiece of Robert E. Lee (or whoever it was), he said, “I just got a big block of marble and chipped away everything that didn’t look like Robert E. Lee.”

A sculptor will tell you that he sees his figure in the finest detail before he ever begins to chip at the stone. In that sense, he does just chip away everything that doesn’t look like what he is creating.

We are, in a sense a big block of marble when we become a Christian. God, the Great Sculptor, knows, down to the last detail, what he wants that block to look like before he begins to work on us. We, however, do not usually have a clear sense of the Sculptor’s goal. We look at ourselves after God has begun to shape us but before he has finished his work. We see that the neat, clean block of stone has been chipped and roughed up, but we do not see the finished product yet. In this incomplete state, we conclude incorrectly that that is all there is, that what we are now is all we will ever be.

You say, “This isn’t beautiful. This isn’t a work of art.”