Chapter 2 is a continuation of chapter one. This epistle or letter was divided up by people long after it was written by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost/Spirit, and like other Bible books, the chapter divisions do not necessarily make the text read smoothy or help the reader understand the context without going back to the last verse or verses of the previous chapter.
Verse 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Living men and women who do not accept the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ offers are walking dead people: dead spiritually, destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God. As a result, they have no power. They cannot fight demonic influence or possession. They cannot or will not fight the temptation to sin that this world, the flesh, and Satan puts before them. They have eternal life, but it will be in Hell. To be quickened means to give or restore life, to be made alive. Jesus, through His coming to this Earth and fulfilling prophecy, provided the means to quicken all sinners and restore them to the proper spiritual life that was before the fall of Adam and Eve. As a result, a personal relationship with the LORD is possible through the indwelling of His Spirit, through prayer, and through the studying of Scripture. Sin then no longer has control of or a hold over the believer, and Satan and his devils cannot manipulate the believer who is free. So prior to conversion or to being “born again”, people are not alive.
Verses 2-3 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: 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.
The prince of the power of the air is the Devil. (This writer uses a capital D to differentiate Satan from all the other fallen angels, also called devils, who follow and work with him.) Children of disobedience (disobedience meaning obstinate opposition to the divine will of God) belong to and serve Satan. The Greek word translated as “conversation” is “anastrepho” and it means to conduct one’s self, behave one’s self, or live. So conversation in this passage does not mean spoken words, but behavior or how one conducts himself/herself. Before conversion, people follow the dictates of Satan, the society in which they live, and the peer pressure of their cohort or age group. Whatever their flesh craves (sex, drugs, alcohol, possessions, fame and fortune, etc. ) they do. The very nature of man is to be lustful and to give way to the desires of the mind. Then there is harmony with the world and with the Devil. The only power that can change this is Almighty God. He takes His people out of the realm of Satan and into His spiritual kingdom. This new birth is recorded up in Heaven in the Heavenly Jerusalem which is free and the mother of us all. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:26
Application: Because Adam and Eve rebelled against the LORD and listened to the serpent or the Devil, their sinless nature became sinful. As a result, all their descendants were/are born with a sin nature. A baby is a sinner. It doesn’t matter that a baby cannot yet know right from wrong or understand what sin is or commit sin. A baby boy or baby girl automatically inherit a sin nature from the very first living man and woman who passed on their sin nature. This is where the term, “born again”, comes from when referring to a Christian believer. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” John 3:3 When a man or woman is converted and becomes a follower of Jesus, they are still living in their physical body, but their nature is changed. They no longer have a sin nature inherited from their parents and their ancestors going back to Adam and Eve, but now have a nature that is righteous and acceptable to the LORD. Sin no longer has the same attraction as it did before, and they want to learn more about Jesus and begin to serve Him as directed by the Holy Ghost/Spirit.
Application: Every thing and every one in this world is spirit driven. Governments, courts, colleges, businesses, and so forth are all driven by the spirit of Satan, the prince of the power of the air. What does the air have to do with anything? The air is more than gasses and chemical content. Things move through the air that living creatures breath. Since the invention by Nicola Tesla of the wireless, the air has become more corrupt. The Devil is into technology and he uses it in conjunction with the air to transmit pornographic images, unrighteous data from satellites, TV, the Internet, and so forth so that false doctrine, witchcraft, lying and deceitful disinformation, etc. can reach every man or woman living on the Earth. All airwaves are filled with the devices of Satan, and it is basically the marketplace of Satan. Notice that the spirit of Satan “worketh” which means that the work is ongoing. The minds of evil people are minds that are evil and spirit driven.
Verses 4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Because God loves His creation, He is merciful and does not strike sinners dead, but gives the opportunity time and time again for sinners to repent of their sins, get baptized, and be filled with His Spirit. When that happens, sinners are made alive again just as Jesus Christ was made alive and rose from the grave and was seen by His disciples and hundreds of other people that verified this miracle. His love is demonstrated daily in the little things as well as the big. The fact that the sun stays in the sky to warm and lighten the day is because of Jesus. The fact that cars start and people can drive to work every day is because of Jesus. All good things that happen every day is because of Jesus. Think about it.
Application: The mercy of God cannot be measured it is so bountiful and rich. The only way to understand and to measure it is by how much it has been extended to you, the reader, individually. There is no reference point. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 The terms “mercy” and “grace” are used a lot, but they can really only be understood when applied to your life.
Verses 6-7 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Even though each Christian believer is alive in a fleshly body, their soul (mind, will and emotions) has been raised up or made vibrant and alive. And spiritually, all believers are seated in heavenly places because they are in Christ and He is in them, and He is seated in Heaven. If saved by the blood of Jesus, each believer has already experienced one resurrection. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24 The “eth” endings mean that the action is ongoing. So those who heareth (keep hearing) and believeth (keep believing) is passed from death unto life which is the present perfect tense. Each believer is alive, as it is a reality right now. Again, each believer is living in the realm of life right now. The flesh might give the believer trouble, but he/she is alive. This is a concept that the mortal brain cannot really comprehend, but it is a fact. And this provision is for all believers down through the ages to this present day.
Verses 8-9 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.
This verse is what opened Martin Luther’s mind to the fact that the church he was serving was fraudulent and not teaching the truth. As a result of his actions, the Protestant Reformation began and the truth of the Gospel has been preached throughout the whole world. The institute of Catholicism and many other religions teach that people have to do works in order to get into Heaven. During the crusades, people did all kinds of self-harming things such as beating their backs until they were bloody and going up stone stairs in various cathedrals on their knees, and traveling miles on foot to fulfill religious requirements. But salvation and eternal life in Heaven are a gift that does not have to be paid for by the recipient. Jesus willingly paid for it through His suffering and shed blood on the cross. No living man or woman can work their way into Heaven. All the good works and sacrifice and financial giving mean nothing to God. The condition of the heart is what He is looking at and evaluating, not works. But when the heart is in right standing with the LORD, righteous works follow and are the normal part of life for the Christian believer. These righteous works are done to bring glory to God and not to earn salvation or eternal life.
Verse 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The first living man and woman were created by Jesus Christ, and because they were sinless, they were designed to do good works. When they sinned, they had the potential to do bad works, the word “works” meaning that which any one is occupied with, an act, deed, or thing done. But originally, God intended mankind to perform good and righteous works. When a man or woman becomes a Christian believer, they then should perform only good works, just as God intended His people to do. This is what the Apostle Paul means by “walk in them.” If people are “walking in” good works or moving and traveling through this life doing good, there is no room for temptation by the enemy to perform bad or unrighteous works.
Verses 11-12 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; 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:
The recipients of this letter were Gentiles “in the flesh” because of not being physically circumcised, and the Jews that were circumcised in their flesh done at the hands of the priests called them by this term. Because they were Gentiles, they had none of the benefits or rights of a citizen in Israel. They, when without Jesus, had no right or claim to the covenants or promises made by God to the Jews or the nation Israel, and they had no hope of eternal life in Heaven. Once saved through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, spiritually their hearts were circumcised and they were entitled to all the promises and provision of the LORD that the physically circumcised Jews were entitled to before they rebelled and rejected their Messiah.
The Jews have always thought of themselves as being better than any other people in the world. This is partly because of originally being “God’s chosen people” starting with the Syrian, Abram or Abraham, and going down through the generations to the time of Jesus’ ministry and the writing of this epistle. So they referred to themselves as “the Circumcision” as opposed to the rest of the world or the “Uncircumcision”. This was really nothing to brag about as circumcision or the removal of the foreskin from a baby boy’s penis when eight days old, performed in a religious ceremony, really was nothing more than God marking the Hebrew males (later called Jews) so that it would be more difficult for them to engage in sinful sexual behavior without being caught or noticed. It was a reminder not to commit sexual sin. The Israelites made it into a badge of superiority, a characteristic of their race. In the context of these verses, however, uncircumcision is most likely referring to a condition of the heart in which the corrupt desires of the flesh are not yet extinct.
Verses 13-14 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Again notice that Scripture, when referring to the relationship between converted people and Jesus Christ, uses the proposition “in” and not by Christ Jesus or through Christ Jesus or because of Christ Jesus. The preposition “in” shows that Jesus Christ is spiritually and therefore literally “in” a Christian believer through His Ghost that was given up at the death of His physical body. And a believer is literally and spiritually “in” Jesus Christ. They are “one” spiritually. Now the flesh, the world, and the devil can interfere for a time with that relationship, but for the true Christian believer, these influences are few and far between.
The “middle wall of partition” refers to the separation of God from the people/priests in the Tabernacle and then later in the Temple which was accomplished by the vail or curtain that was between the main part of the building and the Holy of Holies where the mercy seat and the ark of the testimony was positioned. Originally God, who is Spirit, made His presence known in the original Tabernacle and then the Temple and only the high priest once a year was allowed to go behind the vail or curtain to offer a sin offering for the people. “And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that you mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.” Exodus 26:33 “Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy set, and before the mercy seat:” Leviticus 16:15 This vail or curtain was thought to be 18 inches thick and it had lasted for centuries, but it tore without human hands from the top to the bottom at the crucifixion of the LORD Jesus Christ, thus signifying that the old priest system or religious system put in place by Moses and then corrupted over the years was gone, and people could now access spiritually the throne room of God through prayer or conversation as the Holy Ghost/Spirit indwells each believer. As a result of the ending (as far as God/Jesus was concerned) of the Jewish religion/religious system, there was also no longer a divide or barrier between Jew and Gentile. All were/are either serving the LORD Jesus Christ or the Devil. Plain and simple.
Verses 15-16 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; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Application: The Greek word translated as “enmity” is “echthra” and it means enmity which by English language definition is the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something. Even though Jesus, through His sacrifice on the cross, put an end to so many things, including Judaism, the Jewish people never accepted this situation and continue to refer to Gentiles as cattle and as inferior beings. They continue their religion even though it is dead as God raised up the Church and His Spirit is present in the Church and not in the synagogue. So there is peace between God and Christian believers, but there has never been peace between Jews and Gentiles or between Jews and Christians. What Jesus did was to end the old Israel and to make one new Israel made up of all the Christian believers from every nation, every tongue and every tribe.
Verses 17-18 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
The Apostle Paul was a Jew. Both he and the Gentile believers in Ephesus had equal access to the Father though the indwelling of the Holy Ghost/Spirit. They are all one as will be seen in chapter four of this epistle.
Verses 19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2)
Every Christian believer is a citizen of the Kingdom of God. All believers living on Earth are merely passing through, waiting for their physical bodies to die so their spiritual bodies can access Heaven and the LORD Jesus Christ. All believers, regardless of race, are part of the Church and make up the “body” of Jesus Christ and His temple which is not made of hands but of faith in the Gospel message. “For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:9