A sheet for sitting in the circle, not leading it: the ESV arc of Ephesians 2, the Greek words that carry 2:1–10, a few cross-references, and questions that draw people out on “you were dead.”
Father, we come as people who were once dead and are now alive because you spoke. Before we say a word about these verses, we want to say thank you: you were rich in mercy when we had nothing to bring. Open our eyes to see what is really on the page. Where we disagree tonight, keep us gentle and honest, quick to listen and slow to win. Let the riches of your grace be what we talk about most. We ask this in the name of Jesus, with whom you made us alive. Amen.
The same board as the WEB version, in the ESV. The relationships are chosen from the Greek connecting words, so they stay the same; only the English wording changes. Verses 1–10: dead, then made alive. Verses 11–22: far off, then brought near. Turn on Play Marks (bottom right) for the margin marks, or Chalk Marks for the marks in the text. Tap ► on any line to see the relationship play out.
A sentence is a grammar unit: one main verb with everything that hangs on it. A thought is an argument unit: the whole stretch from one goal line to the next. The Greek editions put full stops after verses 7, 9 and 10, so this passage has three sentences. But verses 8 and 10 both open with “for”: they explain what came before instead of starting something new. So the three sentences make one point.
On the board: turn on Arc Lines and tap a MAIN line. The solid gold bracket is the thought; the dashed bracket is the one Greek sentence inside it, with its main verb tagged. Tap either label for a reminder.
You don’t need Greek or a grammar class to follow the notes. Here is every grammar word they use, in everyday English. Greek words are written in English letters; hover over one to see the Greek.
A prefix meaning “with.” Paul stacks three of these in a row: made alive with, raised with, seated with (5–6). What God did for Christ in 1:20, he did for us with Christ.
The e after the prefix marks past time; the s marks the aorist, the tense Greek uses to report an event as a whole. Paul is not describing a process. He is reporting something God did.
Life (zōē) + make (poieō). The plain verb is Paul’s resurrection word: God “gives life to the dead” (Rom 4:17); “in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). The answer to “dead” in verse 1 is not help. It is life.
Active voice (the subject does the action), third person singular (“he”). The subject is “God” back in verse 4. “Us” is the object: the ones it was done to.
Why it matters: this is the verb the whole of 2:1–7 hangs on. In the Greek, 88 words go by (“you were dead… but God, being rich in mercy…”) before the main verb arrives at 5b. Set it beside sesōsmenoi below: that verb is passive and says what happened to you; this one is active and says who did it. Same event, two sides. Parsing from the SBLGNT (aorist active indicative, 3rd singular, of synzōopoieō).
Logos-style word studies, the way the video drew them: the ring shows every New Testament use by how the ESV translates it; the highlighted slice is the sense Paul uses here. Tap a slice or a label. Tap a gold Greek word anywhere for a quick gloss.
Paul’s sense here: rescued, delivered from the condition of verses 1–3.
5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
In the Gospels the same verb is used when Jesus heals: “your faith has made you well.” The rescue reaches the whole person.
48And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
The ring shows how the ESV translates the word, not a dictionary of senses. “bring” (1) is the remainder after the other slices.
Present tense (happening now), 2nd person plural (“you,” all of you). Paul is talking to the whole church, and he says it is true of them right now.
The doubled “se” at the front marks the perfect: a finished action whose result still stands. Not “being saved, maybe.” Saved, and still saved.
Passive voice: the subject (you) receives the action instead of doing it. You did not save yourself. Someone else did the saving.
The sentence names the means, not us: by grace (5, 8). And verse 4 names the actor: “But God.”
Paul talks about salvation in every tense: “we were saved” (Rom 8:24), “are being saved” (1 Cor 1:18), “shall be saved” (Rom 5:9). Here he chooses the perfect, twice. Parsing from the SBLGNT (a perfect passive participle, “having been saved,” joined to “you are”). Grammarians call that a periphrastic perfect: a “to be” phrase that puts the weight on the lasting state.
A gift, freely given. Ephesians 2:8 is the only time Paul uses this noun (he uses related words elsewhere, as in Rom 6:23).
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Most of its other uses are offerings or gifts brought to the altar or to Jesus (Matt 2:11; 5:23–24).
Most uses are physical death. A handful are the picture of being dead while still walking around: the prodigal son was “dead, and is alive again” (Luke 15:24), and Colossians 2:13 says the same thing Ephesians 2 does. Notice what the dead do in verses 2–3: they walk, follow, live, and carry out desires. Both sides of the room agree the dead are active. They disagree about what “dead” says about the ability to respond to God.
Paul’s everyday word for a whole way of life. Verse 2: we walked following the course of this world. Verse 10: we walk in good works God prepared. Same verb, different road. It comes back at 4:1: “walk in a manner worthy.”
The only other use is Romans 1:20, for God’s creation: “the things that have been made.” Paul uses the creation word for a believer. Verse 10 then says it outright: “created in Christ Jesus.”
Not every cross-reference, only ones that open a door in the conversation. Tap a reference to read it (ESV). The red line is a question you could ask the room.
13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
Ask the groupWhat does Colossians add about what God did with our trespasses?
24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Ask the groupIn the story, what made the son “dead”? Does that help us read Ephesians 2:1?
24Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Ask the groupWhat has to happen before the dead can live, according to Jesus?
26And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Ask the groupWho is doing the work in this promise? And what does the person end up doing?
4In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Ask the groupWhat is Satan’s goal, according to this verse?
4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Ask the groupWhat words do Titus 3 and Ephesians 2 share?
1If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Ask the groupWhat does being raised with Christ call us to do?
23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
Ask the groupWhat did God prepare beforehand here, and for what?
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Ask the groupWhat is “new” about a person in Christ?
You are a participant, not the leader. Most of the time the most helpful thing is a question that draws a brother out, not a correction. Some of the men may think the Reformed reading turns people into robots. Here is a way through.
Expect this answer: “Yes, God acted first. He sent his Son.” That is true, and both sides believe it. Agree with it out loud, then let the text sharpen the question.
Be fair here: the Arminian view also says God acts toward each person first, by prevenient grace that frees him to respond. The Reformed view says that first act is the new life of verse 5 itself. The text everyone can stand on: “made us alive together with Christ” is something God does to us, not only for us, and it ties our new life to Christ’s own resurrection (1:20).
Try: “What would make someone a robot, in your mind?” Usually the worry is forced choices, or love that isn’t real. Name that worry back to him; it’s a good worry.
The Westminster Confession says God draws people so that “they come most freely, being made willing by his grace” (10.1), and that no violence is done to the will (3.1). The Canons of Dort (III/IV, art. 16) say regenerating grace does not treat people like sticks and stones; it does not remove the will but brings it back to life. Whatever you think of the view, “robots” is not what its holders believe.
Being made alive is the opposite of becoming a robot. Lazarus did not stay passive after Jesus called him; he got up and walked out (John 11:43–44). Ephesians 2 ends the same way: made alive (v.5), then walking in good works (v.10).
“Work out your own salvation” and “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work.” Both statements are true at once. Nobody at the table has to pick one.
Arminians also teach that no one turns to God without grace going first (prevenient grace). So the question is not “God or us?” It’s “how does God’s first move work?”
Good to have ready, not to fire off. If a verse comes up, read it together and ask what it says before what it proves.
44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
51“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
12Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
The church has been singing Ephesians 2 for centuries, on both sides of this debate. A hymn line or an old voice can say in one breath what an argument can’t.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Ephesians 2:1–5 in a prison picture: bound, then light from God, then waking and following. Worth saying out loud: this is the great Arminian hymn writer, and the verse gives God every move until “I rose.” Both sides sing it. (The Logos hymnal tags this hymn to Eph 2:7.)
I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me;
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of Thee.
The “who moved first?” question set to music. The seeking was real, and it was his doing first.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace.
“Not your own doing … not a result of works.” Toplady argued hard against the Wesleys in print, yet both men’s hymns sit side by side in most hymnals.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
“Strangers to the covenants … far off … brought near by the blood of Christ.”
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
Grace before the believing and in it: “by grace … through faith.”
The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the word.
Cornerstone, new creation, household of God. (The Logos hymnal tags it to Eph 2:20.)
The line you remembered, “he doesn’t compel you to go against your will, but he makes you willing to go,” comes from “Hornets,” by Thoro Harris (1925). Its title comes from the hornets God sent ahead of Israel (Exod 23:28; Josh 24:12), and its verses walk through Jonah, Moses and Balaam. The refrain is close to Psalm 110:3, “Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power.” It is a good bridge for the “robots” worry: made willing is not forced.
“Give what you command, and command what you will.”
The prayer that set off the old debate with Pelagius. God commands faith and obedience, and asks God to give what he commands. Fits Ephesians 2:8–10 exactly: the gift, then the walk.
“I will put up my dagger again.”
The young Calvinist Simeon met the old Arminian Wesley and asked him questions instead of arguing: did he feel himself unable to turn to God unless God first put it into his heart? Was he depending on Christ alone? Would he be kept by grace to the end? Wesley said yes to each. Simeon said that was, in substance, all his Calvinism, and put away his “dagger.” It is the best model for your role in this study: ask, listen, find the ground you share.
“God worketh in you; therefore you can work. … therefore you must work.”
The leading Arminian, on Philippians 2:12–13: God’s work comes first and makes ours possible. Useful when a Reformed brother assumes Arminians think we start the process.
Edwards drew a distinction that answers the robot worry from the Reformed side. Natural inability is when you would but can’t (a man in chains). Moral inability is when you can’t because you won’t (a man who does not want to). Being dead in sin is the second kind: people always choose what they most want; the problem is what they want. So God does not force the will; he changes what it wants.
“They do not want any reconcilement; I never tried to reconcile them to myself, because I could never see a discrepancy.”
On God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. In the same sermon he calls them two lines “so nearly parallel” that the mind cannot see where they meet, “but they do converge.” A Calvinist who refused to let either truth swallow the other.
Tap “sesōsmenoi” for its full parsing (perfect, passive, participle) and lexicon entries.
The same ring as the sheet’s, for the translation you have open. Tap a slice to see the verses.
Cross References and commentaries side by side if a question comes up about a verse.
See how each English Bible handles the missing verb in verse 1.
Lord God, thank you that we did not raise ourselves. You made us alive with Christ, raised us with him, and seated us with him, and you did it so that the riches of your grace would be seen for ages to come. Take away any boasting left in us, including pride in being right. Thank you for the brothers in this room, whatever words we used tonight to describe how your grace reached us. Now send us out to walk in the good works you prepared beforehand: at home, at work, with the people you put in front of us this week. We are your workmanship. Make it show. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Every relationship has a football mark you can draw in your own Bible’s margin. Hover over or tap a mark to see what it means.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Greek counts and parsing from the SBLGNT (MorphGNT); word-study rings from Logos Bible Word Study (ESV).
Father, we come as people who were once dead and are now alive because you spoke. Before we say a word about these verses, we want to say thank you: you were rich in mercy when we had nothing to bring. Open our eyes to see what is really on the page. Where we disagree tonight, keep us gentle and honest, quick to listen and slow to win. Let the riches of your grace be what we talk about most. We ask this in the name of Jesus, with whom you made us alive. Amen.
Agree out loud. Then:
Lord God, thank you that we did not raise ourselves. You made us alive with Christ, raised us with him, and seated us with him, and you did it so that the riches of your grace would be seen for ages to come. Take away any boasting left in us, including pride in being right. Thank you for the brothers in this room, whatever words we used tonight to describe how your grace reached us. Now send us out to walk in the good works you prepared beforehand: at home, at work, with the people you put in front of us this week. We are your workmanship. Make it show. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The line the rest of this passage is built around.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”
Why it matters: Dead in trespasses and sins. In the Greek verse 1 has no verb at all; the ESV supplies “were.” Paul breaks off and picks the sentence back up in verse 5, where the main verb finally comes: God “made us alive.”
Verses 1–7 are one sentence in the Greek, and it starts without a verb. Verse 1 opens with an object: kai hymas ontas nekrous, “and you, being dead.” Then Paul breaks off for two relative clauses (vv.2–3), starts again with the subject in v.4 (“But God”), repeats the object in v.5 (“us, being dead”), and only then gives the verb: synezōopoiēsen, “made alive together with.” Grammarians call this break an anacoluthon. The “you” of verse 1 is the one God acts on in verse 5. Every English Bible has to supply something here (ESV “were,” WEB “made alive”). “Trespasses and sins” are in the dative, the realm or cause of the death.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”
“in which you once walked, following the course of this world,”
Why it matters: They walked: a whole way of life, following the current of this world. The dead are active.
en hais, “in which,” is feminine plural, so it points back to the sins: they were the ground the walking happened on. periepatēsate is aorist, the whole former life summed up as one past fact. pote, “once,” sets up the “but now” of v.13. “Course of this world” is literally “the age (aiōn) of this world” (see the ESV footnote).
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“in which you once walked, following the course of this world,”
“following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—”
Why it matters: Satan, the ruler of the power of the air, still at work in the disobedient. The world and the devil.
A second kata, “according to,” parallel to the first: the world, then its ruler. “The spirit that is now at work” uses energountos, a present participle: he is still working. It is the same verb Paul used for God’s power that raised Christ (1:20), so two energies are at work in this letter. “Sons of disobedience” is a Hebrew idiom: people marked by disobedience.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—”
“among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind,”
Why it matters: “We all.” Paul and every Jewish believer. The flesh is the third enemy, after the world and the devil.
en hois kai hēmeis pantes: “among whom we also, all.” The pronoun “we” is written out, which Greek does for emphasis: Paul and the Jewish believers join the Gentiles in the same condition. The two plurals, “desires” (literally “wills”) and “minds” (literally “thoughts”), say it reached the thinking as well as the body.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind,”
“and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Why it matters: Under God’s wrath, like everyone else. No one stands outside the problem.
ēmetha is imperfect, an ongoing state: “we were continually.” physei, “by nature,” points to what we were, not only to what we did. “Children of wrath” is the same Hebrew idiom as “sons of disobedience”: people under God’s wrath. There is a small variant here (ēmetha / ēmen) that does not change the meaning.
One line set against another.
“and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,”
Why it matters: The subject changes. Verses 1–3 were what we did. From here on, God acts. Mercy and great love are named as his reasons.
ho de theos: the subject of the sentence finally appears, four verses in, and it waits one more verse for its verb. plousios ōn, “being rich,” is a participle that gives the reason: because he is rich in mercy. “The great love with which he loved us” is literally “his great love which he loved us,” noun and verb from the same root for emphasis.
A point granted, and the statement that stands anyway.
“even when we were dead in our trespasses,”
GRANTEDWhy it matters: While we were still dead. He did not wait for us to improve.
kai ontas hēmas nekrous repeats verse 1 almost word for word, with “us” in place of “you.” Paul is picking up the sentence he dropped. The kai here means “even”: even while we were dead. The participle states our condition at the moment God acted.
The line the rest of this passage is built around.
“made us alive together with Christ—”
Why it matters: He made us alive together with Christ. This is the verb verse 1 was waiting for. One drive, two halves.
The main verb of verses 1–7. synezōopoiēsen: aorist, active, indicative, third person singular. The subject is God (v.4); the object is “us,” the dead of verses 1 and 5. It is a compound, syn + “make alive,” and it occurs only here and in Colossians 2:13. Everything in verses 1–4 has been waiting for this word. The aorist presents it as a definite act.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“made us alive together with Christ—”
“by grace you have been saved—”
Why it matters: To say how: by grace you have been saved. A finished act, still standing. He repeats it in verse 8.
A parenthesis that breaks into the sentence: chariti este sesōsmenoi. “Grace” is put first for emphasis. The verb is a perfect passive participle with “you are”: saved, and still saved, by someone else. Paul also switches from “us” back to “you”; he can’t wait until verse 8 to say it.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“made us alive together with Christ—”
“and raised us up with him”
Why it matters: Raised with him. Compare 1:20: what God did for Christ, he did for us with Christ.
synēgeiren, “raised with,” the second syn verb (also Col 2:12; 3:1). It answers 1:20 directly, where God “raised” Christ (egeiras). What God did for Christ, he did for us with Christ.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“and raised us up with him”
“and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”
Why it matters: Seated with him in the heavenly places. Made alive, raised, seated.
synekathisen, “seated with,” the third syn verb. It answers 1:20’s “seated him at his right hand.” “In the heavenly places” is a phrase only Ephesians uses (1:3; 1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). All three verbs are aorist, so Paul speaks of the seating as already done, “in Christ Jesus.”
What the line above it is aiming at.
“and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”
“so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace”
Why it matters: To show the surpassing riches of his grace in the ages to come. We are the display.
hina + subjunctive: purpose, and it governs all of vv.5–6. endeixētai is middle voice: God displays it for himself, for his own glory. “Immeasurable” is hyperballon, “surpassing,” a word Paul uses three times in this letter (1:19 power; 2:7 grace; 3:19 love). “The coming ages” is a present participle: ages still coming on.
It says how the line above it is carried out.
“so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace”
“in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Why it matters: In kindness toward us, in Christ Jesus.
“In kindness toward us” (en chrēstotēti eph’ hēmas) says how the display happens: God shows his grace by being kind to particular people.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
Why it matters: Because we were saved by grace, received through faith. The same finished-and-standing verb as verse 5.
tē gar chariti: gar explains, and the article tē means “the grace,” the grace just named in v.7 (and the parenthesis of v.5). The verb is the same perfect passive as v.5. Notice the two prepositions: by grace (dative, the means God uses) and dia pisteōs, through faith (the channel it is received by). Faith is never said to be the ground.
One line set against another.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
“And this is not your own doing;”
Why it matters: “This” is neuter in the Greek (touto); grace and faith are both feminine. Most commentators take it as the whole thing: saved by grace through faith. It is not your own doing.
kai touto ouk ex hymōn. touto, “this,” is neuter; “grace” and “faith” are both feminine, so it does not point to either word alone. Most commentators take it as the whole event, saved by grace through faith. ex hymōn, “out of you,” denies the source.
One line set against another.
“And this is not your own doing;”
“it is the gift of God,”
Why it matters: It is God’s gift. Not this, but that.
theou to dōron: a verbless line, and “God’s” comes first for emphasis: “God’s is the gift.” It stands opposite “out of you.” dōron appears only here in Paul.
One line set against another.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
“not a result of works,”
Why it matters: Works. Paul says “not” twice so no one misses it.
ouk ex ergōn matches ouk ex hymōn: two “not out of” phrases. Hold on to “works”; it comes back in verse 10 in a new role.
What the line above it is aiming at.
“not a result of works,”
“so that no one may boast.”
Why it matters: So that no one can boast. The credit stays with God.
hina mē tis kauchēsētai: most read it as purpose (some as result). kauchaomai, “boast,” is Paul’s word for self-reliance before God (Rom 3:27; 1 Cor 1:29–31).
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
“For we are his workmanship,”
Why it matters: Saved by grace (8a). We are something God made. The word is used elsewhere in the New Testament only for his creation (Rom 1:20).
autou gar esmen poiēma: “his” is put first for emphasis, “HIS workmanship we are,” the opposite of “out of you.” gar grounds the whole of vv.8–9. poiēma occurs only here and Romans 1:20 (God’s creation).
It says how the line above it is carried out.
“For we are his workmanship,”
“created in Christ Jesus for good works,”
Why it matters: Good works. Not saved by them, saved for them.
ktisthentes: aorist passive participle of ktizō, the verb for God creating. Watch the prepositions: salvation is not ex ergōn, “out of works” (v.9), but we were created epi ergois agathois, “for good works.” The same noun, with a different preposition, carries the theology.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“created in Christ Jesus for good works,”
“which God prepared beforehand,”
Why it matters: God, ahead of time. He laid the road before we took a step.
hois proētoimasen ho theos. The relative “which” should be accusative but takes the dative of “works” just before it (case attraction). proetoimazō, “prepare beforehand,” occurs only here and Romans 9:23.
What the line above it is aiming at.
“which God prepared beforehand,”
“that we should walk in them.”
Why it matters: “Walk.” In verse 2 we walked following the course of this world. Now we walk in works God prepared. Same verb, new road.
hina en autois peripatēsōmen: purpose, aorist subjunctive. “Walk” closes the paragraph the way it opened in v.2 (periepatēsate), a bracket (inclusio): the old walk and the new walk.
The reason comes first; this line is the conclusion drawn from it.
“made us alive together with Christ—”
“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh,”
Why it matters: Remember where they came from. Because of all God has done, look back.
Dio mnēmoneuete: “therefore” draws on vv.1–10, and the verb is a present imperative, “keep remembering.” Like verse 1, this sentence breaks off: hoti pote hymeis, “that once you…” is interrupted by verse 11b, and hoti is repeated in verse 12 to pick it up again.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh,”
“called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—”
Why it matters: “Uncircumcision,” by people whose own mark was made by hands. Paul notes how shallow the label is.
legomenoi … legomenēs: “the so-called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision.” The repeated “so-called” keeps the labels at arm’s length. cheiropoiētou, “made by hands,” is the New Testament word for the merely human (Mark 14:58; Acts 7:48; Heb 9:11, 24); in the Greek Old Testament it is used of idols.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh,”
“remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,”
Why it matters: They were apart from Christ, the Messiah.
The resumed hoti: “remember that you were.” ēte is imperfect, an ongoing state. chōris Christou: apart from the Messiah, outside the hope Israel had been given.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,”
“alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,”
Why it matters: Israel’s community and the covenant promises.
apēllotriōmenoi is a perfect passive participle: a settled state of being cut off (the same word in 4:18 and Col 1:21). “Covenants” is plural: the promises given to Abraham, Moses, David.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,”
“having no hope and without God in the world.”
Why it matters: No hope, and without God in the world. The bottom of the list.
atheoi, “without God,” occurs only here in the New Testament. It does not mean they believed in no gods; it means they had none of the true God.
One line set against another.
“remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,”
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Why it matters: “But now.” Far off, made near, by the blood of Christ.
nyni de, “but now,” the emphatic form, answering the “once” of vv.2 and 11, as “But God” answered vv.1–3. “Far” and “near” come from Isaiah 57:19, which Paul quotes in v.17. egenēthēte is aorist passive: you were brought near.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
“For he himself is our peace,”
Why it matters: Christ himself is our peace. Not a treaty: a person.
Autos gar estin hē eirēnē hēmōn: autos is emphatic, “He himself.” Peace is a person before it is a condition.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“For he himself is our peace,”
“who has made us both one”
Why it matters: He made Jew and Gentile one.
ta amphotera hen: “both” and “one” are neuter, “the two things into one thing.” In vv.15–16 Paul switches to masculine, “the two” as people, “one new man.”
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“who has made us both one”
“and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”
Why it matters: The dividing wall. Many think of the temple barrier that kept Gentiles out of the inner courts.
to mesotoichon tou phragmou, “the dividing wall of the fence.” mesotoichon occurs only here in the New Testament. Many connect it with the temple barrier that kept Gentiles out of the inner courts. Where “in his flesh” belongs is debated: the ESV joins it to the breaking down (v.14), others to the abolishing (v.15).
It says how the line above it is carried out.
“and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”
“by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances,”
Why it matters: In his flesh, by setting aside the law of commandments in ordinances, the source of the hostility.
katargēsas, “having made ineffective,” the same verb as Romans 7:2, 6. “The law of commandments in ordinances”: readers differ on whether Paul means the law as a whole as a covenant code, or the parts that divided Jew from Gentile. The participle gives the means of breaking down the wall.
What the line above it is aiming at.
“by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances,”
“that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,”
Why it matters: One new humanity out of the two. Not Gentiles turned into Jews: something new.
hina … ktisē: purpose, and ktizō again, the creation verb of v.10. kainos means new in kind, not merely recent: one new humanity, not Gentiles turned into Jews or Jews into Gentiles.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,”
“and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross,”
Why it matters: To reconcile both to God in one body, through the cross. Peace with each other and peace with God.
apokatallaxē, a double compound, “fully reconcile,” occurs only here and Colossians 1:20, 22. Still under the same hina: peace with each other (v.15) and peace with God (v.16) are one purpose. “One body” may mean the church (1:23), Christ’s crucified body, or both.
It says how the line above it is carried out.
“and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross,”
“thereby killing the hostility.”
Why it matters: The hostility. He put it to death.
apokteinas tēn echthran en autō: “having killed the hostility by it,” the cross (or “in himself”). Paul plays on it: the one who was killed is the one who did the killing.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“For he himself is our peace,”
“And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.”
Why it matters: The far (Gentiles) and the near (Jews). The same peace to both.
elthōn euēngelisato eirēnēn echoes Isaiah 52:7 (the one who brings good news of peace) and quotes Isaiah 57:19 (peace to the far and to the near). The Greek repeats “peace” for both groups, as the ESV keeps.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.”
“For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
Why it matters: Access: through the Son, in one Spirit, to the Father. All three persons in one line.
hoti, “for.” di’ autou … en heni pneumati pros ton patera: through the Son, in the Spirit, to the Father, the Trinity in one line. prosagōgē, “access,” is an audience with a king (also 3:12; Rom 5:2). “Have” is present: we keep having it.
The reason comes first; this line is the conclusion drawn from it.
“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh,”
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,”
Why it matters: They are no longer outsiders. Compare verse 12: strangers to the covenants.
ara oun, a double “therefore,” one of Paul’s strongest. xenoi kai paroikoi: foreigners, and resident aliens without citizen rights (“sojourners,” ESV footnote).
One line set against another.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,”
“but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,”
Why it matters: Fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household. Not this, but that.
alla: not this, but that. sympolitai, “fellow citizens,” occurs only here in the New Testament, and Paul goes past citizens to family: oikeioi tou theou, members of God’s household.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,”
“built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,”
Why it matters: The apostles and prophets.
epoikodomēthentes: aorist passive participle, “having been built on.” One article covers “apostles and prophets” together. Many take the prophets as New Testament prophets, since the same pair appears in 3:5 and 4:11.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,”
“Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,”
Why it matters: Christ Jesus himself, the cornerstone.
A genitive absolute: “Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” akrogōniaios comes from Isaiah 28:16 (Greek OT) and occurs only here and 1 Peter 2:6. Some read it as the capstone at the top; most as the cornerstone that sets the whole building.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,”
“in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
Why it matters: A holy temple. It grows; it is not finished.
synarmologoumenē (“being joined together,” only here and 4:16) and auxei (“grows”) are both present: the building is still going up. naos is the sanctuary itself, the place where God dwells, not the temple courts.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
“In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Why it matters: They are built in too, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. The far-off became God’s home.
synoikodomeisthe, “you are being built together,” occurs only here in the New Testament. It is present, passive, and another syn word: the “with” of vv.5–6 (with Christ) ends as a “with” of believers (with each other). The goal is katoikētērion tou theou, a dwelling place for God.
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