Ephesians Chapter 2

Eph 2:1 You were once dead because of your failures and sins.

When I take this as a truth, that I was dead in my sins, meaning that I was dead spiritually. I had no connection with the Lord or the precious Holy Spirit until I believed and received Jesus as the Lord of my life. When I received Jesus into my everyday life for the first time He started day by day raise me up as Gods child. I used Him as my role model, and desired to be like Him. I am still doing this 44 years later. At times I see me living like Jesus wants, and other times I miss the mark, but I know I will be like Him in heaven as this is one of the promises He gave us.

Eph 2:2 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 works in the children of disobedience:

In times in the pass I did follow the ways of the world, even now I have to watch my walk with the Lord as I am reaching out to the lost and lifting them up to Jesus. I have found that Jesus our Lord wasn’t “a Holier than thou person” when He walked the earth. He just reached out to the world with His love and truth. I want to do the same. I do not want to be so “self-righteous” that I blow others away with “my holiness”. I know the only Holiness in me is Jesus. So I just share Him. Many people ask me why so many bad things happen in this world, well part B of the verse tells us why. Satan continues to work in people who refuse to believe and obey Jesus. Therefore they live according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. In other words they listen to Satan. Most do not even realize it, as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12 verse 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad.

Eph 2:3  All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else.

As the next verse says God had mercy on all if they accept it. This is so true, I know I followed my friends and I was drinking every weekend at the age of 15 then started doing drugs while in the Navy in 1968. I continued doing drugs every day for the next 5 years till the Lord came into my life. If I had been judged for the nature of who I was I would have received God’s anger just like everyone else.

Eph 2:4 But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us.

I didn’t realize who I was until I read the New Testament and compared myself to Jesus. I saw my many lacks of love that I committed daily. Jesus let me see, and I found out that because of my nature, I deserved God’s anger, but on the contrary God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us sent His Son Jesus. He was always there with His hands reaching out in love, waiting for me to come to Him.

Eph 2:5 We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness that saved you.)

The wonderful thing about this verse is that I did nothing to deserve His kindness. I just had to invite Jesus in, and started to follow His sample. I started to read His words that are in the Bible and His Holy Spirit has done the rest from that day forward. Even when I fall short and do something I know is not something Jesus would want me to do He stays with me. I have to do is my part, which is repent of any wrong I do, then ask others to forgive me first, and then ask God to forgive me. You see our Father in heaven doesn’t demand perfection, only love. He knows we are growing in Him and has patience with us if we don’t give up. Asking God and others for forgiveness daily as needed, cleans me daily and allows me to keep that uninterrupted connection with my Father in heaven through Jesus.

Eph 2:6  God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him.

We have a place in heaven. He has promised it and it is done. Adam & Eve died when they disobeyed God in the Garden. They did not die physically but they died spiritually. Everyone born in this world are born physically and spiritually dead. The spiritual birth is a choice for each of us. God in His wonderful wisdom has offered this spiritual birth to those who seek it. Before Jesus die for our sins, men and women who sought after God would find Him, then they would offer a sin offering to show that they had repented of the wrong doing and ask God for forgiveness.  When Jesus came He die for our sins, He made a way to where all could come to Him personally and daily for the repentance of our sins, therefore allowing mankind to walk closer to our Lord & God. Jesus has also promised the ones who follow Him a place in heaven with Him. This is a promise I have accepted and received, therefore I know I will be in heaven with Him, as He is a God who keeps all His promises.

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

We are part of the ages to come and He has shown us in this promise that God is generous and will show us His kindness for eternity in the world to come. Jesus’s love is eternal and is given to us as a gift.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

By Gods wonderful grace He saved us from Hell and an eternal separation from Him through an act of kindness. We had nothing to do with it. Being saved from Hell and an eternal separation is a gift from God. We just have to truly believe in Jesus, who came to earth to offer us a daily walk with Him. We just have to keep our minds on Him. We need to read and follow His word daily. Doing so will bring us to repentance of a wasteful life, a life that is dedicated to selfish pursuits and will  redirected us towards living daily with our Lord and God. Jesus has his hands open and waiting for us to walk & talk with Him daily. He loves us as a husband loves his wife and He desires communication with us.

Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Receiving a place in heaven is not the result of anything we’ve done, so no one can brag about it. We have all sinned and fallen short of the standard of God. None of us are worthy to be called Gods children. Jesus came to love us back to God.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

God has made us who we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. Isn’t it wonderful when we realize that God has made us who we are? He knows us, and wants us to be who we are. We never need to try to be anyone else. God wants us to be who He has created us to be and the only way to do that is to know he has designed us, and has a perfect plan for each of us if we are willing to seek Him and allow Him to lead us to be who He designed us to be in Jesus. Then and only then we will be happy and fulfilled.

Eph 2:11  Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the un-circumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands.

As Paul puts it in Romans chapter 2 verse 29; a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. A person is a Jew inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, and performed by the Holy Spirit.
If you have received Jesus as your Lord, you are a spiritual Jew, and have been circumcised spiritually. This circumcision is an opening of the heart, mind and soul. It is that incredible moment when our eyes are opened to the realization of why we are alive. Our eyes see the deeper meaning of life, which is to truly love God. This means we dedicate of lives to live for Him and love others as ourselves.

Eph 2:12  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:

As Henry puts it; At that time, while you were Gentiles, and in an unconverted state, you were,” 1. “In a Christless condition, without the knowledge of the Messiah, and without any saving interest in him or relation to him.” It is true of all unconverted sinners, all those who are destitute of faith, that they have no saving interest in Christ; and it must be a sad and deplorable thing for a soul to be without a Christ. Being without Christ, they were, 2. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; they did not belong to Christ’s church, and had no communion with it. 3. They had no hope, that is, beyond this life – no well-grounded hope in God, no hope of spiritual and eternal blessings. Those who are without Christ, and strangers from the covenant, can have no good hope; for Christ and the covenant are the ground and foundation of all the Christian’s hopes. They were in a state of distance and estrangement from God: Without God in the world; not without some general knowledge of a deity, for they worshipped idols, but living without any due regard to him, any acknowledged dependence on him, and any special interest in him.

I remember in my own life when I did not have the Holy Spirit and how all my desires were for things of this world. I wanted lots of money, an house, car, and many other things. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things, as long as we don’t make a god of them. Meaning we do not put them or anything before Jesus and the eternal works and blessings He taught us. As long as we seek Him first every day, remembering what He said in Matthew chapter 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

I have times when I am walking with my Lord and other times when it seems He is far away. Our goal in this life is to walk being led by the Holy Spirit daily even moment by moment. What a glorious thing it is when I know He is with me and leading me to do Gods will, to see the Lord use my person to reach another with His love and compassion. To see the light of God flow through me like a light bulb receiving electricity. The bulb can shine because of the power it receives; it could never shine without being plugged in. I am seeking a time when my cord is connected to the power source more and more, so my light will shine more. 

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

If we as sincere followers of Jesus are living the love and self-sacrifice that He lived and taught, His peace and love will break down all and any wall that divides us. Only the love of Jesus will stop the divisions that the devil has set between the human races.

Eph 2:15  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;

Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though they were one. Jesus has united us in peace. Jesus brought a new law Mathew 22 36; Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Jesus says Mathew 22 36-40;

1. We are free from the hundreds of laws given in the Old Testament.
2. We are given 2 laws that cover all the laws, but in many ways is more difficult because the law of love is not just a bunch of don’t do’s but also a bunch of do’s. We are not to only forgive our enemy but also to pray for our enemies.

Matthew 5:43-48

43 “Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy.’44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you,45 that ye may be the children of your Father who is in Heaven. For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect.

That’s the goal. We seek to become as Jesus.

Galatians 3:24-26

24 Therefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Eph 2:16 By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God.

There are no races but one in God’s eyes. Jesus came and enlightened the world. There is only one race and that is the human race. God created the world for men and women to have freedom of choice. That choice allows men and women to love and seek the one God or not to love and seek the one God. As we see in the Bible and through history, men and women chose to create their own gods or even make themselves a god therefore forsaking the only true God and creator. When Jesus came He made it clear that our God loves us so much that He came in the flesh to show His love, power and grace. Then Jesus died on the cross to become the final sacrifice for the times we fall short of God’s perfect will, which is also called sin of men and women. Jesus was the final sacrifice for the uncountable sins of mankind and for the sin that causes all sin which is forgetting and or rejecting God and Jesus, His person in the flesh.

Eph 2:17  So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all to you Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to him.

The difference between the Jews and all other races and nations was that the Lord used the prophets of the Jews to maintain His connection to mankind. The other nations and kingdoms and rulers built themselves up as god or created their own gods. The true and only God, Creator of everything had to seek those men who were seeking Him and have them share with the world what He wanted. Many rejected the prophets and God and went their own way as they are today.

Eph 2:18 It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.

Jesus, Who in John chapter 1 verses 1 through 14 was with God and jointly created the earth and all that is in it. We see in John chapter 1 verse 14 that Jesus is the Word was made flesh, or in other words became a man, so when you read these verses replace the Word spoken here with Jesus. In the beginning was Jesus and Jesus was with God and Jesus was God.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 1:5 And the light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

John 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lights every man that cometh into the world.

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, (Jesus) and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

So when Jesus came in the flesh from the Kingdom of Heaven He brought the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit to earth with Him. Jesus now offers His Holy Spirit to all who will receive Him. We that receive His Spirit will be able to come before our eternal Creators,  Jesus, His and our Father God and the Holy Spirit when we leave this temporal world and go into the real world of eternity.

Eph 2:19  That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family.

We have been adopted into Gods family. Romans 11:17  If some of the branches were broken off, and you were a wild olive branch, and you were grafted in among the other branches and shared the root that produces the rich oil of the olive tree.

All of us weather Jew or any other races have become citizens of God’s heaven and children of God. Please note that not all Jews are citizens of heaven and children of God. Only the ones who are not following after other gods or not following after their own desires but are following after God and obeying Him by receiving Jesus, are His citizens and children.

Eph 2:20 You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself.

If we are following the Bible and the wonderful words of Jesus we will be building on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets and the cornerstone “Jesus” who is our Lord and God. as it says in John 20
John 20:25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” John 20:26 A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” John 20:27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!” John 20:28  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!” 

Eph 2:21 The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord.

Jesus said in John 15 “I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. John 15:2 He cuts off every branch joined to me that does not bear fruit. He trims every branch that does bear fruit. Then it will bear even more fruit.  John 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. John 15:4 Remain joined to me, and I will remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain joined to me. John 15:5 “I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything without me. John 15:6 If anyone does not remain joined to me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and dries up. Branches like those are picked up. They are thrown into the fire and burned. John 15:7 “If you remain joined to me and my words remain in you, ask for anything you wish. And it will be given to you. John 15:8 When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples. John 15:9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love.

Eph 2:22 And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.

If we belong to Jesus and we are being built together in Him it is imperative that we follow what the next verses say; 

1John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 1John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1John 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world hears them. 1John 4:6 We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 1John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is born of God, and knows God. 1John 4:8 He that loves not knows not God; for God is love. 1John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 1John 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 
1John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

We are called to live the love that Jesus lived. We will fail many times throughout our life time.  Just remember we are growing in His love. The closer we get to Jesus the more He will shine through.

God bless you and keep you.

Vince Varriale www.afreegift.us