Ephesians 2

— and were by nature the children of wrath.] That is, in that natural state we derived from Adam. Dr. Wells. We are children of wrath, saith St. Jerome, either because the mind of man is prone to iniquity from his youth; or because, when we come to ripeness of years, and attain to the knowledge of God, we offend all in thought, word, and deed. Dr. Whitby.

“Children of wrath” means liable to, or worthy of, wrath. It is a Hebrew phrase. Parkhurst.

— one new man.] As being both to walk in newness of life, and by the new law of Christianity, and by Christ’s new commandments of love. “In Himself,” to whom, as their head, they are both united in one body. Dr. Whitby.

Ver. 1. For this cause] Namely, because I assert that these privileges belong equally to the believing Gentiles, though they be not circumcised; this being the reason why the Jews so fiercely persecuted him, and forced him to appeal unto Cesar, Acts xxii. 22; xxv. 11, 12; xxvi. 17. Dr. Whitby.

— I Paul, the prisoner] All the following verses of this chapter are one continued parenthesis to the first verse of the fourth chapter, where the Apostle resumes his exhortation again in the very same words. Pyle, Dr. Wells.

Ephesians 2:5

5. — hath quickened us together with Christ.] Not only by giving us a new birth, or renovation of life, but an assurance also of eternal life: for “because I live,” saith Christ, “ye shall live also,” John xiv. 19. “We shall be saved by His life,” Rom. v. 10. Dr. Whitby.

— (by grace ye are saved.) That is, are brought into a state of salvation. Dr. Whitby. See the note on 1 Cor. xv. 2; also on ver. 8, below.

Ephesians 2:6

6. And hath raised us up together, &c.] And as He hath quickened us out of this spiritual death, so in Christ our head He hath also, in assured hope, raised us up from the dead, and set us with Him in heaven: for He, who is our Head, sitting there, we are at present not unduly said to sit there also, and shall infallibly come thither in due time. Dr. Hammond.

Ephesians 2:7

7. That in the ages to come he might shew] What was not so well understood in the ages before the Gospel. Dr. Wells.

— his kindness toward us] That is, towards the Gentiles also, in calling them home to Him through Jesus Christ. Bp. Hall.

Ephesians 2:8

8. For by grace are ye saved &c.] For ye are delivered out of that heathen state by the mere undeserved mercy of God, who might justly have left you in it, without ever calling you, who had so sinned against it, out of it: and the preaching of the Gospel, which hath been the means of rescuing you thus, is a mere free, undeserved gift of God, the matter of the Gospel being no way to be known but by Divine revelation, and God having sent Christ, and Christ His Apostles, to make that known to you, without which you had never heard, as without hearing you could never have believed, such supernatural truths: and all this was an act of God’s free will and merciful pleasure. Dr. Hammond.

Our translation of this passage is a little ambiguous; and many people have unhappily concluded from it, that faith is the gift of God; a gift, I mean in some peculiar sense; such a gift as is not vouchsafed to mankind in general, like the gift of reason or any other common blessing; but is appropriated only to the select few, who are thereby enabled to lay hold on Christ, while all the rest of their brethren are necessarily lost for want of it. Now this is a very great mistake; for the Scriptures contain no such assertion: and the words of the text in particular say nothing about any kind of faith, as a gift of God, but refer wholly to another mat-

and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Ephesians 2:9

9. Not of works.] Not from any merits of yours to move God to it. Dr. Hammond. This salvation is not of works, lest any man should find cause of boasting in himself, that he hath earned it at God’s hand, and therefore is not beholden to His mercy. Bp. Hall.

— lest any man should boast.] So that none can boast. Pyle, Dr. Macknight.

Ephesians 2:10

10. For we are his workmanship, &c.] For all that we are and have is His: we are His workmanship, created not only in Adam to a natural life, but in Christ to a spiritual life of new obedience, that we should do all manner of good works, which God hath, in His eternal counsel, prepared and fore-ordained for us to walk in. Bp. Hall.

The Apostle means, that it was the design of God by the Gospel to prepare and enable men to live that life of purity and virtue, which will qualify them for life eternal. Pyle.

As none can do good works, but they who are created in Christ Jesus; so, to manifest ourselves to be created in Him, it is absolutely necessary that we do all the good works we can in our several vocations and callings; and that they who do so are the most happy persons upon earth; whatsoever their calling and condition may be, and whatsoever other persons may say or think of them. For they do the will of God upon earth as it is done in heaven: they shine as lights in the world; they have the honour to honour God and to be honoured by Him, 1 Sam. ii. 30. They have the pleasure of pleasing Him that governs the whole world; who therefore takes them into His own particular care and protection; makes their enemies to be at peace with them, Prov. xvi. 7; supplies them with all things both for life and godliness; directs and prospers them in all their undertakings; makes all things work together for their good while they live, and then saith to every one of them, Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of the Lord. Bp. Beveridge.

Ephesians 2:11

11. — who are called Uncircumcision &c.] Whom the Jewish people, that boasted themselves in their divine laws and privileges, were wont in derision to call uncircumcised, unclean, and sinful. Pyle.

Ephesians 2:12

12. — without Christ.] While ye were yet unconverted, ye were without any title to the benefits of Christ. Dr. Wells.

— aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.] To whom the Messiah primarily belonged. Dr. Whitby. Ye were no portion of the people of God. Dr. Wells.

— the covenants of promise.] Though the covenant in substance was one and the same, the Apostle here speaks of it in the plural number, as he does also Rom. ix. 4, as it was given out at several times, with various explications and enlargements, not only to Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob, but afterwards to the whole church of Israel. And as the promises which it contained centered in the great promise of the Messiah, and of salvation by Him, he therefore speaks of them in the singular number, but as one promise, which is agreeable to the Scripture style in other places. Dr. Doddridge.

— having no hope.] No firm and lively hope of spiritual and future blessings. Dr. Whitby. The heathens had among them the doctrine of a future state, and it was popularly taught and generally believed by the common people. But they reasoned very weakly upon the subject; they had no well grounded hope of future happiness; and they were very little impressed with it, so that they had no Deity, to whom they prayed for eternal life, as the Fathers often demonstrate. And by far the greater part of their most learned philosophers, either expressly denied in private lectures to their pupils the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, or taught principles quite inconsistent with it. Dr. Doddridge.

— and without God in the world.] That is, without the knowledge of the true God; without worshiping Him as God; without any affiance or trust in Him; without performing any obedience to Him. Burkitt.

Ephesians 2:13

13. — ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh] Ye who, being Gentiles, were obliged to worship in the outer court of the Temple, far off from the symbol of the Divine presence, are brought nigh to God, and to the Israelites in your acts of worship, through the death of Christ, whereby ye are entitled to all the privileges of the people of God. Dr. Macknight.

Ephesians 2:14

14. For he is our peace.] That is, the author of it: the effect being put for the cause. See 1 Thess. ii. 20. Dr. Macknight.

— who hath made both one.] Both Jew and Gentile “one” as to the privileges of the Gospel, John x. 16; Gal. iv. 28. Dr. Whitby.

— and hath broken down the middle wall of partition] The Apostle alludes to the wall in the temple, which parted the court of the Gentiles or uncircumcised proselytes, from that into which the Jews, and such proselytes as submitted to circumcision, were admitted. Christ is said to break this down, by making the Jews and Gentiles for the future, without any discrimination, one sheepfold under one Christ. Drs. Wells and Hammond.

Ephesians 2:15

15. — in his flesh] Or, body on the cross. Dr. Wells.

— the enmity.] That is, the cause of this division and enmity, which was the ceremonial law, consisting of divers rites and ordinances. Bp. Hall.

are now brought near by Christ’s blood. Anno DOMINI 64. Or, in himself.

both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Ephesians 2:16

16. — having slain the enmity thereby.] As the “enmity,” mentioned ver. 15, denotes the enmity between Jew and Gentile before the Gospel; so the “enmity” here denotes such as was between both, (that is, both Jew and Gentile,) and God; namely, the guilt of sin, which was the cause of it, and which Christ removed, by making a full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction for the sins of the whole world upon the cross. Dr. Wells.

Ephesians 2:17

17. — to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.] Both to the Gentiles, and to the Jews. Though Christ did not in His own person preach peace to the Gentiles, He gave commission to His Apostles to preach to them, Matt. xxviii. 19; and they executed His commission. Burkitt.

Ephesians 2:18

18. For through him &c.] That is, through the merits of Christ’s death both Jews and Gentiles have liberty to worship the Father by the same spiritual form of worship, and by the assistance of the one Spirit of God. Dr. Macknight.

The economy of God in the Gospel dispensation is shut up by the Apostle in these few words, “We have access unto the Father through Christ by the Spirit.” To have a distinct conception of this, and of the different offices of the Son and of the Spirit, we must conceive the Spirit of God as always present with us; the Son, as always in the presence of the Father. The Spirit dwells with the faithful, to guide and to direct them, to second and encourage all their good desires, to help them in overcoming their infirmities; in a word, to labour together with them in the work of their salvation, to make their calling and election sure. The Son of God is at the right hand of the Majesty on high; there He is our advocate, He intercedes for us, He receives and offers up our prayers, He obtains for us the remission of our sins, in virtue of the one oblation which He once made of Himself upon the cross, the memorial of which is ever in the sight of God. This will teach us what it is to “have access by the Spirit, through Christ.” For the Spirit abideth with us, He is at our right hand, and by His happy influence it is that we draw near to Christ, and by Him approach to the Father. The Son is our High Priest, clothed with majesty and power, and seated at the right hand of God, able to save all who will come to Him; through whose powerful and always prevailing mediation and intercession, the way is opened to pardon and reconciliation. The Spirit is our Comforter, given us to dwell and to abide with us, to be a

Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Ephesians 2:19

19. — strangers] All the nations of the world, except the Jews, were called strangers to the God of Israel, but the Jews were said to be near to Him. But now, saith the Apostle, there is no such difference: the believing Gentiles being equally with the believing Jews admitted to the privileges of the new Jerusalem, and equally related to God, as part of His family. Burkitt, Dr. Whitby.

— fellowcitizens with the saints.] That is, members of the commonwealth of the people of God. Dr. Wells.

Ephesians 2:20

20. — of the apostles and prophets.] Upon the truth of all the prophecies of the Old, and the Apostolical doctrines of the New Testament. Pyle. Or, the Jewish prophets may be called the foundation of the church of God, because they preached in an obscure manner most of the doctrines of the Gospel. Dr. Macknight.

— Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.] Who supports and cements the whole building, both of believing Jews and Gentiles, and unites both into one body by His Spirit. Dr. Whitby.

Ephesians 2:22

22. — for an habitation of God through the Spirit.] The meaning of this allegory seems in short to be this: According to what was foretold by the Prophets of the Old Testament, and preached now by the Apostles of the New, the believing Gentiles as well as Jews are equally members of Christ’s kingdom; being united together without any distinction under Christ their head by the Spirit, into such a well-framed body, that God will delight in them as His people, and dwell amongst them as in a well-framed building set apart or dedicated to His service. Dr. Wells.

Chap. III. After St. Paul had taught in the foregoing chapter, that the Gentiles who had embraced Christianity composed but one people with the converted Jews, he tells the Ephesians that he was a prisoner at Rome for preaching this doctrine, the Jews having accused him, and delivered him to the Gentiles for no other reason. He observes, that the calling of the Gentiles had been formerly a hidden mystery, and unknown to mankind; but that God had foretold it by the Prophets, and revealed it to the Apostle by the Holy Ghost; and exhorts the Ephesians not to be disheartened at the afflictions which he endured, and which were so glorious and profitable for them. He next beseeches God

Anno DOMINI 64. The hidden mystery of the salvation of the Gentiles revealed.