Ephesians 2:6-13

2:6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 2:7 to demonstrate in the coming ages ¹  the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward ²  us in Christ Jesus. 2:8 For by grace you are saved ³  through faith, ⁴  and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from ⁵  works, so that no one can boast. ⁶  2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. ⁷ 

New Life Corporately

2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body ⁸  by human hands – 2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, ⁹  alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, ¹⁰  having no hope and without God in the world. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹¹ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn Or possibly “to the Aeons who are about to come.”

[2:7]  ² tn Or “upon.”

[2:8]  ¹ tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.

[2:8]  ² tc The feminine article is found before πίστεως (pistews, “faith”) in the Byzantine text as well as in A Ψ 1881 pc. Perhaps for some scribes the article was intended to imply creedal fidelity as a necessary condition of salvation (“you are saved through the faith”), although elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia th" pistew") is used for the act of believing rather than the content of faith (cf. Rom 3:30, 31; Gal 3:14; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12). On the other side, strong representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א B D* F G P 0278 6 33 1739 al bo) lack the article. Hence, both text-critically and exegetically, the meaning of the text here is most likely “saved through faith” as opposed to “saved through the faith.” Regarding the textual problem, the lack of the article is the preferred reading.

[2:9]  ¹ tn Or “not as a result of.”

[2:9]  ² tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”

[2:10]  ¹ tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).

[2:11]  ¹ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[2:12]  ¹ tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”

[2:12]  ² tn Or “covenants of the promise.”

[2:13]  ¹ tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”