Discovery BoxEphesians 2:1--3:21
Context2:1 And although you were 1 dead 2 in your transgressions and sins, 2:2 in which 3 you formerly lived 4 according to this world’s present path, 5 according to the ruler of the kingdom 6 of the air, the ruler of 7 the spirit 8 that is now energizing 9 the sons of disobedience, 10 2:3 among whom 11 all of us 12 also 13 formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath 14 even as the rest… 15
2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! 16 – 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 17 the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward 18 us in Christ Jesus. 2:8 For by grace you are saved 19 through faith, 20 and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from 21 works, so that no one can boast. 22 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. 23
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 24 by human hands – 2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, 25 alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, 26 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. 27 2:14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one 28 and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, 2:15 when he nullified 29 in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man 30 out of two, 31 thus making peace, 2:16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. 32 2:17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 2:18 so that 33 through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 2:20 because you have been built 34 on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 35 with Christ Jesus himself as 36 the cornerstone. 37 2:21 In him 38 the whole building, 39 being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus 40 for the sake of you Gentiles – 3:2 if indeed 41 you have heard of the stewardship 42 of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3:3 that 43 by revelation the divine secret 44 was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. 45 3:4 When reading this, 46 you will be able to 47 understand my insight into this secret 48 of Christ. 3:5 Now this secret 49 was not disclosed to people 50 in former 51 generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by 52 the Spirit, 3:6 namely, that through the gospel 53 the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members 54 of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 3:7 I became a servant of this gospel 55 according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by 56 the exercise of his power. 57 3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints 58 – this grace was given, 59 to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 3:9 and to enlighten 60 everyone about God’s secret plan 61 – a secret that has been hidden for ages 62 in God 63 who has created all things. 3:10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that 64 through the church the multifaceted wisdom 65 of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. 3:11 This was according to 66 the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 3:12 in whom we have boldness and confident access 67 to God 68 because of 69 Christ’s 70 faithfulness. 71 3:13 For this reason I ask you 72 not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, 73 which 74 is your glory. 75
3:14 For this reason 76 I kneel 77 before the Father, 78 3:15 from 79 whom every family 80 in heaven and on the earth is named. 3:16 I pray that 81 according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, 3:18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 82 3:19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to 83 all the fullness of God.
3:20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us 84 is able to do far beyond 85 all that we ask or think, 3:21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
[2:1] 1 tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.
[2:1] 2 sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.
[2:2] 3 sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.
[2:2] 5 tn Or possibly “Aeon.”
[2:2] 6 tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”
[2:2] 7 tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).
[2:2] 8 sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).
[2:2] 10 sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.
[2:3] 11 sn Among whom. The relative pronoun phrase that begins v. 3 is identical, except for gender, to the one that begins v. 2 (ἐν αἵς [en Jais], ἐν οἵς [en Jois]). By the structure, the author is building an argument for our hopeless condition: We lived in sin and we lived among sinful people. Our doom looked to be sealed as well in v. 2: Both the external environment (kingdom of the air) and our internal motivation and attitude (the spirit that is now energizing) were under the devil’s thumb (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).
[2:3] 14 sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”
[2:3] 15 sn Eph 2:1-3. The translation of vv. 1-3 is very literal, even to the point of retaining the awkward syntax of the original. See note on the word dead in 2:1.
[2:5] 16 tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are saved”).
[2:7] 17 tn Or possibly “to the Aeons who are about to come.”
[2:8] 19 tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.
[2:8] 20 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] 21 tn Or “not as a result of.”
[2:9] 22 tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”
[2:10] 23 tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).
[2:11] 24 tn Grk “in the flesh.”
[2:12] 25 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] 26 tn Or “covenants of the promise.”
[2:13] 27 tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”
[2:14] 28 tn Grk “who made the both one.”
[2:15] 29 tn Or “rendered inoperative.” This is a difficult text to translate because it is not easy to find an English term which communicates well the essence of the author’s meaning, especially since legal terminology is involved. Many other translations use the term “abolish” (so NRSV, NASB, NIV), but this term implies complete destruction which is not the author’s meaning here. The verb καταργέω (katargew) can readily have the meaning “to cause someth. to lose its power or effectiveness” (BDAG 525 s.v. 2, where this passage is listed), and this meaning fits quite naturally here within the author’s legal mindset. A proper English term which communicates this well is “nullify” since this word carries the denotation of “making something legally null and void.” This is not, however, a common English word. An alternate term like “rendered inoperative [or ineffective]” is also accurate but fairly inelegant. For this reason, the translation retains the term “nullify”; it is the best choice of the available options, despite its problems.
[2:15] 30 tn In this context the author is not referring to a new individual, but instead to a new corporate entity united in Christ (cf. BDAG 497 s.v. καινός 3.b: “All the Christians together appear as κ. ἄνθρωπος Eph 2:15”). This is clear from the comparison made between the Gentiles and Israel in the immediately preceding verses and the assertion in v. 14 that Christ “made both groups into one.” This is a different metaphor than the “new man” of Eph 4:24; in that passage the “new man” refers to the new life a believer has through a relationship to Christ.
[2:15] 31 tn Grk “in order to create the two into one new man.” Eph 2:14-16 is one sentence in Greek. A new sentence was started here in the translation for clarity since contemporary English is less tolerant of extended sentences.
[2:16] 32 tn Grk “by killing the hostility in himself.”
[2:18] 33 tn Or “for.” BDAG gives the consecutive ὅτι (Joti) as a possible category of NT usage (BDAG 732 s.v. 5.c).
[2:20] 34 tn Grk “having been built.”
[2:20] 35 sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.
[2:20] 36 tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”
[2:20] 37 tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogwniaio") is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.
[2:21] 38 tn Grk “in whom” (v. 21 is a relative clause, subordinate to v. 20).
[2:21] 39 tc Although several important witnesses (א1 A C P 6 81 326 1739c 1881) have πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή (pasa Jh oikodomh), instead of πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (the reading of א* B D F G Ψ 33 1739* Ï), the article is almost surely a scribal addition intended to clarify the meaning of the text, for with the article the meaning is unambiguously “the whole building.”
[3:1] 40 tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine
[3:2] 41 sn If indeed. The author is not doubting whether his audience has heard, but is rather using provocative language (if indeed) to engage his audience in thinking about the magnificence of God’s grace. However, in English translation, the apodosis (“then”-clause) does not come until v. 13, leaving the protasis (“if”-clause) dangling. Eph 3:2-7 constitute one sentence in Greek.
[3:2] 42 tn Or “administration,” “dispensation,” “commission.”
[3:3] 43 tn Or “namely, that is.”
[3:3] 45 tn Or “as I wrote above briefly.”
[3:4] 46 tn Grk “which, when reading.”
[3:4] 47 tn Grk “you are able to.”
[3:5] 49 tn Grk “which.” Verse 5 is technically a relative clause, subordinate to the thought of v. 4.
[3:5] 50 tn Grk “the sons of men” (a Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”).
[3:6] 53 sn The phrase through the gospel is placed last in the sentence in Greek for emphasis. It has been moved forward for clarity.
[3:6] 54 tn Grk “and fellow members.”
[3:7] 55 tn Grk “of which I was made a minister,” “of which I became a servant.”
[3:7] 56 tn Grk “according to.”
[3:7] 57 sn On the exercise of his power see 1:19-20.
[3:8] 58 sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.
[3:8] 59 sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).
[3:9] 60 tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.
[3:9] 61 tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.
[3:9] 62 tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.
[3:9] 63 tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.
[3:10] 64 tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.
[3:10] 65 tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”
[3:11] 66 tn Grk “according to.” The verse is a prepositional phrase subordinate to v. 10.
[3:12] 67 tn Grk “access in confidence.”
[3:12] 68 tn The phrase “to God” is not in the text, but is clearly implied by the preceding, “access.”
[3:12] 69 tn Grk “through,” “by way of.”
[3:12] 71 tn Or “faith in him.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.
[3:13] 72 tn Grk “I ask.” No direct object is given in Greek, leaving room for the possibility that either “God” (since the verb is often associated with prayer) or “you” is in view.
[3:13] 73 tn Grk “my trials on your behalf.”
[3:13] 74 sn Which. The antecedent (i.e., the word or concept to which this clause refers back) may be either “what I am suffering for you” or the larger concept of the recipients not losing heart over Paul’s suffering for them. The relative pronoun “which” is attracted to the predicate nominative “glory” in its gender and number (feminine singular), making the antecedent ambiguous. Paul’s suffering for them could be viewed as their glory (cf. Col 1:24 for a parallel) in that his suffering has brought about their salvation, but if so his suffering must be viewed as more than his present imprisonment in Rome; it would be a general description of his ministry overall (cf. 2 Cor 11:23-27). The other option is that the author is implicitly arguing that the believers have continued to have courage in the midst of his trials (as not to lose heart suggests) and that this is their glory. Philippians 1:27-28 offers an interesting parallel: The believers’ courage in the face of adversity is a sign of their salvation.
[3:13] 75 tn Or “Or who is your glory?” The relative pronoun ἥτις (Jhti"), if divided differently, would become ἤ τίς (h ti"). Since there were no word breaks in the original
[3:14] 76 sn For this reason resumes the point begun in v. 1, after a long parenthesis.
[3:14] 77 tn Grk “I bend my knees.”
[3:14] 78 tc Most Western and Byzantine witnesses, along with a few others (א2 D F G Ψ 0278 1881 Ï lat sy), have “of our Lord Jesus Christ” after “Father,” but such an edifying phrase cannot explain the rise of the reading that lacks it, especially when the shorter reading is attested by early and important witnesses such as Ì46 א* A B C P 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 co Or Hier.
[3:15] 80 tn Or “the whole family.”
[3:16] 81 tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.
[3:18] 82 sn The object of these dimensions is not stated in the text. Interpreters have suggested a variety of referents for this unstated object, including the cross of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem (which is then sometimes linked to the Church), God’s power, the fullness of salvation given in Christ, the Wisdom of God, and the love of Christ. Of these interpretations, the last two are the most plausible. Associations from Wisdom literature favor the Wisdom of God, but the immediate context favors the love of Christ. For detailed discussion of these interpretive options, see A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians (WBC), 207-13, who ultimately favors the love of Christ.
[3:20] 84 sn On the power that is working within us see 1:19-20.
[3:20] 85 tn Or “infinitely beyond,” “far more abundantly than.”
