This document provides a summary and commentary of Ephesians chapter 2 from the New King James Version of the Bible. It discusses how believers were once dead in their sins and trespasses but have now been made alive through God's grace and mercy. It explains that through faith in Jesus Christ, believers have been saved, raised up, and seated with Christ in the heavenly places. It notes how Gentiles who were once far off have now been brought near by the blood of Christ and discusses how Jesus reconciled Jews and Gentiles to God through his death on the cross. The summary emphasizes that believers are now fellow citizens in God's household and are being built up together as God's holy temple through the Spirit.

1. Ephesians Chapter 2
All NKJV unless otherwise specified
Ephesians 2
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And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
 We were once dead – spiritually dead – on our way to hell should we have died in our sins.
 But HE made us alive. It is because of His grace and mercy.
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in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who
now works in the sons of disobedience,
 We have all sinned previously and fallen short of the glory of God. Not one of us can say that we have never sinned.
 It is because of this sin that we were under the death penalty.
 The architect of this world system is the ‘prince of the power of the air’ that is the devil or Satan.
 He is very much involved in propagating this through the sons of disobedience through spiritual influence and control.
 These sons of disobedience are those who are unsaved, unrepentant, and live in conscious or unconscious sin.
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among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
 Just in case we think that this applies to other people only, Paul writes that we were these very same people.
 These lusts controlled our minds and bodies. We in fact had no control over these lusts in the long run since we
obeyed our previous master Satan.
 We were children of wrath, awaiting the very righteous judgment of God.
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But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5
even when we were dead in trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
 “But God” – means an intervention occurred. He stepped in when all hope seemed to be lost (we had not even the
slightest idea of the true consequences of what we were doing) – and He brought the necessary conviction of sin.
 He loved us even though we were enemies of God by the sins and trespasses we had committed against Him.
 By the power which Christ was raised from the dead made us – too- alive in Jesus Christ.
 By His grace we have been saved – we have done nothing to earn it. In fact there is absolutely nothing you could have
done do to pay the penalty for your sins. The price was too great. Rather God paid this penalty for you through Jesus
Christ.
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and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7
that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
 Just as Christ has been raised from the dead, so we have been made alive in Him.
 Not only is this salvation one of rescuing us from the dead, but it is vastly more comprehensive than this.
 We have been made co-heirs with Jesus Christ, where we literally sit together with Jesus in heavenly places.
 God has promised and fulfilled these promises in His show of kindness towards us – and the scope of this is vastly
greater than all you can even ask or think.
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For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9
not of works, lest anyone
should boast.
 It is by faith (believing in Jesus Christ) that you have been saved.
 God is the author and finisher of our faith. The very seed of faith needed in order to believe was given by God – a gift
of God.
 Since God gave us this faith seed (He predestined us), and we believed, we were saved. We cannot say that we were
saved by any other means. We could not earn salvation.
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For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk
in them.
 We are Jesus’ work of art. He is the Potter and we are the clay.
 We have been created for a purpose. Jer 29v11. He saved you so that you would choose to walk in these purposes He
has for your life.
 We are to walk. This means to seek His will. May His Kingdom come. Ask and you will receive, Seek and you will
find, Knock and the door will be opened for you.

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Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision
made in the flesh by hands—
 You were once Gentiles in the flesh (Gentiles = non Jews).
 Called uncircumcision (Gentiles - unconsecrated - not separated unto God) by what is called the Circumcision (Jews –
consecrated – separated unto God).
 Basically, you, being a non-Jew, essentially excluded from God….
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that at that time you 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.
 Being a Gentile, there was once no hope for you. God’s promises were to Israel and hence the Jewish people.
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But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
 But now we see a new covenant which has been brought about through the blood of Christ.
 The new covenant makes provision for those who were once afar off, i.e. the Gentiles. He is now including mankind
into this covenant – those who believe (verse 8 above).
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For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
 From being called children of wrath above, we now see that He Himself is our peace. We are no longer children of
wrath because Jesus Christ has become our peace with God. God the Father carried out His wrath on Jesus Christ His
Son. Jesus out of His love for us took all of this upon himself because of His love for us.
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having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in
Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
 Without the law, there is no sin, because sin gets its power by the contravention of the law. Mankind could not uphold
the law.
 Just as through one man (Adam) death came to all mankind, so life came to all mankind to those who would believe
(Jesus)
 Jesus is the only man to have ever walked the earth who fulfilled the whole law and all the commandments of God.
 The new man is the church, not being a separate Jew versus Gentile, but rather one new man with a new covenant in
His blood which reconciles mankind to Himself.
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and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
 The cross was the turning point in the history of mankind and the universe.
 In one body (the Church). The separation between man and God is removed through the cross. The curtain is torn.
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And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
 Peter received the vision on the rooftop and was sent to Cornelius and his household, who became the first Gentile
convertees and who also received the Holy Spirit.
 Paul’s ministry was primarily to the Gentiles.
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For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
 For the Holy Spirit is given to both Jew and Gentile, to those who believe in Jesus Christ.
 And by the Holy Spirit, we now have access and relationship with the Father.
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Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household
of God,
 You are now the part of the Church, the body of Christ.
 You are included in all of the wonderful promises of God
 You are considered, by God, as being a member of His household. Think about it!!!! It is amazing.
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having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
 The Church has been built upon the apostles and prophets, those who have successfully walked in the good works
(verse 10 above) which God had prepared for them. They had a role to play in the building up of the Church.
 With Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone (the cornerstone in fact it the capping stone which completes the building
and is located on the top of the building – Jesus is the head of the Church). Without Jesus, there is no Church.
Building on any foundation other than that of Christ is futility, and the building will not stand.
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in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22
in whom you also are being built
together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
 The church is joined – each part (member) to one another, connected to Jesus Christ who is the Head.
 God is building His Church. There is no life outside of the Spirit. We are to walk in the Spirit always.