The Letter to the Ephesians

Ephesians 2: 8 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.

I mentioned some time ago that I wanted to spend time in these verses, and also the broader context of verses 1 – 10 in this second chapter of Ephesians. I have had a difficult time knowing where or how to start, how to organize my thoughts (of which there are many, fighting for space within my head and heart), and, ultimately, a struggle with identifying just what it was that I was trying to understand.

First a side note: apparently, this letter is one of the Pauline letters for which there is controversy regarding the authorship. I merely point this out to note it, however the controversy is irrelevant to me. The Church has long accepted it as authored by the apostle Paul, and even if this is not true, the Church has unequivocally accepted it as canonical, incorporating its teaching into the doctrines and theology of the faith (albeit, with some varied understanding by various traditions). Case closed for me.

Please keep in mind as you read the following: I am not a pastor or priest; I am not a trained theologian. I believe my understanding to be reasonable, but I am learning – from others, and, by writing, teaching myself. In other words, I am a work in progress and what I write should be understood in this context.

So…where to begin? I will begin this examination here, noting that Paul is writing to a Gentile church:

Ephesians 2: 11 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…

The letter is to a Gentile Church, and this is necessary to understand in order to keep straight Paul’s uses of “us,” “we,” and “you” in the beginning sections of the letter. Also note: the distinction made based on circumcised status within the Church community.

It could very well be that the conflict regarding such matters of circumcision, etc., continue, despite the decision in the Jerusalem Council. There are indications even after this council that there are false teachers who continue to teach the requirement of circumcision, etc. It appears that Paul is addressing just such matters to the Gentiles in Ephesus.

Paul begins by addressing the “us” and “we,” the Jews, of which Paul is, of course, one:

Ephesians 1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Paul is establishing the position of the Jews relative to God. He opens with “us” and “we,” including himself (obviously) as a member of these people with whom God long ago established relationship – those circumcised in the flesh.

The Jews were the ones blessed with every spiritual blessing, chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame; the Jews were predestined to adoption, according to God’s good pleasure.

Paul continues with this theme in verses 7 – 11:

Ephesians 1: 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

All these things, Paul is writing in regard to the Jews, emphasized by the closing verse, “that we who first trusted in Christ” – this, of course, being made up wholly (at least to my understanding) of Jews – to include those who trusted in Him before the Incarnation.

From here, Paul immediately changes the aim toward “you”:

Ephesians 1: 13(a) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation…

“You.” The Gentiles of Ephesus. “Also.” Just as what Paul was writing about the Jews, this “also” applies to “you,” the Gentiles. If this entire opening was describing the “we” of all Christians, why the switch from “we” to “you”? Why “also”?

It seems to be a letter of comfort and assurance: don’t worry, “you” Gentiles are also incorporated into this saving gospel, just as the Jews who are now believers in Christ are incorporated – circumcised in the flesh or not. Elsewhere, we know…there is neither Jew nor Greek, etc.

These are all now in Christ’s Church:

Ephesians 1: 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

It is Christ, not status regarding circumcision, who is over all things for the church. And here, the first chapter ends. But Paul didn’t write in chapters; he wrote letters. The theme continues in chapter 2:

Ephesians 2: 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 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,

You, the Gentiles, were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the prince of the power of the air who works in the sons of disobedience. Yet, here again, there is no distinction between Gentile and Jew in this regard:

Ephesians 2: 3 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.

“We.” The Jews did the same, even though “we,” the Jews, were blessed with every spiritual blessing, chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame, and were predestined to adoption, according to God’s good pleasure – circumcised in the flesh.

If the entire opening was meant for all Christians, why would Paul repeat this observation?

Even though they were chosen, the Jews fell away (no, I don’t want to get into Salvation’s golden chain or anything like that). The point Paul is bringing out to these Gentile believers in Ephesus (and some see that the letter was likely meant for the broader community of churches in this region, all made up of, or at least including, Gentile believers) is that, in Christ, they stand in the same place as the Jewish believers. They were sinners, sons of disobedience, just as were the Jews.

With this transition, at this point Paul is writing to Jew and Gentile alike. Like the believing Jews, the Gentiles, having heard the true gospel of salvation, are sons by adoption. This is evidenced in the subsequent verses:

Ephesians 2: 4 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), 6 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.

Here, in these verses beginning with verse 4, he is speaking to those in that boat: the “we” is the “we” of sinners. He made “us alive together with Christ” – “us” being those who have heard and believe the gospel of truth for salvation, whether Jew or Gentile.

Conclusion

All this is background. While my desire was and remains an examination of Ephesians 2: 8 – 9, I struggled with how to approach it. I didn’t think it would lead me to have to understand something of the context of the letter preceding these two verses, but here it is.

Ephesians 2: 8 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.

I think this background is vital to understanding these two verses, though it isn’t completely clear to me yet how or why – although I have glimpses. Further, there are some very charged words in these verses: grace, saved, faith, works. And, perhaps as charged as any of these, “that.” I think each of these will have to be examined.

Then there is verse 10:

Ephesians 2: 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Very easy to let this slide by without first understanding the context of the letter.

But all that’s to come.