Ephesians 2:12, Ephesians 2:19 ASV

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

That at that time ye were without Christ. Very comprehensive description, having no knowledge of Christ, no interest in him, no life or blessing from him. Being aliens (or, alienated ) from the commonwealth of Israel ; the πολιτεία , or citizenship condition, including a country, a constitution, a divinely appointed and divinely administered economy, rich in blessing. And strangers to the covenants of the promise. The promise of Christ, of which circumcision was the seal. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

The religious position of the heathen. The apostle does not speak of the distinguished place of the heathen as to art and science, culture, and worldly civilization in which they far surpassed Israel—but he describes the utter destitution of their religious life by contrast mainly with the privileged superiority of Judaism. The points of contrast are six in number. I. THEY WERE UNCIRCUMCISED —were "Gentiles in the flesh." Circumcision, according to the apostle, might mean very... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

Dark depths. Step by step descending into darker and darker depths, St. Paul describes the awful condition out of which heathens had been rescued when they became Christians. Regarded from a Jewish point of view, this condition is seen to consist in the loss of all the high privileges of Israel, and the salvation of the Gentiles appears as an adoption into the circle of those privileges. But larger things of more general import are covered by the description, so that it applies virtually... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 2:12

Ye were without Christ - You were without the knowledge of the Messiah. You had not heard of him; of course you had not embraced him. You were living without any of the hopes and consolations which you now have, from having embraced him. The object of the apostle is to remind them of the deplorable condition in which they were by nature; and nothing would better express it than to say they were “without Christ,” or that they had no knowledge of a Saviour. They knew of no atonement for sin. They... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ephesians 2:11-12

Ephesians 2:11-12. Wherefore To increase your sense of God’s goodness in saving you, and of the obligation he hath thereby laid on you to do good works; remember that ye being in time past Gentiles Ignorant, vicious, and idolatrous, neither circumcised in body nor in spirit; who were accordingly called Uncircumcision By way of reproach, by that which is called the Circumcision By those who call themselves the circumcised, and think this a proof that they are the people of God; and... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ephesians 2:11-22

Jew and Gentile made one in Christ (2:11-22)For centuries there had been bitterness and tension between Jews and Gentiles, mainly because of the way proud Jews looked down on Gentiles. Jews had circumcision as the sign that they were God’s people; Gentiles did not. Because they were not God’s people, Gentiles enjoyed none of Israel’s privileges through the covenants and promises. They had no hope for a Messiah and no knowledge of God (11-12). The Jews, having been chosen to receive God’s law,... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ephesians 2:12

without = apart from. being aliens = having been estranged from. Greek. apallotrioo. Only here; Ephesians 4:18 . Colossians 1:21 . commonwealth = polity. Greek. politeia. Only here and Acts 22:28 . Israel . In the Prison Epp. only here and Philippians 1:3 , Philippians 1:5 . strangers . Greek. xenos . See Acts 17:21 . promise = the promise without God . Greek. atheos. Only here. read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ephesians 2:12

Ephesians 2:12. That—ye were without Christ, &c.— "Without any knowledge of the Messiah, or any expectation of deliverance or salvation by him." Though the covenant, for substance, was one and the same, the Apostle speaks of it in the plural number, covenants, as it was delivered at several times, with various explications and enlargements, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and afterwards to the whole body of the Israelites: and as the promises which it contained centered in the great promise... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 2:12

12. without Christ—Greek, "separate from Christ"; having no part in Him; far from Him. A different Greek word (aneu) would be required to express, "Christ was not present with you" [TITTMANN]. aliens—Greek, "alienated from," not merely "separated from." The Israelites were cut off from the commonwealth of God, but it was as being self-righteous, indolent, and unworthy, not as aliens and strangers [CHRYSOSTOM]. The expression, "alienated from," takes it for granted that the Gentiles, before they... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ephesians 2:11-13

The reality of Gentile believers’ union with Jewish believers 2:11-13 read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 2:12

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ephesians 2:11-12

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ephesians 2:11-22

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ephesians 2:12

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ephesians 2:12

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 2:12

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ephesians 2:11-13

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