Ephesians 2:12-15 KJV

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:13

But now ; antithesis to ποτὲ in Ephesians 2:11 , and τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ in Ephesians 2:12 . Another of the very powerful " buts " of this Epistle, completely reversing the picture going before (see Ephesians 2:4 ). In Christ Jesus. This expression is the pivot of the Epistle, denoting, not only that Christ Jesus is the Source of blessing, but also that we get the blessing, i.e. by vital union and fellowship with, him. The "without Christ" of Ephesians 2:12 contrasts... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:13

Nearness to God in the blood of Christ. This chapter speaks of a double alienation and of a double reconciliation: on the one hand, a deep alienation of mankind from God, dating from birth, subsisting along with a moral separation between Jews and Gentiles; on the other hand, it points to the historic fact of Christ's atone-merit as the divinely instituted method by which both alienations were to be extinguished, and man united to God and to man in a higher unity, so that the two separated... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:13-18

Christ our Peace. I. CHRIST MAKES PEACE . He was predicted as the Prince of peace. His birth was heralded by the good news, "On earth peace." 1. Peace between man and man . In Christ the enmity between Jew and Gentile ceases. Christianity forbids all envy, jealousy, hatred, and strife. It is cosmopolitan, and will not sanction national selfishness cloaked by the sacred name of patriotism. It is brotherly, and will not favor sectarian animosity sheltering under the mask of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:14

For he is our peace. Explanatory of the preceding verse—of the way by which we are brought nigh. Christ is not only our Peacemaker, but our Peace, and that in the fullest sense, the very substance and living spring of it, establishing it at the beginning, keeping it up to the end; and the complex notion of peace is here not only peace between Jew and Gentile, but between God and both. Consult Old Testament predictions of peace in connection with Messiah ( Isaiah 9:5 , Isaiah 9:6 ; Micah... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:14-16

Christ our Peace. He is so by effecting two reconciliations, and thus obliterating two deep and long-standing alienations. He "hath made both one" Jew and Gentile—and "he hath reconciled both unto God in one body by the cross." Christ is our Peace, not simply as our Peacemaker, but as our Peace objectively considered and with regard to our relation to God; for the apostle represents our nearness to God as grounded in Christ as our Peace. He is therefore our Peace, as he is called our... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:14-19

Christ and his work of reconciliation. Here we have three topics: I. CHRIST OUR PEACE . Observe the several statements ( Ephesians 2:14-17 ). 1. He made both Jew and Gentile one (see Exposition). 2. He broke down the middle wall of partition. 3. He abolished the cause of enmity between Jew and Gentile—the Law of commandments in ordinances. 4. He constituted himself a new Man, to which both Jew and Gentile belong. 5. He thereby reconciled both to God. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:15

( To wit, the enmity .) It is a moot point whether τὴν ἔχθραν is to be taken as governed by λύσας in Ephesians 2:14 , or by καταργήσας in the end of this verse. Both A.V. and R.V. adopt the latter; but the former is more textual and natural. Another question is—What enmity? Some say between Jews and Gentiles; others, between both and God. The latter seems right; where "the enmity" is so emphatically referred to, it must be the great or fundamental enmity, and the whole tenor of... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:13-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:14

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:14-16

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:14-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 2:15

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