By Grace Through Faith

And (A)you He made alive, (B)who were dead in trespasses and sins, (C)in which you once walked according to the [a]course of this world, according to (D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in (E)the sons of disobedience, (F)among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in (G)the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and (H)were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

But God, (I)who is rich in mercy, because of His (J)great love with which He loved us, (K)even when we were dead in trespasses, (L)made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together (M)in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in (N)His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (O)For by grace you have been saved (P)through faith, and that not of yourselves; (Q)it is the gift of God, not of (R)works, lest anyone should (S)boast. 10 For we are (T)His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Brought Near by His Blood

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called (U)the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Christ Our Peace

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one (V)new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might (W)reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby (X)putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For (Y)through Him we both have access (Z)by one Spirit to the Father.

Christ Our Cornerstone

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been (AA)built (AB)on the foundation of the (AC)apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being (AD)the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into (AE)a holy temple in the Lord, 22 (AF)in whom you also are being built together for a (AG)dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:2 Gr. aion, aeon

By Grace Through Faith

(A)And you were (B)dead in the trespasses and sins (C)in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following (D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in (E)the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in (F)the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and (G)were by nature (H)children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] But[c] God, being (I)rich in mercy, (J)because of the great love with which he loved us, even (K)when we were dead in our trespasses, (L)made us alive together with Christ—(M)by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and (N)seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable (O)riches of his grace in (P)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For (Q)by grace you have been saved (R)through faith. And this is (S)not your own doing; (T)it is the gift of God, (U)not a result of works, (V)so that no one may boast. 10 For (W)we are his workmanship, (X)created in Christ Jesus (Y)for good works, (Z)which God prepared beforehand, (AA)that we should walk in them.

One in Christ

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called (AB)the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember (AC)that you were at that time separated from Christ, (AD)alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to (AE)the covenants of promise, (AF)having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were (AG)far off have been brought near (AH)by the blood of Christ. 14 For (AI)he himself is our peace, (AJ)who has made us both one and has broken down (AK)in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in (AL)ordinances, that he might create in himself one (AM)new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might (AN)reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and (AO)preached peace to you who were (AP)far off and peace to those who were (AQ)near. 18 For (AR)through him we both have (AS)access in (AT)one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer (AU)strangers and aliens,[d] but you are (AV)fellow citizens with the saints and (AW)members of the household of God, 20 (AX)built on the foundation of the (AY)apostles and prophets, (AZ)Christ Jesus himself being (BA)the cornerstone, 21 (BB)in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into (BC)a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him (BD)you also are being built together (BE)into a dwelling place for God by[e] the Spirit.

Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:3 Greek flesh
  2. Ephesians 2:3 Greek like the rest
  3. Ephesians 2:4 Or And
  4. Ephesians 2:19 Or sojourners
  5. Ephesians 2:22 Or in

From Death to Life

(A)In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins. At that time you followed the world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God. Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger.

But God's mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been saved. In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world. He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus. 8-9 For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it. 10 God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.

One in Christ

11 You Gentiles by birth—called “the uncircumcised” by the Jews, who call themselves the circumcised (which refers to what men do to their bodies)—remember what you were in the past. 12 At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God's chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God's promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God. 13 But now, in union with Christ Jesus you, who used to be far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ.[a] 14 For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. 15 (B)He abolished the Jewish Law with its commandments and rules, in order to create out of the two races one new people in union with himself, in this way making peace. 16 (C)By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God. 17 (D)So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all—to you Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to him. 18 It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.

19 So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now citizens together with God's people and members of the family of God. 20 You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets,[b] the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself. 21 He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. 22 In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.

Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:13 by the blood of Christ; or by the sacrificial death of Christ.
  2. Ephesians 2:20 the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets; or the foundation, that is, the apostles and prophets.