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Eph.2:1. And you, dead in your trespasses and sins, Eph.2:2. in which you once lived, according to the custom of this world, according to the will of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit, Above he said that God has manifested the same power and activity in us as in Christ. It is said of Him that He raised Him from the dead and set Him above all. And then now he speaks about us: “and you,” he says, “dead” (not by physical death, which began with Adam, but by spiritual death, which comes from ourselves, by the death of sin), he raised and raised up. So, with the same power he raised the Lord from bodily death, and us from the spiritual death of sin, and a change in the mood of the soul is much more important than the resurrection of the dead, as stated above. The idea of ​​this passage is indeed this, but it is too stretched to the words: “made alive with Christ”; since much is inserted and there is repetition in the words: “God, rich in mercy.” So, having said that they are dead and showing how they are dead, namely through errors and sins, he reassures in two ways, with the words: “in which you once lived,” and not now, and by adding that as a result of enslavement to the devil you sinned, and everything did not depend on you, but also on your helper, who ruled so much over you. You sinned, therefore, “according to the custom of this world,” that is, by thinking about the worldly and temporary and making bad use of this age. For it is not this age that is evil, but its abuse. He is given as a leader, because, being corruptible and fleeting, he can excite us to the imperishable and unchangeable; and we, having given ourselves over to decay and its flow, made him not a leader, but an opponent. “Prince”, “the one who rules the air”, he calls the devil, and not the Demiurge, as the wicked Manichaeans think. He calls him “Prince” because people have subordinated themselves to him and serve him more than God. However, such his power exists only in this century and does not extend beyond the air, because it takes place not in the sky, but under the sky. Therefore, Paul calls him the prince of the air, not in the sense that he rules over the air and controls it, but because he loves to dwell in it. For the devil, being a spirit, lives in the air, as if in spirit (πνεύματι), and to this day he has power and strength in it, ruling over those who have subjugated themselves to him. And some by “prince of the power of the air” mean the prince of the air forces. Therefore, they say, he added: “spirit,” that is, the prince and ruler of every airy spirit. For after he had once become a prince, he apparently did not lose power even after his fall. working now in the sons of disobedience, He did not say: coercive, but “acting”. From this it is clear that he rules over those who voluntarily submit to him. For if he ruled against our will, he would force us. And from the following it is clear: “it works,” he says, “in the sons of disobedience,” that is, in those who do not obey God, but obey him voluntarily. Eph.2:3. among whom we all once lived according to our carnal lusts, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and thoughts, Not only does he reassure them by saying that our sinfulness came from the devil, but also by putting himself and everyone else in the same position as them; since no one was sinless. He calls the lusts of the flesh those that come from carnal wisdom. That he is not condemning the flesh here is clear. For having said: “fulfilling the desires of the flesh,” he adds: “and thoughts,” that is, not thinking about anything spiritual. Therefore, it is not the flesh that is worthy of condemnation, but the mind, which leads to passionate pleasures. Or in this way: we defile the mind by thinking evil, and the flesh by doing it. But you can consider adultery and the like to be the works of the flesh, and envy, rancor, and the like to be the works of the thoughts. and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest, This is said instead: - we offend and anger God, and nothing else was really like anger; just as a human child is human by nature, so are we. And just as those who are worthy of it are called sons of hell and sons of destruction, so those who do what is worthy of wrath are called “children of wrath.” The word “by nature” is substituted: truly and truly, “like others,” for no one was free from anger. Eph.2:4. God, rich in mercy, We have done things worthy of inexorable wrath, but God, he says, is not only merciful, but also “rich in mercy.” according to His great love with which He loved us, And love comes from many graces. For otherwise how could we, the children of wrath, be worthy of love? Eph.2:5. dead in trespasses, made alive together with Christ, Here is the end of a previously begun thought, and everything else is an insertion. Again Christ is the mediator, and the matter is worthy of trust: for if the firstfruits (firstborn) live, then we live; since God quickened Him and us: Him in action, and us in power now, and a little later - in action. This is the extraordinary greatness of His power, namely that He gave life to the dead, the sons of wrath. This is the hope of our calling. With deep emotional shock, he expressed this, amazed at the ineffable gift of God. For, he says, you are not saved by labor and not by your own works, but only by grace. For as far as deeds are concerned, you were worthy of punishment and wrath. Eph.2:6. and raised him up with Him, and made him sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, As because the firstfruits and the head, Christ, I say, was resurrected, and through Him God raised us, in exactly the same way, if the head sits, the whole body sits together. Therefore he says: “in Christ Jesus,” that is, because He sits and we sit. Or: “resurrected with Him” should not be understood about resurrection, but about quickening through baptism. How did he “plant” after that? “If we endure,” he says, “we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). And Christ says: “You will sit on twelve thrones” (Matt. 19:28), and in another place: “But it is not up to Me to let one sit on My right side and on the left, but for whom it is prepared” (Mk. 10:40). So it's already prepared. Eph.2:7. that in the coming ages he might show forth the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. So that anyone does not doubt what has been said, he tries to make the speech more convincing, saying: if not for the sake of love for us, then, at least, out of a desire to show His goodness, he will certainly fulfill this. Now many do not believe this, but in the next century everyone will know what God has given us, seeing the saints in ineffable glory. As for the expression “in Christ Jesus,” it means: this does not apply to Christ alone, but through Him it will pass to us, as from the beginning to all things: with Him we will live, with Him we will sit. This is what the great John Chrysostom says in his interpretation of this passage, and in his interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew he says that no one will sit then. It truly takes the gift of the Spirit and revelation to understand the depth of these mysteries. For, if the wise teacher John had not clearly said that we “will” be seated, then someone else could have said that in Christ we “already” sit, as well as the fact that in Christ we are worthy of worship from the angels. For it is not we who are personally honored with worship, but since our nature, united with God the Word, accepts worship, then this honor passes to us. In this sense, he now says that we too will sit down. Eph.2:8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, Having said what concerns God, namely, that we are saved by grace, he also adds what belongs to us - “through faith”, so as not to violate free will. and this is not from you, it is a gift from God: Again, as it were, he destroys this, saying that faith is not from us; because if He had not come, if He had not called, we would not have followed. “How to believe,” he says, “in Him of whom you have not heard?” (Rom. 10:14). So faith is a gift of God. Or in other words: he does not call faith the gift of God, but salvation through faith - that is the gift of God. For even though faith is ours, how could it alone save, if God were not pleased to accept us for its sake, so as not to be completely indifferent to the matter of our salvation, but to appear as bringing something of ourselves. Eph.2:9. Not from works, so that no one can boast. This does not mean that God rejected us who have works, but that He saved those who would have perished with works by grace, so that after this no one has the right to boast. For the word “so that” (ίνα) expresses not the cause, but the consequence of the matter. Eph.2:10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in. So that you, having heard that you are not justified by works, do not become careless in relation to works, he says that now, after faith, works are needed. For you were created in Christ Jesus and became a new creation after the old man died in you in baptism. And just as at first you were called from non-existence to being, so now you are called to well-being: you were created not to be inactive, but to do and walk in good deeds, that is, to complete the entire path of life in them, not two or three years, but the entire path of your life. For he indicates this with the word “fulfill.” For “God has ordained” this, therefore one cannot shirk this task ordained by God. “For good deeds,” not for one deed, but for everything: for if there is a deficiency in one thing, virtue is violated. And Gregory the Theologian understood the expression “created for good works” not in the sense of creation in baptism, but referred to the first creation. Eph.2:11. Remember therefore that you who were once Gentiles according to the flesh, who were called uncircumcised by those who were called circumcised by the circumcision of the flesh, done with hands, Eph.2:12. that you were at that time without Christ, Having said that He saved them, the dead, He now intends to show to whom He made them equals and joint heirs, and precisely to the Israelites - after all, their dignity was great - and says: “So remember.” “So” (therefore). Why? Because you were created “for good works,” for this alone is enough to motivate us to care about virtue. “Remember” he said because those who rise from complete insignificance to heights usually forget what happened before. What do you “remember”? That in former times you were removed from Christ, but now you have become near Him, like Israel. This is precisely the purpose of these words. But notice how skillfully he overthrows circumcision, showing that it differs from uncircumcision only in word, and not in deeds. “You,” he says, are “pagans in the flesh,” and not in the spirit, and “who were called,” and not in reality, just as if he had said that you were less in the flesh, and not in the Spirit. And again with the words “fleshly circumcision” he indicates an advantage consisting only of words and flesh. Thus, uncircumcision was not something grave and vile, although those who boasted of circumcision said so; to be outside of Christ is truly terrible and unbearable. Why, intending to show that they are participants in the glory of the Israelites, destroys the dignity of the latter? But look at what it destroys: not in what is necessary. For circumcision is not necessary, but indifferent. When it is necessary, he even exalts it greatly, calling the Israelites holy and close to God. Alienated from the society of Israel, He did not say: excommunicated (κεχωρισμένοι), but “alienated,” because the Israelites were outside the legal and Godly life, but not as strangers, but as careless. strangers to the covenants of promise, This is what the great division was about. For he did not say: not holding - προσέχοντες - the covenant, but completely alien - ξένοι - to it. And the Israelites, although they were deprived of the promises, were not as strangers to them. What are the covenants and promises? “To your descendants I give this land” (Gen. 15:18), and I promised many other things, understood completely spiritually. "Hope" without doubt regarding the future: resurrection and retribution. and there were atheists in the world. Although they worshiped gods, they were not gods. He added “in the world” to show that they were lower than Israel not only in heavenly things, but also in what is glorious on earth. For the Israelites were both glorious and famous in regard to their worship of God. Eph.2:13. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near by the Blood of Christ. We were far from God, not by place, but by heart and life, but now we have become close, not by life (for we brought nothing from works), but in Christ Jesus and His Blood. For He shed His Blood and gave Himself for us. He freed us from captivity, which removed us from Him, and brought us closer to Him. But you can understand this: we were far from the Israelis, and now we are close to them. Eph.2:14. For He is our peace, having made both one For before the Word became man there was great enmity between circumcision and uncircumcision; and now we are reconciled, becoming one faith. For now we are no longer called circumcision or uncircumcision, but we have one sign—faith. Imagine: two people, one a slave, the other adopted; both of them insulted the same person: one by doing an act worthy of deprivation of sonship, the other by running away; then both of them were made heirs and confidants. And so they received the same honor and the two became one. In the same way, the pagans and the Israelites turned out to be criminals: they were like slaves, and the Israelites were like sons. So what? Is it really important to have communication with the Israelis? You took us to heaven, and now you point to this as something important? Yes, he says: this must be perceived by faith, and this by deeds themselves. However, he does not say that he brought us to the dignity of the Israelis, but that he elevated both us and them to a better state. However, the benefit to us is greater, because he promised those, but did not promise us, and we were far away, as the above example indicates. and destroyed the barrier that stood in the middle, Eph.2:15. having abolished enmity in His flesh, He explains what the obstacle was, and says: in the enmity of both the pagans and the Jews towards God - in the enmity that arose from our crimes, just as the prophet says: “your iniquities have created a division between you and God” (Is. 59:2). So, He destroyed this barrier, enmity, with His Flesh. How? Putting an end to the feud in the flesh. For since He united the flesh with the Divinity, it is clear that He accomplished reconciliation, for the two natures were united and combined with each other. On the other hand, He destroyed the enmity by appearing sinless and fulfilling the whole law. For the law was a hedge, that is, given for safety, to protect; and when violated, it creates a barrier - sin, through which we do not remain safe, but move away from God. and the law of commandments is teaching, Lest anyone say: what if, having freed ourselves from the previous violation of the law, we are again forced to observe it? - He says that he abolished him too. For, having given us a law to establish us, instead of punishing us when we did not keep it, He completely abolished the law, just as if someone, entrusting a child to a teacher when he disobeyed, took him away from the teacher. He calls him the “Law” of “commandments” because he was the organizer of the order of life; and he calls faith “teaching” because it is established through teaching or dogma. Therefore, the apostle seemed to say this: instead of life, He introduced faith. For we received justification not because of the commandments that dictated doing this or that, but “if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you will be saved” (cf. Rom. 10:9). Or he calls the prohibitive commandments of the Lord teaching, namely: “But I say to you: do not swear at all” (Matthew 5:34), or “do not be angry” (Isaiah 54:9) and the like. in order to create in Himself one new man from two, He did not make the Greek a Jew, but raised both of them to a better state. And he did not say: change, but: “create,” in order to more strongly express his thought, and that then we should not deviate from natural affairs. “In Himself” (έν έαυτω) is said or instead of “through Himself” (δι έαυτου), because it was not someone else who did this, but Himself, as if melting Jew and Gentile, He created one new and wondrous man. Or does it mean that He Himself first presented a model and example, He Himself appeared in advance of what He made those (Greeks and Jews); and that he stood in the middle between both, holding, on the one hand, the Greek, on the other, the Jew, mixing them and removing everything hostile, he supernaturally recreated through fire and water. So, in the human nature that He accepted, in the nature common to both the pagan and the Jew and accepted for the sake of both, - in it, freed from all corruption and decay, He created the two into one new man, free from sinful decrepitude and unrighteousness. Both are no longer characterized by their own qualities, but both are characterized by the property of a single man created in the image of Christ. But you will understand these words even better if you mentally imagine the Lord as the cornerstone, and these two as walls built on Him; And in relation to each other (a Jew then draws closer to a pagan when he becomes faithful), but especially to God, which is more important, as shown below. Eph.2:16. and in one body to reconcile both to God through the cross, He did not say: to reconcile (καταλλάξη), but - “to reconcile” (άποκαταλλάξη), that is, to reconcile again, showing that in ancient times, through the law, human nature was reconciled with God, but then, since through the crime of the law, enmity intensified even more, it again had a need for reconciliation with God, which, as final, is just and is called reconciliation (άποκαταλλαγ). “In one body” – that is, in His own. For He Himself took the punishment due to us through the cross, which He said above: “To the flesh.” And again he will create two in himself. And according to some, “in one body” means that both became, as it were, one body, of which He is the head, and reconciled with God. He didn’t say: destroying, but more powerfully – “killing” so that she would no longer rebel. How then does enmity arise again after this? She never rebels, but gives birth to another, because you sin again. “In him” - either in the cross, or in His body. For He killed the enmity both on the cross and in His body, in which He lifted up the cross. Eph.2:17. And he came and preached peace to you, far and near, He did not send another, but He Himself came, appearing in the position of a servant and a slave, and “preached peace” - to God, without a doubt: to the “distant” - the pagans and the “close” - to the Jews, since these seemed closer to God. And Christ said: “Peace I leave with you” (John 14:27); take heart: “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33), and again: “My Father will love you” (John 14:23), and: “everything you ask will be done for you” (Mark 11:24). And these are all signs of peace. Eph.2:18. because through Him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit. By his death he destroyed anger and then made us dear to the Father through the Spirit, graced us with the same grace. Because he did not give them more, as if he were close, and us, less, as if he were distant; but in one Spirit he bestowed one grace on both and thus led them to the Father. Or “in” is used instead of “through,” and then the meaning would be this: through Him and the Spirit we are brought to the Father. Eph.2:19. So you are no longer strangers and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, Since the Son remains forever, those who do not receive the highest city are strangers and strangers. But we are not like that now, but fellow citizens of the saints; not just the Jews, but their saints - the patriarchs and prophets, and are assigned to the same city, the eternal city in heaven, which they also earnestly sought. What they barely achieved through great labors, we received through grace, becoming members of God. This is the hope of our calling: for in this very hope we were called to receive this. Eph.2:20. having been established on the basis of the apostles and prophets, Wanting to show the close unity of the pagans with the prophets and apostles, he says: “having been established,” as if saying: the prophets and apostles serve as the foundation, and you completed the rest of the building, so that you all made up one temple of God. This is what it means to be built on top of the patriarchs and prophets, which in another place he calls grafting (Rom. 11:19). He put the apostles at the beginning, although they were last in time. having Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone, Christ holds everything on Himself. For the cornerstone supports both the walls and the foundations. And note: sometimes he calls Him from above containing everything, in which case he calls Him the head, sometimes from below carrying the whole building on Himself, like a cornerstone; and sometimes calls it the foundation itself. Eph.2:21. in which the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy church in the Lord, On the cornerstone, he says, that is, Christ, the entire building, namely, all the believers, organically and indivisibly united, grow and are replenished to become churches of God. “And I will make My habitation among you,” he says, “and I will walk among you” (Lev. 26:11–12). For in general the Church (έκκλησία), that is, the collection of all believers, is the church of God, and in particular every person. “In the Lord” is said instead – by the grace of the Lord, and not by our labors. And the word “forming” shows that we can form ourselves into the church of God in no other way than by leading a life that corresponds to the cornerstone. Eph.2:22. in which you also are being built into a dwelling place of God through the Spirit. And all who believe are created in Him, and you also, O Ephesians, to be a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, that is, through the assistance of the Spirit. Or he said “by the Spirit” in contrast to the sensory structure, as if saying: the dwelling of God is spiritual. Such creation is accomplished before the second coming through believers. Blessed Theophylact: “in it” instead of: “on it.” You might be interested in: