Ephesians 2

==Ephesians 2:1==
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Continuing the thought of the church-body, Paul says that the saints/Christians were quickened, that is, they were made alive who were dead because of sin. Keep in mind, the church at Ephesus is largely if not wholly Gentile in makeup. Paul is going to talk about the nature of their sin as it relates to their Gentile-ness and then contrast it to the Jews. 
This Jew vs Gentile comparison pre-church is something we saw all through Paul's letter to Rome and the churches of Galatia.
==Ephesians 2:2==
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 
This verse seems simple at first, but there is a lot of meat in it, especially with regard to the transition of ages and the apocalypse.
Paul is saying "back when you were Gentiles and sinners, you walked the way the world walked" The exact phrase for "according to the course of this world" is κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου - kata ton aiona tou kosmou: according to the age/time of this kosmos. They walked according to the age that was passing away, according to the age of sin and death, the age that was about to end.
"According to the prince of the power of the air" is a reference to Satan, easily. It is interesting the progression of Satan from the time before Christ is crucified until now. He is called "the prince of this kosmos" by Jesus in John 12:31. Here Satan is called "the prince of the power of the air [atmosphere we breath, the sky]", in other words, Satan is still ruler in one heaven, the government of Israel, which is shown in the next phrase.
"the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience". This word spirit (pneuma) here is a play on words by Paul who goes from aero to pneuma, air to wind. The children of disobedience is unequivocally the Jewish nation, and they are spoken of third person, making them distinct from Paul's audience, the former Gentile-sinners.
==Ephesians 2:3==
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 
I would argue that the word 'among' here is not the best translation of the Greek word 'en'. 'Among' implies a multipleness which then leads back to the idea of the children in the previous verse. I don't believe Paul is saying that the Christians at Ephesus once lived among the Jews.
Instead, the word 'en' should be 'In' which allows for a singular concept. This would mean that the verse is saying that in that spirit they all lived their lives fulfilling their physical desires. This makes more sense to me than some random association between the Jews and Gentiles that has no importance anywhere else in the letter.
Paul then is saying that, like the Jews, the Gentile-Christians of Ephesus used to seek after sin. Because of this choice to seek after sin, their nature was the children of wrath, just like the Jews. The concept of "children of wrath" I believe is tied to the harlot and the "wrath of her fornication" (Rev. 14:8; 18:3). As already shown in the analysis of those verses in Revelation, the harlot is Jerusalem. The wrath of her fornication is Jerusalem being just like the Gentiles and trusting in those nations to provide rather than God, thus they were counted worthy of God's wrath. The Gentiles were the very thing the Jews were not supposed to be like, and so, like the Jews who deserved God's wrath that was about to come, so did the Gentiles. This is shown fully in Revelation 2-3 where the churches of Asia were told to get right or be destroyed. The warfare that would end the Jewish state would also spill into that region where Ephesus was. They would be partakers, to an extent, in God's wrath.
However, as children of God, especially one that repented of their later sin, the Ephesian Christians would be preserved instead.
A word about the phrase "were by nature". This is not like John Calvin taught that all men are conceived in sin and sinners all their lives, totally depraved and incapable of recognizing, much less responding to God's will. There is nothing in this verse or passage that demands this nature be inherent to the Gentiles. Instead, it is based on the choice to fulfill those lusts. Natures are quite capable of being changed. We see this when we obey the gospel and become new creatures, alive again in Christ. Paul says in Romans 7:9 that he was alive, but then when he became subject to the law (of Moses) because he reached an accountable maturity, sin had power over him and he died spiritually. His spiritual nature went from alive and sinless to sinner. He became a sinner.
==Ephesians 2:4-5==
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 
There are many lessons about the distinction and harmony between God's mercy and grace. Mercy is not getting what negative outcome you deserve. Grace is getting what beneficial outcome you don't deserve. God's mercy is in harmony with all other aspects of Himself, His love, His justice, His wrath, and so on. His mercy is not a product of His love for us, but a harmonious co-eternal aspect that demanded Jesus Christ. I have written two entire articles on the idea of God's saving grace. What is Grace? and Cause and Conduit. God's grace, as a property of His eternal nature is co-existent with the other properties. It manifests itself in Jesus, in all that Jesus is, and that includes to a very large extent Jesus' teachings, what we call the New Testament.
==Ephesians 2:6-7==
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 
This is not the physical final resurrection that Paul is talking about here at the end of time. We obviously aren't talking about after physical death because Paul includes himself in this resurrection as well as his audience. It is the resurrection we experience when we are buried with Christ in New Testament immersion and raised to walk as new creatures (Romans 6), our spiritual resurrection. 
The heavenly places phrase is important in helping us understand the concept of 'heaven' as used throughout the apocalyptic texts. Since this is not a physical resurrection, then we aren't talking about Heaven, God's presence. Neither does outer space or sky make sense in this context. That leaves only the concept of heaven or heavenly places as places of authority. What Paul is essentially saying here is that Paul and the Christians of the first century were raised up as the first Christians during this time to be recorded in scripture (such as this very letter) to show to all mankind through the scriptures what God has done. These firstfruit Christians would be who all others would read about so long as time remained in the universe for man to read and obey the gospel. Grace first operated on them through obedient faith and they are now the example that shows what that means to the rest of us. This is the authority that the firstfruit Christians have. It's not a policy making position as some claim of the church today. It is a position of honor next to Christ in showing what salvation by grace through obedience looks like.
==Ephesians 2:8-10==
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 
As I said above, I have written two articles on the concept of Grace. I will not expend the same amount of time on the concept here. Grace is what saves us. According to Titus 2:11, Grace has been given to all men. Yet we know not all men are saved. There must therefore be more to it than Grace alone. Paul writes that grace operates through faith to save us. We know from other passages, such as James 2, that the faith required is obedient faith, not faith alone.
and that, not of yourselves - that is a pronoun referring back to grace, which comes from God, not man. We cannot divise a way to save ourselves. We must submit to God's grace through the way He commands, obedient faith. Obedient faith saves us, not because we decided it does, but because God said it does.
It is the gift of God - It refers back to grace. Grace is the gift of God.
not of works, lest any man should boast - these works are specific works, works of merit. We know this because if it was based in these kinds of works, men could boast. No man can boast by doing what God has commanded (Luke 17:10) because those works are not of self, but of God, just like faith (John 6:28-29)
Verse 10 puts the death knell in the idea that works are not involved at all. We are a new creation in Jesus created unto good works. God has ordained, set in order, that we should walk (a continuing action) in these works. That means God has given us a set of commands to follow. If you think you can get to Heaven not obeying God, that's your business.
It always strikes me as odd that people who argue for faith only try to divorce faith from works when faith itself is defined as a work, as something we must do to be saved.
==Ephesians 2:11-12==
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye 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: 
Remember, physically you were Gentiles and not Jews, called Uncircumcision by those who were physically circumcised. You, as Gentiles, were outside of all things related to God's plan of redemption. This does not mean that all Gentiles before the Cross were lost. We know of faithful men throughout the Old Testament who were not decended from Jacob. The Patriarchal system remained intact for those outside of Israel. Israel was set apart to fulfill the promise to Abraham and to bring Christ into the world. There was no special salvation found in being an Israelite/Jew. Their lack of hope stemmed from man's side, not God's side. Their lack of God stemmed from their choices, not God. We see in Romans 2-4 that the Gentiles could be right with God. We see Cornelius, a Gentile, being a righteous man in God's eyes.
==Ephesians 2:13==
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 
In the apocalyptic symbols, they were islands, separated from the "earth/land" by the sea (Isaiah 13:22; 41:4; 42:12; 59:18). That sea of separation no longer exists in Christ. Note, this is not the same thing as the crystal sea of Revelation in chapter 4, but it is like the sea as used in the rest of the book of Revelation that represents the Gentiles.
The blood of Christ has brought all into a close relationship with God regardless of physical origin. It is only the spiritual that matters.
==Ephesians 2:14-16==
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 
The Law of Moses served as a barrier between Jew and not-Jew. This was by design to preserve the line of Abraham until Christ in order to fulfill the promises made to Abraham. This barrier made the Jews enemies of the Gentile nations, particularly those that did not follow Jehovah. The Old Testament if full of war between the Jews and not-Jews for various reasons, but always to punish wicked nations. In Christ, that law is taken away. When? According to the book of Hebrews, at the cross.
What Paul says very clearly here, so that there is no misunderstanding, is that Christ abolished the law of Moses in his flesh, that means at the cross. Anyone who argues that the law of Moses had any authority as a spiritual law after the cross, is being willfully ignorant. Gentiles could be come Christians before the fall of Jerusalem, meaning that enmity found in the law, that barrier, had to have come down before the fall of Jerusalem. The only thing left of the law of Moses after the cross was as a national/physical law over a physical nation that was about to be wiped away (Heb. 8:13).
And if it's still not clear, Paul explicitly says Jews and Gentiles were reconciled to God, their enmity is slain, by the cross.
==Ephesians 2:17-18==
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 
Since there is now no longer any distinction, Jesus sent preachers to the Gentiles and the Jews. Through Jesus both groups of people have access to the Father by one spirit. Without the modification of Holy and without contextual reason to do so, we cannot assume this is the 3rd person of the Godhead. Therefore, it is my belief that this spirit is a mindset, the soul wresting control from the fleshly desires as per Romans 8, an ability perfected as a new creature because of immersion into Christ which brings us into contact with His blood and cleanses us from sin.
==Ephesians 2:19-22==
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Another very clear passage that calls the church the temple.
Gentiles are not strangers, foreigners, separate from God's people. They are citizens in the kingdom of Christ, members of God's family, stones in the New Testament temple. It cannot be more clearly stated that we are the Temple today than what Paul has done here. Note the apostles and the prophets are the foundation, Jesus Christ, the chief messenger, is the chief corner stone, the standard by which the rest of the foundation and hence the rest of the temple was measured and built. We are the habitation for God because we have the mind of Christ. God dwells in us, just as promised in John 14:23. We are God's mansion (mone - dwelling place).
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