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Efésios 2

BLIVRE · Chapter 2/6

1E vós estáveis mortos em ofensas e pecados,

2nos quais antes andastes conforme o proceder deste mundo, conforme o príncipe do poder do ar, do espírito que agora opera nos filhos da desobediência.

3Entre esses também todos nós antes andávamos nos desejos da nossa carne, fazendo a vontade da carne e dos pensamentos; e éramos por natureza filhos da ira, como também os outros.

4Mas Deus, que é rico em misericórdia, pelo seu muito amor com que nos amou,

5estando nós ainda mortos em [nossas] ofensas, nos deu vida juntamente com Cristo (pela graça sois salvos),

6[nos] ressuscitou, juntamente [com ele] , e [nos] fez sentar nos lugares celestiais, em Cristo Jesus;

7para mostrar nos tempos futuros as abundantes riquezas da sua graça, pela [sua] bondade conosco em Cristo Jesus.

8Porque pela graça sois salvos, por meio da fé; e isto não [vem] de vós; [é] dom de Deus;

9não por obras, para que ninguém tenha orgulho de si mesmo.

10Pois nós fomos feitos por ele, criados em Cristo Jesus para as boas obras, que Deus preparou para que nelas andássemos.

11Portanto, lembrai-vos de que vós, antes, éreis gentios na carne, e chamados de não-circuncidados pelos que se chamam participantes da circuncisão na carne, feita por mãos humanas;

12que naquele tempo estáveis sem Cristo, excluídos da comunidade de Israel, e estranhos aos pactos da promessa, não tendo esperança, e sem Deus no mundo.

13Mas agora em Cristo Jesus, vós que antes estáveis longe, chegastes para perto pelo sangue de Cristo,

14pois ele é a nossa paz. Dos dois [povos] ele fez um, e derrubou do meio o muro da separação.

15Na sua carne ele desfez a inimizade da Lei dos mandamentos [que consistia] em ordenanças, para criar em si mesmo os dois em um novo homem, fazendo a paz;

16e pela cruz reconciliar com Deus a ambos num só corpo, matando nela a inimizade.

17Ele veio, e proclamou o evangelho da paz a vós que [estáveis] longe, e aos que estavam perto.

18Pois por meio dele ambos temos acesso ao Pai por um [mesmo] Espírito.

19Portanto, já não sois estrangeiros, nem forasteiros, mas sim, concidadãos dos santos, e membros da família de Deus,

20edificados sobre o fundamento dos apóstolos e dos profetas, do qual Jesus Cristo é a pedra principal da esquina.

21Nele o edifício todo, bem ajustado, cresce para [ser] um templo santo no Senhor.

22Nele também vós sois juntamente edificados para [serdes] morada de Deus em Espírito.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul explains that the Ephesians were spiritually dead in sin, but were made alive and saved by God's grace through faith, not by works. He describes how Jews and Gentiles, once divided, have now become one people united in Christ, who tore down the wall of separation between them.

Explanation

This chapter contains one of the clearest statements in the entire Bible about salvation by grace: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (v.8-9). Paul describes the human condition before Christ as spiritual death, not mere weakness, which makes God's initiative in saving us even more remarkable. The second half of the chapter deals with social reconciliation: Jews and Gentiles, historically separated by deep religious and cultural hostility, now become “one new man” in Christ, with the “wall of separation” torn down by the cross. The application today is twofold: to rest in God's grace without relying on our own merit, and to recognize that faith in Christ unites people of completely different backgrounds into a single spiritual family.

Fun facts

  • The 'wall of separation' mentioned in verse 14 likely alludes to a real physical barrier in the Temple in Jerusalem, which kept Gentiles from entering beyond a certain courtyard on pain of death — something well known to readers of that time.
  • The phrase 'we are his workmanship' (v.10) uses the Greek word 'poiema,' from which the word 'poem' is derived, suggesting that every believer is a work of art carefully crafted by God for a specific purpose.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Efésios 2:1Paul describes the spiritual condition before Christ as being “dead” in trespasses and sins, not merely weak or sick, so he can later contrast it with the life God gives.
  2. Efésios 2:2‘The prince of the power of the air’ is one of the names Paul uses for Satan, reflecting the era’s idea that evil spiritual forces occupied the space between earth and sky.
  3. Efésios 2:3Paul includes himself in this description: all of them, Jews and Gentiles alike, had previously lived following their own desires, and were by nature under the wrath of God, like everyone else.
  4. Efésios 2:4Paul turns the chapter with two key words: “mercy” and “love,” the reason God acted despite the condition described in the previous verses.
  5. Efésios 2:5Paul repeats the same idea found in Colossians: even while dead in sin, God gave believers life together with Christ, making it clear in a parenthesis that this salvation comes by grace alone.
  6. Efésios 2:6Paul uses bold language: believers have already been raised and seated in the “heavenly places” together with Christ, as if that future reality were already, in a sense, present.
  7. Efésios 2:7Paul explains the purpose of all this: God wants to display, throughout all future ages, the extraordinary riches of His grace and kindness shown in Christ.
  8. Efésios 2:8‘By grace are ye saved... not of yourselves’ sums up one of the letter’s central themes: salvation is a gift from God, not something earned by merit, which keeps anyone from boasting of having gotten there alone.
  9. Efésios 2:9Paul reinforces the letter’s main point: salvation does not come from merit or self-effort, precisely so that no one has grounds to boast of having earned it.
  10. Efésios 2:10Paul balances the argument: even though salvation does not come from works, believers were created by God for the purpose of doing good works, already planned in advance for them to live out.
  11. Efésios 2:11Paul asks his Gentile readers to remember what they once were: contemptuously called “Uncircumcision” by the Jews, a distinction that marked exclusion from the community of Israel.
  12. Efésios 2:12Paul reminds the converted Gentiles that, before knowing Christ, they were “having no hope, and without God in the world,” strangers from “the covenants of promise” made with Israel — outside the special relationship the Jews had with God through the Old Testament covenants.
  13. Efésios 2:13Paul contrasts that past distance with the present: through the blood of Christ, the Gentiles who were far off have now been brought near to God.
  14. Efésios 2:14The “middle wall of partition” probably recalls the actual wall in the Temple of Jerusalem, which barred Gentiles from entering beyond a certain point on pain of death. Paul uses this concrete image to describe how Christ broke down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles.
  15. Efésios 2:15Paul explains how this reconciliation happened: Christ set aside the law of commandments that separated Jews and Gentiles, making the two groups into one new humanity in Himself.
  16. Efésios 2:16Paul continues: the cross not only reconciled people to one another, but reconciled both groups to God at the same time, doing away with the enmity in both directions.
  17. Efésios 2:17Paul applies the same theme to the preacher: Christ brought the message of peace both to those who were already “nigh” (the Jews) and to those who were “afar off” (the Gentiles).
  18. Efésios 2:18Paul sums up the practical result: now both groups, united, have the same access to the Father, through the same Spirit, with no distinction of origin.
  19. Efésios 2:19Paul draws the conclusion about the Gentiles’ new identity: they are no longer strangers and foreigners, but full fellow citizens with the saints, part of God’s own household.
  20. Efésios 2:20Paul compares the church to a building built upon the foundation of “apostles and prophets,” with Christ as the “chief corner stone” — the cornerstone that aligns and holds up the entire structure.
  21. Efésios 2:21Paul continues the building image: every part of the structure fits together in a way that makes it grow into a holy temple dedicated to the Lord.
  22. Efésios 2:22Paul applies this directly to his readers: they too, together with the others, are being built up to form the place where God dwells through His Spirit.

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