Read Ephesians 2

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2&version=NIV

2:1–3 Two kinds of walk are compared throughout the letter: (1) the dead person’s walk in sin (2:1–3) and (2) the living person’s walk in love (2:4–7; 5:1–2). Prior to regeneration, the Ephesians were spiritually dead (Rom. 5:12). The “ruler of the kingdom of the air” (2:2) could refer to Satan (6:12; cf. John 12:31). Those “those who are disobedient” (2:2) are unbelievers who are characterized by their disobedience.

2:4–7 Paul dredged up the dirt from the past only to show the grace of the present. The passage moves from “you were dead” (2:1) to But God (2:4) to Don’t forget (2:11) to But now you belong to Christ Jesus (2:13). The past provides the context for the appreciation of the grace given by God in the present. When God’s mercy meets mankind’s deadness, his grace brings exalted life. Only that context of past sins can enlighten people’s hearts to the wonderful power of God’s present grace.

Salvation is based on God’s attitude of mercy and motivated by his agape love (2:4; cf. John 3:16). Ephesians 2:5 contains the solution to the state of spiritual death set forth in 2:1. The parenthesis “ it is by grace you have been saved” is expanded in 2:8. The key word “seated” (2:6) indicates the believers’ position in Christ as partakers of a finished, accomplished redemption. By virtue of the union of believers in Christ, they are positionally already in heaven. Christ’s exaltation was their exaltation (2:6). The believers’ deep need for grace will form the context for their eternal praise of God in the ages to come (2:7). They will remember their former need so that they can, with perfectly enlightened hearts, praise God.

2:8–10 The “gift from God” (2:8) refers to the salvation promised to all who believe. To get the overall thrust of this section, read 2:11 directly after 2:1–2. Salvation is provided through God’s grace and received on the basis of faith in God’s promise of forgiveness because of Christ’s shed blood. Good works are also a gift (2:10) from the God who made all creation. While good works cannot save (2:9), they always accompany salvation and are the result and evidence of a genuine faith.

2:11–18 In the rest of chapter 2, Paul expounded on the unity of mankind in Christ. He wrote first of the alienation of Jew and Gentile (2:11–12) and then of their reconciliation by the blood of Christ (2:13–16). He showed how believing Gentiles had entered into the family of believing Israel by faith, so that there was, as a result, one people of God united in the one body of Christ.

Paul used Isaiah 57:19 (quoted in 2:17) and Psalm 118:22 or Isaiah 28:16 (alluded to in 2:20) to show how Christ, as the cornerstone, brought those who were near and far together into one holy temple in the Spirit. The words “But now” (2:13) introduce a contrast with the Gentile’s previous position (2:11–12). Christ brought peace (2:14) by joining the two groups into one. The “barrier” (2:14) is an allusion to the wall on the temple grounds that separated the court of the Gentiles from the court that only Jews could enter. The death penalty would be inflicted if a Gentile passed the barrier. That wall of hostility had been broken down in Christ.

2:19–22 Both Gentiles and Jews are now members of God’s household (2:19). On the contrast with “citizens” (2:19), see 2:12. A “cornerstone” (2:20) provided the proper angles and perspective for a building’s construction. It can refer to a stone in the foundation, the keystone of an arch, or the capstone of a pyramid. It is the stone that brings unity and completion.

Discussion & reflection question

Read verse 8-10 and then read James 2:24

Paul writes that we are saved by faith alone and James seems to contradict Paul’s statement. Do you agree that it is a contradiction? please explain?