The theme of Ephesians 2:1-10 is salvation through Christ as a gift. In Greek, this passage is one long sentence that never quite finishes. The NRSV breaks the passage into five sentences, but the never-ending feeling remains. Ephesians uses powerful, poetic language to celebrate the life of the church that God established; a conclusion that the apostle would support. This passage provides an example in its inclusion of a hymn.
Ephesians 2:1-3 depict from what God saves the readers. Paul examines how the Gentiles spent their lives walking away from God, muddled down in human sin. Because he is addressing a Gentile church, Paul first points out that prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus, the readers lived in a state of sin, of which they were unaware. 1You were dead through the trespasses (παραπτώμασιν falling or stepping away, a false step) and sins (ἁμαρτίαις, missing the mark or target), portraying a grim “before” picture of their lives. We are never free of this deadness. The most thorough Christian must face this deadness. Even as we witness to the freedom and life we have in Christ, we must also acknowledge that we are in solidarity with the rest of humanity in the pull of this deadness. We are never free of the misery that besets humanity. The past is never completely past.[1] The life of sin, 2 in which you once lived, following the course of the standards and values of this world, was the natural inclination. It refers to the general malevolence of the various celestial powers. In pagan cosmology, there was no such thing as simply benign spirits; rather, a general animosity against humanity permeated the universe. One can understand how such myth arose, given disease, natural disasters, and today, we know the vastness of a universe with so little life. Much of the universe seems hostile to the emergence and protection of life. To be more specific, they were following the ruler of the power of the air, the territory from which Satan or the Devil ruled as the space between earth and moon. This statement suggests the belief that this space is the playground of demons and swarms with evil forces. Further still, these destructive spirits have invaded the earth, living in the hearts of people, as the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. Paul may have in mind those opposed to the missionizing efforts of Paul and his associates. The grim picture is that other forces held them within their power. Our natural inclination is to follow such forces. The New Testament witness suggests the world has come under the tyranny of an ungodly force, the prince of this world. Natural forces and their operation cause them to become ungodly and demonic forces only when they close themselves against the future of God, the rule of divine possibilities, and thus become closed systems.[2] Paul will complete the picture of their former lives as Gentiles my uniting their lives with Jewish life. 3 All of us once, Jew and Gentile, lived among them in the passions (ἐπιθυμίαις) of our flesh (σαρκὸς), following the desires of flesh and senses. By “flesh,” Paul is alluding to more than sexual sin. "Flesh" for Paul is everything that is not of Christ and that permits sin to enter human life. For some people, "flesh" may be adultery or fornication, but for others it could be pride, envy, or strife. "Flesh" is anything that gives sin a chance. In addition, we, Jew and Gentile, were by nature children of wrath, indicting humanity as deserving of condemnation from God, like everyone else. Foreshadowing the undifferentiated unity of the saved, this text emphasizes the common polluted gene pool all humanity now shares. All can claim the heritage same heritage, Jew and Gentile united in wrestling with the flesh. A word of caution is in order. The No we offer to the Yes God offers us in Jesus Christ is not a complete response. We have a falling out with ourselves as we respond to the Yes of God. As Paul will soon emphasize, we rise with Christ in his resurrection.[3]
Ephesians 2:4-7 is a hymn of praise for salvation through resurrection with Christ, pointing to the task of the church in relation to the world, and its preparation for good works. The hymn may refer to conversion or baptism, but it does not say so. Any reading of this passage, with all its good theology, must not neglect its lyrical quality. It announces the divine initiative to remedy the human situation. Given the deadness of humanity in its sin, Paul will emphasize the aliveness of humanity through Christ. 4 But God, emphasizing the natural condition of humanity is not the end of the human story. He will encourage the readers that God will hinder the inevitable slide of humanity toward death. God, who is rich in mercy, reminding us of the poverty of the human condition and the wealth of God, out of the great, deep, and profound love (ἀγάπην) with which God loved (ἠγάπησεν) us, all of which contrasts with the poverty of humanity. He highlights his point further by stressing that 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses (παραπτώμασιν, falling or stepping away, a false step), God made us alive together with Christ with the same love that raised Jesus gives us life. The contrast is not just between death and life, but also between being dead on their own and being alive together with Christ.The reason this happened is that by grace (χάριτί) God has saved (σεσῳσμένοι perfect tense, a salvation already accomplished) you. Men and women, no matter how good, how holy, how genuinely righteous, cannot earn this all-powerful love. Human beings can only receive it. While a person cannot erase his or her sin or expect others to forget it, that person has assurance that God will act as if God has done so. This is the core of divine forgiveness and mercy. Salvation is not a term heard very much in sermons in certain segments of the Christian community these days. It may be time to dust it off and have another look. This passage is a classic text concerning the saving activity of Christ. Salvation is not so much a reality to analyze and dissect, as one to celebrate and praise. Worship is the appropriate mood. Paul usually ties salvation to the event of deliverance at the approaching judgment. However, he could say that God has imparted this salvation to believers already through the gospel. This emphasis is stronger in this context. Linguistically, we see a shift to the present in the idea of participation in eschatological salvation, though still with a reference to future consummation. This shift makes good sense theologically, since it is closer than Pauline usage to the standpoint of the message of Jesus, which announced that the saving eschatological future of the rule of God is present already.[4] Further, God has 6 raised us up (συνήγειρεν) with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. For some scholars, this seems Gnostic in orientation. Through baptism, Paul is saying, the believer experiences death and resurrection with Christ and translation to heaven with Christ. 7 So that in the ages (αἰῶσιν) to come God might show the immeasurable riches of divine grace (χάριτος) in kindness (χρηστότητι, goodness, gentleness, moral excellence, a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22) toward us in Christ Jesus. Paul asserts that just as Jesus passed from death to life, so do Christians. God accomplishes the resurrection of believers through the resurrection of Jesus. Since believers do not experience separation from Jesus, they never separate from God. Some scholars call the glorious picture painted here as triumphal. Yet, God has not enthroned Christians now. The phrase is like Royal Psalms, in which the point is not that the king goes somewhere but becomes something.[5] The author is not content with assuring his readers that they have escaped the clutches of evil forces. The positive dimension is that they are with Christ in heavenly places, again, not in the sense of going somewhere but in the sense of becoming something that they were not before. The saints are the evidence or showpiece of God. The church becomes the demonstration of the power of God. Thus, the church does not exist only for its members. To borrow a phrase from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, our "chief end" or purpose as human beings is to "glorify God and enjoy God forever." All of this is the result of the work of God in us in Christ.
Ephesians 2:8-9 are an interruption of the hymn, carrying on a polemic against those who would boast of themselves as their works. They turn the spotlight on the self-awareness and activity of those whom God saves. The phrasing is very Pauline. People hear it as a brief statement of Pauline theology in the New Testament. The passage takes aim at what for the author is at the heart of the Gospel - the complex paradox with which people of faith continue to struggle. Yet, the amazing announcement is that the love and mercy of God constantly appears beyond the wrath. 8 For by grace (χάριτί) God has saved (σεσῳσμένοι, see verse 5, a perfect tense that emphasizes salvation as already accomplished) you through faith (πίστεως). Therefore, salvation is not something one earns, regardless of how meritorious the effort. The famous remark of the Reformation, Sola gratia, sole fide, condenses and catechizes this proclamation. Well before the Reformation, however, Augustine taught that faith itself is a gift of God. Grace is not something God gives; grace is who God is. Grace is the official job description of God. Grace is what God does to keep all things that God has created in love alive -- forever. If we are to believe the primary witnesses, who are the mystics, the saints, the transformed people, then an unexplainable goodness is at work in the universe.[6] Such an affirmation is faith because it remains contrary to much of our experience of the harshness of life. The confession of our faith has a deep connection to acknowledging our need for grace. Our failures, missteps, and words said in our worst moments bind us. They form the bars in our spiritual prison cells. And we must take the keys out whenever we can and free each other by reminding each other of the forgiveness God has already offered. We need liberation from the sin, shame, and despair that weights us down. We need liberation from our pride, anger, resentment, and guilt from not living up to even our own desires for ourselves, let alone from what God may desire.[7] In addition, this is not your own doing; it is the gift (δῶρον)of God. Such salvation is not a state in which the believer shall enter in the future. Yet, the focus of this passage will slip into the future as well. Salvation is complete, but the actual moment is a yet future event for the age to come. The holy vehicle that will lift the church to this glorified state and elevated place is grace. The future "triumph" of believers is entirely the result of a freely offered gift, a gift that to us is that of "immeasurable riches." To clarify, such grace is 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. Paul does not allow Christians to boast. The bragger is the one who revolts against God. The one who brags in God accepts one's own weakness and gives glory to God. Boasting would suggest, of course, that we have faith in our own ability to render some sort of aid in this divine mission of deliverance. If one can "boast," then the boaster reveals a trust in self rather than God. Thus, if one can call verses 5-6 "triumphal," such triumphalism has its basis on no effort by the church or the believers, strong or weak, that make up the body of Christ.
In Ephesians 2:10, Paul ends the hymn begun in verses 7-8 with a reminder that when believers engage in the doing of good works, they are walking toward God. However, given the focus on grace and faith, this final verse can feel a little strange. 10 For we are what God has made us, and thus the artifact or of work of divine art, created in Christ Jesus, stressing that the capacity for good works emerges from what God has remade us to be in Christ, for good works. Take the expression "piece of work." When we refer to someone as a piece of work, it is never a compliment. It is an idiom reserved for a person whose pattern of speech and behavior is worthy of contempt and to whom one should always "give the cold shoulder." The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first use of the phrase "piece of work" occurring in the year 1473 to refer to a product or something manufactured. Even today, "piece work" refers to work paid for according to the amount produced. The original meaning was all about making something useful. Related to this is the word "masterpiece" which refers to an outstanding "piece" of art. Whether it was utilitarian or aesthetically pleasing, a "piece of work" used to mean that someone had produced something good. Paul is suggesting that human beings walking by grace through faith are a work of art. People travel to gaze in wonder at the height of mountains, at the beauty of the ocean and the sunrise or sunset, and the motion of the stars. Yet, we pass by ourselves without pausing in wonder.[8] Paul is emphasizing that we in our individuality are part of a much larger whole. Life is not about us. We are a moment of eternity, a part in a larger picture, and a player in vast drama. Our lives are about allowing this larger picture to form through us and allowing eternity to shine through us. Viewing our lives this way allows us to see our connection with everything else. Even the challenges of life, many of which derive from situations we have created, are operative parts of that larger picture or drama. When we discover this truth, we are thankful to be a part, since we do not figure it all out or straighten it all out, or even think that we can do our part perfectly. A weight lifts off our back when we realize that all we can do is participate in this larger life of God, so our lives are not a matter of our achievement or performance.[9]
All of this suggests an analogy with who we are as human beings. Human beings are the only species who have the inherent desire to create simply for the joy of creating. Yes, if you give a chimpanzee a bucket of paint it might throw some colors on a canvas for you. Elephants in Thailand paint whimsical, if primitive, pictures of elephants, by holding the brush in their trunk. While it is certainly a novelty, the training and reward-based "artworks" are not an expression of what the elephant sees. They are simply following the cues of their trainer and do not even know what they are making. The modern art world favors humanism over Christianity as a driving philosophy. Nevertheless, I would argue that God giving us an artistic impulse had the intent not just of being a source of pleasure for ourselves, and an excuse to celebrate our abilities, but as a link that can bring us closer to God and help us to understand divine love and devotion to us. When we create something, whether with paint or clay, words, architecture, or music, we experience something that must be like what God felt when God created this world and us. The empty canvas of God was a world that was without form, and void (Genesis 1:2). Each time God added a new layer of color and texture. Like the artist does, God stood back, maybe squinted a bit, and felt a rush of satisfaction. "And God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1).[10]
When I look at my life, I do not necessarily see rhythm, orderliness, or beauty. Further, I can guarantee that I do not see perfection. When we see ourselves, we tend to see our flaws. We see so many things that need to change. Nevertheless, God says, "You are my work of art. You are my poem. You are my masterwork." God can look at you and can see what you will become before you have become it. We look at ourselves and say, "I don't get it. This does not look like a perfect person. This does not look like a work of beauty." Yet, you are a work in progress. Such a process does not finish overnight. It will take all your life on Earth. It will not reach completion until you get to heaven. Then you will see that you indeed are a perfect work of art, the masterpiece of God.[11] Poets have noticed it as well.
Why should I wish to see God better than this day?
I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then,
In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass;
I find letters from God dropped in the street, and every one is signed by God's name,
And I leave them where they are,
for I know that others will punctually come forever and ever.[12]
Good is the flesh that the Word has become,
good is the birthing, the milk in the breast,
good is the feeding, caressing and rest,
good is the body for knowing the world,
Good is the flesh that the Word has become.
Good is the body for knowing the world,
sensing the sunlight, the tug of the ground
feeling, perceiving, within and around,
good is the body, from cradle to grave,
Good is the flesh that the Word has become.[13]
Thus, something is wrong with a life of “faith” if good works ae not part of that life. Good works are the gift of God to those saved from death. Only as re-created people of faith, does God call and enable us to accomplish "good works." As beloved children of God, God calls Christians to a way of life that embraces Christ Jesus through faith and rejects a former life of trespasses and sins, no longer following the course of this age or its ruling evil powers. God has given Christians new life, and the proper response is to attempt to live lives worthy of such immeasurable love. For Paul, good works are not a divine currency that humans can use to cash in on an eternal prize; rather, good works are a faithful way of striving to be worthy of the love that God shows to all people. Some scholars suggest that this verse may be the safeguard the disciple of Paul who wrote this letter might offer against those who used the unearned quality of grace as an excuse for moral laxity and licentious behavior. The remaking of us is that which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Such preparation beforehand suggests the notion of a saving decree or plan that lies behind the course that the history of creation follows and integrates all events and proclaimed as already manifest in Jesus Christ. The temporal order enables us to describe their relation to the divine action in terms of a plan that God follows in the process of history. If the destiny of all creaturely occurrence and existence has an orientation to fellowship with God, then this idea takes the conceptual form of a plan of salvation.[14]
Most of us have seen the sign, “under construction.” I have seen it on web sites. I have seen it in hospitals and on roads. The term “under construction” may well be a good metaphor for our lives as well. The primary reason the New Testament speaks so much of divine mercy and grace is that human beings are in trouble because of sin. I doubt if we will ever experience divine grace if we do not view ourselves as in need of it. We need to recognize our need for continual re-structuring and re-building.
God has a construction project. The project is you and I as individuals, the church as the people of God, and eventually, the human community. We join with God in this construction project when we recognize our need for help. Such a step is faith in the grace of God toward us. Further, God has shown us the way of reconstruction through grace. God has shown us the way in Jesus Christ. In doing so, God has also shown us that our human relationships cannot grow without grace. Many people become grace robbers, through their pessimism, through their perfectionism, or through their attitude of knowing it all. As God has shown the world grace, so we as individuals and as a Christian community need to participate in sharing that message and life of grace. We may do this through lacing our lives and our community with love.
The grace of God shown us in Christ reveals that salvation itself is out of our hands – thankfully. It also shows us that God wants to join with us re-constructing our lives for the purpose for which God has made us. In doing so, we can join with God in what God is doing in the world.
[1] Barth, CD, IV.2, 65.3, 496.
[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 108.
[3] Barth, CD, IV.2, 66.4, 576.
[4] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 402.
[5] Markus Barth.
[6] Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self (Jossey-Bass, 2012), xix-xx.
[7] —Nadia Bolz-Weber, “Confession and Cancelation: a sermon on Forgiveness,” August 23, 2020.
[8] Augustine, Confessions, Book X.
[9] Inspired by Richard Rohr, “Your Life Is Not About You,” Center for Action and Contemplation, April 1, 2020.
[10] --Lori-Anne Poirier, "God as artist," Spectrum, spectrummagazine.org, March 12, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
[11] --Greg Laurie, "A new beginning," OnePlace, oneplace.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
[12] --Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself" in Leaves of Grass. Thanks to Rev. Miley Palmer, First UMC, Decatur, Illinois.
[13] --"Good Is the Flesh," a hymn by Brian Wren. Hopepublishing.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
[14] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 7.
[15] Inspired by Carver McGriff.
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