Jordyn Hatfield

Biblical Interpretation and Spiritual Formation

Smith

26 April 2018

Hermeneutics Paper

Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesians is amongst the New Testament’s more prominent books, especially in regards

to understanding the role of the church. The author of such a book has caused much debate

between biblical scholars. There exist multiple sides to this debate but the main perspectives are

that Paul is the author of Ephesians or that Ephesians is written by an unknown author.1

Attributing authorship to Paul had gone unquestioned for many centuries since Ephesians 1:1

begins with the author self-identifying as “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”.2

As this is fitting in the context that Paul did in fact write many letters to various peoples,

evidence began to surface that this may not be true for Ephesians. Scholars who reject Pauline

authorship have compiled reasons such as the impersonal nature of the writing, its language and

style, the relationship with other literary works, pseudonymity, the theological considerations,

and historical context as evidences for an unknown author. 3 The issue that the letter is claiming

to be written by Paul can be understood with the knowledge that “pseudonymity undoubtedly

1
Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1999), 4.
2
Eph. 1:1 NIV
3
Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Academic, 2002), 20-60.
existed in the ancient world”.4 This does not mean that the authorship is necessarily anonymous

nor does it mean that it is forgery but rather the author chooses to write under the name of

someone who is already known as well as respected.5 There is still uncertainty as to the true

author of Ephesians and most modern scholars would advocate for a pseudo-Paul writer while

conservative scholars steadfastly believe in Pauline authorship. Because of the vast evidences for

both possibilities, the author remains unclear.

With ambiguity surrounding the author, the date in which Ephesians was written is also

uncertain. Those who assign Paul as the author advocate for a later date, during his imprisonment

in Rome, yet no later than his death which occurred around 64 A.D.6 However, the inscrutable

similarities between Ephesians and Colossians may reveal an earlier date that would be around

54 A.D.7 A single certainty is that Ephesians was written prior to 110 A.D as this letter was

quoted by Ignatius in his own piece to the Ephesians.8 Despite the lack of a clear answer, many

scholars would agree that between 60 A.D. and 90 A.D. is when the letter was written.9

To understand the purpose of Ephesians, one must first understand the history of

Ephesus. Ancient Ephesus is located in Asia Minor. Because of the many empires that rose and

fell in this area as well as the influence that they held, eventually this became a Greek speaking

providence. In 133 B.C., Ephesus was placed under Roman rule and remained as such until the

4
Ernest Best, “Ephesians,” in The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments, eds. J. A. Emerton, C. E. B. Cranfield, and G. N. Stanton
(Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark Ltd, 1998), 10.
5
Best, Ephesians, 11.
6
John Muddiman, “The Epistle to the Ephesians,” in Black’s New Testament Commentaries, ed.
Morna D. Hooker (New York, NY: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001), 34-36.
7
Muddiman, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 34.
8
Muddiman, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 34.
9
Thomas B. Slater, “Ephesians,” in Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary, eds. Leslie Andres,
Rachael S. Greco, Kelley F. Land, and R. Alan Culpepper (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys
Publishing Inc., 2012), 16.
fifth or sixth century A.D.10 Due to its exceptional location along the coast, Ephesus became the

largest commercial trading center in Asia Minor thus allowing it to gain a widespread

influence.11 Within this time, many cults and various religions were present here along with

being “known as a center for the practice of magic”.12 Because of such unrivaled influenced

where many ideologies existed, Paul made it a point to visit this thriving city. His impact through

the interaction and teachings in Ephesus aided in a stronger church establishment as many people

gave up their cult beliefs and magical practices.13 The majority of those living in Ephesus were

Gentiles therefore they did not share in the long history of Jews who were the ‘chosen people’ of

God.14 This led to conflict between the Jews and the Gentiles in the Church.15

Such conflict was of importance to the author. Since the congregation was a mix of Jew

and Gentiles, the author wrote Ephesians as an encouragement for the members to set aside

differences and “ethnic tensions” so that they may live in harmony and promote the gospel.16

Specifically, “the epistle was to show the nature of the church and the Christian life to those who

came to Christ from a pagan heritage and environment and to remind the Gentile Christians that

Paul’s theology of salvation history never disowned the Jewish background out of which the

(now predominantly) Gentile church came”.17 This was applicable beyond the scope of Ephesus

as the author also intended for the surrounding region of Asia Minor to interact with this

10
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 80-83.
11
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 87-88.
12
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 86.
13
Hoehner, Ephesians: AN Exegetical Commentary, 89-90.
14
Slater, Ephesians, 11.
15
Muddiman, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 16.
16
Slater, Ephesians, 11.
17
Ralph P. Martin, “Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon,” in Interpretation: A Bible
Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, eds. James Luther Mays, Patrick D. Miller, Jr., and
Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KT: John Knox Press, 1991), 4.
message.18 The togetherness or unity that the author conveys is demonstrated through the

repeated use of the phrase “in Christ” throughout the letter to the Ephesians. This phrase can be

found thirty-eight times in this letter.19 Such repetition reveals the significance of church

members acknowledging that they are of “one body in Christ”, leaving no room for dissent

simply based on one’s origins.20 The author’s call for unity means that the members must also

engage in loving one another and God as “love” occurs twenty times in this short letter.21 In

relation to the Jew-Gentile conflict within the church, love can be understood as a priority to

these members. Love of God and one another will draw the people to unity thus allowing the

church community to thrive.

The book of Ephesians is originally a letter written to a city and then intended to be seen

by others in the surrounding region. This fact qualifies Ephesians as an epistle, which are letters

addressed to others that serve to aid in information transfer and spiritual formation for that

specific audience.22 Because this book falls into such a specific genre, certain tools should be

utilized in order to ensure the passages are read efficiently. Since Ephesians is a letter, it is

important to read the entirety of the book in a singular sitting.23 The author wrote the letter from

beginning to end therefore that is how readers should approach it. As a letter, ideas are grouped

into paragraphs thus naturally creating sections within the letter.24 For instance, Ephesians 2:1-10

forms a paragraph that discusses what it means for people to be made alive in Christ while the

subsequent paragraphs tell of how Jews and Gentiles are reconciled through Christ.25 This allows
18
Martin, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, 3.
19
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 103.
20
Rom. 12:5, ASV
21
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 104.
22
Walt Russell, Playing with Fire, ed. Dallas Willard (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2000),
233.
23
Russell, Playing with Fire, 245.
24
Russell, Playing with Fire, 246.
25
Eph. 2 NIV
for the organization of thoughts as well as providing structure. Knowing the location of a specific

passage in regards to the entirety of the letter aids in gaining an accurate understanding of what

the author is trying to convey.26 The greeting and closing remarks have different intentions in

relation to the body of the letter and must be taken into account. Having a basic awareness of the

historical background in which the epistle was written would benefit the reader in recognizing

the author’s purpose and the message behind it.27 Taking into consideration these principles will

exceptionally increase the reader’s understanding of the epistles.

This passage in Ephesians 2 addresses how people are made alive in Christ thus meaning

that we do not have to earn eternal life but rather it is graciously bestowed on us. It begins with

stating that “as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins”.28 The author is not

referring to a literal death but rather a spiritual one. The ‘you’ of this verse is referring to the

Gentiles and Jews of Ephesus but also connects to the readers of any region and time.29 This

death “shows the state or condition before God took action” thus revealing how He gives us true

life.30 Our lives were essentially meaningless as this death acted as a “separation from God both

now and in eternity”.31 The words ‘transgressions’ and ‘sins’ can be understood to be synonyms

that “connote more than an inadvertent mistake for they express a conscious and willful action

against God’s holiness and righteousness”. 32 Sin is the reason we were separated from God since

He cannot reside with sin. This verse describes the how we lived prior to God intervening in our

life.

26
Russell, Playing with Fire, 247.
27
Russell, Playing with Fire, 247.
28
Eph. 2:1 NIV
29
Best, Ephesians, 199.
30
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 307.
31
Frank Thielman, “Ephesians,” in Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds.
Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010), 121.
32
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 308.
 The following verse says, “in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this

world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are

disobedient”.33 The author points out that the world and the natural tendency to sin go hand-in-

hand as Satan is at work in this world. This verse outlines three external forces in which

influenced our past way of living; the world, the devil, and our flesh.34 The world’s concerns are

not of eternity or of obedience to God but rather it is consumed with temporary happiness.35 The

“ruler of the kingdom of the air”36 refers to Satan who does act as a leader of this world therefore

our past selves used to conform to the values that he has implemented which are evil.37 Because

of such influences along with the fall in Genesis 3, a natural desire to sin is instilled in us since

we are not born believing in God.38 These contribute to the spiritual death in the previous verse.

This assessment of external forces is strengthened with the fact that “all of us also lived

among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and

thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath”.39 What the author makes known

is that everyone has been previously dead since all have given into our sinful desires. Because of

such evil and imperfection, our righteous God is completely justified in pouring out His

judgment on us. The author brings this back to the ethnic tensions that are taking place by

making it clear that both Jews and Gentiles were in this state of living in sin.40 Being objects of

33
Eph. 2:2 NIV
34
O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 158.
35
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 310-311.
36
Eph. 2:2 NIV
37
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 312.
38
Thielman, Ephesians, 124.
39
Eph. 2:3 NIV
40
O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 161.
wrath can be understood to mean “unbelievers have a close relationship to God’s wrath rather

than to God himself” since we are given the opportunity to know God yet choose to turn away.41

The turning point that moves us out of death and into life asserts that “because of His

great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy” has declared us enough.42 This is shown through the

use of “his great love for us” meaning that it was out of His own desire that people are able to

live in eternity with Him.43 The depiction of God’s abounding love and mercy was a familiar

theme from the Old Testament writings thus relating to his audience and giving this notion much

more significance.44 Love as a recurring theme in Ephesians is used here to reveal that genuine,

perfect love is the motivation behind God’s mercy being gifted to us.

This thought continues with the fact that He has “made us alive with Christ even when

we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved”.45 The author makes a

change in this reflection of the first verse to bring community into such grace. In the beginning,

transgressions were attributed to the individual but here, the collective ‘we’ is utilized to include

the writer.46 The author emphasizes that it is through Christ and not of our own accord that we

have been brought out of the spiritual death. Since we are being brought out of a spiritual death,

it is a spiritual resurrection that occurs in the believer.47 Grace is the most important aspect in this

verse since grace is “God’s unmerited or undeserved favor” which “provides salvation for

sinners through the sacrificial death of Christ” and “enables believers to live acceptably before

41
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 324.
42
Eph. 2:4 NIV
43
Eph. 2:4 NIV
44
Thielman, Ephesians, 132-133.
45
Eph. 2:5 NIV
46
O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 166.
47
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 330.
God”.48 This realization about grace bring urgency to our prior way of living since this is the

single way to eternity.

The following verse describes how “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him

in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” thus highlighting that the God who resurrected Christ will

resurrect us.49 The natural progression of being made alive and then being raised up occurs while

still being in the past.50 What this displays is that “the believer’s spiritual resurrection is in

conjunction with Christ’s physical resurrection” as in that moment, all sins were paid for.51 Being

taken into the “heavenly realms”52 means that we no longer will be under the authorities of this

world such as “the ruler of the kingdom of air”53 but simply experiencing salvation and

communion with God fully.54

This thinking is developed into a purpose so “in order that in the coming ages he might

show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus”.55 The

author makes it known that we will be raised up so that we may experience life with God due to

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Not only does God gift us his grace so that we may have salvation

but also as an instrument for his glory to be shown. God intentionally chose to “save sinners so

that they might serve to display the surpassing wealth of his grace” as we will be representatives

of his amazing grace for eternity.56

48
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 331.
49
Eph. 2:6 NIV
50
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 333.
51
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 333.
52
Eph. 2:6 NIV
53
Eph. 2:2 NIV
54
O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 171-172.
55
Eph. 2:7 NIV
56
O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 172.
 Furthermore, the author affirms that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith –

and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” declaring that we can do nothing to achieve

salvation, rather it is freely given to us.57 Even though salvation did not originate from human

efforts and is from our merciful God, “one is not automatically saved because Christ died, but

one is saved when one puts trust in God’s gracious provision”.58 This is important to note

because we must still have faith and believe in Christ despite not having to earn eternity.

Accepting grace is the only thing we can do, along with faithfully following Christ, to gain such

everlasting life with God.

The author then simply states why faith-based salvation is critical in expressing “not by

works, so that no one can boast”.59 What this ensures is that we remain humble in acknowledging

God’s greatness, not allowing us to think of ourselves as above Him. Instead of boasting about

our own works, we are to boast in God and His work on the cross for us.60 When we boast about

ourselves, we place our trust in our humanness whereas we should place all of our trust in in

God’s divineness.61

This passage is concluded with explaining how “we are God’s handiwork, created in

Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” highlighting our

identity and purpose as Christians.62 The author uses the term “handiwork”63 to relate to the new

life we have in Christ as we are His new creation through accepting God’s grace.64 As new

57
Eph. 2:8 NIV
58
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 341.
59
Eph. 2:9 NIV
60
Rom. 5:11 NIV
61
Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 345.
62
Eph. 2:10 NIV
63
Eph. 2:10 NIV
64
Thielman, Ephesians, 145.
creations, we are crafted to “do good works” thus giving us purpose.65 We are to not walk in the

ways of the world but rather live as changed people who are obedient to God.66 This purpose has

been instilled in us as “God prepared beforehand” for us to carry out such acts and

responsibility.67 The author is making it abundantly clear that we as humans are sinners who can

do nothing to earn salvation but through God’s grace, we are able to be alive in Christ and have

eternal life with Him.

After studying this passage in depth and engaging in lectio divina, the fact that we do not

have to be concerned with earning our way to heaven truly resonated with me. I believe this

doctrine in Christianity is one of the most outstanding factors that separates us from other

religions as well as the common culture of the world. For many other religions, the members

must adhere to a certain set of restrictions and complete specific tasks in order to be deemed as

‘worthy’ of grace whereas God freely gives eternal life to those who believe in Him. The notion

that we cannot earn our way to heaven differs from the world because the world focuses on what

you can do and how much you can do, all in tangible amounts with proof, rather than simply

loving others and being a reflection of Jesus. While Christians are still called to lead a moral life

that exhibits attributes of Christ in how we relate to one another and how we love, grace is still a

gift that does not need to be earned. This promise goes back to Abraham in the Old Testament

where “Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness”.68 What this

demonstrates is God accepting faith as the way to be ‘right with Him’ and not the strict

adherence to the law since that can lead to the boasting of legalism. The purpose of the Old

Testament law was to act as a temporary atonement for the Israelites until Christ came as the

65
Eph. 2:10 NIV
66
O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 181.
67
Eph. 2:10 NKJV
68
Gen. 15:6 NIV
perfect sacrifice.69 It has been said to me that “as His children, if there is nothing you did to earn

His love [and salvation], then as His children there is nothing you can do to lose it”.70 This has

held much significance in my life since it has allowed me to understand how God loves and to

the never failing extent that His love covers.

The influence of Ephesians 2:1-10 can be directly applied across all faucets of life.

Within in my own life, learning to memorize this passage would be beneficial for personal

growth in that I may be able to meditate on it in times of hardships or when I am feeling

unworthy of God’s grace. I am able to remind myself of all God has done and how His grace is

sufficient for me.71 The Church can implement these ideals in embodying what it means to live

confidently knowing that you do not have to earn perfect love. There is nothing we can do to

earn something perfect so we might as well go boldly as we are before the throne of God.72 What

this can do is entice non-believers into being open to Christ. Our lives are to reflect God so that

others are able to gain some understanding of who He is and what He has done for them. When

we live in such freedom and with steadfast hope, the love and joy of God is seen within us.

Bibliography

69
David Talley, “BBST 109”, Biola University, La Mirada, CA, Fall 2017.
70
Christopher Hilken, Sermon, North Coast Church, Vista, CA, 2016.
71
2 Cor. 12:9 NIV
72
Heb. 4:16 NIV
1. Best, Ernest. “A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians.” The International

Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, edited by J.

A. Emerton, C. E. B. Cranfield, and G. N. Stanton,10-199. Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T

Clark Ltd ,1998.

2. Hilken, Christopher. Sermon, North Coast Church, Vista, CA, 2016.

3. Hoehner, Harold W. “Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary.” 20-345. Grand Rapids,

MI: Baker Academic, 2002.

4. Martin, Ralph P. “Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.” Interpretation: A Bible

Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, edited by James Luther Mays, Patrick D.

Miller, Jr., and Paul J. Achtemeier, 3-4. Louisville, KT: John Knox Press, 1991.

5. Muddiman, John. “The Epistle to the Ephesians.” Black’s New Testament

Commentaries, edited by Morna D. Hooker, 16-36. New York, NY: Hendrickson

Publishing, 2001.

6. O’Brien, Peter T. “The Letter to the Ephesians.” The Pillar New Testament Commentary,

edited by D. A. Carson, 4-181. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing

Company, 1999.

7. Russell, Walt. “Playing with Fire,” edited by Dallas Willard, 233-248. Colorado Springs,

CO: NavPress, 2000.

8. Slater, Thomas B. “Ephesians.” Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary, edited by Leslie

Andres, Rachael S. Greco, Kelley F. Land, and R. Alan Culpepper, 11-16. Macon, GA:

Smyth & Helwys Publishing Inc., 2012.

9. Talley, David. “BBST 109”, Biola University, La Mirada, CA, Fall 2017.
10. Thielman, Frank. “Ephesians.” Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament,

edited by Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein, 121-145. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker

Academic, 2010.
Evaluation

Overall, writing this hermeneutics paper was very interesting. It was challenging in

having to do research regarding a topic that has no concise answer. I ran into this problem when

trying to find the author of Ephesians. Though it was challenging, I did learn so much through

the course of this paper. Another challenge was citation. Turabian style citations are new for me

therefore it took me some time to understand and get used to. The vast amount of research that I

needed to conduct was surprising to me. I was not expecting to use as many resources as I did.

The variety of information and differences in perspectives within the commentaries was another

surprising element to me. I really enjoyed writing this paper despite t8he difficulties and

challenges. I believe that I learned an incredible amount of useful information that can be applied

in ample aspects of life.