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Friday 2/11/22
Living the Life

1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
 2Wherein 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:
 3Among 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.
 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
 11Wherefore 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;
 12That 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:
 13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
 14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
 15Having 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;
 16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
 17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
 18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
 19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
 20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit
Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Paul
Date Penned: (60 AD)
Overview: Paul Proclaiming Unity in the Body (c 1-6)
Theme: Unity in Christ (c 1-3)
Message: Living in Christ (v 1-22)

Ephesians 2 Commentary

(2:1-10) Made Alive with Christ - The style of using lengthy sentences continues from chapter 1 into this chapter, in which verses 1-7 are one sentence in the Greek. To help understand the first seven verses, note that the subject of that Greek sentence is “God” (2:4) and that there are three main verbs: (1) “gave us life” (2:5), (2) “raised us from the dead” (2:6), and (3) “seated with” (2:6). The object of each of these verbs is “us,” referring to believers. God has made us alive, raised us up, and seated us with Christ.

(2:11-18) Oneness and Peace in Christ - Christ Jesus set individuals free from sin and death by making them alive through faith in him (2:1-10), but there is more to the story. Jesus saved individuals of all races and backgrounds in order to bring them into unity as his body, his church. There existed a huge gulf between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). God was going to bring these two distinct groups together by drawing believers in Christ from among the Jews and from among the Gentiles.

(2:19-22) A temple for the Lord - All believers are citizens of God’s Kingdom and members of his household. Many barriers divide us from other Christians: age, appearance, intelligence, political persuasion, economic status, race, theological perspective. One of the surest ways to stifle Christ’s love is to be friendly only with those people who are similar to us. Fortunately, Christ has knocked down the barriers and has placed all believers into one family. His cross should be the focus of our unity. The Holy Spirit helps us look beyond the barriers to the unity we are called to enjoy. People can see that God is love and that Christ is Lord as we live in harmony with each other and in accordance with what God says in his Word.
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Ephesians with Chapter 2 and in our text we see Paul reminding us that the spiritually dead are made alive by grace through faith and in this life we now live we have peace and can live. In making application we see the foundational truth that we can truly live as God Created us. Being saved, we are the literal Body of Christ as we indwelt with the Holy Spirit of God. Recognizing who we are will allow us to live with peace, joy, and freedom to do His Will as we Yield to Him. How about you? Are you living the life? Let us learn from our text today and the reminder of Paul that as Christians we are not dead, but rather, alive in Christ, and Christ in us, so we can truly live the life that God designed you to live. 
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Sincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.