And (1) you [hath he quickened], who were (a) dead in (2) trespasses and sins; (1) He declares again the greatness of God's good will by comparing that miserable state in which we are born, with that dignity unto which we are advanced by God the Father in Christ. So he describes that condition in s... [ Continue Reading ]
(3) Wherein in time past ye walked (4) according to the course of this world, (b) according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now (5) worketh in the (c) children of disobedience: (3) He proves by the effects that all were spiritually dead. (4) He proves this evil to be universa... [ Continue Reading ]
(6) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our (d) flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and (7) were by nature the (e) children of wrath, even as (f) others. (6) After he has separately condemned the Gentiles, he confesses that the Jews (amo... [ Continue Reading ]
(8) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (8) Now from this follows another member of the comparison declaring our excellency, that is, that by the power of Christ we are delivered from that death, and made partakers of eternal life, to the end that at length we m... [ Continue Reading ]
And hath raised [us] up (g) together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: (g) That is, as he adds afterwards, in Christ, for as yet this is not fulfilled in us, but only in our head by whose Spirit we have begun to die to sin, and live to God, until that work is fully b... [ Continue Reading ]
For by (h) grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: (h) So then, grace, that is to say, the gift of God, and faith, stand with one another, to which two it is contrary to be saved by ourselves, or by our works. Therefore, what do those mean who would jo... [ Continue Reading ]
(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (9) He specifically and completely takes away from our works the praise of justification, seeing that the good works themselves are the effects of grace in us.... [ Continue Reading ]
For we are (i) his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (i) He speaks here of grace, and not of nature: therefore if the works are ever so good, see what they are, and know that they are that way because of grace.... [ Continue Reading ]
(10) Wherefore remember, that ye [being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are (k) called Uncircumcision by that which is (l) called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; (10) Applying the former doctrine to the Gentiles, he shows that they were not only as the Jews by nature, but also... [ Continue Reading ]
That at that time ye were (m) without Christ, being (n) aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (m) He begins first with Christ, who was the end of all the promises. (n) You had no right or title to the comm... [ Continue Reading ]
(11) But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (11) Christ is the only bond of the Jews and Gentiles, by whom they are reconciled to God.... [ Continue Reading ]
(12) For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]; (12) As by the ceremonies and worship appointed by the Law, the Jews were divided from the Gentiles, so now Christ, having broken down the partition wall, joins them both together, both... [ Continue Reading ]
And that he might reconcile both unto God in (o) one body by the cross, having (p) slain the enmity thereby: (o) He alludes to the sacrifices of the Law, which represented that true and only sacrifice. (p) For he destroyed death by death, and fastened it as it were to the cross.... [ Continue Reading ]
(13) And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. (13) The preaching of the Gospel is an effectual instrument of this grace, common to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles.... [ Continue Reading ]
For (q) through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (q) Christ is the gate as it were, by whom we come to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is as it were, our guiding man who leads us.... [ Continue Reading ]
(14) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (14) The conclusion: the Gentiles are taken into the fellowship of salvation, and he describes the excellency of the Church, calling it the city and house of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
(15) And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the (r) chief corner [stone]; (15) The Lord committed the doctrine of salvation, first to the prophets, and then to the apostles, the end of which, and matter as it were and substance, is Christ. Therefo... [ Continue Reading ]
In whom all the building (s) fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: (s) So that God is the workman not only of the foundation, but also of the whole building.... [ Continue Reading ]