Ephesians 2
New American Standard Bible
Made Alive in Christ
2 And [a]you [b]were (A)dead [c]in your offenses and sins, 2 in which you (B)previously walked according to the [d]course of (C)this world, according to (D)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in (E)the [e]sons of disobedience. 3 Among them [f]we too all (F)previously lived in (G)the lusts of our flesh, [g]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the [h]mind, and were (H)by nature (I)children of wrath, (J)just as the rest. 4 But God, being (K)rich in mercy, because of (L)His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were (M)dead [i]in our wrongdoings, made us alive together [j]with Christ ((N)by grace you have been saved), 6 and (O)raised us up with Him, and (P)seated us with Him in (Q)the heavenly places in (R)Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the [k]boundless (S)riches of His grace in (T)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For (U)by grace you have been saved (V)through faith; and [l]this is not of yourselves, it is (W)the gift of God; 9 (X)not a result of works, so that (Y)no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, (Z)created in (AA)Christ Jesus for (AB)good works, which God (AC)prepared beforehand so that we would (AD)walk in them.
11 Therefore remember that (AE)previously (AF)you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “(AG)Uncircumcision” by the so-called “(AH)Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, [m](AI)excluded from [n]the people of Israel, and strangers to (AJ)the covenants of the promise, having (AK)no hope and (AL)without God in the world. 13 But now in (AM)Christ Jesus you who (AN)previously were (AO)far away [o]have (AP)been brought near [p](AQ)by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is (AR)our peace, (AS)who made both groups into one and broke down the [q]barrier of the dividing wall, 15 [r]by (AT)abolishing [s]in His flesh the hostility, which is (AU)the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might [t](AV)make the two (AW)one new person, in this way establishing (AX)peace; 16 and that He might (AY)reconcile them both in (AZ)one body to God through the cross, [u]by it having (BA)put to death the hostility. 17 And (BB)He came and preached (BC)peace to you who were (BD)far away, and peace to those who were (BE)near; 18 for through Him we both have (BF)our access in (BG)one Spirit to (BH)the Father. 19 So then you are no longer (BI)strangers and foreigners, but you are (BJ)fellow citizens with the [v]saints, and are of (BK)God’s household, 20 having been (BL)built on (BM)the foundation of (BN)the apostles and prophets, (BO)Christ Jesus Himself being the (BP)cornerstone, 21 (BQ)in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into (BR)a holy [w]temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being (BS)built together into a (BT)dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 2:1 Lit being
- Ephesians 2:1 I.e., Gentile believers
- Ephesians 2:1 Or by reason of
- Ephesians 2:2 Lit age
- Ephesians 2:2 I.e., people opposed to God
- Ephesians 2:3 I.e., Jewish believers
- Ephesians 2:3 Lit doing
- Ephesians 2:3 Lit thoughts
- Ephesians 2:5 Or by reason of
- Ephesians 2:5 Two early mss in Christ
- Ephesians 2:7 Lit surpassing
- Ephesians 2:8 I.e., this salvation
- Ephesians 2:12 Or alienated
- Ephesians 2:12 Or citizenship in Israel
- Ephesians 2:13 Lit became; or were made
- Ephesians 2:13 Or in
- Ephesians 2:14 Lit the dividing wall of the barrier
- Ephesians 2:15 Or the hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the Law
- Ephesians 2:15 I.e., by His death
- Ephesians 2:15 Lit create
- Ephesians 2:16 Or in Himself
- Ephesians 2:19 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Ephesians 2:21 Or sanctuary
Ephesians 2
The Message
He Tore Down the Wall
2 1-6 It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
11-13 But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.
14-15 The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.
16-18 Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.
19-22 That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
Ephesians 2
Contemporary English Version
From Death to Life
2 (A) In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God. 3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.
4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God's gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.[a] This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.
United by Christ
11 Don't forget that you are Gentiles. In fact, you used to be called “uncircumcised” by those who take pride in being circumcised. 12 At that time you did not know about Christ. You were foreigners to the people of Israel, and you had no part in the promises God had made to them. You were living in this world without hope and without God, 13 and you were far from God. But Christ offered his life's blood as a sacrifice and brought you near God.
14 Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body 15 (B) to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace. 16 (C) On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peace[b] between us and God by uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body. 17 (D) Christ came and preached peace to you Gentiles, who were far from God, and peace to us Jews, who were near God. 18 And because of Christ, all of us can come to the Father by the same Spirit.
19 You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. 20 You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. 21 Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. 22 And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God's own Spirit to live.
Efesios 2
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
De muerte a vida por Cristo
2 Y Él les dio vida a ustedes, que estaban[a] muertos en[b] sus delitos y pecados(A), 2 en los cuales anduvieron en otro tiempo(B) según la corriente[c] de este mundo(C), conforme al príncipe de la potestad del aire(D), el espíritu que ahora opera en los hijos de desobediencia(E). 3 Entre ellos también todos nosotros en otro tiempo vivíamos(F) en las pasiones de nuestra carne(G), satisfaciendo[d] los deseos de la carne y de la mente, y éramos por naturaleza(H) hijos de ira(I), lo mismo que los demás(J).
4 Pero Dios, que es rico en misericordia(K), por causa del[e] gran amor con que nos amó(L), 5 aun cuando estábamos muertos en[f] nuestros delitos(M), nos dio vida juntamente con Cristo (por gracia ustedes han sido salvados)(N), 6 y con Él nos resucitó(O) y con Él nos sentó en los lugares celestiales(P) en Cristo Jesús(Q), 7 a fin de poder mostrar en los siglos venideros las sobreabundantes riquezas de Su gracia(R) por Su bondad para con nosotros en Cristo Jesús.
8 Porque por gracia ustedes han sido salvados(S) por medio de la fe(T), y esto no procede de ustedes, sino que es don de Dios(U); 9 no por[g] obras(V), para que nadie se gloríe(W). 10 Porque somos hechura Suya, creados(X) en Cristo Jesús(Y) para hacer buenas obras(Z), las cuales Dios preparó de antemano(AA) para que anduviéramos en ellas(AB).
En Cristo hay paz y unidad
11 Por tanto, recuerden que en otro tiempo(AC), ustedes los gentiles en la carne(AD), que son llamados «Incircuncisión» por la tal llamada «Circuncisión», hecha en la carne por manos humanas(AE), 12 recuerden que en ese tiempo ustedes estaban separados de Cristo, excluidos de la ciudadanía de Israel(AF), extraños a los pactos(AG) de la promesa, sin tener esperanza(AH) y sin Dios(AI) en el mundo. 13 Pero ahora en Cristo Jesús(AJ), ustedes, que en otro tiempo(AK) estaban lejos, han sido acercados(AL) por[h] la sangre de Cristo(AM).
14 Porque Él mismo es nuestra paz(AN), y de ambos pueblos hizo uno(AO), derribando la pared intermedia de separación, 15 poniendo fin a la enemistad en Su carne(AP), la ley de los mandamientos expresados en ordenanzas(AQ), para crear en Él mismo de los dos un nuevo hombre(AR), estableciendo así la paz(AS), 16 y para reconciliar con Dios(AT) a los dos en un cuerpo(AU) por medio de la cruz, habiendo dado muerte en ella a la enemistad(AV). 17 Y vino y anunció(AW) paz(AX) a ustedes que estaban lejos, y paz a los que estaban cerca(AY). 18 Porque por medio de Cristo los unos y los otros[i] tenemos nuestra entrada(AZ) al Padre(BA) en un mismo Espíritu(BB).
19 Así pues, ustedes ya no son extraños ni extranjeros(BC), sino que son conciudadanos(BD) de los santos y son de la familia[j] de Dios(BE). 20 Están edificados(BF) sobre el fundamento(BG) de los apóstoles y profetas(BH), siendo Cristo Jesús mismo la piedra angular(BI), 21 en quien todo el edificio, bien ajustado, va creciendo(BJ) para ser un templo santo en el Señor(BK). 22 En Cristo también ustedes son juntamente edificados(BL) para morada de Dios en el Espíritu(BM).
Footnotes
- Efesios 2:1 Lit. estando.
- Efesios 2:1 O a causa de.
- Efesios 2:2 Lit. la época.
- Efesios 2:3 Lit. haciendo.
- Efesios 2:4 Lit. de Su.
- Efesios 2:5 O a causa de.
- Efesios 2:9 Lit. de; i.e. como resultado de.
- Efesios 2:13 O en.
- Efesios 2:18 Lit. ambos.
- Efesios 2:19 Lit. los de la casa.
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