Ephesians 2:11-22
Please consider your sponsorship or support of The Text This Week.
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit:
-
Chapter VI of the Epistle of Barnabas. (ca. 130)
-
Vision I.1, Similitude IX.15, Shepherd of Hermas. (c.145)
-
III.V.3, III.XVIII.3, IV.XXV.1, V.XIV.3, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
-
Chapter XIII, Adversus Judaeos, Tertullian (c. 198)
-
Chapter II, Exhortation to the Greeks, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
-
VI.11, VII.9, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
-
II.2 (incorrectly identified as "Chapter LI" at the CCEL site), To His Wife, Tertullian (c. 206)
-
IV.39, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 210)
-
V.17, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 212)
-
V.III, The Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena), Hippolytus of Rome. (c. 225)
-
X.18, X.20, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Philocalia [anthology of Origen prepared by St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen], Origen. (c.230)
-
X.16, XII.25, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
- From the
Geneva Notes.
- "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."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
- "Christ and his covenant are the foundation of all the Christian's hopes. A sad and terrible description is here; but who is able to remove himself out of it?"
- From
Wesley's
Notes.
- "As the foundation sustains the building, so the word of God, declared by the apostles and prophets, sustains the faith of all believers."
-
On Living Without God
(Eph 2:12). Sermon by John Wesley.
- "I believe the merciful God regards the lives and tempers of men more than their ideas. I believe he respects the goodness of the heart rather than the clearness of the head..."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "aliens--Greek, "alienated from," not merely "separated from.""
- From
The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
- "The corner-stone was a stone of double size at the corner, which became a part of both walls and joined them together."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies and Exegesis:
-
Commentary,
Ephesians 2:11-22, Arland J. Hultgren, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
- "We are all family, and no one is to be treated as a stranger or alien. Differences in race, class, gender, economic condition, politics, and opinion exist, but they are not barriers to living in unity in Christ. The congregation is a laboratory for the kingdom of God."
-
Commentary, Ephesians 2:14-22, Hyveth B. Williams, The African
American Lectionary, 2009.
- "This passage is cause for the people of God to rejoice that God is reconciling, healing and bridging communities in both the spiritual and natural world."
-
"First
Thoughts on Year B Epistle Passages in the Lectionary,"
Pentecost 7, William
Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
- "It is not the mission to recruit strength and build power. It all depends so much on whether you see the goal as withdrawal to another source of power beyond all things or coming home to the source of love within all things which is seeking to bring and hold them together."
-
-
- "I urge you to take the peace of Christ to your own walls and break them down. This peace is extended not only to us, but to all peoples of all places and times."
-
"Wrecking Crew," Kevin Baker, The Christian Century, 2006.
- "Why are there so many walls remaining in the church? Perhaps we are so caught up in the busy work of building that we fail to step back and examine our resulting handiwork."
-
- "The new temple is no building at all. It is a much more fragile structure, a much less dependable structure. It is made of the likes of us. We, you and I, are God's temple! What an astounding thought! We are the dwelling place of God!"
- "Thinking Unity," "Thinking and Practicing Reconciliation": The Ephesians Texts for Pentecost 8-14, Ronald Olson, Word & World Texts in Context, Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, 1997.
- Ephesians 2:13-22, Reconciled in Christ: Ministry in Light of Ephesians, Wendell W. Frerichs, Word & World Texts in Context, Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, 1988.
- "Christ Is Our Peace," "Members of God's House," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.
-
"Miracles
of Inclusion," Ronald Goetz, The Christian Century,
1997. At Religion Online.
- "Paul, the apostle of human openness and freedom in Christ, when envisioning the drastic liberty implied in such freedom, sometimes seems to have become fearful of the dizzying prospect and reverted to a reassertion of that fleshly thinking which takes comfort in imposing the 'law of commandments and ordinances.'"
-
Commentary,
Ephesians 2:11-22, Arland J. Hultgren, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
- Articles & Background:
-
"Toward a Welcoming Congregation," Paul J. Wadell,
(other resources at)
"Hospitality," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2007.
- "In a world that has grown frighteningly guarded and harsh, Christian congregations are called to imitate the 'table manners' of Jesus by being sacraments of God?s hospitality in the world."
- The Jerusalem Temple Warning Inscription (cf Ephesians 2:14). At K.C. Hanson & Douglas Oakman's Palestine in the Time of Jesus website. Includes bibliography and discussion questions.
-
"Covenant
with the Poor: Toward a New Concept of Economic Justice," Kim Yong-Bock, at
Religion OnLine.
- "The covenant with the poor thus guarantees the Shalom of the human community, genuine community based on justice and agape. This is the manifestation of the Sovereignty of God."
-
"Civil Society: Unity and Oikos (the House of God)," Yong-Bok Kim,
The Christian Century 1998.
- "Being ONE in Christ involves ONE across national, racial and ethnic contradictions, socio-economic(class, or caste etc.) contradictions, gender contradictions, political contradictions)powerful Vs the powerless), contradictions between the wise and the foolish and so on."
-
"Toward a Welcoming Congregation," Paul J. Wadell,
(other resources at)
"Hospitality," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2007.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
- Baker, Kevin, "Wrecking Crew," The
Christian Century, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Bertram, Robert W.,
"Preaching Peace," Currents in Theology and Mission, 1986.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Charry, Ellen T.,
"Virtual Salvation," Theology Today, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Cleland, James T., "Someone There Is
Who Doesn't Love a Wall: From Text to Sermon on Ephesians 2:11-22,"
Interpretation, 1967.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Fong, Bruce W.,
"Addressing the Issue of Racial Reconciliation according to the Principles
of Eph 2:11-22," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society,
1995.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Frerichs, Wendell W., "Reconciled in
Christ: Ministry in Light of Ephesians," Word & World, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Freebairn, Harry, "Got a Date With an
Angel," Journal for Preachers, 1996. (Sermon)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Goetz, Ronald, "Miracles of
Inclusion," The Christian Century, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Gombis, Timothy G.,
"Ephesians 2 as a Narrative of Divine Warfare," Journal for the Study
of the New Testament, 2004. (See especially section beginning on page
410.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hein, Martin,
"'God, in Your Grace, Transform the World,' A Biblical Meditation,"
Ecumenical Review, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Karlberg, Mark W., "Legitimate
Discontinuities between the Testaments," Journal of the Evangelical
Theological Society, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lamar, William H., "We Were Aliens,"
The Christian Century, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lincoln, Andrew T.,
"The Church and Israel in Ephesians 2," Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
1987.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Long, William R.,
"Expository Articles: Ephesians 2:11-22," Interpretation, 1991.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - MacDonald, Margaret Y.,
"The Politics of Identity in Ephesians," Journal for the Study of the
New Testament, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - McMahan, Craig,
"The Wall Is Gone!" Review and Expositor, 1996.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Melbourne, Bertram L., "Ephesians
2:13-16: Are the Barriers Still Broken Down?" Journal of Religious
Thought, 2001-2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Olson, Ronald, "'Thinking and
Practicing Reconciliation': The Ephesians Texts for Pentecost 8-14,"
Word & World, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Pauw, Amy Plantinga,
"Theological Meditations on Ephesians 2:11-22," Theology Today,
2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Schaper, Gary, "Homiletical Helps on
LW Series B," Concordia Journal, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Seay, Fred, "'One Church,
Indivisible...' (Psalm 133; Ephesians 2:11-22)," Journal for
Preachers, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Shurden, Walter B., "When the Walls Come Tumbling
Down," Baptist History and Heritage, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Smith, Derwood C., "Cultic Language in Ephesians
2:19-22: A Test Case," Restoration Quarterly, 1989.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ulanov, Ann Belford, "The Two Strangers," Union
Seminary Quarterly Review, 1973.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Yorke, Gosnell L., "Hearing the Politics of Peace in
Ephesians: A Proposal from an African Postcolonial Perspective,"
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2007.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Baker, Kevin, "Wrecking Crew," The
Christian Century, 2006.
- Sermons:
- "The Peace of God," from a series of sermons on the book of Ephesians by Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Washington.
- "Christ the Cornerstone," the Rev. Dr. William Willimon, 30 Good Minutes, Chicago Sunday Evening Club, 2000.
- With Children:
- "The Master Designer," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.
- "Christ Has Broken Down the Wall of Hatred," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
-
"Our Chief
Cornerstone,"
- Drama:
- "Leftovers," Eric Stapleton, dramatix.
- "Alien," Paul Clark, dramatix.
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
-
- Hymns and Music:
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Ephesians 2:12, 20, 22. The Cyber Hymnal.
- Hymnal Scripture References, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Ephesians
