Ephesians Chapter 2

Ephesians 2:1 You did God make alive, because you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God.

Ephesians 2:2 You lived like the sinful people of this world, and you did what the devil wanted you to do. The devil is the leader of the evil spirits. The devil wants to rule the people of the world, and he is the one who works in the hearts of the people who do not want to listen to God.

Ephesians 2:3 In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were.

Ephesians 2:4 But God has a lot of mercy that He wants to give. God loves us and He has shown it to us.

Ephesians 2:5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against God. But God gave us new life together with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace.

Ephesians 2:6 We belong to Christ Jesus and just like God made Christ live again. God will raise us from death and to sit seat us together with him in the heavenly places

Ephesians 2:7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.

Ephesians 2:8 You were saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God

Ephesians 2:9 God has saved you, but God did not do it because you have done good things. This is why no one may boast and say that he is good.

Ephesians 2:10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.

Ephesians 2:11 You must remember that you were Gentiles. The Jews said you were not circumcised. It is true that the Jews are circumcised, but it is only their bodies that have changed.

Ephesians 2:12 Remember that you did not belong to Christ before. The people of Israel were the people of God, not you. God made covenants with the people of Israel, not with you. God promised a lot of things to the people of Israel, not to you.  You had no hope, and you did not know God

Ephesians 2:13 You were far away from God, but now you have come near to Him because Jesus Christ. You are brought near to God through the blood sacrifice of Christ.

Ephesians 2:14 Christ is our peace and Christ made us Jews and you who are not Jews one people. We were separated by a wall of hate that stood between us, but Christ broke down that wall. By giving his own body.

Ephesians 2:15 Christ death on the cross ended the hatred, and the law with its many commands and rules.  Christ purpose was to make the two groups become one in him. By doing this he would make peace

Ephesians 2:16 Through the cross Christ ended the hate between the two groups. And after they became one body, he wanted to bring them both back to God. Christ did this with his death on the cross

Ephesians 2:17 Christ came and brought the message of peace to you non-Jews people who were far away from God. And Christ also brought that message of peace to those who were near to God

Ephesians 2:18 Through Christ we all have the right to come to God the Father in one Spirit

Ephesians 2:19 Now you non-Jewish people are not visitors or strangers, but you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family

Ephesians 2:20 You are the church. You are like a building. The foundation of this building is the apostles and prophets, and Christ Himself is the most important stone in the building.

Ephesians 3:21 To God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 2:22 And in Christ you are being built together with his other people. You are being made into a place where God lives through the Spirit.