Thy Strong Word — Ephesians 2: Saved by Faith for Good Works

Paul masterfully lays out profound truths about God’s redemptive work. We learn that though we were once dead in our trespasses and sins, God in His great mercy has made us alive together with Christ. We who were once far off, excluded from God’s covenant people, have now been brought near through the blood of Christ. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by works, leaving no room for boasting. This powerful passage contains rich teachings about God’s kindness and love towards us, the unity of believers in Christ, and our new identity as God’s workmanship created to do good works.

The Rev. John Lukomski, co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Ephesians 2. Find Wrestling with the Basics at kfuo.org/WrestlingWithTheBasics.

Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians contain a wealth of theology and practical guidance for living out the Christian faith. Ephesians unpacks God’s overarching plan of salvation and our identity in Christ, calling us to unity and holiness in the Church. Philippians overflows with joy, encouraging us to imitate Christ’s humility and develop spiritual maturity. Colossians stresses Christ’s preeminence and sufficiency, warning against false teaching and exhorting us to set our minds on things above. Together these essential epistles provide incredible insights into doctrines like grace, reconciliation, and redemption while also equipping us to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel in our relationships, speech, work, and ministry. Get ready to deepen your faith as we explore the powerful messages in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians!

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Ephesians 2

By Grace Through Faith

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^[b] ⁴But^[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

One in Christ

¹¹Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,^[d] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²²In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by^[e] the Spirit.

Footnotes

Ephesians 2:3 Greek flesh
Ephesians 2:3 Greek like the rest
Ephesians 2:4 Or And
Ephesians 2:19 Or sojourners
Ephesians 2:22 Or in

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.