Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Ephesians 2:13

13. We come now to the consideration of their present condition, and first the bridging of the gulf that had separated them from God.

νυνὶ δέ. Under the new conditions introduced by the Gospel.

ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. See on Ephesians 1:1. Cf. χωρὶς Χριστοῦ.

ὑμεῖς οἵ ποτε ὄντες μακρὰν ἐγενήθητε ἐγγὺς. Cf. Ephesians 2:17; Isaiah 57:19 (the promises to the contrite) εἰρήνην ἐπʼ εἰρήνην τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ τοῖς ἐγγὺς οὖσιν. So also Daniel 9:7 (Theod.) ἀνδρὶ Ἰούδα καὶ τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ παντὶ Ἰσραήλ, τοῖς ἐγγὺς καὶ τοῖς μακρὰν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ οὗ διέσπειρας (LXX. διεσκόρπισας). The prophetic reference to those far off in the first instance would seem to have been to Israelites in the Dispersion. The local separation from the Sanctuary was however the outward sign of a spiritual estrangement, and the transition to the Gentiles was easy. Cf. John 11:52 τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ διεσκορπισμένα. The language of Isa. loc. cit. colours also St Peter’s language on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:39), πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς μακράν, where the reference to the Gentiles is implicit rather than expressed. ἐγγὺς γενέσθαι is a Rabbinic phrase for the reception of a proselyte.

ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ χριστοῦ. Cf. Ephesians 1:7, and see Additional Note on τὸ αἷμα, p. 113. The Blood here is primarily the Blood of the New Covenant by which the Gentiles were united in a living bond to God. The parallel phrase in Colossians 1:20 lays stress on the estrangement that had to be overcome. The same death that brought men back to God brought them back to one another (John 11:51 f.). Cf. Hort on 1 Peter 1:2.

The blood shed was the symbol of a surrendered will. So St Paul passes on to consider the personal share of Christ in this transformation of the Gentile position. Christ has been represented as the radiating centre of the Divine forces at work in man’s redemption, but the work itself has hitherto been ascribed to God.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Ephesians 2:13

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