Ephesians 2

2 ¹ And you were dead in your wrongdoing and sins, ² in which you once walked, following the ways of this world, following the ruler who holds power over the air, the spirit now at work among those who disobey. ³ Among them we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and we were by nature subject to wrath, like the rest of humanity. ⁴ But our Father, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved ⁶ —and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of our Father, ⁹ not from works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which our Father prepared beforehand for us to do.

Brought Near by the Blood of Christ

¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh — called "the uncircumcision" by those called "the circumcision," a mark made in the flesh by human hands ¹² —remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the community of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without our Father in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility, ^a a v14 The Jerusalem Temple had a stone barrier warning that any Gentile who crossed it faced death — Paul's 'dividing wall of hostility.' ¹⁵ by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments with all its rules and regulations, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile both to our Father in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to our Father. ^b b v18 Here the whole Trinity opens the way home: it is through the Son, in the one Spirit, that we come to our Father. The gospel's destination is not merely heaven but the Father himself.

¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of our Father's household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ^c c v20 The cornerstone set the alignment for the whole building. ²¹ in whom the whole structure, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place for our Father in the Holy Spirit.