Verses 1-3

Once you were dead because of your

disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to

live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying

the devil—the commander of the powers in the

unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the

hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of

us used to live that way, following the

passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful

nature. By our very nature we were subject to

God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Spiritual Zombies

Verses 4-10

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so

much, 5 that even though we were dead because

of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ

from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you

have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the

dead along with Christ and seated us with him in

the heavenly realms because we are united with

Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all

future ages as examples of the incredible wealth

of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in

all he has done for us who are united with Christ

Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed.

And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from

God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good

things we have done, so none of us can boast

about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He

has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can

do the good things he planned for us long ago.

But God…

Verses 11-16

11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be

outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised

heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their

circumcision, even though it affected only their

bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you

were living apart from Christ. You were excluded

from citizenship among the people of Israel, and

you did not know the covenant promises God

had made to them. You lived in this world

without God and without hope. 13 But now you

have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you

were far away from God, but now you have been

brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us.

He united Jews and Gentiles into one people

when, in his own body on the cross, he broke

down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15

He did this by ending the system of law with its

commandments and regulations. He made peace

between Jews and Gentiles by creating in

himself one new people from the two groups. 16

Together as one body, Christ reconciled both

groups to God by means of his death on the

cross, and our hostility toward each other was

put to death.

Verses 17-22

17 He brought this Good News of peace to you

Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace

to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can

come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit

because of what Christ has done for us.

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers

and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of

God’s holy people. You are members of God’s

family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on

the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.

And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21

We are carefully joined together in him,

becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through

him you Gentiles are also being made part of this

dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.