Ephesians 2

Our old condition:

1. Spiritually dead - 2:1
2. Subject to the devil- 2:2
3. Controlled by our own sinful nature - 2:3
4. Subject to God's anger - 2:3
5. Dead - 2:5
6. Outsiders - 2:11
7. Apart from Christ - 2:12
8. Without God - 2:12
9. Without hope - 2:12
10. Far away from God - 2:13

BUT NOW, our new condition:

1. Quickened (made alive) - 2:5
2. Raised - 2:6
3. Seated in the heavenlies - 2:6
4. Saved - 2:8
5. His masterpiece - 2:10
6. United in Christ - 2:13
7. Brought near - 2:13
8. Part of His body.
9. Fellow-citizens - 2:19
10. Members of God's family - 2:19
11. Part of God's house - 2:20
12. Part of God's temple - 2:21

Let's read Chapter 2 before digging into its details!

(1) Once you were *dead because of your **disobedience and your many ***sins.

• *dead:
  
  • As David says in Psalm 51, “I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” That does not refer to the act of conception, but to the fact that in this fallen world, we are born with a sin nature and that we had that sin nature even from conception.
  • Paul wants to remind us what we were before we became Christians. There are three views about the state of human beings:
    
    1. The first view is that there is nothing wrong with mankind. Maybe he needs a little education, but by and large, man is okay.
    2. The second view is that mankind is sick. You are sick, and the doctor comes along, and holds out to you the medicine. All you have to do is take it.
    3. Then, there is the third view - the most pessimistic view of mankind and this view states that we are not sick, and certainly not well, but rather dead. This is what Paul says here. He doesn’t say, “You were sick,” and he certainly doesn’t say, “You were fine.” No, he says that we were all dead. Of course, he does not mean physical death. We were walking around, breathing, and committing sin. One has to be physically alive to do that. But in terms of our spiritual relationship to God, we were dead. We were the living dead, more like zombies than like living humans.
  **disobedience (transgressions in the KJV): The Greek word is paraptoma, which means to slip or fall. It is used of a person losing his way and taking the wrong road.
• ***Sins: The Greek word is hamartia, which means to miss the target. Sin is failure to be what we should be, whether we are notorious criminals or respectable people.

(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.

• *used to live in sin:
  
  • Galatians 4:3: And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles (or powers) of this world.
  • Colossians 1:13: For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,
  • Colossians 3:7: You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.
• **commander of the powers in the unseen world (KJV - the prince of the power of the air):
  
  • Greek - obeying the commander of the power of the air.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:4: Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
  • 2 Corinthians 11:14b: ... Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
  • 1 John 5:19: We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
• ***at work: Greek - energeo = energizing.

(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.

• *All of us:
  
  • Including the sincerely religious like Paul and the religious rulers who were not sincerely religious.
  • Because of sins, humans live in keeping with a world order that ignores God and in keeping with a tyrant who works to cause disobedience. They follow desires and distorted reasonings that leave God out of the picture and, therefore, they are under God’s wrath. But, the main point of Ephesians — and especially of 2:1-10 — is that God will not stay out of the picture and Satan has already lost those of us who believe.
• **sinful nature:
  
  • Greek: Sarx = flesh.
  • Galatians 5:19: When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
  • The sinful nature (the flesh) is anything in us which give sin its chance; it is human nature without God. To live according to the dictates of the flesh is simply to live in such a way that our lower nature, the worse part of us, dominates our lives.”
• ***subject to God’s anger:
  
  • Romans 1:18-20: But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

(4) BUT GOD is so **rich in mercy, and he ***loved us so much,

• *BUT God: In those two words we have the Gospel in a nutshell. God acted while we were dead. He didn’t leave us in our mess. Instead, God acted.
• **rich in mercy: Ephesians 1:7: He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
• ***loved us: Some imagine that God loves us because we are so lovable. Instead, God’s love is so great that it extends even to the unlovely - to the children of wrath mentioned in the previous verse in the KJV. We give Him no reason to love us, yet in the greatness of His love, He loves us with that great love anyway. Therefore, we must stop trying to make ourselves lovable to God, and simply receive His great love while recognizing that we are unworthy of it. This is the grace secret of the Christian life. After all, it is not God's will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

(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!)

• *we were dead:
  
  • Romans 6:10-11: When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
  • Romans 7:4: So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died WITH Christ. And now you are UNITED WITH the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17: This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
  • Galatians 2:19: For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
  • Colossians 2:13,20: You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. ... You have died WITH Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world....
  • 1 Peter 2:24: He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
  • This is when God started loving us. He did not wait until we were lovable. He loved us even when we were dead in our sins.
  • The Bible uses many different pictures to describe the state of the unsaved man, saying he is:
    
    • Blind
      
      
      • 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
    • A slave to sin
      
      
      • Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.
    • A lover of darkness
      
      
      • John 3:19-20: And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.
    • Sick
      
      
      • Mark 2:17: When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
    • Lost
      
      
      • Luke 15: Parable of the Lost Sheep, Parable of the Lost Coin, Parable of the Lost Son
    • An alien, a stranger, a foreigner
      
      • Ephesians 2:12; 2:19
    • A child of wrath
      
      
      • Ephesians 2:3
    • Under the power of darkness
      
      
      • Colossians 1:13: For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,

(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.

• *heavenly realms:
  
  • Ephesians 1:3: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are UNITED WITH Christ.
  • Ephesians 4:10: And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. This is where we're seated and this is at the right hand of God!
  • Philippians 3:20: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
  • The heavenly places are the seat of Christ's power and glory. But, in later in Ephesians we learn that here also are the headquarters of the principalities and powers of evil. The conflict that occurs is set forth in chapter six.
  • This is the climax of revelation for God's children, because no one can be in a higher position than God Himself.

(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.

• Ephesians 2:8-9 in the KJV should be known by heart by every born again believer: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
• 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
• *grace: Paul speaks of grace than any other New Testament writer.
  
  • 1 Corinthians 15:10: But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor (grace) on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
  • Grace is also an acrostic that says “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”
  • Grace means unmerited favor, that which we so desperately need but could never deserve, nor do for ourselves. We Christians need the spirit of John Newton (1725-1807), that reprobate slave trader who certainly had known spiritual death and depravity apart from Christ. Grace became the theme of Newton’s life, and Amazing Grace his theme song.
  • Christians are saved by God’s grace, not by their faith.
• **it: That pronoun “it’ refers not just to grace or just to believe (faith), but to the entire process of salvation. The grace of God and even our faith to believe are his gifts to us.
• ***gift:
  
  • What Paul says here is that even our faith is a gift from God. We cannot even take credit for our faith. Even that has to come from somewhere else. In other words, our salvation comes to us from outside of us. God works in our hearts, yes. But the impetus comes from outside of us. We are passive. We contribute nothing to being saved. After all, dead people cannot contribute. We cannot just “try a little harder” in order to receive salvation. This whole chapter tells against that. There is no way that can work.
  • There are two Greek words most commonly used for "gift" in the New Testament. "dorea" emphasizes the freeness of a gift, while "doron" is used for sacrificial offerings. It is this second that Paul is using, alluding to the sacrificial offering God made through Christ's atoning work on the cross. Paul speaks extensively of this in Romans and Galatians, contrasting the righteousness obtained through faith in Christ as opposed to the righteousness of the law which is obtained through one's works, being a performance-based salvation concept.

(9) Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

• Romans 3:21-24: But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
• Romans 3:27: Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.
• Romans 4:4-5: When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.
• Romans 11:6: And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
• 1 Corinthians 1:29: As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
• 1 Corinthians 4:7: For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?
• Philippians 3:3: For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,
• 2 Timothy 1:9: For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
• Titus 3:5: he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
• Those who try to win their way to God and to heaven deny both the nature of God and the mission of Christ. It is to refuse to let God be gracious. It is to tell Christ that he need not have bothered to die. For both the grace of God and the death of Christ become redundant, if we are masters of our own destiny and can save ourselves. And, if we can do if we have to do anything beyond faith to be saved (such as being baptized), then Christ's death on the cross was not sufficient.

(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.

• *masterpiece:
  
  • The Greek word translated masterpiece (workmanship in the KJV) is poiema, from which we get our English word poem. You are His work. You are His poem. A poem is a thing of grace, a thing of beauty. God wants your life to be a thing of grace and a thing of beauty. And as God works in your life, it will become a thing of grace and of beauty; you are His MASTERPIECE! God wants you to be the expression of Himself to this world. And that is the purpose of God's work in your life, to conform you into the image of Jesus Christ.
  • The purpose of God’s creative activity is not merely to have a people, as if he were constructing a work of art. Rather, this new creation is to be active and productive like the Creator.
• **good things (good works):
  
  • Philippians 2:12-13: Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
  • Titus 3:8: This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.
  • 1 Peter 4:10: God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
  • God has already determined, foreordained, that work that you are to accomplish for His glory. God has a plan and a purpose for your life. You remember when Mordecai sent the message into Esther after she had said, "I can't just go in and see my husband any time I want. We have laws here in Persia, and unless he calls me, I really can't go into see him. And if I would presume to go in and see him, if he doesn't hold the golden scepter, they will take my head off." And her uncle Mordecai sent back a message and said, "How do you know but what God hasn't brought you into the kingdom for such a time as this?" So God has been preparing you. How do you know but this isn't what God has been preparing you for? As God works in our life, we can know that God has a purpose and a plan. He doesn't just work happenstance in us. God is preparing me to do the work that God has already decided that I should do for the glory of His kingdom.
  • It is an awesome thing to think that God prepared the works for you to do and then helps you do them. This is how much God wants you to succeed and please Him. He is involved at every level of your spiritual walk and development. God prepared your good works beforehand for you to do.
  • In fact, works are so important that Paul tells us that God prepared them in advance for us to do. We must get the order correct. Salvation comes first. That is by grace through faith alone. No works are involved there. However, God does not leave us in our passive state. He immediately makes our wills active, so that we will do these good works. We can only do them because we are created in Christ Jesus. It is only as we are in Christ that we can do them. In other words, God does not justify us without at the same time sanctifying us. Justification is what happens when we are made right with God. God declares us not guilty, because of Jesus Christ. His righteousness becomes ours, and our sins are laid on Him. Our works play no part in justification. However, justification is not the only thing that happens when a believer comes to Jesus. What also happens is a renewal of the person. A new nature is given them. They are created in Christ Jesus. They are given a new heart. This is called sanctification. And sanctification is the process of becoming more holy. It is also by God’s grace that we can do this. But we do these things. Works are the direct result of God’s grace working in us.

(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.

• The Jew had an immense contempt for the Gentile. They said that the Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of Hell; that God loved only Israel of all the nations that he had made. It was not even lawful to render help to a Gentile woman in childbirth, for that would be to bring another Gentile into the world. The barrier between Jew and Gentile was absolute. If a Jew married a Gentile, the funeral of that Jew was carried out. Such contact with a Gentile was the equivalent of death. Even to go into a Gentile house rendered a Jew unclean, which is why Peter needed direct inspiration by God to enter Cornelius' house.

(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.

• *Israel:
  
  • Exodus 19:4-6: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”
  • Psalm 147:19-20: He has revealed his words to Jacob, his decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations.
  • Romans 3:1-2: Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.
  • Romans 9:2-5: My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
• **without God and without hope:
  
  • Some people believe in God, but they believe He lives in heaven and has nothing to do with this world. Some believe that God created the world, then left to see how it would all end up. In that way, a person can still believe in God and be without God in the world. The Gentiles were not, of course, without their gods; but they were without knowledge or experience of the one true God. The same can be said today of the multitudes who have a religion, who have a ‘spirituality’, but know not ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
  • One can have many gods. But they didn’t have the one true God. This is what is so ironic about what Paul says here. The Gentiles accused the Jews of being “atheists,” because the Jews only had one God. However, the word “atheist” is the very word Paul uses here to describe the Gentiles, who had hundreds of gods! So Paul tells us that unless we have the one true God, we are really and truly without any god. Only the one true God has a Son. Only the one true God sent that Son into the world. Only the one true God commanded His Son to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Only the one true God can reconcile what is seeming irreconcilable.

(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.

• *now: 15 times in Ephesians! Denotes a change.
• **blood: Covenants were ratified by blood (Exodus 24:8 Hebrews 9:18-20, 9:22, 10:19). Almost every important circumstance connected with our salvation has reference to the blood of Christ. We are redeemed by his blood.

(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.

• *wall:
  
  • KJV: middle wall of partition.
  • 
    
    A stone was discovered in 1871, bearing the following inscription in Greek capitals: "No stranger is to enter within the partition wall and enclosure around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will be responsible to himself for his death, which will ensue." There can be no doubt that the stone thus discovered was one of those originally placed on the boundary wall which separated the Jews from the Gentiles.
  • Acts 21:28: yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.

(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.

• Colossians 2:14 (KJV): Blotting out the
  handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary
  to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
• Colossians 3:10-11: Put on your new nature, and
  be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In
  this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a
  Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,
  slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in
  all of us.
• When was this one new people created (one body in
  the next verse)? During the Gospel period? At Pentecost? In Acts 10
  with Cornelius? In Acts 13? At Acts 28:28? The correct answer is critical
  to our understanding the place of the Gentiles in God's plan for today.

(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.

(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.

• This access was practically unknown in the Old Testament! Only the
  high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and then only once per year (on
  the Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur) with the blood. BUT NOW, both Gentiles and Jews can enter boldly!
• Notice the use of the Trinity here.
• Hebrews 4:16: So let us come boldly to
  the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy,
  and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

(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.

• *Gentiles:
  
  • John 10:16: I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
  • Galatians 3:9: So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
  • Galatians 3:29: And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
  • Romans 2:29: No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
  • Romans 9:24: And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.
  • Romans 11:17: But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.
  • Philippians 3:3: For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,
• **citizens:
  
  • Greek - fellow citizens.
  • Philippians 3:20: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
  • Roman citizenship was a great privilege in those days. Paul was a Roman citizen. It meant that one could walk from one end of the Roman empire to the other, and fear no harm, because all those countries knew what would happen if they even so much as touched a Roman citizen. Roman citizenship was hard to obtain. You could be born with it, as Paul was, since his father was a Roman citizen. Or you could buy it. But citizenship in God’s kingdom works a little differently. It is true that no one has the ability to take away a Christian’s place in the kingdom. Someone might make you a martyr. However, that is not the same thing as losing your citizenship. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. Not even death.

(20) Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the *cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.

• *cornerstone: 1 Peter 2:6: As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”

(21) We are carefully joined together IN him, becoming
a holy *temple for the Lord.

• *temple: The Greek word here is naos
  (the innermost shrine - the Holy of Holies), not hieron which
  indicates the temple as a whole.
• God is building it now,
  using human building-blocks; shaping them, edging them, sandpapering
  them, preparing them just as he desires, putting human beings into this
  temple where he wants them. Why? What is his purpose for you, and his
  purpose for the whole temple? It is as Paul says---to be the home of
  God, the dwelling place of God. While men built the tabernacle and the temples, God Himself is building this temple consisting of saved human beings.

(22) Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

---

NOTE: Sources and References are on line at: http://ephesians-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/ephesians-study-references.html