SUMMARY
Addressing GentileA gentile is anyone who is not Jewish. The term, which is derived from words that the Bible uses to denote the "nations" of the world, reflects beliefs that God had designated Israel as a nation that would be distinct from others, and a blessing... believers, the author tells readers that they have moved from death to life and that this transformation is a gift from God.
ANALYSIS
While other Pauline writings see death or sin as the power that has held humanity in its grip, in this text the enemy of authentic human life is “the ruler of the power of the air,” presumably the devil (see Ephesians 6:11-12). Human beings have followed this one, and the result is the state of being “dead through our trespasses.”
God’s response to this situation is characterized by mercyMercy is a term used to describe leniency or compassion. God's mercy is frequently referred to or invoked in both the Old and New Testaments. and love. God intervenes in the human condition, making human beings alive together with Christ and seating them “in the heavenly places in Christ JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity..” The metaphor echoes PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 110:1 (“The LORD said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool'”) and so connects human experience to an Old Testament image that is otherwise used in the New Testament exclusively to describe Christ.
The text also echoes a Pauline theme that this new life is a gift and not a cause for boasting (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31); it ends by noting that human beings have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” In a few verses, then, this passage reports the move from human life characterized by sin to human life characterized by good works. The intervention that makes this move possible is God’s merciful action to connect human beings to the living and exalted Christ described in Ephesians 1:20-21.
