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You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. 2 You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don't obey God. 3 At one time we all lived among them. Our desires were controlled by sin. We tried to satisfy what they wanted us to do. We followed our desires and thoughts. God was angry with us as he was with everyone else. That's because of the kind of people we all were. 4 But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. 5 So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God's grace has saved you. 6 God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom. That's because we belong to Christ Jesus. 7 He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can't be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us. He was kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 God's grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn't come from anything you do. It is God's gift. 9 It is not based on anything you have done. No one can boast about earning it. 10 We are God's creation. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do. 2:1–10 Before people start following Jesus, they are controlled by sin. Paul described this as being dead. Their bodies are alive but the spiritual side of them is dead. They live as slaves to the devil. Paul called the devil the ruler of the spiritual forces of evil. He was talking about evil spiritual beings. On their own, people can't stop the power that evil has over them. God saves them from sin. He gives them new life that comes through Jesus. God does this because he is kind and full of grace and love. The work that Jesus did on the cross shows how much grace God has. God has always wanted people to belong to Jesus and to live like Jesus lived. He wants them to do the good works that Jesus taught people to do.
11 You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘circumcised’. But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands. 12 Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world. 13 At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. This has brought you near to God.
14 Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and Gentiles into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us. 15 Through his body on the cross, Christ set aside the law with all its commands and rules. He planned to create one new people out of Jews and Gentiles. He wanted to make peace between them. 16 He planned to bring both Jews and Gentiles back to God as one body. He planned to do this through the cross. On that cross, Christ put to death their hatred towards one another. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near. 18 Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.
19 So you are no longer outsiders and strangers. You are citizens together with God's people. You are also members of God's family. 20 You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building. 21 The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord. 22 And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.
2:11–22 Some of the believers Paul wrote to were Gentiles. They weren't citizens of the nation of Israel. They lived separated from God. Other believers Paul was writing to were Jews. They knew about God and God's covenants. Yet they also lived separated from God because their hearts hadn't been changed. That is what Paul meant about being circumcised only in their bodies. Jews and Gentiles also lived separated from one another. Paul described it like a wall of hatred between them. The Holy Spirit works to help Jews and Gentiles believe in Jesus. When people believe in Jesus, they belong to him. Belonging to him means that they are brought close to the Father. This happens through the power of the Holy Spirit. All Jews and Gentiles who belong to Jesus are citizens of heaven. They are part of God's family. This is more important than the family or nation that people are born into. They mustn't let hatred separate them from one another but must live together in peace. Jesus gives them peace with one another and with God. Believers are like stones in a building. All together they are like a temple and God lives among them.