Ephesians 2:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Through this one Jesus Christ we are brought to God and His Father, as He Himself assured us when He said: "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn 14:6).

Having said this, the Spirit-bearing Apostle draws from it the most just conclusion, saying:

While dwelling on earth, He Himself, the Savior of the world, called all, crying: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28). He commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel throughout the whole world, to all nations.

He also said of Himself: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself" (Jn 12:32). That is, when I am lifted up upon the Cross, I shall tear Jews and Gentiles from the power of the prince of this world, the devil, and unite them to Myself. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd (Jn 10:16).

He preached peace to those far off and to those near. By those far off are meant the Gentiles, because before their conversion to faith in Jesus Christ, they were "alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12), as the Apostle says.

The Jews are called near, or close, as the chosen people who enjoyed the special protection of God. Paul writes in the Epistle to the Romans that to the Jews "belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the worship, and the promises. To them belong the fathers, and from them, according to the flesh, is Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever" (Rom 9:4-5).

"For through Him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit." Through faith in Jesus Christ, by the power of His merits, Jews and Gentiles have access to God the Father. By the gift and action of the Holy Spirit, they become children of God.

In another epistle Saint Paul says: "Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Rom 5:1-2).

Paul also says: "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For we did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but we received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, Abba, Father!"

Thus Jesus Christ, by His merits and His mediation, brings all who believe in Him to God the Father, or reconciles them with Him. The Holy Spirit acts in those who are reconciled, regenerating, sanctifying, and perfecting them according to the image of Him who re-created them (Col 3:10).

And He "preached" this peace "to those far off and to those near," that is, to Gentiles and Jews, so that both have access to the Father in one Spirit (Eph 2:17-18).

Next he shows how near the Gentiles became. They became fellow citizens with the saints, members of God's own household, and even more, the dwelling place of God. What greater nearness could one desire or expect? (Bishop Theophan).

The Apostle uses three comparisons to explain how near the Gentiles became (the same author).

The apostolic words in this section deserve special notice: "Having abolished the enmity in His flesh, the law of commandments in doctrine, that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, making peace" (Eph 2:15).

What law of commandments did the Lord abolish, and by what doctrine? The Lord abolished the Old Testament law, with its many commandments, by His New Testament teaching "on saving faith."

This abolition, however, must not be understood as destruction. The Lord came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. Rather, He replaced it with a higher and better law.

That law did not merely know how to command and prescribe various commandments. It also communicated gracious powers for their fulfillment (Chrysostom, Theophylact).

Here we should recall the words of the Gospel: the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Jn 1:17).

He speaks of this more directly in another epistle: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor 3:16-17). The gathering of all Christians into the one spiritual temple of God’s glory shows their kinship with one another. It also shows their nearness to God, beyond which nothing greater can be imagined.

Together with the greatness of this spiritual image, its practical application is also very important. It stands over against the majestic Ephesian temple of the goddess Artemis, which did not elevate the spirit of its worshipers, but lowered it. They were full of enmity and every evil feeling.

According to the explanation of blessed Theophylact, the Apostle uses three comparisons to define the nearness of Christians to God. They are near as fellow citizens, as members of one family, and as parts of a building in relation to one another.

"We have become fellow citizens not simply of the Jews, but of men great in holiness, such as Abraham, Moses, and Elijah. See into what city we have been enrolled. See where we shall one day appear," says Saint John Chrysostom.

Elsewhere the Apostle says that the builder and maker of this city is God (Heb 11:10). "Believers have one Master, and wherever they live, all are fellow citizens" (Ambrosiaster).

"The thought of household members led to the thought of a house. In both the Old and the New Testament, the Church of God is presented under the image of a building, a house, or a temple. The Church is the temple of faith.

The Apostles are nearer to us and saw the truth tangibly. The prophets are farther away and saw the truth from afar, in images. Therefore the Apostles are placed first. The Apostles with the prophets, by the hand of preaching, take souls and peoples.

They place them into the building of the Church and join them to it. Thus stone is laid upon stone, and the building rises. The Apostles and prophets are laid as the foundation, and you complete the rest of the building" (Bishop Theophan).

"The Apostle added, ‘being the cornerstone,’ to show that Christ holds all things together. The cornerstone is what supports both the walls and the foundation, and on it the whole building is established. He bears all things upon Himself and holds all things together."

Whatever you point to, whether the roof, the walls, or anything else, He holds all things together and bears all things in Himself. "This temple, in which God dwells as in a body, is each one of you and all of you together."

Blessed Jerome writes: "If every building, fitly joined together, grows into a holy Church in the Lord, then we must spare no labor. We must strive to become living stones, hewn, cleansed, and polished on every side. Then we shall be built into a temple and shall be a dwelling for God."

In Bishop Theophan’s view, "everything that we believe about the Church is said here. She is one, being established on the one cornerstone. She is holy, being built by the Holy Spirit. She is catholic, embracing all times and peoples (14). She is apostolic, being built upon the foundation of the Apostles (20)."

Then, after His Resurrection, His Ascension into heaven, and the descent of the Holy Spirit, He sent the holy Apostles throughout the whole world. They were to bear the gospel of this peace and establish the peace itself. The Apostles carried the gospel of peace, but in their persons the Lord Himself was acting, as He promised: "Lo, I am with you always" (Mt 28:20).

Again He said: "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring" (Jn 10:16). The Lord Himself walked in the persons of the Apostles and converted private persons, villages, cities, and whole peoples. He also came to the Ephesians in the person of Saint Paul and converted them, imparting to them the gospel of peace and establishing it among them.

"He preached peace." The subject of the preaching was that the Son of God became incarnate and, having suffered on the Cross, reconciled us to God. Cast everything aside and cleave to Him alone. Those who received this gospel with faith received the grace of the Holy Spirit in holy baptism.

This grace established peace in their hearts by calming the conscience and assuring them of God’s good will. Through this, it united all believers and bound them in firm unity by oneness of spiritual disposition. The preaching of the Gospel was the preaching of universal peace and its establishment.

"To you who were far off and to those who were near." "He calls the Gentiles far off, and the Jews near" (Theodoret). Since the preceding discourse had been entirely about those far off and near, these expressions were clear in themselves.

It must have served the Ephesians as great consolation and edification that the Lord Himself had come to them, though they heard the gospel from the Apostle’s lips. It is consoling for every people to be assured of this. It is also consoling for everyone who turns from negligence and sinfulness to zeal for working out his salvation in the Lord.

Ambrosiaster writes: "The Lord Jesus Christ slew enmity when He died for all, Jews and Gentiles alike. The death of the Savior was saving for all. Rising from the dead, He showed what hopes those who believe in Him may nourish.

Then He ordered the preaching of the Gospel, calling all to God the Father in one Spirit. He cut off division, so that whether one be Jew or Gentile, all might receive faith in Christ and be made one by it."

Saint Chrysostom, and after him Oecumenius and Theophylact, do not distinguish the Lord’s personal preaching from His preaching in the persons of the Apostles. By the words "He came and preached," they understand the whole divine economy of salvation in the Lord’s person, who came to earth through the Incarnation.

Saint Chrysostom says: "God did not send someone else to announce this to us, but announced it Himself. He chose neither Angel nor Archangel for this. Only He Himself could correct so many evils and announce what had been done, appearing on earth, and no other.

The Lord took upon Himself the office of a servant, almost of a slave. He came and preached, says the Apostle, peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. That is, to the Jews, who in comparison with us were nearer to God, and to the Gentiles.

He calls the Gentiles far off because they were strangers to the covenants of promise. By peace the Apostle means peace with God, for Jesus Christ reconciled us to God. He Himself taught this when He said: ‘Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you’ (Jn 14:27).

And elsewhere: ‘If you ask anything in My name, I will do it’ (Jn 14:14). Again: ‘The Father Himself loves you’ (Jn 16:27). All these are signs of peace, both for us and for them."

Is not such an understanding closer to the matter? In that case the words "He came and preached" will be joined to the preceding words thus: for this reason He also came, to preach this universal peace.