Ephesians — Chapter 2

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1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Abrahamic Catechism
Bible Study
Ephesians — Chapter 2
◈ Zohar

• "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins" — the Zohar teaches that sin creates a state of spiritual death while the body still lives. The soul wrapped in kelipot is "dead" because it cannot perceive or respond to the divine light. Spiritual resurrection is the kelipot falling away and the neshamah breathing freely again (Zohar I:122a). Paul describes awakening, not afterlife.

• "The prince of the power of the air" — the Zohar identifies this figure with Samael, who rules the atmospheric realm between earth and heaven, commanding the "spirits of the air" (ruchin de-avira) that influence human thought and emotion. This is the Sitra Achra's operational headquarters — the psychic atmosphere surrounding humanity (Zohar II:69a). Paul names the enemy's theater of operations.

• "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" — the Zohar teaches that the human being cannot generate the light of salvation from within; it must be received (mekabbel) from above. The Zohar's term for grace is chesed chinam (free lovingkindness), which descends unearned from the supernal Chesed (Zohar I:47a). Salvation is downloaded, not manufactured.

• "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" — the Zohar's concept of souls as divine art: each soul is sculpted by the Master Craftsman (Uman) for a specific function in the cosmic repair. The Zohar says that God contemplated each soul before creating it, designing its strengths and weaknesses for its particular tikkun (Zohar II:96b). We are not self-made but divinely crafted.

• "Ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" — the Zohar's category of "those who are far" (rechokei) becoming "those who are near" (kerovei) through teshuvah. The Zohar teaches that the penitent (ba'al teshuvah) stands in a place where even the perfectly righteous (tzaddik gamur) cannot stand, because the distance traveled is greater (Zohar III:122b). Gentile inclusion is the ultimate case of far-becoming-near.

✦ Talmud

• Berakhot 18b teaches that the wicked are called dead even while alive, while the righteous are called alive even after death — Paul's "you were dead in trespasses and sins" is this Talmudic principle applied to the condition of those outside the Tzaddik's influence: the Sitra Achra's domain is a domain of living death, and the Chevraya's domain is a domain of living life.

• Sanhedrin 91b teaches that body and soul are judged together and therefore raised together — Paul's "God raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenly places" is the Tzaddik's proclamation that the resurrection has already begun within the Chevraya: the seated-together in the heavenly places is not merely future hope but present spiritual reality.

• Avot 1:12 teaches "love peace and pursue peace, love all creatures and bring them close to Torah" — Paul's declaration that the ultimate Tzaddik "has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition" is the apostolic fulfillment of Hillel's principle: the wall between Jew and Gentile that the Sitra Achra had turned into a weapon of division has been dismantled by the Tzaddik's own body.

• Sanhedrin 37a teaches that saving one soul is like saving an entire world — Paul's vision of the "one new man" created from Jew and Gentile in the Tzaddik is not merely sociological inclusion but a new cosmic entity: the Chevraya as the living demonstration that the Sitra Achra's oldest and most successful strategy of division has been permanently defeated.

• Berakhot 55a teaches that the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) was the point where heaven and earth meet — Paul's declaration that the Chevraya is being "built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" is the apostolic proclamation that this meeting point has been relocated from a geographical structure to the community of the Tzaddik: the Temple is now a living network of human beings filled with the divine presence.