The Work of Memory: Ephesians 2:11

The focal point of Eph. 2:1-10 is not “by grace you have been saved through faith…” (2:8-9). 2:8-9 is incomplete without 2:10: we who are God’s workmanship are called to do good works. Being justified by grace through faith is the foundation of any good works; the work of sanctification is the natural fruit of Christ’s justifying work in Christian living. Divine good work always precedes human good works. Because of God’s good work in Christ, we are saved through faith by grace. Such a gift of God eliminates any possibility of human boasting. The i[na clause (2:9b: in order that no one can boast) rules out any human endeavor in terms of working for salvation. As Peter O’Brien writes, “The divine intention in providing salvation apart from any human effort or achievement is to exclude all human boasting…As Paul attacks the doctrine of justification by works, so he opposes all boating based on self-trust.”[1]

I am often aware of the conjunction Dio. (therefore) in the beginning of 2:11, meaning that 2:11-22 is connected to 2:1-10. But I usually separate the two sections and interpret them separately. Today, I received a book that I ordered a few days ago in my mailbox: Stephen E. Fowl, Ephesians: A Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012). I read the section on Eph. 2:11-22. Fowl writes:

 

Believers are participants in God’s new creation and that such participation enjoins walking in good works (cf. 2:10). Verse 11 would thus indicate that the immediate good work in view is the work of memory. The Ephesians are challenged here to remember their past. Indeed, the call here may be to remember their past in a new way. In this respect one can think of “remembering” as an example of being “transformed by the renewing of your minds,” as advocated in Rom. 12:2. Whatever else might be involved, the renewal of one’s mind must include a repair or restoration of one’s memory (p. 85).

I find the sentence, “the immediate good work in view is the work of memory,” intriguing. I often understand good works in terms of doing works. I never look at it from the angle of remembering. The first good work that the Ephesians are called to do is to remember: once you were Gentiles in the flesh…but now in Christ… (2:11-13). Our good work, first and foremost, is to remember the surprising work of God in Christ in our past. Our unchristian past indicates nothing but human flaws and divine grace. The first task of our Christian present is to remember our weaknesses and his gracious sufficiency.

To remember what God has done for us in Christ is a good work itself.   

---

[1] Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester: Apollos; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), p. 177.