John Calvin Commentary Ephesians 2:11

"Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;" — Ephesians 2:11 (ASV)

Wherefore remember. The apostle never once loses sight of his subject, marks it out clearly, and pursues it with increasing earnestness. He again exhorts the Ephesians to remember what their character had been before they were called. This consideration was suited to convince them that they had no reason to be proud. He afterwards points out the method of reconciliation, so that they might rest with perfect satisfaction on Christ alone, and not imagine that other aids were necessary. The first clause may be summed up as follows: “Remember that, when you were uncircumcised, you were aliens from Christ, from the hope of salvation, and from the Church and kingdom of God; so that you had no fellowship with God.” The second may be stated as follows: “But now grafted into Christ, you are at the same time reconciled to God.” What is implied in both parts of the description, and what effect the remembrance of it was suited to produce on their minds, has already been considered.

Gentiles in the flesh. He first mentions that they lacked the marks of God’s people. Circumcision was a token by which the people of God were marked out and distinguished from other men: Uncircumcision was the mark of a profane person. Since, therefore, God usually connects His grace with the sacraments, their lack of the sacraments is taken as evidence that they were not partakers of His grace. The argument, indeed, does not hold universally, though it does hold as to God’s ordinary dispensations. Hence we find the following language:

“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man.”
(Genesis 3:22–23)

Though he had devoured the whole tree, he would not, by merely eating it, have recovered the possession of life; but, by taking away the sign, the Lord took from him also life itself. Uncircumcision is thus presented to the Ephesians as a mark of pollution. By taking from the Ephesians the token of sanctification, he deprives them also of the thing signified.

Some believe that all these observations are intended to show contempt for outward circumcision; but this is a mistake. At the same time, I acknowledge that the qualifying clause, the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands, points out a twofold circumcision. The Jews were thus taught that they should no longer indulge in foolish boasting about the literal circumcision. The Ephesians, on the other hand, were instructed to abstain from all scruples on their own account, since the most important privilege—indeed, the whole truth expressed by the outward sign—was in their possession. He calls it, Uncircumcision in the flesh, because they bore the mark of their pollution; but, at the same time, he suggests that their uncircumcision was no hindrance to their being spiritually circumcised by Christ.

The words may also be read in one clause, Circumcision in the flesh made by hands, or in two clauses: Circumcision in the flesh, meaning that it was carnal; made by hands, meaning that it was done by the hand of man. This kind of circumcision is contrasted with that of the Spirit, or of the heart, (Romans 2:29) which is also called the circumcision of Christ. (Colossians 2:11)

By that which is called. Circumcision may be viewed here either as a collective noun for the Jews themselves, or literally for the thing itself; and then the meaning would be, that the Gentiles were called Uncircumcision, because they lacked the sacred symbol, that is, by way of distinction. This latter sense is supported by the qualifying phrase; but the substance of the argument is little affected.