Charles Hodge on Ephesians 2:17

V. 17. And having come, he preached peace, for you afar of, and peaceThe repetition of εἰρήνην before τοῖς ἐγγύς, has in its favour many of the oldest MSS. and versions, and is adopted by Lachmann, Meyer, and others. for those near. The connection is not with verse 14, but with verses 14-16. Christ having effected peace, announced it. This is the burden of the Gospel, Peace on earth, and good-will toward man. God is reconciled. Being justified by faith we have peace with God. Christ having redeemed us from the curse of the law; having reconciled us to God by his death, came and preached peace. To what preaching does the apostle refer? Some say to Christ’s personal preaching while here on earth. Having come, i. e. in the flesh, he preached. This supposes the connection is not with what immediately precedes, but with verse 14.—‘He is our peace, and having come into the world he preached peace.’ But this breaks the concatenation of the ideas. The reconciliation is represented as preceding the annunciation of it. Having died, he came and preached. The preaching is, therefore, the annunciation of the favour of God, made by Christ, either in person, or through his apostles and his Spirit. Having come, ἐλθών, is not redundant, nor does it refer to his coming into the world, but to that reappearing which took place after his resurrection, which was temporarily in person and continuous in his Spirit. He is with the church always, even to the end of the world; and it is his annunciation of peace which is made, by the word and Spirit, through the church. The peace meant, according to one interpretation, is peace between Jews and Gentiles, according to another, peace with God. The decision between the two depends on the view taken of the context. If the interpretation given above of the preceding verses be correct, then the peace here mentioned can only be peace with God. The dative ὑμῖν does not depend immediately on the verb, and point out the object to which the preaching was directed. It indicates those for whose benefit this peace has been procured. Christ announced that peace with God had, by the cross, been secured for those afar off, viz. the Gentiles. as well as for the Jews, or those who were nigh.