Ephesians 2:11-12
“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you 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.”
Ephesians 2:13
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
In these verses, the apostle Paul underscores a remarkable aspect of God’s unfolding plan of salvation. Prior to his divine commission as the apostle to the Gentiles, there was no message of salvation directed toward the Gentile world. (Yes, there were proselytes but they few and even proselytes were separated by a wall of partition and could not enter the temple ground.) For over two millennia, the Gentiles were excluded from the blessings and promises that were centered on the nation of Israel.
In Matthew 10:5-6, Jesus Himself instructed His disciples, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans (the Samaritans were half Jews). But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This COMMAND highlights the scope of Christ’s earthly ministry, which was primarily focused on the Jewish people (with only 2 exceptions), the heirs of God’s covenant with Abraham, and the promises made to David.
Romans 15:8 reinforces this idea, stating, “Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers. The term “circumcision” here refers to the Jews, and the affirmation of God’s promises to the forefathers of Israel.
Against this backdrop, Ephesians 2:11-12 poignantly portrays the Gentiles’ predicament before the divine intervention of God through the apostle Paul. They were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise.” The Gentile world was not privy to the special relationship and covenantal blessings that God had established with Israel throughout the Old Testament.
In Ephesians 2:13, the apostle Paul declares the transformative impact of Christ’s redemptive work. He emphasizes the shift that occurred with Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles, indicating that through the blood of Christ, the Gentiles who were once “far off” have been brought near. The dramatic change from a state of spiritual alienation to a nearness to God is a central theme in Paul’s writings.
This new gospel message revealed specifically to the apostle Paul, opened a new chapter in the progressive plan of God’s redemptive plan. Paul became the vessel through which God unveiled His plan to extend salvation to the Gentile world, to the whole world. Apart from the Mosaic law, the 613 laws of Judiasim and the Thus, Ephesians 2:11-13 stands as a pivotal reminder of God’s sovereign plan and Paul’s unique role in bringing the Gentiles into the fold of God’s redemptive purposes.
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