Sermon Tone Analysis

*Intro* -- What are we going to learn in Ephesians 2:11-18?

We are going to learn that peace with people starts with peace with God.

The Cabots, one of Boston’s leading families, were held in low esteem by Miss Amy Lowell (1874-1925, US poet and critic).

She would go to the extent of refusing invitations to parties and dinners if she knew that one or more Cabots had also been invited.

One day, as she set off for her annual trip to Europe aboard the Devonian, she happened to glance at the passenger list and promptly disembarked.

“There are sixteen Cabots aboard the Devonian this trip,” she told a newspaper reporter, “and God isn’t going to miss an opportunity like that.”

There was a little bit of a feud going on apparently – a little alienation – the New England version of the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s!

Of course, as we’ve discussed before, alienation has always been with us, and it will be as long as sin continues, for it is sin that brings alienation, hatred, fighting and conflict.

You will recall, however, that the book of Ephesians is about God’s ultimate plan to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Of course, this won’t happen in its ultimate and final state until Christ comes again, but Ephesians teaches us that He is setting the stage even now for that ultimate victory – and He is using the church to do so.

Verses 1-10 of Ephesians 2 have shown us how the alienation between man and God has been overcome by the amazing grace of God.

Through redemption in Christ, those who were the walking dead have become new men and women built for good works.

Now – for the rest of chapter 2, Paul reminds his readers of the unbelievable strides they have made in relations with their fellowmen.

Not only have they been reconciled to God, but they have been reconciled to their bitterest enemies.

So they become for us a case study – an example, a pattern of how peace among men can be had.

Peace between husband and wife, parent and child, peace between ethnic groups and the most hostile rivals.

His starting point is the relationship between Jews and Gentiles.

A study of the history of the ancient world tells us that none of today’s social distinctions — none of our racial barriers, our narrow nationalisms, our iron curtains — are more exclusive or unrelenting than the historical separation between Jews and Gentiles in Biblical times.

The Jews believed the Gentiles were created to fuel the fires of Hell.

A common motto was, “The best of the serpents crush … the best of the Gentiles kill.”

It was not lawful to aid a Gentile woman in giving birth, for that would bring another heathen into the world.

Jews had utter contempt for Gentiles.

If any child married a Gentile, a funeral was held for that boy or girl.

And, of course, the feelings of the Jews against the Gentiles (a word the Jews made up by the way.

The Greeks and Romans did not call themselves Gentiles) – those feelings were returned in kind by the Gentiles against the Jews.

The barriers were UP.

You will also recall that we have noted that these two cultures clashed in Ephesus as in few places, for here east and west met.

Jews and Gentiles both had interest in this area, but they did not live together in harmony – not, that is, until God began to build His church in Ephesus.

That is when the miracle happened.

Here in Ephesus, under the direst of circumstances, peace happened!

Peace!

Alienation cured!

A foretaste of what is to come under the economy of God and an example of what is to be true in His church at all times.

Beloved, we must have peace, for that reflects our God and Savior.

So Paul reminds the Ephesians, particularly those of Gentile extraction, from whence they have come and they become a case study for us to see how God can bring peace in alienated relationships, whatever their origin.

Let’s look.

First the cause of alientation and then the cure.

*I.

The Cause – Separation from God*

As usual when conflict arises, there are two sides, and so there are here.

The emphasis here is on the Gentiles, but the Jews are here too, and we will see that the cause of alienation is the same in both cases.

Both sides, it turns out, are without God.

Both have false gods, and both are without the true God.

Both have made self god, but in so doing, both have become godless.

Let’s look first at the Gentiles condition and then at the Jews.

Many Bible students miss the fact that both Jew and Gentile have the same problems!

*A.

Gentiles – Totally Separate From God*

The previous plight of the Gentile believers is described in detail in verses 11-12.

In Verse 11 we read: Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— The word “therefore” is a strong conjunction.

It could be translated “therefore, for this reason”.

Drawing from whole of 1-10, everyone was bad off, but Gentiles were even worse off than the Jews.

Because of their rejection of God dating from the time of the Tower of Babel, they had not had God’s special revelation as had the Jews.

This didn’t prevent Gentiles from coming to God, but they were far off.

It would have been a long trip.

Paul is noting here is that they were looked down upon right from the outset and socially ostracized by the Jews for lack of the outward sign of circumcision.

If for no other reason, the lack of this signature physical condition rendered them anathema to those who were God’s representatives and keepers of God’s revelation.

We will return to talk about what is revealed about the Jews here in verse 11 later, but the overall message concerning the Gentiles here is that they were on the outside looking in.

They were like the window washer in New York City who went to see a psychiatrist.

He said he was tired of being on the outside, looking in!

I don’t know that the Gentiles were tired of that condition, but it was their lot if life, that’s for sure.

Now, in verse 12, we see their condition described by 5 different elements, and it is not a pretty condition.

Paul says: remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Let’s look at these individually to see how each contributed to the condition of alienation that existed between them and God and between them and those who later became their Jewish brothers in Christ.

*1.

Christless – “Separated from Christ”*

First we see that they were Christless.

Paul says they were “separated from Christ.”

I don’t know about you, but that description just sends chills down my spine.

To be separated from Christ – without Christ in the world is to be miserably lost.

Why were they without Christ?

Well, remember that the word “Christ” means Messiah.

The Gentiles, both personally and nationally, were without any hope of a Messiah.

Worse, they did not even know about a Messiah.

All revelation about the Messiah, about Christ, had come through the Jews, so those people and nations who had not contact with the Israel, or worse were enemies of Israel, were absolutely in the dark about Christ.

You say, “Well that hardly seem fair.

If word of the Messiah came only from the Jews, these poor people were without Christ because God had failed to give them the same revelation He had given the Jews.”

But before we condemn God, we need to consider what had happened historically.

At the time of Adam and Eve, everyone in the world had the revelation of God, did they not?

So we can hardly blame God that over the next hundreds of years, that knowledge was dissipated, unappreciated and eventually lost, can we?

You will recall that eventually, in his mercy, seeing that virtually all mankind had chosen against Him, God sent the flood, an act intended to punish the wicked and give the earth a new start.

This he did, so once again at the time of Noah, all the world once again knew God.

Of course, it did not take many generations before that knowledge was once again largely ignored and unwanted.

Rather than continue to worship the God who had been so gracious to them, mankind reached the point by Genesis 11 where he was totally concentrated on building a tower to heaven to “make a name for ourselves”.

This time God confused their languages and dispersed them across the face of the earth, but, in His mercy, He chose Abraham to become a friend of God and continued to provide revelation to mankind.

He chose a nation to be blessed and to be a blessing to others – all by His grace.

Then, by his grace, he allowed that nation to go into captivity in Egypt providing further opportunity for others to be touched by His revelation and come to him.

This touching of other nations was a continuous pattern in the life of OT Israel, but, of course, the general trend was away from God, away from His revelation, away from His grace and consequently, separation from revelation concerning Messiah and the hope that He could bring to the world.

Couple this with God’s continuous revelation through His creation – a revelation which He consistently maintains is sufficient to bring an honest inquiry to faith in Him, and you can see that it is anything but God’s fault that the Gentiles were separated from Christ.

The blame was their own and that of their ancestors, but nevertheless, there they were without Christ.

Their religion by this time was totally pagan.

They did not even have the expectation of a Savior.

How many today are without Christ?

And, of course, to be without Christ is to be lost in sin, for we read in Acts 4:12: 12) And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Beloved, we must be doing all we can to make sure that Christ is known – to at least give people the opportunity to come to Him for without Him, they are like these Ephesians were – lost and without Christ.

*2.

Stateless – “Alienated from the commonwealth of Israel”*

Secondly we see that the Gentiles were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel.

Now, please understand that these Gentiles probably would not have thought it a bad thing to be alienated from Israel.

But the fact that they didn’t want it, didn’t mean that they didn’t need it.

And why was that?

Well, Jesus said it very succinctly when he was talking to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Remember what He said in verse 22? 22) You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.