Can It Get Any Worse Than This?

Ephesians Series Ephesians 2:11-12

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Excluded, aliens, without hope

¹¹Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Ephesians 2:11-12

I hear them in the next room, laughing, clapping, and enjoying themselves. A pang of jealousy washes over me because I am not part of the group. I feel excluded and overlooked . . . and sad. Perhaps even frustrated and piqued, knowing that I should have been there. After all, I feel just as qualified as those present and don’t understand why they have been chosen and I have not.

Can you imagine living in the days of Jesus and the apostles as a Gentile? God had demonstrated His favor to the Israelites for millennia, and the nations took notice. Even though they had their own panoply of gods, they knew there was something very unique about the Hebrew God and His dealings with His people. When they acted according to His ways, Israel prospered and they came out on top in international conflicts. When they strayed, God used other kings and armies to defeat them, and later, God’s judgment came on the victors for dealing too harshly with God’s chosen ones.

Some non-Jews understood that their religions and idols would never provide eternal salvation, and yet, there was still the constant pressure to keep trying, keep sacrificing, keep working daily to please the gods. It was a hopeless cycle of human effort for naught. They were excluded from the blessings and benefits that come from knowing the true God and being His people. All they had was endless self-effort.

Barriers against outsiders

Unfortunately, the Jews made things worse by treating the outsiders as dirt. Their rules prevented them from socializing with the “unclean” Gentiles and they censured those who ate or had business dealings with the foreigners.

Even though Scriptures detailed ways the Jews were to show kindness, mercy, acceptance, and grace to the others as a way of inviting them into the Israelite family, they did not live up to this standard. Hostility and enmity played the biggest role in cross-cultural interactions.

In Ephesians, Paul describes the physical reality of this exclusion as well as the spiritual reality. Gentiles/non-Jews did not have access to any of the cultural or personal benefits of being part of God’s family. Despite the flagrant ways the Jews abandoned God over the centuries, they still had promises about their nation that God bound Himself to fulfill–promises and covenants about their land, abundant progeny, God’s protection, and most of all, a path to eternal salvation for each person through Jesus the Messiah.

Living as Gentiles

Unless we in modern times were born into a Jewish family, we are the Gentiles of whom Paul speaks before we come to faith in Jesus. Consider the strength of the words used to describe our condition:

Separate from Christ: physically and spiritually apart from the Savior and all that His life and intervention include.

Excluded from the people of Israel: alienated from the community of God’s people; unable to participate in the blessings and shut out from fellowship and intimacy

Strangers to the covenants of the promise: aliens, without knowledge or share in God’s contract of redemption

Having no hope: no expectation or assurance of future life or blessings

Without God in the world: the word for without God is atheoi, the origin of our word atheist; one who has no higher power and is completely self-determined

This sounds pretty bleak to me! I picture one who is alone in his or her soul, bereft of all the components that make life worth living. He is adrift without the anchor and well-being that comes with intimacy, fellowship, assurance that the pain of the world comes to an end, or confidence that there is a Supreme Being who really does have things under control according to His plan.

Paul presents a very stark picture of humanity that has denied the truth of God and His Redeemer, Jesus Christ. It is a hard place to leave a discussion, but the next part of the chapter is the good news! (Spoiler alert! Feel free to read ahead to see what God has done about our dismal condition!)

Have you known anyone who was without God and had no hope? What was life like in that state? Did things ever change for that person? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

[I am sending you to the Gentiles] to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’
Acts 26:17-18

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21

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