Ephesians 2:12

My Notes

What Does Ephesians 2:12 Mean?

Paul reminds the Ephesian Gentiles of their former condition: without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. Five descriptions of absolute deprivation.

Without Christ — no Messiah, no anointed deliverer. Aliens — foreigners with no citizenship. Strangers — outsiders with no access to the promises. No hope — not just difficult circumstances but the complete absence of hope. Without God — in the world, but without the God who made it.

The list is devastating: no Christ, no community, no covenant, no hope, no God. This was the Gentile condition before the gospel reached them. Complete spiritual poverty.

The next verse (v.13) provides the contrast: but now in Christ Jesus. Everything that was absent has been supplied. The without has become with.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Which of the five 'withouts' most describes your condition before Christ?
• 2.How does remembering the 'before' make the 'but now' more precious?
• 3.What does 'without God in the world' describe about the deepest human loneliness?
• 4.How does 'but now in Christ Jesus' address every deficit Paul listed?

Devotional

At that time ye were without Christ. No Messiah. No deliverer. No anointed one standing between you and judgment. The without is total.

Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Foreigners. No citizenship in God's nation. No membership in the community that carried God's promises. Outsiders looking in.

Strangers from the covenants of promise. The promises God made — to Abraham, to Moses, to David — none of them were yours. The covenants were between God and Israel. You were a stranger.

Having no hope. Not just struggling hope. No hope. The complete, utter absence of expectation that anything good was coming. Hopelessness — not as a feeling but as a condition.

Without God in the world. In the world — surrounded by creation, breathing God's air, walking on God's earth — and without God. The most devastating loneliness: existing in a universe made by someone you do not know.

That was you. Without Christ, alien, stranger, hopeless, godless. That is the before-picture.

But now (v.13). Two words that change everything. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Every without has been filled. Every absence has been supplied. Every deficit has been covered.

Do you remember the without? The remembering makes the now extraordinary.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture