Ephesians chapter 2, starting with verse 11. 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. But now in Christ Jesus, you once who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Amen. You may be seated. In 2018, Crossway, the ministry, had an article on how long it takes to read the Bible. How long do you think it takes to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation? The estimates they made, based on, I think, surveys from different readers, was that it takes 74 hours, 28 minutes. 74 hours, just under 74 and a half hours. If you spread that out over a year, that would be approximately 12 minutes a day. Just 12 minutes a day, every day, and you could read the entire Bible from beginning to end. And so one of the points they made is we do have more time than we realize. And yet at the same time, we do say the Bible is a fairly long book. Why is the Bible, as long as it is, and part of the answer is that God's work of salvation is rooted in history. There is a rich history that God has given to us, and it's not that we want to complicate the message of salvation, that you have to have a certain education in order to be saved, not at all, but we recognize our Bibles do not begin with the epistles. Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, they are not the opening books of Scripture. Rather, we have a vast history that God has given to us. In Sunday school, we've been going through the book of Genesis, and I've made mention of the time scale that we see in Genesis. Genesis 1 through 11 cover about 2,000 years, from Adam to Abraham approximately 2,000 years, and that is about the length of time then that Genesis 12 through Malachi 4 then covers. So, about 4,000 years of history in our Old Testaments, and we should thank what a significant record God has given to us. What an important testimony that we have this history that for 2,000 years, then specifically, God's work of salvation was focused on Abraham and his descendants. Listen to the words of Scripture from Paul in Romans 9, somewhat similar to Ephesians 2. Paul in Romans 9 begins with a lament and a self-curse, if he could be cursed for the sake of his people. But then, verses 3 through 5, Paul says this, For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh. who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises, of whom are the fathers, and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is overall the eternally blessed God. Amen. Compare Romans 9, those opening verses, with what we will see in Ephesians 2. 11 through 14. So what have we seen already in Ephesians? We're going to talk a little more about this later, but Paul's focus has been our deliverance from spiritual death, from bondage to sin and Satan. that we are totally undeserving of God's grace. Paul has made that very clear. Scripture is very clear on that. But we can say our text, starting in verse 11, goes even further in terms of the history of redemption, the normal means that God has worked in the past. And Paul then sets this testimony before us. As Gentiles, those of the nations, we were completely cut off from the means of grace, the normal way that God used in bringing salvation to sinners. Paul is writing that to his original audience, and one of the questions that we will ask, maybe not fully answered today, is how has that changed maybe since this book has been written? But certainly there's an original context when this section was written. Some commentators suggest that starting with verse 11 through the end of chapter 2, that we have the high point of the entire letter to the Ephesians. This is the high point, verses 11 through 22. Not 21, 22. Now, I don't know if we can always rank what is most important. That's the opinion of men. They may have some credentials, some letters after their names, but that's the opinion of men. I don't know that we should always try to rank what parts of a book are the most important, what parts are less important, I guess that would mean. I'm not sure if we can or have to do that, but This is, we can say, a critical part of God's Word in showing the significance of what Jesus Christ did. We tend to think in an individual way, and we never want to lose sight that Jesus Christ came to save individual sinners, but we recognize the work of salvation, it's greater than just our individual salvation. And Paul is setting forth, starting in verse 11, Continues in verse 14 and then again in verse 19 these different sections Paul is showing the the significance of the saving work of Jesus Christ bringing together Jew and Gentile Establishing the true temple of in which his people are the dwelling. We are the temple for the dwelling place of God in the Spirit. This is an amazing work, and the starting point is what we were delivered from. starting in verse 11. Maybe in your Bible, the formatting of this part of chapter 2 is in three sections. That's how my Bible is formatted. These divisions, of course, are not inspired, but you have verses 11 through 13, far off to being brought near. Then verses 14 through 18, the main theme is that of peace. Then the final section, verse 19 through verse 22, God's people as the true temple, as his dwelling place. So we are gonna focus just on the first of these three sections, verses 11 through 13, and I wanna begin with a brief review of Ephesians, but then we'll focus on verses 11 through 13. So this is now our 10th week, in Ephesians. We've been slowly making our way through this book, probably not spending as long as some would preaching through it, but this is week 10, and we're in chapter 2, starting with verse 11. So, what can we say in summary? Well, that's a challenging thing to try to summarize such a rich section of God's Word, but we can say in summary this, salvation is all of grace. and it is the work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Salvation, of course, is all of grace, but we also see the work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I've made mention that in the book of Ephesians you have these long sentences, at least in some of the Greek versions. These long sentences, for example, chapter 1, verses 3 through 14, that's one sentence. Chapter 1, 15 through 23 is a second long sentence, and then chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, a third long sentence. And we can look at Ephesians in these three sections, 1st verses 3 through 14, where we have the eternal work of God the Father in electing and choosing us. You have the historical work of God the Son, His salvation, His death on the cross, His redemption, and then the sealing work of the Holy Spirit in time and looking forward to the future. Ephesians 1, 15-23 emphasizes that although salvation is all of God, it's not that we are just pawns or that we have no duty now given to us. This is part of the section where Paul prays for the believers. So, salvation is all of God's grace. We never deny that, but we also recognize we are to grow. There is to be a seeking out after God. And Paul emphasizes this growth in knowledge comes through the working of the Holy Spirit. And we are to grow in our understanding of God's power. We do want to acknowledge not only God's working in our own lives, but again, we consider His work around the world. So we are to grow in our understanding of the power of God, and also in this section we have this beautiful focus on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We praise the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the head of the church. Look at the end of chapter 1. The language, we noted, is very rich and challenging. This language of fullness, which is his body, the church is the body of Christ, then the fullness of him who fills all in all. And I ask the question, who is the fullness? And I think the best understanding, the fullness is the Lord Jesus Christ. that the Lord Jesus Christ is that place where God's presence, where God's power, God's salvation are known, and we draw from the fullness of Christ as the church. We are not the fullness ourselves. But then as we move our way into chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, and we look at these verses in three parts. First, verses 1 through 3, you could define as the doctrine of total depravity. What does it mean that we are totally depraved? Not that we are as evil or as wicked as we could be, but that sin affects every part of us. We were in bondage. We were in spiritual death. We had no ability or no desire to seek after God, nor would we ever. And then that verse four begins with those rich words, but God, but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love, with which He loved us. Our regeneration, our union with Christ. And then verses 8 through 10, which again emphasizes, for by grace you have been saved. By grace you are saved. There is nothing for which we can boast. Now, as we get to verses 11 through 14, We have to ask, well, what's the connection? Verse 11 begins with, therefore, there has to be a connection with the past. And then Paul is continuing. He's not just repeating the same information. So we ask the question, what is changing, or where is Paul going now in verses 11 through 14? We can add this, not only were you completely lost in your sin and rebellion, but at least as Paul is writing this letter, you were cut off from God's visible expression of his covenant and his grace. Your condition was even worse than you imagined. It's one thing to be spiritually dead. Can it get worse? Yes, it can get even worse. You were spiritually dead and you were totally cut off from the normal means that God used to save people. Cut off from the physical expression of God's covenant and grace. So we can say this, your condition was worse than you imagined. And the grace of God, the work of God in Christ are even greater than you have known. So in these verses, we are to consider how far we were from God and his grace, and then all the more how gracious God is to us. Let's do our best then as we begin with verse 11. And with verse 11, therefore, remember we have Significantly, we have the first command in the book of Ephesians. As you probably have observed on your own or have heard before, Paul's letters often begin with the indicative and then later the command, the imperatives follow. So we're still in the section of indicatives, descriptions of what God has done for us, but here is a command. The first command of the book, remember, don't forget. Don't forget who you were before God's grace invaded your life. That is the duty of verse 11. And it is interesting, this command is given to Gentiles, which teaches us that the majority, not exclusively, but probably the majority of believers in Ephesus were from a pagan background. They were not converted Jews, some of them were, but probably the majority were from a totally pagan background. The command that they are given, though significantly parallels what Israel was told, Deuteronomy 5 would be one of those passages. Israel frequently also was instructed, remember, do not forget. Don't forget what God did for you. One passage, Deuteronomy 515, remember that you are a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. So Israel is called, remember, remember what I did. As those from the nations, we are also called, remember. Remember what God has done for you. Remember your spiritual condition before God's grace invaded your life. Paul says, you were once Gentiles in the flesh. And it's important to observe, once things have changed by God's grace, this is the past Gentiles in, excuse me, in the flesh. And the word Gentiles comes from Latin. The Greek word is ethnos, a word ethnic. comes from this word, translated here as Gentiles, and it is interesting, Greeks called non-Greeks ethnos. The Greek people, they were more special. Everyone else was just a pagan from the other nations, but more significantly, the word Gentiles, at least in the New Testament, is used for what Jews called non-Jews. The Hebrew term would be goyim. The nations, again, we have this word Gentile in our English translations coming more from a Latin basis. We can say nations or Gentiles, and it is a term of insult. It's a descriptive term, but it's an insulting term. It's significant. Paul, look at chapter 3, verse 1. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. That is an amazing statement that a Jew would make. Paul is in prison. He's in prison on behalf of Jesus Christ, ultimately, but it's in service of the nations. It's in service of the Gentiles. Again, that's an amazing statement that a Jew like Paul would make, except he has been saved by God's grace. Now, the key word in verse 11 at the beginning is the word flesh. Gentiles in the flesh. One commentator notes this. The word flesh refers to the merely human realm in which people live in contrast to life in the Spirit or in Christ. He says the connotation is more pejorative than the NIV, for example, suggests. The NIV says you were Gentiles by birth. It's not just, well, you happen to be born there. It's more of a negative term. He says Paul wants his readers to remember they were Gentiles confined to that which is weak, merely human, being bad-mouthed by Jews who labeled them the uncircumcision and themselves the circumcision. So you were Gentiles in the flesh and you were called uncircumcision. That is, you were cut off from the main covenant sign that God had given to his people for 2,000 years. Now, notice the beauty of Scripture here. We have to try to appreciate the wisdom of God's Word as best we can. Is Paul downplaying the blessing that circumcision had been? I don't think so. But notice carefully the language here. You were called uncircumcision. That is true, but notice, by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh, by hands. What is significant about this language? Well, physical circumcision was an important covenant sign. Again, Paul is not discounting what God had instituted, but he is saying this. Physical circumcision was not sufficient for salvation. Yes, they were physically circumcised, but it was made in the flesh by hands. and there's hopefully a passage from the book of Romans that comes to mind as you think of this. What passage from Romans comes to mind? Maybe several could come to your mind, but the passage I'm thinking of is Romans 2, 28 and 29, the end of chapter 2 where Paul says, for he is not a Jew who is one outwardly Nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God." What Paul writes in Romans 2 beautifully parallels what Paul is saying here in Ephesians chapter 2. We should never ignore the physical signs that God has given. Today we have baptism. We have the Lord's Supper. We dare not ignore those signs or think they're not important, but we also cannot be content just to go through the motions. And what Paul says in Romans and what Paul says here in Ephesians 2 is identical. You need the working of the Holy Spirit. That's what you must have. You must have that working of the Holy Spirit in terms of regeneration, so it's not feeling, it's not emotion, and it's not just going through the outward motions. There are people, oh, they have plenty of feeling, but it's not based on truth. There are people who go through all the right steps, but it's just outward. What you need is to be regenerated, and you need that truth of God's Word worked in your life by God's sovereign and gracious working. So Paul exalts God's historical working, but he recognizes physical circumcision was not salvation. It is a beautiful piece of theology. This is God's truth. So remember who you were. before God's grace invaded your life. Then, verse 12, Paul gives now five descriptions of the condition of his first readers. They were totally cut off from God's people and covenant, and as MacArthur points out, there were two types of alienation. One was social. Jews would mock the Gentiles. that was understood, that was common, but he said that's not the most significant alienation. It's not just a social alienation. It's the spiritual alienation that is far more serious, and that is what is described here in verse 12. There are five things. First, without Christ, you are without Christ. You could take this as the main point that the other four simply describe. what this means, or perhaps you could say it's the most important thing in this listing. They all work together though. You are without Christ. And notice the contrast then in verse 13, but now in Christ. And there are things I'm going to suggest that have changed from this description, but number one on this list, that is true of every single person that is born, even those who are born into a Christian home, they need the Lord Jesus Christ. So there are things we might say that slightly change as the gospel has come, But some of these things are true of every person that has come to saving faith. They started their life without Christ at one time. Now, we ask this question, did the Israelites of old truly have Christ? Did they all enjoy the blessing of Messiah? And the answer is, of course, they did not all have that saving faith. It was those of the elect who enjoyed that promise of Messiah, and they were saved by his work. just as we must be saved by his work. Second, aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel. The word Commonwealth is a difficult translation. England has a commonwealth. What does that word mean? Well, it's only used one other place in the New Testament. Remember the centurion who speaks to Paul and said, I bought my citizenship with a great price. And Paul says, well, I was born a citizen. That's that same word, citizenship. The idea is you were cut off from the people of Israel. You did not have that blessing of being under God's word and rule. Third, and joined with that, you were strangers from the covenants of promise. We think of all that God promised to Abraham and his descendants. He promised them land. They were given a priesthood. They were to be a people. They were a nation. They were a kingdom. They were promised a king, and most importantly, those who believed were given the promise of eternal life. you were cut off from all of the promises, then having no hope. Hope can be both a psychological feeling and a theological reality. I don't think Paul is just speaking of the psychological feeling of hopelessness, although that can be a real thing. We live in an age of hopelessness as a nation. It is amazing. Today, it's estimated over 100,000 people every year in the U.S. die via suicide or overdose from drugs. Over 100,000, I think in 2017 the number was 117,000 people. that either take their own life or somehow in conjunction with an overdose. We live in a time where people are without hope. There is that reality. Now, I think Paul He's not dismissing that, but hope here is a theological reality. You had no ultimate hope. You may have felt great about yourself, but that doesn't mean you have hope. In Acts 28 20, Paul, one of his trials says, or excuse me, he's speaking to the Jews there. He says, for this reason, therefore, I have called for you to see you and speak with you because for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain. Paul, For the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain. He's speaking of God's work of resurrection. Then in Romans 5, 2, we read this, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope. of the glory of God. The ultimate hope that we have been given is the climax of resurrection, the fullness of God's work of salvation. That is not just a psychological hope, it's the theological hope that we have in Christ. Then number five, You are without God in the world. And the word translated without God is the basis for our word atheist. You are atheist. Now, we use the word atheist, those who deny God. And in that sense, there are no true atheists because all know there is a God, but you can be without saving faith. You can be without relationship. And in that sense, you are an atheist. You are without God. There's an interesting passage I found in 2 Chronicles 15. This is the time of Asa, generally a godly king, but a prophet comes to Asa. His name is Azariah, the son of Oded. So Azariah, Ben, Oded. He comes before the king and says this, for a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest and without law. It's interesting to compare that, that 2 Chronicles 15.3, with what Paul is saying here in Ephesians 2. There were times when the Jews also, even though they had been given all of these blessings, they also were without the true God, without a teaching priest, without law. They were in ignorance and in bondage. In Galatians 4.8, Paul says, but then indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. The Ephesians, they had all sorts of idols. They had Artemis. that main temple that celebrated Diana or Artemis, the goddess that descended from heaven, and yet Paul says you were without God and that you did not enjoy true relationship, true saving faith. Richard Dawkins probably is one of the most famous atheists today. He hasn't changed his mind, but about a month ago, he made a comment to the British newspaper, The Times. And he had to confess. This is one of the most ardent atheists. Dawkins had to confess that if people give up religion, that has a negligent aspect for society. It's interesting. A total atheist. And here's what he said. He said, if religion were abolished, it would give people a license to do really bad things. It's amazing you have to have a PhD to recognize that. He said that security camera surveillance of customers in shops did appear to deter shoplifting. Imagine that. Adding that people might feel free to do wrong without a, quote, divine spy camera in the sky reading their every thought. End quote. Well, sadly Richard Dawkins is lost in sin, even though he is a famous atheist. He has to recognize that which should be obvious. Well, look back to verse four. The contrast, but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, and now, verse 13, but now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near. by the blood of Christ. Paul then frequently reminds us of our original condition, and then God's saving grace invading our lives. That's what we have in verse 13. Three key phrases that we'll highlight. First, in Christ Jesus, but now in Christ Jesus. This is the language of our union with Christ. the language of our union with Christ, such that you are promised the fullness of God's grace. How do you know you have the grace of God? Are you in Jesus Christ? If you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been given faith to believe in Him, then you know you have union that all that God has promised you do receive. our language of union, then second, the words far off and have been brought near. There is some debate by commentators. in terms of what is Paul's background, what is Paul thinking of in the background as he writes verse 13, but likely the book of Isaiah is very important for Paul's language here. Again, there's some debate, but the book of Isaiah, very important in the book of Romans, and this part of Ephesians, Paul likely has two passages in mind, and in this section. The first would be Isaiah 52.7, Isaiah 52, verse 7, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns. The announcement of peace, and that will come in Paul's writing starting in verse 14. The other verse should be Isaiah 57 and verse 19. Isaiah 57, 19, we read that earlier. I create the fruit of the lips, peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near, says the Lord, and I will heal him. This is speaking about God's grace going to those in Israel who were lost. But it also, this term far off became a term for Gentiles and then being brought near or being made near when a Gentile became part of the congregation of Israel. That was called being made near or being brought near. But here Paul is not speaking of a ceremony, a conversion rite. He is speaking of the blood of Christ. You are not brought near because you went through a ceremony. You are brought near by the violent shedding of the blood of Christ on the cross. When we see the word blood, it's not just, well, the physical blood of Christ. It's all that Christ endured on the cross for us. His violent death, the shedding of his blood, the breaking the bruising of his body. And so, as important as sacraments are, the only way you can be joined with the people of God is the application of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And we think there is a place for human traditions. There is a place for human ceremonies. But what could compare with the death of Christ? What ceremony of man could ever be compared with the death of Christ, the blood of Christ washing your sin. So this doesn't mean human ceremonies are unimportant, but they can never be compared to what Christ has done. We must follow what God has called us, but you have to be washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. So remember who you were before God's grace invaded your life. And as I read this text, as I studied it this week, one of the questions I asked was, has this changed now for those who have been part of God's people, maybe for generations? You're born into a Christian home. Is this your condition? Well, in part it can be, but not entirely, because to be born into a Christian home is a tremendous blessing. You've heard God's truth from your earliest days. So part of what Paul is describing, he's writing to those who are first converted. Now, have things changed? Well, certain aspects have changed, but what has not changed is even though you've been given tremendous external blessings, you have to be regenerated. Generation, being born in a Christian family, what a wonderful gift, but you have to be born again. You have to be regenerated. So, thankfulness for God's working of grace, but thankfulness all the more. Have you truly come to know the love of God in Christ? How thankful then we should be how God has worked in time. Think of how God brought you to saving faith. the amazing testimony of God's grace invading your life. We're never to forget that. Second, then, consider how many billions today are lost, are without Christ. Think of how many are still in their sin, in total bondage. And as we think of this, how many are lost, we should never make the mistake of thinking, well, it all depends on us, that God somehow is powerless unless we do something about it. That would be almost blasphemy. No, God is not powerless. Yes, there are many, many who are lost, and it's not that God is bound by us. We are not ultimately responsible for the salvation of those who are lost. But we think, what has God called us to do? Paul said, he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. So ultimately, he recognizes this is God's sovereign power, but Paul has a calling and he is going to do everything he can. So it's not manipulation, it's not guilt that should cause us to serve. Because when you forget guilt, you forget your duty. It's remembering. If you have been saved by God, then you have a holy calling. by God. You can't reach billions. You can't even reach millions or thousands or hundreds, but where has God placed you? Where has God called you? Ulrich Zwingli The Swiss reformer said this, you are God's tool. He wills to wear you out by use, not by idleness. Oh, happy man whom he calls to his work. May we be called by the Lord as witnesses to bring his light to those in bondage. Let us pray. Father, we thank you. We acknowledge you are the God who saves. You are the God who must save. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot save our children, our loved ones. Your work in their lives is what we plead and ask that you would accomplish for your glory. And for those that you have given us, whether they are in our family or in our network of friends, but who are lost, we also pray for your sovereign saving work. And we ask, O Lord, use us as you have called us. We can pray, we can be your vessels and tools. We're not the Apostle Paul, but where you have placed us, we want to be useful. We ask then for your blessing, rejoicing in your grace. May we never lose sight of what you have done for us. We pray this in Jesus' great name. Amen.