Sunday: Brought Near in Christ
Compare Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul’s earlier description of the Gentile past of the addressees, with Ephesians 2:11-12. What does he accent in his fresh description of their past?
Gentiles who were now believers in Christ and members of His “body,” the church, were once totally separated from Israel and the salvation God offered. Paul judges it important for them to “remember” (Ephesians 2:11) this past.
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They were then “without Christ,” the Anointed One, the Messiah of Israel. They were “aliens from the commonwealth [the state or people] of Israel.” And they were “strangers from the covenants of promise,” oblivious to the promises of salvation God had offered down through salvation history. The alienation from Israel and the salvation offered through it meant that they once had “no hope” and were “without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12, NKJV).
Also, in their past existence, Gentiles were caught up in a grand feud between themselves and the Jews. Paul gives a sense of this entrenched hatred by referring to one symptom of it, name-calling. Jews referred to Gentiles with derision as “the uncircumcision” and Gentiles referred to Jews with equal disdain as “the circumcision” (Ephesians 2:11).
Ephesians 2:13, however, points to something radically different now. Paul wrote: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (NKJV).
When Paul describes Gentile believers as once “far off,” he borrows from Isaiah 57:19: “ ‘Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,’ says the LORD, ‘and I will heal him’ ” (ESV; compare Ephesians 2:17-18). In Christ and through His cross, Gentile believers had been brought near to all from which they were separated — God, hope, and their Jewish brothers and sisters. Here is the powerfully good news implied by Paul’s description: that the cross of Christ can heal the wide rift between Jews and Gentiles means that all of our feuds and divisions can be resolved there. This good news invites us to consider the divisions that exist in our own lives and in the church and to ponder the power of the cross to supersede them.
| From what condition has Jesus redeemed you? Why might it be important for you to recall, with some regularity, where you were when He found you and where you might now be had He not found you? |
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Fatty substances and water do not mix well. Milk as it comes out of a cow is a mixture of a fatty substance (butter fat) and water. Ok there are a few other things in there as well but let's not make it too complicated. The butter fat and water are relatively easy to separate using a centrifuge. I have done in many times in the cow shed. In the days I lived on a dairy farm we only sent the cream (mainly butterfat) to the dairy factory and the rest was thrown away. If you let milk straight from the cow stand, the butter fat would eventually float to the top and form clotted cream - which is actually great on apple pie.
Nowadays, the science of milk is well understood and we keep the butterfat and water (and the other bits) together is such a way that they do not separate out. We add a thing to the milk called an emulsifier. That is why you can buy full cream milk at the supermarket and the cream does not rise to the top. And just to be sure that the vegans do not miss out most plant-based milks have a similar description.
My point is that the way to keep oil and water together as a unified whole is to use an emulsifying agent.
Jews and Gentiles were as dissimilar as oil and water. As described by Paul they each had a different worldview and typically did not mix. The real science of Paul's ministry was to show the need for a spiritual emulsifying agent, that is Jesus, to unite the two.
One of the key features of Paul's ministry was to show that both Jews and Gentiles were in need of Jesus. In fact, he is at pains to show that the Jews were no better off than Gentiles in that respect. And here there is perhaps a lesson for us in our interaction with our secular friends. We tend to preach that we have the truth and that our secular friends should absorb it. That is the "we are better than you" approach. Maybe we should be demonstrating that both of us need to depend on Jesus.
Perhaps, this week, we can tease a little more out of that notion.
Jesus the "spiritual emulsifying agent" Love it!
My Mom had a neurology assessment this week. It was difficult for me to watch. The doctor asked her to draw a clock face and place the numbers. Mom started with "1" somewhere around where "4" should be and the hours eventually became squished and doubled up. She was to draw in 10 past 9 and it looked like 6:30. He then asked her to start at "70" and keep subtracting 7. Mom began scribbling invisibly on her leg, doing the borrow and carry method. Her mind was working very hard. Now, granted this is a bit of a tricky exercise for even some of us younger folks. But it may change things if I told you my Mom taught high school and college algebra for 52 years and gave math lectures to adult groups. So the fact that answers were coming in a random way, both increasing and decreasing, and that she didn't catch that things seemed off, made me gulp.
Next came pictures. The doctor showed where her brain has had frequent bleeds and where atrophying and mini strokes have caused large holes. He said that like the skin on the back of your hand, the brain shrinks, and that for my Mom it was quite a bit more than typical for her age, that she is in a moderate dementia stage and probably even some beginning Alzheimers. My Mom has resisted hearing such things from us kids and so I was concerned about her reaction to this visit. But she seemed almost cheery afterwards and said that her brain was pretty, that it looked like the face of a pansy flower. Yes, I could see that, but for me her lack of awareness and all those black holes represented a loss which made me full out cry when I was out of her presence.
So I have had a lot of conversations with God about it this week. And I want to share something that is in rough form as a thought, but is powerful for me.
We know that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). And we know that because God is a loving parent and not a dictator, "fear" can be interpreted more like reverence and respect. And it can also be thought of as an attitude of "loving God so much we don't want to hurt or disappoint Him". But could "fearing God" be something more than these? Could it be the starting point on a path of a different kind of wisdom?
My mom took a test of her knowledge and by normal standards she failed miserably. She has lost many of the cognitive skills required to exist independently in this world. Keeping appointments, driving, working a stove, reading body language, carrying on a nuanced conversation, running a household or holding down a job…those things have left her.
So let's go back…. if fearing God is the beginning of wisdom (applied knowledge to have skill in living), then the opposite must also be true, there is no true wisdom (knowledge applied to make skillful living) without first fearing God.
The doctor and myself …. sitting there with brains presumably not as pocked with decay as my Mom's….are we wiser than her? Looking at those scans, I saw proof for "lean not on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5-6). Our bodies are dust. Our human knowledge is dust. Our tests and methodologies of existing have no relevance past the grave. The wisdom of this world is useful for managing certain resources, but it will fade, no longer needed. My Mom doesn't need to tell time anymore. She can still quote relevant Scripture to me though …. what a gift! Where would she be now without Jesus?
Perhaps the bigger understanding of the word "fear" is becoming completely unraveled. Standing before the Cross, we see a love of God that can paralyze us momentarily, we can be overcome by our own salvation. We see the futility of all our attempts at self-attainment and self-sufficiency. Like the shuddering reality of seeing your own brain's feebleness, at the Cross all of our efforts and pontifications are leveled and cast down. Christ has redeemed us from our own sin-riddled hearts and minds. We see the work of God to produce His salvation in us and we live into these realizations with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). At the Cross, and at the crosses that are each our own, we see how truly weak and dependent we are and we find the only lasting wisdom in existence in Christ. We there trade our brains, naturally full of holes in our thinking, for the "holy" mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
Paul wrote this to believers living in a Greek culture which so valued wisdom and rhetoric,
So sorry you have to watch your mom decline that way. I am encouraged you can find spiritual lessons in it.
Praise God, thank you sister Christina.
Thank you very much for your testimony. My brother and I are going through the same thing with our father. Thank God for salvation, for the blessed hope.
Praying for you brother James. 🙏
We know that God is even more eager than we are for the effects of sin to be no more, for everyone to be reunited in new bodies that perfectly reflect His glory!
Powerful testimony. Praise God Esther!.
In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul underscores the spiritual state of the Gentiles before their conversion. He describes them as being "dead in transgressions," influenced by the ways of the world, and living in the passions of the flesh. The emphasis is on their spiritual disobedience and separation from God due to sin.
In contrast, Ephesians 2:11-12 focuses more on their cultural and religious alienation. Paul recalls their physical uncircumcision as a sign of being outsiders to the covenant community. He mentions their state of being "strangers to the covenants of promise," "having no hope," and being "without God in the world." This passage emphasizes the social and religious disconnect they faced as non-Jews, highlighting their exclusion from Israel's promises and covenant community. So, while the first passage underlines the spiritual aspects of their past lives, the second focuses on their socio-religious alienation.
Reflecting on the state from which Jesus has redeemed us fosters gratitude and humility. We're reminded that our salvation is not our efforts but purely God's grace and mercy. Regularly recalling our past helps us appreciate the transformative power of God's love in our lives, increases our compassion for those still trapped in situations we've overcome, and invigorates our commitment to God. We also get a stark reminder of the consequences of living without Christ, reinforcing the importance of maintaining our relationship with Him.
I'd certainly be dead if Love hadn't found me. Has Love found you? I'm not talking about Love for another human; I'm talking about a person whose meaning is Love (it-Himself). Have you been in this perspective? I know I'm alive because of this word, without merit but gracefully given to me. Try Love (God) and start being satisfied, even with more hunger.
We notice in Eph.2:3 as well as many other letters, how Paul includes himself as "we all once conducted ourselves". He also wrote to Timothy: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief". 1 Timothy 1:15.
Also in his letter to Titus, Titus 3:3-7.
But we will also notice that the Apostle Paul realized towards the end of his life here on earth when he wrote in Philippians 3:13,14; that he had not yet equaled Jesus' flawless and sinless Character. So again I say, that there is a "Huge difference" between the sins of "Lifestyle" and the sins of "Character Defects." For even Ellen White says that "God has to make up for an (unavoidable difficency in us) to save us. She also indicates that "We will (often fail) in our efforts to copy the Divine Pattern."
I wonder if we really should differentiate between the two, if indeed there is a difference. If I consider sins of character defects, they are often more destructive than sins of lifestyle. It's hard to really say what sins of lifestyle are as some people have pretty broad definitions, but lets say something like smoking is a sin of "lifestyle" and a bad temper is a sin of character defect. I think it's safe to say that the person with the bad temper is hurting more people and being a bad witness for Christ than the smoker. So to say that character defects are more acceptable sins, I don't know. We also don't know the patterns and deficiencies that cause people to fall into lifestyle sins - for example the smoker may be smoking as a result of abuse.
So I think it's best not to put sins in categories. A pastor I know said he concluded that the root of Sin with a capital (in contrasts to sins) is rebellion. I kind of like that idea. God can work with our sins, but if we are in rebellion against Him in sin, that is when we head down another path away from Him. And I think lifestyle sins can be rebellion (but may not always be) but character defects may be too. After all, haven't you seen people hold on to their character defects and make excuses for them? That is a big problem, and probably more common than we think.
The sins of "Character Defect," are the sins that are defined by a lack of "The fruit of the Spirit," How many of us can say that we demonstrate "Peace, Joy, love, patience, gentleness, meekness, goodness, temperance, etc. and etc. 24 hours a day 365 days a year all the time? When we fail at these we are failing with sins of our characters. But "Sins of Lifestyle" have to do with things like "Drunkeness, cussing, anger, stealing, pornography, smoking, drug use, etc. and etc. "Huge Difference" between these and the fruit of the spirit.
I agree that none of us demonstrate the fruits of the spirit perfectly. But in reality, every sin of lifestyle you mention relates to lack of a fruit of the Spirit. So I don't think it's wise to try to differentiate too much.
I'll remind you of Ellen White's words in Steps to Christ, "The drunkard is despised and is told that his sin will exclude him from Heaven; while pride, selfishness and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially offensive to God, for they are contrary to the benevolence of His Character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the unfallen universe." (pg.30)
Every outward sin begins in the heart and works outward. Fixing the outward problems without a heart change is dangerous because it makes us think we're good. I'm not saying Christians should drink or swear or look at pornography etc. But all these sins are rooted in something and I suspect as we grow in the Fruit of the Spirit and in God's love, these sins will lose their hold. Dealing with these sins by shear will power (which seems to be what the church often has expected) only works for people with a strong will. It won't work well for others and especially those who fell into those sins due to hang-ups and struggles (which I suspect is the majority). And I suspect God is more patient with those who struggle with those sins than we realize, provided they aren't hanging on to their sin defiantly, which is ultimately a heart issue.
Those - ‘who were dead in trespasses and sins according to the course of this world’ - the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience -, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath just as the others’, have seen the Light of God’s Truth, seeking to sin no more and walk the path of 'righteouseness' revealed in Jesus Christ - Eph.2:1-3.
The ‘course of this world’ - has become for the believer the ‘brought road leading to destruction’. In Jesus, we now have a choice to walk by faith the 'narrow way' leading to life everlasting. Yes, I find it incredibly important to ‘remember’ this lawless past, because this is also the believere's past. How easy to slip into a judgmental attitude toward those still lost in the 'course of this world'.
We read from Scripture about the iron grip the 'course of this world' had on God's people Israel; a sure demonstration of the powers of the prince of the air. It is only through the Father’s Love, Mercy and Grace, that mankind can be saved as it is He who brings again all things under His Son's authority; even that which was stolen by the prince of the air.
For me, all boils down to knowing in whom or what man pays allegiance to to help with directing life! Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ Life has become the blueprint for the believer judge his ways by. As history has proven out, only Jesus Christ's Faith - the straight and narrow Way leads to life as expressed and demonstrated by the Son of God. Only He is able to bridge all that divides humanity and so bring us together in Him -2 Tim.1:12.
The final question is a tricky one for people like me who grew up in the church, grew into faith gradually, and never had a major rebellion or falling away, though there certainly were dips in my walk with God. Though I certainly recognize that God has taken me a long way spiritually, I'm not sure how to answer the question about where I was when Jesus found me and what I should remember. At the same time, I feel the question is important, because if we don't feel we were saved from anything "major", it's easy to become self-sufficient and proud, much like the older brother was. For those of you who grew up similarly, what do you suggest?
Christina, I would have to answer "From what condition has Jesus redeemed you?" with: "being lukewarm". Jesus never lost sight of us, but we have lost Him. Learning that fact is the vital key to being "found" by Him isn't it? We have to turn the "radio/tv/whatever" down enough to even hear the knocking(Rev 3:20). Remember Luke 15: some are lost, know it, but don't know how to get back(sheep), some are lost and don't even know it(coin), and some are lost, finally realize it, and know the way back(prodigal son).
Yes, I remember actually seeing myself from God's perspective and realizing how far short of God's Holiness I was(though raised in the church/school all my life, and not having been " really bad" in any way that I could recognize). I realized that I was truly Laodicean (lost and not knowing it[Rev 3:17])! While much has changed since that time, the mark of our high calling still seems out of reach, but we cannot focus on what we are being tempted to believe to be impossible, but rather focus on the next step in the right direction. Just today, while believing the "exceeding great and precious promises of God", with whom "all things are possible"!
As for never having a major rebellion to be saved from, "lukewarm" is worse than being "hot" or "cold", according to Jesus(Rev 3:15).
I grew up in the faith, but left the fold for many miserable years. The lord had someone from the local church, camp where I worked, for the long weekend. All weekend he ran into me and we would talk, my justifying working on sabbath ect and Adrian, battering down all my reasons. That weekend, made me realise, I was so lost, it caused me to head back to my Lord and Saviour.