Alienated to Associated

Introduction

Last week we talked about the purpose of Christ’s work for the salvation of all people who would come to him. We found out that it is by grace through faith that we come to salvation in Christ. Nothing of our own doing but the receiving of a gift from God that He accomplished for us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. But Christ’s work of salvation doesn’t stop with just saving you from sin, he saved you towards something too. And part of that is what we are going to talk about tonight as we look at the next few verses in chapter 2 of Ephesians…so if you have your Bibles open up to the second chapter in Ephesians verses 11-16.

Alienated (11-12)

Read Ephesians 2:11-12

Ephesians 2:11–12 ESV

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— 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.

Verse 12 says that we were alienated from God and the commonwealth of Israel...What does alienated mean? It means separation. It means cut off. It’s like when you do something that makes your friends really mad so nobody will talk to you for like three days and you feel like they are never going to talk to you again…anybody have that happen before? Ephesians 4:18 also speaks to the behavior of those who are cut off or seperated from God. “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” Being alienated from God is obviously not a good thing. The Gentiles were cut off from the people of God. They were outside of the spiritual priveleges of Israel, they were without God, their whole view of humanity was looking back at the glory and golden days with no concept of a goal for the future that all things were moving towards and they had no hope for the future. We know that because of the way they viewed death...But God’s plan was to change that through the blood of Jesus.

We too were alienated from God. Which comes with being alienated from the promises, the grace, the love, the hope, the beauty, and the mercy of God too. We were without God. We were without hope.

So we can learn that without God there is no peace, there is no promise, there is no true and lasting hope. There is no true and lasting love and happiness. Being alienated from God is to be alienated from everything truly great.

Associated (13-16)

Far off but brought near. Not I but He.

God brought you near to Him when you were far away. That’s the difference in our understanding of grace and true living from everyone else’s. If you are not in Christ you are trying to earn your way to whatever you are trying to achieve. You work hard, you try to do good things for others, you try not to mess up, you try to earn friends and relationships for the reason of finding meaning to your life and purpose to why you are here on this earth. For me, my worth isn’t wrapped up in what I can do or earn. And any Christian has that testimony. Not I but Him.

Brought near to find peace in Christ.

Christ brings peace to your life because He Himself is peace. Have you ever wondered why you never had peace before you came to Christ? Why you might be mad at God? Why you might blame him for the things that have gone wrong in your life? Because peace is found in Him. Not anywhere else. You can’t get peace solely from yourself, or another person or relationship, or a friendship, or an animal, or a certain location like being outdoors. There are so many places that we check for it that’s not Christ. We look everywhere else searching for it. But the Bible says that we find in in Christ who IS OUR PEACE. He brought us near to himself so that we would experience real lasting authentic peace, and through His actions he has broken down the dividing wall between us and everyone else. We make distinctions and judgements about others. Whether they are a different social status, those that have money and don’t have money, those that are of a different race, etc. but Christ came to break down those barriers.

THROUGH CHRIST’S SALVATION WE CHANGE OUR VIEW OF OTHERS. Our view of other people change when we are in Christ. We no longer have hostility with others based on all of our distinctions we make for ourselves and judgements we place on others for various reasons. Christ breaks all of that down and wipes it away, bringing peace to those who are in Him and one together as a body. The way to God is no longer just for Jews coming by the keeping of the law (which could not be fulfilled by anyone but Christ) but now we can approach God by grace for Jews and Gentiles.

GOD RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF AND TO OTHERS.

Conclusion

Without Christ we are separated from God.

God alone brings true unity among all people.

If you are in Christ, you are brought together with God and with His people.

Your job as a believer is to let everyone around you know what Jesus did for you, treat other believers as your own, and invite others to join the family of God.