EPHESIANS2 v11-12

What we were corporately

The bible depicts human history as being in three corporate groups, the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church of God, (1 Corinthians 10v32.)    The term "Gentiles" refers to all nations apart from the Jews.   A consecutive reading of the bible traces the history of each of these corporate groups, and this is how God views history, the only view that is true.

• In Genesis chapters 1-11 we have the nations, that is all nations, and the time span is approximately 2000 years.
• In Genesis 12-Malachi 4 we have the one nation, Israel, whom God raised up to reveal Himself to the world at large; again the timespan is approximately 2000 years.
• In Matthew- Revelation  we have the church of God, and this has almost run 2000 years.   The church includes both Jews and Gentiles, the defining principle being understood in the term "in Christ".

"Gentiles" was a derogatory term applied by Jews to all non-Jews, because of the privileged position God had given them.   Of course spiritual pride is one of the worst exhibits of pride, because anything we have of a spiritual nature is a gift from God.   The Jews went overboard in their one-upmanship and real enmity between the two groups ensued, and in many places that still exists.   Nevertheless it is true that the bible records that God gave favourable disposition to the Jews for a very precise reason (He has a right to do this), and this resulted in an alienation of the nations.   This is the corporate position, therefore, of the Gentiles in relation to God.   The culmination of their history, so far as God is concerned, is recorded in Genesis chapter 11, when they openly rebelled against the Divine command, resulting in confusion and restraint of their progress.   God alienated them and took up dealings with one nation, Israel.   This, however, was only a temporary measure and His long- term strategy always involved the blessing of all nations, but it would come through Israel.   What Paul is describing here is the judicial alienation from God of the masses.... they are described as "far off"; in contrast Israel were considered as being "nigh".   This did not imply that Jews were morally superior, just that they were positionally near to God.   Paul takes up this theme from two different perspectives:

1. The Jewish perspective           "...called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands."   The self-righteous Jews saw circumcision, which God gave them as a distinguishing rite, as making them superior to all who were not so distinguished.   In fact, suggests Paul, this was a position of some hypocrisy, because they were only "called" the Circumcision, they were not in reality such, as he makes clear in Romans 2v 28-29.   The rite of Circumcision was given to Abraham after he was in right relationship with God, not before; rather was it given to symbolise their responsibility to God, being already in relationship to Him.   The Jews used this external rite to promote their spiritual superiority, when in fact it should have humbled them.   The resultant enmity was far reaching and still exists today on both sides.
2. The Divine perspective           God separated Israel from the nations to reveal His ways to the world and in so doing the nations at large were temporarily bypassed.....Psalm 149v19-20 "He sheweth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto Israel.   He hath not done so with any nation; and as for his judgments they have not known them."    The Apostle enumerates five aspects of Gentile distance from God, using the words "without"(apart from); "aliens"; "strangers".   All of us born into non Jewish families were in this positional state of remoteness from God, in addition to the moral turpitude described in verses 1-3.

We were Christ less.... Christ is the term for the Messiah the one who would come to make things right in a world which was sadly broken; the seed of the woman who would bruise the serpent's head.   Ultimately this means separation from God forever.   He uses the term "in Christ" to describe the blessed of humanity, the term "apart from Christ" denotes eternal loss.   The Christ, the anointed of God to fulfil his plans,  would come to the world through Israel, and the Gentiles were outside of that.

We were Stateless....."aliens from the commonwealth of Israel"    It is not understood, and certainly not accepted, that Israel will rule the  world, but it is so recorded in scripture and this is what Paul is referring to here.....the commonwealth of Israel.   Consider the following scriptures: Romans 4v13 Abraham is the heir of the world; Isaiah 60v5 "...the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee.   The forces of the nations shall come unto thee."   Zechariah 14v14 "...the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver and apparel in great abundance."   Psalm 2v6-9 "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.......Ask of me and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.   Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."   Apart from Christ the Gentiles had no claim on this.   Not one square inch of territory did we have an interest in.

We were Friendless       "...strangers from the covenants of promise..."     Abraham was called "the friend of God", his descendants described as "the apple of His eye".   He delivered them, He guided them, He nurtured them, He even suffered their manners yet saw them as His people.   The Gentile nations knew nothing of this, they were out in the cold, friendless to make their own way in the world.    The covenants of promise given to Israel were foreign to them.   The great Abrahamic covenant that made them the focus of blessing or cursing in the world that all blessing would come through them( Genesis 12v3 with 13v16, with 15v5.)   The great Palestinian covenant securing the land as the centre of future world operations (Genesis 15v18-21, Psalm 105v7-12.)   The New covenant which would ensure their spiritual revival (Jeremiah 31v31, Psalm 89v34-37, Isaiah 55v3.)  

All these are covenants of promise, that is, they depend alone on God who never fails.   The covenants of the seed, the land and the spiritual renewal will take place, but the Gentiles are strangers to this.   There were indications of old that many Gentiles would be blessed, but they were strangers to this being out of touch with God.   All they knew was a lifelong struggle on their own.
We were Hopeless ...... that is we had nothing beyond this life.   Nothing to inspire us for the future, all we knew was a slow degradation with no horizon after death.   Our entire existence is the short lifespan with the primary occupation being to secure a good pension for ourselves and if possible a legacy for our children, or some achievement by which we will be remembered.
We were Godless........."without God in the world"....atheists, to put the official term to it.   Since God is the supreme object of worship, it means we have no one to look up to, no one to guide, no one to comfort , in the ultimate sense.   Trapped in a universe that threatens to spiral out of control, with only death and taxes the certainty, at the mercy of greedy bullying people who hold the purse strings.   In the language of the Humanists "we are on our own, there is no one out there".   Note the expression, "without God in the world", the world described as evil by the bible.   To be alone in this world without the restraining and bountiful hand of God is indeed a solemn prospect.
This was the plight of the Gentiles before God intervened.