Title: Gentiles (Ephesians 2:11-12)
People forget. I forget well. There is a saying that we forget the days of frogs and tadpoles. In this way, people forget so easily. The same is true in the life of faith. Because we enjoy salvation and live by calling on the name of Jesus, we continue to live with the illusion that we are living. If you are mistaken, you are thinking that God must listen to my prayers and receive my devotion and devotion so that all my wishes and desires must be fulfilled. So, if something goes awry, doesn't work out, and there are difficulties, we start to take care of our prayer problems, our service problems, and tithing problems. With regard to these problems, if I do not forget that I have been a child of wrath by nature, there is no reason to complain that prayers are not answered, and there is no reason to complain that I am in trouble.
And as Gentiles in fact, we didn't care at all. To be circumcised was to be a person within that promise. But being uncircumcised means that you have nothing to do with the promise. So the Jews had a special consciousness that they were chosen people, and the Gentiles were treated like dogs. Because the promise was being fulfilled through the Jews. Thus, before, we were in such a state that had nothing to do with salvation. Even if we were dead in our sins and trespasses, there was a way by which we could receive salvation, and that was the way of the promise. The promise was not for Gentiles, but for Jews. Therefore, it is like looking at the roof of a dog that was chasing chickens. That is what we, as Gentiles, were like. It is that we were the beings who built a wall between salvation and life. He lived completely irrespective of salvation.
So, how does the text express this? It is said that there was no hope in the world, and there was no God. What the hell does the standard of no hope in the world have to do with it? Are you connected to wealth and power? no. It is connected with promises. We think easy. If you learn a lot, have strength, and succeed in this world, you may think that you have a life with hope, but the Bible says that it is without hope. There have been many countries with greater power than the Jews. There are many countries where people live better. Looking at the judges alone, the surrounding Canaanite nations were superior in culture and in all aspects. But who says there was no hope in today's Word? They are non-Jews. Even if Christ came, it was a matter of practically nothing to do with Gentiles. But that's what made us in Christ. He made us known about the cross, about salvation, what grace is, and made us a person of heaven. This is God's grace. to think about it.