2:12 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.
“We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope”, said Jyn Erso in Rogue One, of the Star Wars saga. The idea of hope is inspiring and motivating for everyone. It is hope that often drives a revolution, a championship, or change. The idea of hope is understood by every human because God has wired us with that drawing desire for something more. How would life be different if there was no hope?
Imagine the Ephesians referred to in Ephesians 2:12, as they remember their life before God. To be separate from God means to be without and apart. 1 Corinthians 12:2 and Colossians 3:7 describe the darkness that surrounds the life of a person living without God. This alienation from the life that could be, while blindly living in the dark life that is, leave a person feeling like there is no hope or purpose.
There is good news. The promise and covenant that God made to the Israelites (Romans 9:4) has been extended to all mankind through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some are atheists out of an active sense of denying God, but others are atheists in a passive sense of being unconnected with God. Hopeless is a painful place to be.
Regarding the Ephesians, some expositors say, “It is not only that they had not the hope, the Messianic hope which was one of the distinctions of the Israelite, but that they were utterly without hope. Ignorant of the divine salvation and of Christ in whom it was found, they had nothing to hope for beyond this world.”
Now that the Gospel has been proclaimed to the world, and to you as you read this message, you are no longer ignorant of the salvation made possible through Christ. This hope is a free gift offered to you. Life change and purpose are possible by simply choosing to accept God’s gift of hope through a conscious decision to exchange your old life for a new hope in Him.
Maybe Jyn Erso had it right. Let’s rebel against status quo, and walk in the hope of God that brings ultimate and eternal peace.
To learn how to find hope in Jesus Christ now, click here.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Eph 2:12). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Ephesians (p. 64). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company. Wuest, K. S. (1997).
Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Eph 2:11). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Rogue One. Dir. Garth Edwards. Perf. Felicity Jones. Disney, 2016. Film.
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