Key Verse: “At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.” (Ephesians 2:12-14 CSB)
Apparently, there are only two types of people in this world. You’re either an introvert or an extrovert. You drink either Coke or you drink Pepsi. You use either a Mac or a PC. The glass is either half full or it’s half empty. It’s one or the other.
In ancient biblical times, the lines that were drawn between people weren’t about personal preferences or personality. It was about ethnicity. There were two kinds of people back then. You were either part of the people of Israel or you weren’t. You were either a Jew, or you were a Gentile.
To be a Gentile was problematic, particularly when it came to knowing God and experiencing His salvation. As Jesus reminded the woman He met at the well, back then, “salvation was from the Jews” (John 4:22). To be separated from the people of Israel, God’s people, meant to be separated from God.
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, reminded them of that fact. He called the Gentile believers to remember where they stood before they encountered the life-changing grace of Jesus Christ. “At that time,” Paul wrote, “you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to covenants of promise” (v.12). They were outsiders, alienated from the promises and blessings of God. Why was this so significant? As a result, they were people “without hope and without God in this world” (v.12).
“But now in Christ Jesus” (v.13), everything changed. Instead of being excluded, we all have the opportunity to be included in the life of God. “You who were far away,” Paul wrote, “have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v.13). Because of God’s grace, there is now peace instead of hostility. Instead of being shut out from relationship with God, we now have “access in one spirit to the Father” (v.18). We are no longer at odds with God, but rather have been reconciled with Him, “through the cross by which he put the hostility to death” (v.16). As a result, in Christ Jesus, we are now “fellow citizens with the saints of God’s household…with Christ as the cornerstone” (v.19-20).
Elsewhere, the Apostle Paul wrote, “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29). The lines that once divided us are no longer what really matters. It’s now about belonging to Christ.
So are there really only two types of people in this world? According to the Scriptures, yes. We are either in Christ Jesus or we’re not. Either we are still far away from God, and without hope, or we have been brought near to God through faith in the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.
Where do you stand? What type of person are you? If you are now in Christ Jesus, give Him praise with a thankful heart for all that He has so graciously done. If you aren’t yet in Christ, today is the day to turn to Him.
Prayer: God, I praise you that you did not leave me far off and without hope. Instead, you sent your own Son Jesus Christ to make the only way for peace and reconciliation. Jesus, thank you for the blood that you shed. Thank you for your amazing grace, and for the life I now have in you. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
