HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS Ephesians 2:11-22
Pastor Dennis Bone
6-23-19
One day a man depressed over the lack of happiness in his life climbed up to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge and was about to leap into the water when a policeman grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back. The man protested to the police officer saying, “You don’t understand how miserable I am and how hopeless my life is. Please let me go! The kindhearted officer looked at him for a moment and said, “I will make you a deal. You take five minutes and give your reasons why life is not worth living; and then I will take five minutes and give my reasons why life is worth living for you and for me. If at the end of the ten minutes, you feel like jumping from the bridge I will not stop you.
The man took his five minutes and then the officer took his five minutes; and the result was at the end of ten minutes both men joined hands and jumped from the bridge. True hope is not something that you are talked into; true hope is something that only God’s grace can give you through Jesus Christ. Through the Scripture, God calls sinners to hope, because in reality if you live apart from Christ you have nothing to hope for. Hope is not worldly optimism or naïve positive thinking; it is a quality of grace and a characteristic of faith in Jesus Christ. The Catechism asks, “What is man’s hope in life and in death? The answer is Christ, because He alone offers hope to the hopeless. Paul teaches us about this hope in Ephesians 2, so please turn there as we consider verses 11 – 22 this morning.
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) – remember that at that time you were separate from Christ.
You were excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
In this first section of our passage, Paul reminds us that there is hope for the hopeless because as a Christian you received what you did not have: hope! At one time in your life you were hopeless; and now because of Jesus Christ you have hope. So the first main point for us to consider is this: The call to remember why you have hope. In this chapter, Paul makes the contrast between the Jews and Gentiles, not in terms of salvation but in terms of hope. Paul is teaching us that the Jews had the hope of a Messiah to come, while the Gentiles did not share in this hope. Both needed a Savior, and still need a Savior, but one group had the promise. The mystery and wonder of the gospel is that Christ extends the promise of salvation to both Jew and Gentile by His undeserved, matchless and majestic grace.
Paul wants us to understand that this difference is not a matter of race or religion, nor status or works, but it’s one of grace that changes your status before God and brings you hope. The key verse in this passage is verse 14: “For He (Christ) Himself is our peace.” Hope comes to us through the blood of Christ, who made peace with God for us through His shed blood upon the cross. Hope in Christ brings you and me peace: you were spiritually lost and hopeless before God saved you by His grace, and He did it through the blood of His Son. Paul begins this section in verse 11 by saying remember: remember that you were lost in sin and found by grace. So the first thing we see is that Paul is reminding us of what he wrote at the beginning of chapter 2: You were dead in your sin.
Spiritually you were hopeless and helpless; and not only that you had no sign of hope. There was no hope to be found. The Jews had a sign of hope in circumcision, although they too were spiritually dead in sin. They had the sign of hope but not its reality. The reality of hope only comes through peace with God; and that could only come through a Savior. This is what Jesus came to bring, but not just for Jews, but for us Gentiles as well. Paul then makes a second point: You were strangers to God’s covenants of promise, living in a world without hope. As Gentiles there was no experience of God’s blessings, thus they lived, as did we, outside the covenant. Paul’s point is that there is no hope in this world – before Christ, or after Christ – apart from the divine promises of God revealed in His covenants.
In Romans 9 Paul writes that they (Israel) had the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. They had the patriarchs and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised. All of these blessings proclaimed to Israel that there was hope for the hopeless; and Paul is saddened by the fact that many of his fellow Jews did not see this hope in Christ. Yet at the same time he rejoiced that now the Gentiles – people like us – now had access to this same hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so in this first few verses of our passage, Paul is reminding us of why we have hope as Christians. Christ is the fulfillment of this blessed hope of the old covenant.
So the third point to see is this: You were made alive by God’s grace through the blood of the new covenant and into the hope of Christ. We read in verse 13, “But now, you who were once far away – you who were dead in your sins with no sign of hope or covenant connection – have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
This is the blood of the new covenant shed for the forgiveness of your sins, thus He is our peace. Thus when we come to the Lord’s Supper we remember why we have hope. It’s the grace of God through the blood of the new covenant that brings us true hope, because Christ alone brings us forgiveness, new life and peace with God. As Paul tells us in Galatians, if you belong to Christ there is no Jew or Gentile for you are all Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
This is the good news of hope freely given to the hopeless; and the gospel teaches us that hope is not something you can buy or earn, nor is it reserved for the religious or the righteous, for it only comes through peace with God. This is why Paul states: Christ is our peace. It’s this phrase in verse 14 that transitions us into the second main point: The call to rejoice in the living hope you have in Christ. Remember why, and then rejoice. Follow along as I read verses 14 – 18:
For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
We rejoice as Christians because hope in Christ is our peace. Only the person and work of Christ can solve your hopeless situation and the solution is His peace: the peace of justification by faith in Him; and the peace of reconciliation with God, with yourself and with others.
Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and the peace that He gives to us is comprehensive, starting with this blessed hope of salvation. Paul says in Romans 5: “Through Christ we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Only Christ can give this kind of hope. In our passage from Ephesians 2, Paul is teaching us that through Christ God has destroyed the barriers and the obstacles that keep people apart from God; and keep people apart from others. This separation and hostility is due to sin, self-righteousness and lack of peace. Jesus has redemptively addressed all of these issues that only lead to hopelessness, despair and division; and through the cross bring death to this hostility and conflict through His gospel of peace.
This hope of salvation has been achieved, and by faith we as Christians rejoice in it and participate in it, but its application is ongoing and is not yet completed. We still live in a world of sin, suffering, despair and conflict; but not as those who have no hope, but as those who hope in Christ and are able to offer this hope and live in this hope as God’s people. In order to do this effectively we need to know and rejoice in three key truths. First, peace with God produces the joy of salvation and sure hope for life. Before you can live in hope you must have personal peace with God. Hope is a result of knowing and loving God; and the assurance of your sins being forgiven and the joy of a new spiritual life in Him.
Second, peace with God provides you access to God as Father. The prophet Isaiah declared God’s promise of hope to the hopeless in Isaiah 57 saying, “Peace, peace to those who are far and near, says the Lord. And I will heal them.” In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost found in Acts 2, Peter recalls this promise when he says,
“The promise is for you and for you children (Israel) and to all who are far off (Gentiles) – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Thus Paul reminds us in verses 17 and 18 of Ephesians 2 that this peace of the gospel was preached to you who were far away and to those who were near; and as a result through Christ we both (Jews and Gentiles alike/all believers in Christ) have access to the Father by one Spirit. The Spirit that God gives to all who trust Christ by faith. As Christians we have this sure hope of God as Father and rejoice that we have access to Him through our worship, our prayers and our fellowship.
Third, peace with God secures your place in the family of God. In verse 19 Paul writes this: “Consequently (as a result of God’s grace and Christ’s work on your behalf) you are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” We have a very clear image of millions of people living in our country as foreigners and aliens because they want hope; they want security and peace. Hopelessness often drives people to illegal behavior. Immigration and homelessness are just two micro illustrations of this pointing us to the need for true hope. But this is not just true for the poor among us; it’s true for the wealthy as well. It’s not only the marginalized in society who need hope; it’s the successful and powerful who need hope as well, yet so often do not see it because of better circumstances and an unwillingness to admit or address sin.
Paul’s point is that all of us – all mankind, regardless of where you live or your human status and condition – are spiritually homeless and have no legal status in the eyes of God to enter His kingdom or family. The solution is not man-centered, it’s Christ-centered. We don’t look to ourselves or to the world for hope; we must look to God and seek the grace that comes through Christ and in His gospel.
It doesn’t ultimately matter how you seek hope or where you look for peace, because only in Christ and through His gospel can you find grace that leads you to a sure and lasting hope. As Christians we should remember this and rejoice in it as God’s people and as His church. In this passage there is also a call to action based upon the hope we have received in Christ and through His gospel, thus we see a third main point: The call to reconciliation because of your hope in Christ.
Christ brings us peace, He is our peace, and He also creates peace through the work of His people. As Christians we have been reconciled to God, which is the basis of our hope, thus as a result we are to be involved in this process of reconciliation for others and with others. A lot of people say they “hope for peace” – they want peace in their life, in their family, in their country and in the world – but as Christians we hope in Christ because only Christ can create peace among people, families, churches and nations. Unity and lasting peace is only found in Christ and in His kingdom, which is why we share and proclaim Christ. This is why the Scripture tells us that Christ is the hope of the nations, not America; and that Christ in us is the hope of glory.
God has brought people together from all the nations to form His household or His church in order to demonstrate our hope in Christ through reconciliation. We will look more at this point next week, so will quickly give you the three points in the outline as we close. First, Christ establishes the basis for personal, racial and national peace through His church. We can’t count on the ACLU or the UN for peace or look first to politicians or secular counselors or celebrities to bring us hope.
Second, Christ is building His church through the hope of the gospel offered to hopeless sinners. This has always been the design and the gospel has been and still is the only message of hope for sinners. God calls all of His church to stand unified in this message, so that together God’s spiritual temple will grow as Disciples of Christ are made through the message of reconciliation. And then third, our hope in Christ calls us to seek, maintain, and grow the unity of the Spirit and bond of peace. True hope in Christ makes us hopeful and active as Christians promoting the peace that brought us hope, to those who God has put in our lives and on our path as His people.
As those who were once hopeless and without God in our world, let us remember and rejoice in work of reconciliation that brought us hope in Christ and seek to be ministers of this gracious reconciliation to those who remain hopeless and without God in their world.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
6-23-19
One day a man depressed over the lack of happiness in his life climbed up to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge and was about to leap into the water when a policeman grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back. The man protested to the police officer saying, “You don’t understand how miserable I am and how hopeless my life is. Please let me go! The kindhearted officer looked at him for a moment and said, “I will make you a deal. You take five minutes and give your reasons why life is not worth living; and then I will take five minutes and give my reasons why life is worth living for you and for me. If at the end of the ten minutes, you feel like jumping from the bridge I will not stop you.
The man took his five minutes and then the officer took his five minutes; and the result was at the end of ten minutes both men joined hands and jumped from the bridge. True hope is not something that you are talked into; true hope is something that only God’s grace can give you through Jesus Christ. Through the Scripture, God calls sinners to hope, because in reality if you live apart from Christ you have nothing to hope for. Hope is not worldly optimism or naïve positive thinking; it is a quality of grace and a characteristic of faith in Jesus Christ. The Catechism asks, “What is man’s hope in life and in death? The answer is Christ, because He alone offers hope to the hopeless. Paul teaches us about this hope in Ephesians 2, so please turn there as we consider verses 11 – 22 this morning.
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) – remember that at that time you were separate from Christ.
You were excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
In this first section of our passage, Paul reminds us that there is hope for the hopeless because as a Christian you received what you did not have: hope! At one time in your life you were hopeless; and now because of Jesus Christ you have hope. So the first main point for us to consider is this: The call to remember why you have hope. In this chapter, Paul makes the contrast between the Jews and Gentiles, not in terms of salvation but in terms of hope. Paul is teaching us that the Jews had the hope of a Messiah to come, while the Gentiles did not share in this hope. Both needed a Savior, and still need a Savior, but one group had the promise. The mystery and wonder of the gospel is that Christ extends the promise of salvation to both Jew and Gentile by His undeserved, matchless and majestic grace.
Paul wants us to understand that this difference is not a matter of race or religion, nor status or works, but it’s one of grace that changes your status before God and brings you hope. The key verse in this passage is verse 14: “For He (Christ) Himself is our peace.” Hope comes to us through the blood of Christ, who made peace with God for us through His shed blood upon the cross. Hope in Christ brings you and me peace: you were spiritually lost and hopeless before God saved you by His grace, and He did it through the blood of His Son. Paul begins this section in verse 11 by saying remember: remember that you were lost in sin and found by grace. So the first thing we see is that Paul is reminding us of what he wrote at the beginning of chapter 2: You were dead in your sin.
Spiritually you were hopeless and helpless; and not only that you had no sign of hope. There was no hope to be found. The Jews had a sign of hope in circumcision, although they too were spiritually dead in sin. They had the sign of hope but not its reality. The reality of hope only comes through peace with God; and that could only come through a Savior. This is what Jesus came to bring, but not just for Jews, but for us Gentiles as well. Paul then makes a second point: You were strangers to God’s covenants of promise, living in a world without hope. As Gentiles there was no experience of God’s blessings, thus they lived, as did we, outside the covenant. Paul’s point is that there is no hope in this world – before Christ, or after Christ – apart from the divine promises of God revealed in His covenants.
In Romans 9 Paul writes that they (Israel) had the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. They had the patriarchs and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised. All of these blessings proclaimed to Israel that there was hope for the hopeless; and Paul is saddened by the fact that many of his fellow Jews did not see this hope in Christ. Yet at the same time he rejoiced that now the Gentiles – people like us – now had access to this same hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so in this first few verses of our passage, Paul is reminding us of why we have hope as Christians. Christ is the fulfillment of this blessed hope of the old covenant.
So the third point to see is this: You were made alive by God’s grace through the blood of the new covenant and into the hope of Christ. We read in verse 13, “But now, you who were once far away – you who were dead in your sins with no sign of hope or covenant connection – have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
This is the blood of the new covenant shed for the forgiveness of your sins, thus He is our peace. Thus when we come to the Lord’s Supper we remember why we have hope. It’s the grace of God through the blood of the new covenant that brings us true hope, because Christ alone brings us forgiveness, new life and peace with God. As Paul tells us in Galatians, if you belong to Christ there is no Jew or Gentile for you are all Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
This is the good news of hope freely given to the hopeless; and the gospel teaches us that hope is not something you can buy or earn, nor is it reserved for the religious or the righteous, for it only comes through peace with God. This is why Paul states: Christ is our peace. It’s this phrase in verse 14 that transitions us into the second main point: The call to rejoice in the living hope you have in Christ. Remember why, and then rejoice. Follow along as I read verses 14 – 18:
For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
We rejoice as Christians because hope in Christ is our peace. Only the person and work of Christ can solve your hopeless situation and the solution is His peace: the peace of justification by faith in Him; and the peace of reconciliation with God, with yourself and with others.
Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and the peace that He gives to us is comprehensive, starting with this blessed hope of salvation. Paul says in Romans 5: “Through Christ we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Only Christ can give this kind of hope. In our passage from Ephesians 2, Paul is teaching us that through Christ God has destroyed the barriers and the obstacles that keep people apart from God; and keep people apart from others. This separation and hostility is due to sin, self-righteousness and lack of peace. Jesus has redemptively addressed all of these issues that only lead to hopelessness, despair and division; and through the cross bring death to this hostility and conflict through His gospel of peace.
This hope of salvation has been achieved, and by faith we as Christians rejoice in it and participate in it, but its application is ongoing and is not yet completed. We still live in a world of sin, suffering, despair and conflict; but not as those who have no hope, but as those who hope in Christ and are able to offer this hope and live in this hope as God’s people. In order to do this effectively we need to know and rejoice in three key truths. First, peace with God produces the joy of salvation and sure hope for life. Before you can live in hope you must have personal peace with God. Hope is a result of knowing and loving God; and the assurance of your sins being forgiven and the joy of a new spiritual life in Him.
Second, peace with God provides you access to God as Father. The prophet Isaiah declared God’s promise of hope to the hopeless in Isaiah 57 saying, “Peace, peace to those who are far and near, says the Lord. And I will heal them.” In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost found in Acts 2, Peter recalls this promise when he says,
“The promise is for you and for you children (Israel) and to all who are far off (Gentiles) – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Thus Paul reminds us in verses 17 and 18 of Ephesians 2 that this peace of the gospel was preached to you who were far away and to those who were near; and as a result through Christ we both (Jews and Gentiles alike/all believers in Christ) have access to the Father by one Spirit. The Spirit that God gives to all who trust Christ by faith. As Christians we have this sure hope of God as Father and rejoice that we have access to Him through our worship, our prayers and our fellowship.
Third, peace with God secures your place in the family of God. In verse 19 Paul writes this: “Consequently (as a result of God’s grace and Christ’s work on your behalf) you are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” We have a very clear image of millions of people living in our country as foreigners and aliens because they want hope; they want security and peace. Hopelessness often drives people to illegal behavior. Immigration and homelessness are just two micro illustrations of this pointing us to the need for true hope. But this is not just true for the poor among us; it’s true for the wealthy as well. It’s not only the marginalized in society who need hope; it’s the successful and powerful who need hope as well, yet so often do not see it because of better circumstances and an unwillingness to admit or address sin.
Paul’s point is that all of us – all mankind, regardless of where you live or your human status and condition – are spiritually homeless and have no legal status in the eyes of God to enter His kingdom or family. The solution is not man-centered, it’s Christ-centered. We don’t look to ourselves or to the world for hope; we must look to God and seek the grace that comes through Christ and in His gospel.
It doesn’t ultimately matter how you seek hope or where you look for peace, because only in Christ and through His gospel can you find grace that leads you to a sure and lasting hope. As Christians we should remember this and rejoice in it as God’s people and as His church. In this passage there is also a call to action based upon the hope we have received in Christ and through His gospel, thus we see a third main point: The call to reconciliation because of your hope in Christ.
Christ brings us peace, He is our peace, and He also creates peace through the work of His people. As Christians we have been reconciled to God, which is the basis of our hope, thus as a result we are to be involved in this process of reconciliation for others and with others. A lot of people say they “hope for peace” – they want peace in their life, in their family, in their country and in the world – but as Christians we hope in Christ because only Christ can create peace among people, families, churches and nations. Unity and lasting peace is only found in Christ and in His kingdom, which is why we share and proclaim Christ. This is why the Scripture tells us that Christ is the hope of the nations, not America; and that Christ in us is the hope of glory.
God has brought people together from all the nations to form His household or His church in order to demonstrate our hope in Christ through reconciliation. We will look more at this point next week, so will quickly give you the three points in the outline as we close. First, Christ establishes the basis for personal, racial and national peace through His church. We can’t count on the ACLU or the UN for peace or look first to politicians or secular counselors or celebrities to bring us hope.
Second, Christ is building His church through the hope of the gospel offered to hopeless sinners. This has always been the design and the gospel has been and still is the only message of hope for sinners. God calls all of His church to stand unified in this message, so that together God’s spiritual temple will grow as Disciples of Christ are made through the message of reconciliation. And then third, our hope in Christ calls us to seek, maintain, and grow the unity of the Spirit and bond of peace. True hope in Christ makes us hopeful and active as Christians promoting the peace that brought us hope, to those who God has put in our lives and on our path as His people.
As those who were once hopeless and without God in our world, let us remember and rejoice in work of reconciliation that brought us hope in Christ and seek to be ministers of this gracious reconciliation to those who remain hopeless and without God in their world.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
