Short Summaries of

Sermons on Ephesians

by Rev. Ralph Allan Smith

Gentiles in the Old Covenant Era

(Eph. 2:11-12)

Paul proclaimed salvation by monergistic grace, a salvation from sin that manifests itself in a life of good works (Eph. 2:1-10). His method of teaching was to explain to the Gentiles the high and holy calling that was theirs as Christians, and then exhort them to walk worthy of it (cf. Eph. 4:1), for the Christian life must be motivated by love and gratitude. But the Gentiles must not only understand salvation at the individual level of their personal experience, they must also understand salvation history as a whole, God's dealing with Jews and Gentiles in history. The broader cultural and historical view of salvation would deepen their understanding of the work of Christ and their appreciation of God's grace to them as individuals.

Circumcision and Uncircumcision

The issue of circumcision is repeatedly dealt with in the New Testament. It is not, however, Paul's "hobby horse." It is vital to understanding the relationship between the old and new covenants. Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, the sign of the priesthood of Israel. Israel's was an old covenant priesthood, but as a symbolic revelation of the priesthood of Christ, it was also a promise of the new covenant.

Circumcision as the sign of the priesthood was a blood sacrifice of a sort and thus part of the old covenant redemptive system -- a system that did not provide redemption, but promised it. The sign of circumcision divided Israel as a nation of priests from Gentile laymen. It was not intended to distinguish the saved from the unsaved. Indeed, the children of Abraham were chosen as priests for the specific purpose of the salvation of the world (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 27:29; 28:14; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8).

Many times in the history of the old covenant the priestly people of God did lead Gentiles to blessing. The Gentiles who had contact with the patriarchs frequently came to worship the God of Abraham (Gen. 21:22ff.; 26:28ff.; 47:7). Some famous individuals, like Caleb and Boaz, were Gentiles who became Jews by receiving circumcision and joining the people of God. The Queen of Sheba, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, the Ninevites and other Gentiles trusted in God for salvation, but never joined the priestly race.

By the time of Christ the Jewish leaders had forgotten the true meaning of circumcision. Rather than regarding themselves as having a special responsibility to evangelize the Gentiles, they saw themselves as the race chosen to salvation and the Gentiles as condemned. This was a perversion of their historical mission and the covenantal sign. Those who were circumcised without faith in the true meaning of circumcision Paul referred to as the "circumcision which is performed in the flesh by human hands." They derisively labeled the Gentiles "uncircumcision."

Without Hope, Without God

Although many Gentiles did convert to the true God through the witness of Israel, the fact remains that the majority of the Gentiles in the world through most of their history were unbelievers. Among the expressions Paul uses to describe Gentiles, some could only be used of unbelievers and all of them are appropriate for unbelieving Gentiles.

"Separate from Messiah" was the condition of Gentiles in so far as they were not part of the Messianic nation, Israel. This did not necessarily mean that they were condemned. The expressions "excluded from the commonwealth of Israel" and "strangers to the covenants of promise" too refer to the Gentiles not belonging to the priestly nation. They do not necessarily mean that the Gentiles were not saved, for in the old covenant economy one was not required to become a Jew to be saved.

What these expressions do mean is that the Gentiles were removed from God. The meaning of these phrases is physically demonstrated in the laws of exclusion alluded to in verse 14. The Gentiles were not allowed to permanently own land in Israel, except for a house in a city. They were not allowed to participate in certain of the ceremonies. They were excluded from the temple. They were, in other words, condemned to know God only at a distance. In a sense this was true of Israel too, but compared to the Gentiles, Israel was close to God.

The last two expressions describe what was true of most pre-Christ Gentiles "having no hope and without God in the world." Gentile religions were especially religions of men without hope. Consider reincarnation, which some modern western people mistake for hope. It was a doctrine of despair. The cycle of birth and death was the empitome of man's problem. Reincarnation was designed to bring evil men back into the world and force them to try again, so to speak. For those who believed in reincarnation salvation was thought of as escape from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Again, polytheistic religions were without hope because one could never know what corrupt fickle deities might do. One day they seem to be in a good mood, the next day they are furious for no known reason. Besides, they do not always agree! Among the Egyptians, it is true, there was a doctrine of an afterlife, but, as Henri Frankfort writes, "The anxiety of the Egyptian in the face of death gives a rather striking foil to the serenity of his positive beliefs in a future life."

It must be remembered too that the Gentiles were without God by choice. The gospel had been preached to them more than once from the days of Noah onward. Each time they departed, forsaking the true God for the sake of idols made with men's hands. They preferred the sins of the flesh to the Spirit of God and received the just reward of their perversity -- they were without God or hope.

Gentile Japanese

In some respects modern Japan is very much in the same situation as the Gentiles to whom the Gospel came in the ancient Roman Empire. The Japanese people are definitely without God and without hope. The depth of the despair and emptiness in this land is illustrated by the fatuous and nefarious Aum religion which could not have gained thousands of followers in any normal society. Men seek the desperate alternatives offered by psychopathic prophets only when they have given up all faith in the traditions of their society. Japan has nothing to offer its youth. Even the intelligent among them, perhaps especially the intelligent among them, are in search of alternatives.

At the same time, Christian ethical teaching sounds too tame for many young Japanese today. After all, Japan has been inoculated with Christianity since the war, or even since the Meji era. Just enough Christian and/or Western culture has been taught and accepted -- monogamy, capitalistic ideas of property, democracy, universal education -- to render the Gospel less effectual.

And this generation has forgotten Japan's more offensive traditions. The sale of daughters as prostitutes and human sacrifice, to mention two of the most offensive customs that lasted until relatively recent times, are remarkably unknown. Beginning with the Meiji revolution Japan chose to relate to the West in a manner different from the rest of Asia. She conformed to Western industrialization, capitalism, and to much of the outward morals of Christianity. Even the Showa Emperor became monogamous.

The result is that Japanese take many of Christianity's most radical and important teachings for granted, as if they belonged to the Japanese worldview. To preach the Gospel here in Japan we must challenge the non-Christian worldview on a broad scale and at its foundation. We must challenge the entire cultural foundations of modern Japanese society and show our non-Christian neighbors that only Christ can provide salvation for the individual, the society and the world.

Cultural crisis is not something for us to fear. God is shaking the powers that be so that men will have an open ear for the Gospel. We must pray and witness with ever greater zeal as we see the growing instability and folly of the non-Christian world around us.