Ephesians 2.11-18 (1)
Pray Psalm 18.1-3.
I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
Sing Psalm 18.1-3.
(St. Columba: How Sweet and Awesome)
I love You, LORD, my Strength, my Rock, my Savior and my Fort;
my God, my ever-shelt’ring Rock, You shield my trembling heart.
My Stronghold, LORD, my Saving Horn, I call to You with praise!
From those who Your salvation scorn You save us all our days.
Read Ephesians 2.11-18; meditate on verse 12.
Meditate on “promise”. What is the promise of God’s covenant? Have you realized it?
Preparation
1. In what sense were we “aliens”?
2. What was our condition when we were “in the world”?
Meditation
Every Christian could write one of those “rags to riches” books. You know the ones where, beginning with a life that was full of obstacles and improbabilities, you have now, through your own exertions, become a decent and productive citizen of the world.
Except ours wouldn’t quite sound like that. The pointless, cut-off-from-God-and-alienated-from-His Kingdom part will look different for us all. What about you? How would you describe in a sentence or two the “rags” part of your life?
But then God broke into your life, all unsought, because He had chosen you and predestined the very moment He would adopt and accept you as His own. Now, saved by grace, the riches begin to flow. You could sing, like Sweet Charity, “This time I landed, Pow!, right in a pot of jam!” Yes you did. We all did. Who helped you into this new life of seeing Christ in His glory and living for Him? Take a moment now to thank the Lord for all those who served as agents of His grace to you.
And now you are beginning to realize the promises of God, all those blessings the Spirit brings as He works in us to grow us into more of Jesus. Look again at Genesis 12.1-3. Praise and thank God right now for those promises as you are experiencing them. Those promises, Peter said, are exceedingly great and precious (2 Pet. 1.4). And they are all embodied in Jesus (2 Cor. 1.20). Do you see Him now, enthroned in glory? Do you see those promises in His hand? Held out and extended to you? Go get ‘em!
Rags to riches. Yep, that’s every believer’s story, though every story is unique and uniquely beautiful. Why not tell yours to someone today?
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
After creation, after the Flood, after the Tower of Babel—God came to Abram with His promise:
“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house,
to a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you and make your name great;
and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and
I will curse him who curses you; and
in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12.1-3).
There He is! Jesus:
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…” (Matt. 1.1).
“[God] has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy. As He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed forever” (Lk. 1.54, 55).
“Therefore remember” that at a certain point in our lost lives we were “without Christ” and were “aliens” from the Way, Truth, and Life (Jn. 14.6). We were “strangers from the covenants of promise”.
Put bluntly, we had “no hope”, none, and were “without God in the world” (Eph. 2.11, 12). Completely bereft of anything sane.
But God…
“But now in Christ Jesus
you who once were far off
have been brought near
by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2.13).
Our situation was dire. The outlook bleak. But God. Then Jesus.
As Elisha prayed for his servant, so we pray for ourselves:
“LORD, I pray, open [my] eyes that [I] may see” (2 Kgs. 6.17).
And pray like the father of the child with the devastating evil spirit:
“LORD, I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mk. 9.24).
As we encounter love that reaches beyond our human understanding,
and grace and mercy that surpasses anything fair,
let us never forget, but always remember,
this undeserved gift in our possession
needs to be shared with others
who have no hope because
they are without God in this world.
And there are fellow-believers, now in Christ—
languishing, inactive, perhaps because they have forgotten their “rags to riches story”—
who need encouragement, to be reminded of the great truth of their salvation.
For they do have hope—they are not without God—in this sometimes-scary world.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6.9, 10). Remembering Jesus.
Reflection
1. Which of the promises God made to Abraham is most “precious” to you? Why?
2. How would you explain to a new believer the role of the promises in our lives?
3. Jesus is the “Yes” and “Amen” of God’s promises. How would you explain that to a non-Christian friend?
Who can, without trembling, reflect upon the misery of a person, separated for ever from the people of God, cut off from the body of Christ, fallen from the covenant of promise, having no hope, no Savior, and without any God but a God of vengeance, to all eternity? Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Ephesians 2.11, 12
Pray Psalm 18.43-50.
Remember what Jesus has done in saving you. Pray for mercy and grace for all your times of need today.
Sing Psalm 18.43-50.
(St. Theodulph: All Glory, Laud, and Honor)
Lord Jesus Christ exalted, above all earthly strife!
You rule all lands and nations, the Lord and King of life!
They flock to You who never did seek out Your glorious face,
obedient to Your mandate, renewed within Your grace.
You live, our Rock, our Savior, exalted by our God!
Upon Your foes with vengeance Your holy feet have trod.
Delivered from Your enemies and lifted high above,
You rescued and redeemed us by Your eternal love.
Let nations rise and praise You, and give You thanks, O LORD!
Deliv’rance, grace, and favor You grant us by Your Word.
Bestow Your lovingkindness upon us as before,
and bless and keep Your people henceforth and evermore.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we are immersed in the first of 14 studies on “grace economics”. This week our Read Moore podcast begins a tour of the exaltation of Christ and His work in the here and now from our book, What in Heaven Is Jesus Doing on Earth? In our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert, the saint presses on in his journey to reach The Promised Land of the Saints. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
