WITHOUT
CHRIST: Devotion for Wednesday July 6, 2016
Text:
Ephesians 2:11 – 13
Memory
Verse: v 12 - That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world.
A life without Christ is miserable. Indeed, such
life is dead while alive. That is the worst life someone can think of. This was
our case before Christ came and died for us. Jews considered all non-Jews
(Gentiles) ceremonially unclean. They thought of themselves as pure and clean
because of their national heritage and religious ceremonies. This was a false conception
and deceit; a consolation which blinded their eyes to the mysteries of God. This
was one reason Christ was rebuking them of their false claims and hypocrisy.
Here, Apostle Paul pointed out that Jews and
Gentiles alike were unclean before God and needed to be cleansed by Christ. In
order to realize how great a gift of salvation is, we need to remember our
former natural, unclean condition. This is what Paul posited in Ephesians 2:11,
12. See Romans 3:9, 23.
As Gentiles, we were living without any of the
hopes and consolations which we now have, from having embraced Christ. Apostle
Paul raised this issue to remind the Church at Ephesus and we by extension, of
the deplorable condition in which we were by nature; and nothing would better
express it than to say we were "without Christ," or that we had no
knowledge of a Saviour. Therefore we shouldn’t allow this privilege to slip off
our hands. On the other hand, have you ever felt separate, excommunicated,
excluded, and hopeless? Don’t despair. These verses are for you. No one is
alienated from Christ’s love or from the body of believers. If you have Christ,
that is enough for you because He can do what no man can do for you. You are
Christ own forever!
Food
for Thought:
Ephesians 4:17–19
Prayer: God, you have shown me
your love through Christ Jesus. Help me never to live a life without Christ
henceforth in Jesus name.
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