What the Bible says about Aliens from Israel
(From Forerunner Commentary)
This makes this principle regarding Gentiles very specific. Not only were they "without Christ" before conversion, they were also aliens from Israel. Tying this together with Romans 9:4-5, they were also separated from the Covenant, were they not? Now, because of their conversion, they were near to the additional blessings that would come from being near to Israel. The inference is that they were no longer aliens.
Gentiles must become a part of Israel because that is with whom the New Covenant is being made (Hebrews 8:8)! Conversion, then, having access to God, putting on Christ, entering into the Covenant, having promises and hope, and being part of Israel, all go together in one package. God does not disrupt the patterns that He Himself established.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Eleven)Related Topics: Alienation | Aliens | Aliens from Israel | Gentile Converts | Gentile Nations | Gentiles | Israelite, Spiritual | New Covenant | Spiritual Israelite
Notice two important factors he links to hope in Ephesians 2:12. First, in the time before God called the Ephesian Gentiles into a relationship with Him, they were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise."
The commonwealth of Israel could be either the nation or the church because under the Old Covenant ancient Israel established a relationship with God, received a small measure of His promises, and possessed the hope of the Messiah. However, the primary meaning here is the church; those who have made the New Covenant with God are the Israel of God and a holy nation (Galatians 6:16; I Peter 2:9). The New Covenant contains God's confirmed promises—confirmed in the life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, Christ Jesus.
Being part of ancient Israel under the Old Covenant did not give a person access to many promises that would have given him reason to hope. The Old Covenant promised no forgiveness of sin, no access to God, no promise of the Holy Spirit, and no promise of eternal and everlasting life, all of which we have. We have continuing, never-ending hopes because the New Covenant ensures a continuous relationship. Our relationship necessarily involves the other part of Ephesians 2:12: Before our calling, we were also without God in the world. Our hope is not merely in the fact that we have made a covenant, but more importantly, with whom we made it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Elements of Motivation (Part Three): HopeRelated Topics: Alienation | Aliens | Aliens from Israel | Covenant Relationship | Covenants, Differences in | Gentile Converts | Gentile Nations | Gentiles | Gentiles, Cleansing of | Gentiles, Salvation of | Holy Spirit | Hope | Israel of God | New Covenant | New Covenant, Superior to Old | Old Covenant | Relationship with God