SEV Biblia, Chapter 2:12
que en aquel tiempo estabais sin Cristo, alejados de la repblica de Israel, y extranjeros a los Pactos de la promesa, sin esperanza y sin Dios en el mundo.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Ephesians 2:12
Verse 12. That at that time ye were without Christ] Not only were not Christians, but had no knowledge of the Christ or Messiah, and no title to the blessings which were to proceed from him. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel] Ye were by your birth, idolatry, &c., alienated from the commonwealth of Israel-from the civil and religious privileges of the Jewish people.
Strangers from the covenants of promise] Having no part in the promise of the covenant made with Abraham, whether considered as relating to his natural or spiritual seed; and no part in that of the covenant made at Horeb with the Israelites, when a holy law was given them, and God condescended to dwell among them, and to lead them to the promised land.
Having no hope] Either of the pardon of sin or of the resurrection of the body, nor indeed of the immortality of the soul. Of all these things the Gentiles had no rational or well-grounded hope.
Without God in the world] They had gods many, and lords many; but in no Gentile nation was the true God known: nor indeed had they any correct notion of the Divine nature. Their idols were by nature no gods - they could neither do evil nor good, and therefore they were properly without God, having no true object of worship, and no source of comfort.
He who has neither God nor Christ is in a most deplorable state; he has neither a God to worship, nor a Christ to justify him. And this is the state of every man who is living without the grace and Spirit of Christ. All such, whatever they may profess, are no better than practical atheists.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 12. That at that time ye were without Christ , &c.] Or separate from him: they were chosen in him and were preserved in him, and were redeemed by him before; but they were without any knowledge of him, faith in him, love to him, communion with him, or subjection to him, his Gospel, government, laws, and ordinances; and particularly they were without any promises of him, or prophecies concerning him, which were peculiar to the Jews; hence the Messiah is called laryd ajym , the Christ of Israel f21 , and who as he was promised, so he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house, of Israel: hence it follows, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel ; both from their civil and church state; the Gentiles might not dwell among them, nor have any dealings with them in things civil, unless they conformed to certain laws; nor might the Jews go into any, nor eat or converse with any, that were uncircumcised; so great an alienation and distance were there between these two people; and much less might they eat the passover and join with them in religious worship; the word for commonwealth here used, Harpocratian says f22 , is commonly used by Greek writers for a democracy though the original constitution of the Israelites was properly a theocracy: strangers to the covenants of promise ; to the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham; and to the covenant at Mount Sinai, made with Israel; and to the dispensation of the covenant of grace to that people, sometimes called the first covenant and the old covenant, and which peculiarly belonged to them, ( Romans 9:4) one copy reads, strangers to the promises of the covenant; which is natural enough; the Vulgate Latin version joins the word promise to the next clause, and reads, having no hope of the promise of the promised Messiah: having no hope; of the Messiah and salvation by him, of the resurrection of the dead, of a future state, and of eternal life; none that is sure and steadfast, that is purifying, and makes not ashamed; or which is a good hope through grace, is the gift of God, the fruit of his love, and the effect of his power; and this is to be in a miserable condition: Philo, the Jew f23 , observes, that the Chaldeans call a man Enos, as if he only was truly a man that expects good things, and supports himself with good hopes; and adds, hence it is manifest that one without hope is not reckoned a man, but a beast in an human form; since he is destitute of hope, which is the property of the human soul; and without God in the world ; without the knowledge of God in Christ; without the image of God, which was defaced by sin; without the grace and fear of God; and without communion with him, and the worship of him; and while they were so they were in the world, among the men of it, and were a part of it, not being yet called out of it: the word signifies atheists: so some of the Gentiles were in theory, as they all were in practice; and they were by the Jews reckoned no other than atheists; it is a common saying with them that he that dwells without the land (of Israel) is like one hwla wl ya , who has no God: Ver. 13. But now in Christ Jesus , &c.] Being openly and visibly in Christ, created in him, and become believers in him; as they were before secretly in him, as chosen and blessed in him before the foundation of the world: ye who sometimes were far off ; who in their state of unregeneracy were afar off from God, and from his law, and from any spiritual knowledge of him and fellowship with him; and from Jesus Christ, and from the knowledge of his righteousness, and the way of salvation by him; and from the Spirit, and any acquaintance with the things of the Spirit, and from minding them, and from walking after him; and from the saints and people of God, and from any love to them, and communion with them; and from any solid hopes of happiness, or real peace and comfort; which distance was owing both to Adam's sin and to their own transgressions: it is an observation of a Jewish writer on ( Genesis 3:9) where art thou? he (God) knew where he was, but he said so to show him that he was pjwrm , afar off from God by his sin: (see Isaiah 59:2), and yet are made nigh by the blood of Christ : so as to have nearness of access to and communion with God, Father, Son, and Spirit, and the saints, in virtue of the blood of Christ; which gives boldness and speaks peace; by which their persons are justified, the pardon of their sins is procured, reconciliation is made, and their garments are washed, and made white; and so they draw nigh with confidence by the faith of him.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 11-13 - Christ and his covenant are the foundation of all the Christian' hopes. A sad and terrible description is here; but who is able to remove himself out of it? Would that this were not a true descriptio of many baptized in the name of Christ. 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 Saviour, and without any God but a God of vengeance, to all eternity? To have no part in Christ! What tru Christian can hear this without horror? Salvation is far from the wicked; but God is a help at hand to his people; and this is by the sufferings and death of Christ.
Greek Textus Receptus
οτι 3754 ητε 2258 5713 εν 1722 τω 3588 καιρω 2540 εκεινω 1565 χωρις 5565 χριστου 5547 απηλλοτριωμενοι 526 5772 της 3588 πολιτειας 4174 του 3588 ισραηλ 2474 και 2532 ξενοι 3581 των 3588 διαθηκων 1242 της 3588 επαγγελιας 1860 ελπιδα 1680 μη 3361 εχοντες 2192 5723 και 2532 αθεοι 112 εν 1722 τω 3588 κοσμω 2889
Vincent's NT Word Studies
12. Being aliens (aphllotriwmenoi). Rev., better, giving the force of the verb, alienated. As they had once been otherwise. Paul speaks ideally of a spiritual commonwealth in which Jew and Gentile were together at peace with God, and of which the commonwealth of Israel is a type.
Israel. Selecting the most honorable title to describe the Jew. See on Acts iii. 12. The reference is to the spiritual rather than to the national distinction. In being separated from Christ, they were separated from that commonwealth in which, according to the promise, Christ would have been to them, as to the faithful Israelites, the object of their faith and the ground of their salvation.
Covenants. The several renewals of God's covenant with the patriarchs.
Of promise (thv epaggeliav). Better, the promise. The messianic promise, which was the basis of all the covenants.
Without God (aqeoi). God-forsaken. It might also mean godless or impious. The gentile gods were no gods.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
2:12 {Separate from Christ} (cwris cristou). Ablative case with adverbial preposition cwris, describing their former condition as heathen. {Alienated from the commonwealth of Israel} (apellotriwmenoi tes politeias tou israel). Perfect passive participle of apallotriow, for which see #Col 1:21. Here followed by ablative case politeias, old word from politeuw, to be a citizen (#Php 1:27) from polites and that from polis (city). Only twice in N.T., here as commonwealth (the spiritual Israel or Kingdom of God) and #Ac 22:28 as citizenship. {Strangers from the covenants of the promise} (xenoi twn diaqekwn tes epaggelias). For xenos (Latin _hospes_), as stranger see #Mt 25:35,38,43f., as guest-friend see #Ro 16:23. Here it is followed by the ablative case diaqekwn. {Having no hope} (elpida me econtes). No hope of any kind. In #Ga 4:8 ouk (strong negative) occurs with eidotes qeon, but here me gives a more subjective picture (#1Th 4:5). {Without God} (aqeoi). Old Greek word, not in LXX, only here in N.T. Atheists in the original sense of being without God and also in the sense of hostility to God from failure to worship him. See Paul's words in #Ro 1:18-32. "In the world" (en twi kosmwi) goes with both phrases. It is a terrible picture that Paul gives, but a true one.
