Sermons on Ephesians 2:11

Ephesians 2:11 Interpretation:

Unity in Christ: A Tapestry of Belonging(Granville Chapel) reads Ephesians 2:11 as part of Paul's revelation that ethnic markers (Gentile status and uncircumcision) were historically real but have been decisively reinterpreted in Christ, emphasizing the church as the locus where former barriers are nullified; the preacher frames verse 2:11 not merely as social description but as the hinge for Paul's argument that God's redemptive plan makes a new people (the new temple) visible to both the world and the "heavenly realms," using the image of diverse congregants (Latin American, Russian, Ukrainian, African, etc.) to analogize how the Ephesians' Gentile status is transformed into belonging and a shared identity in Christ that displays God's wisdom to all creation.

Unity in Christ: Overcoming Division and Pride(MLJ Trust) offers a granular interpretive reading of verse 2:11, treating its syntax and phraseology as Paul's rhetorical strategy: he insists "you were Gentiles in the flesh" is a hard, literal fact and then pauses in a sarcastic digression about those "self-styled circumcision" who convert that fact into a spiritual and social barrier; this sermon stresses Paul's contrast between "in the flesh" (external, historical sign) and the true, spiritual reality Paul promotes, arguing that the phrase "made by hands" flags these divisions as human constructions rather than divine distinctions and thus highlights the radicality of Christ's reconciliatory work.

From Alienation to Belonging: The Power of Grace(Desiring God) treats Ephesians 2:11 as a logical pivot in Paul's argument, interpreting the verse as the memory-trigger ("therefore remember") that supports two central soteriological aims—intensifying grateful joy in grace and eliminating boasting; the preacher analyzes Paul's rhetorical connectors (therefore/so that/because) and reads verse 11 as the deliberate reminder that grounds the claim "you who were far off have been brought near," so v.11 functions exegetically to make believers feel how far they were and thereby respond in humility and praise.

Embracing Community: The Transformative Power of the Church(Christ Church at Grove Farm) interprets Ephesians 2:11 as the opening of Paul's portrait of believers' former alienation and the dramatic change effected by Christ, turning the historical fact "you were Gentiles" into a pastoral summons to deep corporate participation; the preacher uses the verse to anchor a threefold metaphor (one nation / one family / one temple), arguing that Paul's description of former uncircumcision and estrangement is meant to make present-day Christians understand that their new identity in Christ summons them into an intimate, civic, and sacramental communal life that displays God's presence.

주일찬양예배 2025년 11월 30일, "그러므로 생각하라: 믿음으로 일어난 일과 예수를" - 에베소서 2:11-13,19(SD아름다운교회) reads Ephesians 2:11 as a summons to cultivate an ongoing, practical memory of who believers once were and who they have become in Christ, arguing that "remember" is not merely recollection but a daily cognitive discipline that shapes identity and therefore behavior; the preacher stresses that Paul’s contrast (formerly "uncircumcised" Gentiles, now family and citizens) is existential—God has changed our being, and that transformed being produces the Christlike life—he repeatedly returns to the language of “existence precedes action,” uses animal metaphors (lion/ox) and travel/transit analogies (airport/LA→Maldives) to show the temporary character of the world and the permanence of the new identity in Christ, and ties "by the blood" to actual nearness to Christ so that remembering is both doctrinal (we are now part of God’s family) and devotional (we are to think of Jesus and our new status daily so that life follows being).

A New Way to be Human - Solomon's House Session 4 - Ephesians 2:11 - 3:13(Church at Barking Riverside) interprets verse 2:11 as part of Paul’s corporate announcement that the boundary-marker (circumcision) and the covenant-language that defined Israel have now been transcended in Christ so that two peoples become “one new humanity,” stressing that Paul’s point is not private, individual salvation but a social and ecclesial reordering—circumcision was the Abrahamic covenant sign and the law/temple regime established a distinct people, but Christ "fulfilled" and thereby "set aside" the law so that a new corporate humanity (the church) can be formed; the sermon foregrounds corporate, public implications (church as a renewed way to be human in society) rather than merely private piety.

A New House | Ephesians 2:11-22(North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship) focuses tightly on the language of 2:11–12, unpacking "you who are Gentiles...called ‘uncircumcised’" with lexical and grammatical attention: the preacher supplies the Greek term (rendered as acrobustia/“uncircumcision”), explains its derogatory use by Jews toward Gentiles, and treats Paul’s “remember” as an indictment of forgetfulness about existential alienation; he then rapidly connects the clause “but now in Christ” to the stronger claim that “Jesus is our peace,” arguing grammatically that the clause functions equatively (Jesus is our peace and our peace is Jesus), and reads the verse as narrating a literal translocation from “without hope and without God in the world” to nearness effected by Christ’s blood and the abolition of the hostile dividing wall.

Ephesians 2:11 Theological Themes:

Unity in Christ: A Tapestry of Belonging(Granville Chapel) emphasizes the theme that the church exists to display God's wisdom cosmically—not merely to reconcile people locally but to show "the wisdom of God" to the world and the heavenly realms; the preacher uniquely stresses that the church's visible diversity and mutual love are not optional extras but intrinsic to God's plan of cosmic redemption and revelation, so Ephesians 2:11 is read as the necessary negative counterpart that makes the positive demonstration (the united church) visible and meaningful.

Unity in Christ: Overcoming Division and Pride(MLJ Trust) presents the distinct theological claim that real unity is produced only by the gospel (an enacted change of heart), not by conferences, good intentions, or political arrangements; the sermon foregrounds pride and the turning of differences into "middle walls of partition" as the theological root of social and ecclesial division—thus reading v.11 as a diagnostic verse that exposes the human sin (pride, prejudice, false valuation of externals) which only Christ's redemptive power can remedy.

From Alienation to Belonging: The Power of Grace(Desiring God) brings out a precise theological pairing from Paul's logic: remembering one's former status (v.11) functions both to intensify eternal joy in the "immeasurable riches of his grace" and to remove all grounds for boasting because believers are "his workmanship"; this sermon uniquely frames verse 11 as a theological instrument that secures both gratitude and humility as twin fruits of grace in contrast to any self-sufficiency.

Embracing Community: The Transformative Power of the Church(Christ Church at Grove Farm) emphasizes the theological theme that the church is simultaneously a civic reality (a nation with citizens), an intimate household (a family), and the locus of God's dwelling (a temple), and treats Ephesians 2:11 as the crucial reminder of former exile that morally obliges believers toward deep participation; the preacher uniquely connects the verse to modern maladies (loneliness, superficial attendance) and argues that the gospel's reversal of alienation demands fuller communal embodiment of the triune presence.

주일찬양예배 2025년 11월 30일, "그러므로 생각하라: 믿음으로 일어난 일과 예수를" - 에베소서 2:11-13,19(SD아름다운교회) develops an ontological theological theme: true Christian ethics flows from a change of being—Paul’s imperative "remember" is reframed as a spiritual discipline that secures identity (we are God’s family, citizens, heirs) and therefore produces the Christlike practices the world envies, so sanctification is described primarily as lived-out recognition of a new created status effected by Christ’s blood rather than as an effort to conform to rules.

A New Way to be Human - Solomon's House Session 4 - Ephesians 2:11 - 3:13(Church at Barking Riverside) emphasizes a corporate, restorative theme: Christ’s work is not only individual pardon but the making of a single new humanity that is canonical for every social sphere—church as the true public agent for cultural renewal—so the sermon frames Ephesians 2:11 as foundational to a theology of vocation that sees the church called to “renew” politics, business, education, family, etc., because the new humanity is itself a created, public reality.

A New House | Ephesians 2:11-22(North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship) develops two distinct theological motifs: first, the identification of Jesus as the concrete reality of peace (an equational thesis: “Jesus is our peace”), and second, the paradoxical doctrine that Christian unity is not achieved by enforced sameness but by Christ’s removal of barriers so that distinct differences are redeemed and celebrated; the sermon insists God redeems diversity (difference is not deficiency) and that unity is grounded in Christ’s person and work rather than cultural uniformity.

Ephesians 2:11 Historical and Contextual Insights:

Unity in Christ: A Tapestry of Belonging(Granville Chapel) situates Ephesians 2:11 in the first-century context of Ephesus as a largely Gentile, cosmopolitan trading city and reminds listeners of Acts 19–20 where Paul ministers there, and he also points to Exodus 19 to show Israel's original missional vocation (to be priests to the nations)—these points are used to explain why Gentile inclusion in the church was both shocking to Jews and integral to God's long-term plan, so v.11's reference to Gentile uncircumcision is read against this historical background of ethnic and cultic separation.

Unity in Christ: Overcoming Division and Pride(MLJ Trust) provides sustained historical and cultural exposition: the sermon maps the ancient world's sharp Jew/Gentile divide, explains the social significance of circumcision as an external ethnic marker, shows how Jews had turned that marker into a spiritual barricade, and reads Paul's sarcasm ("self-styled circumcision…made by hands") as a corrective to first-century ethnoreligious prejudice—this sermon uses historical norms about national identity, ritual marks, and Greco-Roman social classifications (Greek/barbarian) to make verse 2:11 intelligible as a statement about human-made partitions.

Embracing Community: The Transformative Power of the Church(Christ Church at Grove Farm) draws on New Testament theological-historical categories by explicating Paul’s claim that Christ creates a "new Israel"—a new human race made up of Jews and Gentiles—and explicitly connects Ephesians 2:11–22 to first-century realities (apostolic foundation, prophets, cornerstone imagery) to demonstrate how Paul's language about former estrangement and new citizenship reflects a concrete redefinition of God's people in history.

A New Way to be Human - Solomon's House Session 4 - Ephesians 2:11 - 3:13(Church at Barking Riverside) explicitly situates verse 2:11 in first-century covenantal practice: circumcision is correctly identified as the Abrahamic sign marking covenant membership, the law and tabernacle/temple regime are noted as boundary-maintaining structures that made Israel distinct, and the sermon explains that Paul’s language (circumcision/uncircumcision, temple, law) is addressing real, historically grounded markers that separated Gentiles from Israel and therefore how Christ’s fulfillment of the law has socio-religious consequences for identity.

A New House | Ephesians 2:11-22(North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship) gives concrete cultural-linguistic context by explaining the Jewish usage of the derogatory term for Gentiles (rendered from the Greek as acrobustia/“uncircumcision”), locates the dividing wall and the law as real socio-religious barriers in the first‑century Jewish world, and treats Paul’s verbal moves (abolishing the law “in his flesh”) against that background so listeners understand the concrete social meaning of being “far off” and then “brought near.”

주일찬양예배 2025년 11월 30일, "그러므로 생각하라: 믿음으로 일어난 일과 예수를" - 에베소서 2:11-13,19(SD아름다운교회) gives contextual explanation of Paul’s categories for pre‑conversion Gentiles—“outside the promise,” “outside the nation,” “strangers to the covenants, without hope and without God”—and stresses how those labels reflected an actual status in Jewish‑Christian rhetorical context, using them to drive home the pastoral impact of being incorporated into the promises “by the blood.”

Ephesians 2:11 Cross-References in the Bible:

Unity in Christ: A Tapestry of Belonging(Granville Chapel) explicitly links Ephesians 2:11 to Acts 19–20 (the Ephesian mission and formation of a Gentile church) and to Exodus 19 (God's commission to Israel to be priests to the nations), using Acts to show the historical emergence of Gentile believers in Ephesus and Exodus to show that God's plan always included the nations, thereby reading v.11 as the hinge between Israel's vocation and its fuller realization in Christ.

Unity in Christ: Overcoming Division and Pride(MLJ Trust) weaves multiple Pauline and scriptural cross-references into the exposition of v.11—he repeatedly refers to Ephesians 1:10 and 1:19 (God's cosmic purpose and power), Ephesians 2:1–10 (the prior state of death in sin and God's rescuing power), Philippians 3:3 (Paul’s contrast of true circumcision in spirit), and broader Old Testament–New Testament contrasts to show how Paul’s reminder in v.11 functions as part of his overarching argument that the church exemplifies God’s plan to reunite heaven and earth; each cross-reference is used to show how v.11 both diagnoses ancient barriers and points to Christ's solution.

From Alienation to Belonging: The Power of Grace(Desiring God) treats Ephesians 2:11 in tight connection with the immediately preceding clauses (Eph 2:4–10) and the following verses 12–13, arguing that Paul’s "therefore remember" connects 2:11 to the "made alive…raised…seated" material (vv.4–6) and to the theological claims about salvation by grace (vv.8–10), so the sermon uses intra-Ephesians cross-references (the structural use of "so that"/"therefore") to show v.11's role in securing the twin aims of joy and humility.

Embracing Community: The Transformative Power of the Church(Christ Church at Grove Farm) groups Ephesians 2:11 with verses 12–22 and explicitly brings in Ephesians 2:19–22 (fellow citizens, household of God, living stones, Christ the cornerstone) and 2 Corinthians 6:16 (God dwelling among his people) to argue that Paul’s reminder of former alienation (v.11) is the necessary background for affirming the church's identity as a nation, a family, and a temple; each cross-reference is used to build the practical case for deep participation in local church life.

주일찬양예배 2025년 11월 30일, "그러므로 생각하라: 믿음으로 일어난 일과 예수를" - 에베소서 2:11-13,19(SD아름다운교회) ties Ephesians 2:11 to multiple passages: Hebrews 3:1 is used as a supporting imperative (“consider Jesus”) to explain Paul’s “remember” and to urge meditating on Christ as the basis for identity; 2 Corinthians 5:1 and 2 Corinthians 4 (and 2 Corinthians 4:18/5:1 language about earthly tent versus eternal house) are cited to develop the “no hope” → “now have hope” contrast, arguing Ephesians’ “without hope” is remedied by the Johannine/Pauline promise of an eternal dwelling and an unseen but abiding hope; these cross‑references are marshaled to connect identity‑memory (Eph 2:11) to the larger Pauline hope‑anthropology.

A New Way to be Human - Solomon's House Session 4 - Ephesians 2:11 - 3:13(Church at Barking Riverside) cross‑references back to Ephesians 2:1–10 (the sermon’s earlier focus) to show continuity—sinful deadness, grace, creation in Christ for good works—and explicitly invokes Jesus’ own claim to “fulfill the law” (Sermon on the Mount / Matthew) to explain how the law is “set aside” in fulfillment; the preacher also draws Ephesians 3:1–13 (the “mystery” that Gentiles are heirs together with Israel) into the interpretive frame, using those passages to show that 2:11 is embedded in Paul’s larger argument about corporate inclusion.

A New House | Ephesians 2:11-22(North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship) connects Ephesians 2:11’s “brought near by the blood” and “he himself is our peace” to Isaiah 9:6 (the “Prince of Peace” language) to show continuity between messianic hope and the peace Christ effects, and draws on 1 Corinthians 15’s emphasis on bodily resurrection and continuity (to counter any devaluation of embodied distinctions) as part of the sermon’s argument that God redeems, rather than erases, creaturely differences; these biblical cross‑citations are used to support both the theological claim that peace is Christ’s person and the pastoral claim that diversity is to be redeemed rather than obliterated.

Ephesians 2:11 Christian References outside the Bible:

Unity in Christ: A Tapestry of Belonging(Granville Chapel) quotes N. T. Wright to support the claim that the united church is intrinsic to redemption rather than an optional extra, reading Wright’s line that the united church is "not an optional extra to the work of redemption" as corroboration for interpreting Ephesians 2:11–22: Paul’s reminder that Gentiles were once excluded underscores how remarkable and theologically central the church’s unity is, and the preacher uses Wright’s formulation to press congregants toward living out the church’s distinctive, world-displaying vocation.

Embracing Community: The Transformative Power of the Church(Christ Church at Grove Farm) explicitly cites Augustine ("our hearts are restless until they find their home in you") to illustrate the spiritual reality of human alienation that Paul describes in Ephesians 2:11, and quotes Charles Spurgeon to develop the metaphor of the church as a mother who brings forth, feeds, and cares for spiritual children; both citations are deployed not as mere decoration but as theological parallels that amplify Paul’s claim about former estrangement and the new familial, nurturing identity Christians receive in Christ.

주일찬양예배 2025년 11월 30일, "그러므로 생각하라: 믿음으로 일어난 일과 예수를" - 에베소서 2:11-13,19(SD아름다운교회) explicitly cites a contemporary pastoral/evangelical voice (rendered in the sermon as "존팔표 목사님," a transliteration of John Piper) to encourage meditation on Christ, quoting the idea that "what we think about most determines our joy" and connecting that pastoral aphorism to Paul’s command to “think” and “consider” Jesus; the speaker uses this modern pastoral maxim as a practical lever for implementing Ephesians’ command to remember—i.e., contemporary pastoral counsel is enlisted to reinforce the text’s discipline of contemplative remembrance.

Ephesians 2:11 Illustrations from Secular Sources:

Embracing Community: The Transformative Power of the Church(Christ Church at Grove Farm) uses a wide array of secular and local cultural illustrations to embody Ephesians 2:11’s theme of alienation and the subsequent belonging Christ effects: the preacher tells a vivid Ellis Island family story (his aunt arriving as a 13‑year‑old Polish immigrant alone), cites contemporary church-attendance statistics to show social trends of disengagement, and deploys local Pittsburgh cultural markers—ham barbecue sandwiches, "jagger bush," weddings in fire halls, Kennywood references—and anecdotal photos from mission relationships to make concrete how Christian citizenship, family intimacy, and temple imagery should outstrip and heal ordinary cultural bonds and loneliness; these secular stories are used specifically to make Paul’s picture of "once far off" and now "brought near" palpably relatable.

Unity in Christ: Overcoming Division and Pride(MLJ Trust) invokes mid‑20th‑century and geopolitical realities (Arab–Israeli tensions, Iron Curtain / “Bamboo Curtain” imagery, nationalistic divisions) as secular analogies for the ancient Jew–Gentile partition Paul addresses in v.11, using contemporary international and social divisions to demonstrate the enduring reality that differences often become barriers and to underscore the sermon’s argument that only the gospel can heal such divisions; these modern political examples function as analogical mirrors for understanding how social categories harden into polemic separations.

Unity in Christ: A Tapestry of Belonging(Granville Chapel) uses contemporary multicultural, personal‑history examples (the preacher’s own Latin American background, stories of people from Russia/Ukraine/Africa/Asia in the congregation, and references to Regent College and community support) to illustrate how Ephesians 2:11’s reversal (Gentile uncircumcision → membership) is lived out today, employing ordinary cross‑cultural life‑stories and the practical image of "videos of the grants" (acts of small, intentional love) to show how inclusion in the church concretely undoes social alienation; these everyday, non‑biblical illustrations are mobilized to help listeners grasp the social effect of Paul’s theological claim.

주일찬양예배 2025년 11월 30일, "그러므로 생각하라: 믿음으로 일어난 일과 예수를" - 에베소서 2:11-13,19(SD아름다운교회) uses several secular illustrations to make Paul’s point vivid: the pastor retells Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation story (1863 declaration vs. practical freedom in the South) to illustrate that legal or formal change (being “declared” free) does not always translate into realized life unless people know and believe it—this is used to press the need to “remember” the reality of identity; he also weaves in well‑known secular maxims and authors—quoting (rendered names) “Frank Outlaw” (cited as “watch your thoughts”), Ralph Waldo Emerson, and James Allen—to underline the claim that thoughts shape destiny, and he uses a travel/airport analogy (LA airport as mere transit to Maldives/higher destination) to describe the temporary character of this life versus the permanence of the Christian’s heavenly hope, all deployed to make Ephesians’ contrast between “far off” and “brought near” concrete for a modern congregation.

A New House | Ephesians 2:11-22(North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship) employs notable secular examples in service of the sermon’s thesis about redeemed difference: the preacher recounts the MIT “Building 20” story (a wartime, cheaply‑built, reconfigurable lab that fostered serendipitous encounters across disciplines and is credited with disproportionate innovation) as an extended analogy for how bringing diverse people together in a flexible environment fosters creativity and life, paralleling Paul’s vision of a church made of varied members; he also cites Bureau of Labor Statistics leisure‑time figures and references Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death to argue that contemporary culture’s diversion and “amusing” habits contribute to hopelessness, using those statistics and cultural critique to heighten the contrast in Ephesians between “without hope” and the new nearness brought by Christ.