Charles Spurgeon Commentary Ephesians 2:12

"that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world." — Ephesians 2:12 (ASV)

And strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

That is where the whole Gentile world stood, and this is experimentally where you and I stood till sovereign grace interposed for our salvation. What did we know about the covenants of promise?

We knew nothing, and we did not care to know anything. What did we know about a hope? We should have died without a hope if God’s mercy had not come to us. What did we know, or what did we care, about a God in the world? We may have thought that there was a God in heaven; but as actually operating upon the daily life of man, we knew no such God. We were without God in the world:

And strangers from the covenants of promise,

Utter strangers to the covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

That at that time you were without Christ,

Which is the worst state of all, far worse than being without circumcision.

Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,

Outsiders, rank outsiders, far away from any rights, or any participation in the rights of God's children.

Having no hope,

Either here or hereafter.

Having no hope, and without God in the world:

It is an awful description, but a truthful description, of what we were.

Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,

The covenant was in Isaac. You are not the children of Isaac.

You are not descended from Abraham. You were strangers from the covenants of promise.

Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,:

For us there was no paschal lamb, for us there was no high priest at Jerusalem, no altar smoked with a sacrifice for us. We were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,.