So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, Ephesians 2:19 WEB
Initially, Paul preached salvation through faith in Christ only to the Jews. The main focus of his early ministry was convincing practicing Jews that Jesus was the promised Messiah. However, after much opposition and abuse, Paul began preaching the gospel message to the Gentiles. On a trip from Corinth to Syria, Paul stopped briefly in Ephesus leaving Priscilla and Aquila to care for the church founded there. Like Corinth with its Greeks, Ephesus was part of the Roman Empire but outside of the traditional homeland for the Jews.
Before the establishment of the church in Ephesus, the local inhabitants had no relationship with God. After coming to faith in Christ, the Lord adopted the Ephesian believers into the household of God. As members of Roman society from various regions shared Roman citizenship, Paul impressed upon his readers in Ephesus that those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior become citizens in the Kingdom of heaven.
One Family in God
As Roman citizens enjoyed certain rights and benefits from their association with Rome, Christian believers receive benefits from membership in God’s holy family. Members of the household of God through faith in Christ, Christians inherit the kingdom of heaven and all the promises God made to his chosen people. No longer strangers and foreign to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Gentile Christians enjoy the same status as traditional Jews. We are the children of God.
Our status as children in the household of God comes directly from the sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross. Christ is our intercessor with God. He is our redeemer. Because the Lord paid the price for our sins, we stand blameless before our Father in heaven. In one man, Jesus Christ, God reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to himself as one family. As Acts 4:12 says of Jesus, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved! WEB”
Prayer: “Father God, thank you for making a place for me in your holy family. Thank you for my salvation in Christ. Help me to share the truth of the gospel with the world. Guide me to effectively use my time in your service. In Jesus name – Amen”
Yesterday’s Devotional: Convicted
