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The following Scriptures describe the condition of us Gentiles before we received Jesus as our Savior They also describe what supernaturally happened to us immediately upon receiving Him as our Savior

But theres more in these verses As a matter of
The following Scriptures describe the condition of us Gentiles before we received Jesus as our Savior They also describe what supernaturally happened to us immediately upon receiving Him as our Savior

But theres more in these verses As a matter of fact these are some of the most meaningful Scriptures we have

Eph 21213
12That at that time ye were without Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world
13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ KJV

First we see the five things that describe our hopeless condition prior to our salvation through the blood of Christ

We were without Christ
We had been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel
We were strangers from the Abrahamic covenant promises
Because of the above three we had no hope
We were without God in the world

Before we can show what happened to us Geniles upon receiving Christ we must identify the two groups in verse thirteen above Only then can we understand what happened to us and apply what it means to us Gentiles today

These two groups are called the far off group and the nigh group respectively You see in the Old Testament the Gentiles were identified by the term far off while the saved Jews were identified by the term nigh or near

We Gentiles were the far off group and the saved Jews were the nigh or near group

Here are three Scriptures from the Old Testament which identify these two groups for you

Ps 14814
14He also exalteth the horn of his people the praise of all his saints even of the children of Israel a people near unto him Praise ye the LORD KJV

This verse identifies the children of Israel as the near group

Micah 43
3And he shall judge among many people and rebuke strong nations afar off and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks nation shall not lift up a sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more KJV

This verse identifies the nations not Jews as the far off group Obviously the word nations or nationalities includes people other than Jews

The next verse shows both groups in one verse You will find this verse quoted by Paul in Ephesians chapter two

Isa 5719
19I create the fruit of the lips Peace peace to him that is far off and to him that is near saith the LORD and I will heal him KJV

Now here is Pauls quote in Ephesians 217 of Isaiahs statement above

Eph 217
17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off and to them that were nigh
KJV

Now the far off group as we learned above had none of the five blessings from Abrahams covenant while the near group had them all

You remember that the saved Jews were born with the five things because of their place by birth in the Abrahamic covenant

You also remember that when a Jew accepted Christ as Gods final sacrifice for sin under Moses law they maintained what they were born with in Abrahams covenant They maintained their birthright of healing prosperity family well being and salvation

You also remember that a Gentile is grafted into these same Abrahamic blessings of healing prosperity family well being and salvation the very moment heshe receives Christ as hisher savior

In other words we Gentiles get these blessings by the new birth Conversely a Jew was born with them because of hisplace place in the Abrahamic covenant Put differently heshe got them by his physical birth and maintains them by the New Birth

Again to say it another way when heshe accepts Christ as hisher final sacrifice for sin under Moses law heshe maintains the healing prosperity family well being and salvation heshe was born with in the Abrahamic covenant

Now when Gentiles accept Christ as their personal Savior they are instantly and supernaturally transferred by the blood of Christ from the far off group into the near group on an absolute equal footing with the saved Jews Who are the saved Jews

In the Old Testament the saved Jews were those of Israel who made the proper sacrifice for their sins as prescribed by Moses law In so doing they maintained what they were born with in Abrahams covenant

In the New Testament the saved Jews are those who accept Jesus as Gods final sacrifice for sin rather than the blood of bulls and goats required in Moses law

Wonder of all wonders We Gentiles are supernaturally moved from one group to another by the blood of Jesus We are transferred from the far off group into the near group by the supernatural power of God This supernatural transfer is caused by our accepting the blood of Jesus as the final and full payment for our sins

Now we Gentiles are transferred into the same group of saved Jews who possessed healing family well being prosperity and salvation beginning in Genesis 12 This is where God began making the Abraham covenant that contained 60 promises

Now that we Gentile Christians have Christ we are not aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and we are right at home in the covenant promises of Abraham

Consequently we have hope and we have God in this world as well as in the world to come Now we share the blessings of healing prosperity family well being and salvation equally with the saved Jews