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The structure of Eph. 2: 11-19 is as follows:
D | O1 | 11, 12. IN TIME PAST.
P1 | n | 11. Gentiles IN THE FLESH.
o | 12. Without Christ.
Distance
p | 12. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.
p | 12. Strangers from the covenants of the promise.
o | 12. Without hope.
n | 12. Godless IN THE WORLD.
O2 | 13, 14. BUT NOW.
P2 |
q1 | 14. He is our PEACE.
r1 | "The BOTH" made one.
s1 | 14. Middle wall broken.
Peace
t1 | 15. Enmity in flesh.
s1 | 15. Decrees abolished.
r1 | 15. "The TWAIN" created one new man.
q1 | 16. So making PEACE.
q2 | 16. Reconciled to GOD.
r2 | 16. "The BOTH" in one body.
s2 | 16. Through the cross.
Reconciliation
t2 | 16, 17. Enmity slain. Peace.
s2 | 18. Through Him.
r2 | 18. "The BOTH" in one spirit.
Qq2 | 18. Access to the FATHER.
O3 | 19. NO LONGER.
P3 | 19. Strangers and foreigners.
Something of the position of the Gentile `without Christ' is seen in the dealings of the
Lord with the Syropheonecian woman (Matt. 15: 21-28); the attitude of the Lord being
influenced not by the question of whether the woman was a sinner of not, but that she
was a Gentile; that the people of Israel were `lords' (masters Greek); that she was in
comparison a dog; and that all she could expect at that time were `crumbs'. What a
change has been wrought since she learned the disability of being a Gentile!--riches
beyond expression, in place of crumbs. Wealth that Israel never knew is now lavished
upon them who were classed among the dogs or the unclean. If only those detractors of
misunderstood terms would ponder the glory of Ephesians over against the condition of
the Gentile according to Matt. 15:, we should hear less of the false charge that those
who teach dispensational truth `rob' the believer who follows their teaching. Whoever
was `robbed' by the substitute of wealth undreamed for `crumbs'! The Gentile had none
of the privileges enumerated in Rom. 9:, for they were Israel's `in the flesh', and in that
sphere `all spiritual blessings' could not exist. In the flesh, the Gentile has no place, his
only hope of life and blessing is `in the spirit', and that demanded a miracle for its
accomplishment. The condition of the Gentile `without Christ' is revealed by the words
that follow `being aliens . . . . . and strangers'. The word translated `alien' is one of many
compounds of the Greek root all, which means `other', and which necessitates, as we
shall see, `reconciliation', another word from the same root to accomplish the
cancellation of distance and enmity implied. There is so much teaching associated with