2:12 That at that time ye were {m} without Christ, being {n} aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
(m) He begins first with Christ, who was the end of all the promises.
(n) You had no right or title to the commonwealth of Israel.
2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ. The past state of the Gentile Christians is described when they had no knowledge of Christ.
Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Not being of the race of Abraham, who were in covenant relation with God.
Strangers from the covenants of promise. The various covenants made with the patriarchs which contained the promise of Christ, of which they were ignorant, and hence not partakers of the hope.
Having no hope. No hope in the promise or in Christ.
And without God in the world. Walking without the knowledge of the true God.
2:12 Were at that time without Christ - Having no faith in, or knowledge of, him. Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel - Both as to their temporal privileges and spiritual blessings. And strangers to the covenants of promise - The great promise in both the Jewish and Christian covenant was the Messiah. Having no hope - Because they had no promise whereon to ground their hope. And being without God - Wholly ignorant of the true God, and so in effect atheists. Such in truth are, more or less, all men, in all ages, till they know God by the teaching of his own Spirit. In the world - The wide, vain world, wherein ye wandered up and down, unholy and unhappy.
2:11-13 Christ and his covenant are the foundation of all the Christian's hopes. A sad and terrible description is here; but who is able to remove himself out of it? Would that this were not a true description of many baptized in the name of Christ. Who can, without trembling, reflect upon the misery of a person, separated for ever from the people of God, cut off from the body of Christ, fallen from the covenant of promise, having no hope, no Saviour, and without any God but a God of vengeance, to all eternity? To have no part in Christ! What true Christian can hear this without horror? Salvation is far from the wicked; but God is a help at hand to his people; and this is by the sufferings and death of Christ.
