Who are the Ephesians and Colossians?

The Ephesians and the Colossians are people you see in your bible who are the most like you and me. They are called “aliens.” For example, an alien is someone who is the opposite of an “ally.” In time of war, a county is said to have allies who are on their side. The same is the case of the Ephesians. For example:

Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

Ephesians 2:12 That 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:

Now we know the bible definition of an alien. It means “alien from Israel.” These people would be different than the Galatians, the Thessalonians, the Corinthians, or even the Romans. All of those people were very much associated with Israel. As a matter of fact, in every case in the bible, when Paul goes to a location, the very first place he goes is into the synagogue of the Jews. But THESE people were never found in a synagogue of the Jews, or even associated with the Jews.

These were people who never blessed a Jew, did not fear the God of Abraham, did not seek the wisdom of the God of Abraham, and knew nothing of the Law of Moses or anything else they might have learned in a synagogue. It says they had no hope, and were without God in the world. That would be a contrast to people who DID fear the God of Abraham, and attended synagogues along with the Jews, seeking the blessing of the God of Abraham. Therefore, if these people were to ever have any hope at all there had to be something that up to the point the message began to be preached to them had never been heard of before. Thank God there is. It is called “the mystery of the gospel.”

Not just the gospel, but the mystery OF THE GOSPEL. It was something that beforehand was unsearchable and was HID IN GOD, not in the scriptures:

Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

When Paul writes to the Ephesians, after hearing of their faith, he asks them to pray also for him:

Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

So the “fellowship of the mystery” is just like fellows in a ship. Say a ship comes along and in it are some Galatians, some Thessalonians, some Corinthians and some Romans and they probably don’t want to take these “aliens” on board. But, the Captain of the Ship stops, throws out the lifelines and the Ephesians and Colossians (and you and me) are more FELLOWS in the SHIP.

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