From Excluded to Included

Main idea: The church in Ephesus was made up of some interesting characters, but they loved one another with God’s all-encompassing and transformative love. The Gentiles were no longer excluded from God’s promises because of the blood of Christ that brought them near. The same is true with us. We have been brought near to Jesus, who is the center of all things. Paul teaches us how to have a near or far mindset which is rooted in God’s love and fosters unity, rather than an in or out mindset that fosters moral superiority and self-righteousness.