18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
The second characteristic of the non-Christian orientation to life is that they are “alienated from the life of God.”
being alienated [separated] from the life of God,
God’s life and Gentile life were unrelated entities. The “life of God” is the life that God has and bestows. Non-Christians without Christ are dead spiritually. They are without true eternal life that comes from God. Non-Christians are “alienated” from God’s life.
Eph 2:12, that at that time you 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.
Co 1:21, And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
The Greek here means that Gentiles were in a state of alienation to the life of God; that is, from anything about God or what He offers. They had a flawed perception of what the life of God is about.
PRINCIPLE:
Non-Christians know nothing about experiencing eternal life.
APPLICATION:
Non-Christians are aliens from God’s life. They do not know what it means to have eternal life. All they know is physical life, animal life. All they experience is the raw existence of man; they know nothing of coming to life with God, eternal life.
Also, it has not dawned on Christians that the life of God resides in them.
2 Pe 1:4, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
