Exploring The Riches of Christ. Christ Our Peace

Transcription

1 Exploring The Riches of Christ A Study In The Letter To The Ephesians Part 2 Christ Our Peace The Second Message in a Series Exploring the Treasures of the Letter to the Ephesians Pastor Larry Goding Community Church At Sun Village Surprise, Arizona

2

3 Exploring The Riches Of Christ Part 2 Christ Our Peace Ephesians 2:14-18 There is no better way to live in peace and security than to live according to the precepts of God s wisdom and teachings. ~Dr. David Jeremiah~ Introduction: In light of terrorist threats, talk of nuclear war, the threat of economic collapse, and attacks against Christians and Christian values, we desperately need peace with God. It ought to be evident that we cannot find peace in science. Scientists predict nothing but gloom if global war should occur. There is no peace in technology. Even our greatest gadgets might fail to provide us any protection. There is no peace in new age philosophies, or humanistic ideology. There is, however, One and only One who can give us peace and that is Christ. Early in the 1980s a retired couple was alarmed by the threat of nuclear war, so they undertook a serious study of all the inhabited places on the globe. Their goal was to determine where in the world would be the place to be least likely affected by a nuclear war a place of ultimate 1

4 security. They studied and traveled, traveled and studied. Finally they found the place. They moved to their new home in the Falkland Islands, a remote UK colony in the South Atlantic. However, their paradise was soon turned into a war zone by Great Britain and Argentina when on April 2, 1982; Argentina invaded the Islands, a move that led to a brief but bitter war. So many today are like that couple who are searching for peace. It is obvious that our world needs peace. There is an absence of peace all over this planet. Peace is lacking between nations and between races. It s lacking in homes and in hearts. So where can you go to find it? The apostle Paul tells us where we can find peace. The Power Behind Our Peace [Colossians 1:20; Romans 5:1]. On the night of Christ s birth, the angels sang, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men [Luke 2:14]. The message is clear peace comes only through Jesus Christ. Jesus said it: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid [John 14:27 NKJV]. 2

5 The apostle Paul has made it clear in his writing that Jesus has made peace with God possible through the cross. God has chosen to make things right between Himself and mankind through the death of Christ upon the cross of Calvary. He is the power behind our peace. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ [Colossians 1:19-20; Romans 5:1 NKJV]. At the start of Ephesians 2 Paul reminds his readers that though they were once dead in their sins, they have now been made alive because God who is rich in mercy and abounding in love and has made reconciliation possible through Christ. The apostle Paul is making the point to believers that at one time they lived in sin, serving the passions of the flesh and its sinful nature. But, in God s timing He sent the Savior to bring new life into the world of sin. By His mercy and grace He gave them new life as they received God s gift of salvation [Ephesians 2:8-10]. Religiously speaking there was a great divide between Jews and Gentiles. That religious divide caused some 3

6 serious tensions because each had different objects of worship; different religious rites; different views and attitudes about God. Initially, the gospel message was taken to the Jews by Jews. However, in time God showed Peter that in the eyes of God there was no difference between Jews and Gentiles when it comes to their need of spiritual life so the message must also be taken to the Gentiles Acts 10]. Regardless of race, they all need a savior. 11 Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called uncircumcised heathens by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. [Ephesians 2:11-13 NLT]. Now, says the apostle, because of the cross, the gospel message has come to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. They both having received that message can have peace 4

7 with God [vs. 14]. Now they worship the same God. They have the same Savior. They depend on the same atonement. They have the same hope. They look forward to the same heaven. They belong to the same redeemed family. Reconciliation has not only taken place with God, but with each other. Even though they have each maintained their own way of life, they have come to agreement on one of the most important issues of life they have both come to the cross of Calvary and have been united into one body through Christ s great work of the atonement, which is designed to produce peace in alienated minds everywhere, and to diffuse abroad the feeling of universal brotherhood For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off 1 Barnes' Notes 5

8 and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father [Ephesians 2:14-18 NKJV]. Peace immediately follows grace in Scripture. When we receive Jesus Christ as our savior his peace floods the soul. It is because of the grace that God has showered upon us in Christ that we also have peace. When Scripture states that Jesus is our peace, it reminds us that we were once enemies of God [Romans 5:10], a condition that started back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve, along with their descendants, were separated from God because of sin. Because of Jesus Christ s work on the Cross of Calvary, however, the enmity was done away with for all who choose to believe, making the way to peace with God possible. In fact, the Greek root word for peace conveys union. We were separated from God, but are now unified with God in Christ who has broken down the middle wall of separation removed that which caused the separation. What separates men from God is their sin. However, that need not be the case since Christ died to pay the penalty for sin. The Scripture is consistent in its message that without Christ, the Prince of Peace, we would never experience 6

9 God s grace or peace. When we think of Jesus being our peace, let us think of being united with God in full reconciliation through Christ. 2 Paul is making it clear that the work of Jesus on the cross is the common ground of salvation for both Jew and Gentile. Therefore, in a spiritual sense there is no longer any dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. Jesus broke that wall down. The religion and ideologies that once separated them is gone. Because of the common ground, the Lordship of Christ is greater than any previous division. If the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not greater than any difference you have with others be it political, racial, economic, language, geography, or anything else, then you have not fully understood what it means to be under the Lordship of Jesus. 3 The main source of contention between Jew and Gentile was the fact that the Gentiles did not keep the law. They were uncircumcised. The Jews were required by the covenant God had made with Abraham to circumcise all male children. That reminded them that they were God s special people. The Gentiles were not bound by those David Guzik, David Guzik Commentary on the Bible. 7

10 laws nor were they required to keep the myriad laws that were imposed upon the Jews by their religious leaders. But since Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf, and since He bore the penalty for our failure to keep the law, we are reconciled through His work on the cross putting to death the source of contention. 4 In that way, Christ created, in Himself one new man from the two Jews and Gentiles. Early Christians called themselves a third race or a new race. They recognized that in God s eyes they were not Jews, not Gentiles, but one new man embracing all who are in Christ Jesus one new man through Christ. This new man was made possible through the cross. We see the emphasis Paul places on the work of Jesus on the cross. He repeats the idea several times: made near by the blood... having abolished in His flesh the enmity... in one body through the cross. This unity didn t just happen, it was the hard-fought accomplishment of Jesus [Ephesians 2:14]. 5 In the Pitti Palace, at Florence, there are two pictures which hang side by side. One represents a stormy sea with its wild waves, and black clouds and fierce lightning 4 Guzik. 5 Guzik. 8

11 flashing across the sky. In the waters a human face is seen, wearing an expression of the utmost agony and despair. The other picture also represents a sea, tossed by as fierce a storm, with similar dark clouds; but out of the midst of the waves a rock rises, the raging waters dash against it. In a cleft of a rock are some tufts of grass and other green vegetation with delicate flowers, and amid those a dove is seen sitting on her nest, quiet and undisturbed by the wild fury of the storm. The first picture appropriately represents the condition of the world when all is helpless and despairing; and the other, the circumstances of the Christian, no less severe, but in which he is kept in perfect peace, because he is protected and preserved in the bosom of God s unchanging love. 6 He Is Our Peace The Prince Of Peace [Ephesians 2:14]. When a poor bricklayer who had fallen from a great height was lying fatally injured he was visited by a minister in the neighborhood. On entering the cottage the minister said, My dear man, I am afraid you are dying. I exhort you to make your peace with God. Make my 6 The Biblical Illustrator. 9

12 peace with God, sir! Why, that was made two thousand years ago, when my great and glorious Lord paid all my debt upon the cruel cross. Christ is my Peace, and I am saved. 7 He is our Peace, in that He MAKES peace Peace with God [Romans 5:1-2]. 1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God [Romans 5:1-2 NKJV]. Men without Christ are men without peace. God did everything that needed to be done to bring peace into the world and to make it possible for mankind to have peace with God. Ever since the events in the Garden of Eden, mankind has been at odds with God. Sin created a major rift in the relationship that God once had with Adam and Eve and that He so earnestly desires to have with His most prized creation man. The apostle Paul reminds us of our desperate condition without peace with God we are dead in our sins bound for an eternal separation from God. He assures us of the change that can take place through Christ s sacrifice for 7 The Biblical Illustrator. 10

13 sin. Peace with God can be had by accepting God s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Paul speaks to the peace between God and man that is made possible. God, in His mercy and grace has reconciled both Jew and Gentile unto God by the Cross, thereby having overcome the enmity. Let the Word of God speak for itself. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now He has reconciled you by Christ s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant [Colossians 1:19-23 NIV]. It all comes down to God s willingness to make things right between Himself and sinful man. 11

14 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation [Romans 5:9-11 NIV]. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity [Ephesians 2:15-16 NKJV]. Think about this. What becomes of those who refuse to make their peace with God? Their end is eternal separation from God. What become of those who believe they have made their peace with God by some other means than accepting God s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? They might say, I have lived a good life, done good things. I read the Bible from time to time and I go to church. I choose the best out of all religions 12

15 and try to live life the best way I can. Their end is the same, eternal separation from God. On the other hand, what becomes of those who make their peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ? The apostle John reminds us that when we decided to receive Christ as savior we passed from death to life spiritual death to spiritual life. We pass from death to life to be eternally in the presence of God. He is our Peace, in that He GIVES peace Peace of God [John 14:27]. Having made peace with God what naturally follows is the peace of God. Jesus said: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid [John 14:27 NKJV]. The context of his comment was during that intimate time that he spent with his disciples just before going to the cross. He was assuring them that even though he would not be with them physically his presence would always be with them. Peace is a state of tranquility or quietness of spirit that transcends circumstances. It begins with an initial peace that comes from having our sin forgiven and grows as we get to know God better [Hebrews 10:22-25]. When we 13

16 grow in our understanding of the depths and riches of God s love toward us, our minds and spirits begin to rest in His power and wisdom. We begin to understand that He really will make all things work together for our good. We learn that His purposes will be accomplished. When we develop a lifestyle of making the Lord our refuge, we begin to live in the peace of God. Psalm 91:1 holds the secret to living in the peace of God: He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. That secret place in our hearts is where we go to meet with God. When we choose to live there and hide under His shadow, staying in constant communion with Him, we can remain peaceful, even when circumstances may not be. When we learn to cry out to Him in times of trouble, we find that His peace really does pass all human understanding. Again, let the Word of God speak for itself: You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you [Isaiah 26:3 NIV]. 14

17 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world [John 16:33 NIV]. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [Philippians 4:6-7 NIV]. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law [Galatians 5:22-24 NKJV]. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord [Colossians 3:14-16 NKJV]. He is our Peace, in that He PROMOTES peace [Luke 6:27-38]. One of Jesus greatest sermons was the one that has been described as the Sermon on the Mount. It is recorded 15

18 for us in detail by Matthew and in part by other gospel writers. Throughout that sermon Jesus outlines the practical aspects of how we are to live the Christian life. Luke records some very specific guidelines that Jesus gave that will, if headed, promote peace both within our own life and in the world. When you have made your peace with God and begin to experience the peace of God in your daily life, peace emanates from you in your attitudes and relationships. He promotes peace. Here the words of Jesus: 27 But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For 16

19 even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful [Luke 6:27-36 NKJV]. Let me summarize in a few short phrases what Jesus is telling us. Promote peace in your actions toward those who may oppose you or disagree with you [vv ]. Be generous in your dealings with others [vs. 30]. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to those in the family of faith [Galatians 6:10 NLT]. Love in the same way God loves you [vs. 31]. Jesus said, 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another [John 13:34-35 NKJV]. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple. The apostle John affirmed Jesus command, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and 17

20 everyone who loves is born of God and knows God [1 John 4:7 NKJV]. Show mercy and compassion [vs. 36]. The apostle Peter give us a word of admonition: 8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing [1 Peter 3:8-10 NKJV ]. Conclusion Christ is our peace. Through his life and death he brought peace into the world, making it possible for all who would call upon him to have peace with God. He has made peace for us, for all men, by His atoning work. Through his mediation between us and God the Father he offers peace as we walk along the path of life. He speaks peace, quieting the tumult of doubt and fear. He calls out to all who will listen, 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light [Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV]. 18

21 Do you need peace in your life today. Come to Jesus, let him infuse his peace into your life. Rest in him. Give him the control of your life. 19