TITLE: Household of God Ephesians 2: AIM: Emphasize the truth that we in Christ are the Household of God.

Transcription

1 TITLE: Household of God Ephesians 2:19-22 AIM: Emphasize the truth that we in Christ are the Household of God. INTRO: One of the basic needs of mankind is to have a sense of belonging. We want to be connected. Sometimes that gets us in trouble because we ll do whatever it takes to be accepted, belong, & we settle for connection w/the wrong crowd, become involved in things not good. But there s good news for the Christian, follower of Jesus Christ. Tho a believer is urged/commanded in Scripture to come apart from the world & be separate, yet we do belong, 1 st to God, as His child thru faith in Christ, but also to each other, as part of God s family. We embark today upon a new theme only 2 nd year doing this. Last yr: Until He Comes looking/waiting for Jesus to come again & living according to that perspective (you knew I d get that in somehow). As said last week, we must continue to have that perspective, emphasis in our lives, because Jesus is coming again, maybe this year (2013), maybe today! But as have thought/prayed about it, I believe the theme for 2013 should be Household of God understanding that we are the household of God & how we are to be the household of God. Paul hit upon this theme in his epistle to the Ephesians. As matter of fact, a good argument can be made that this is the theme of the book of Ephesians, the heart of what Paul wanted to say to the church in Ephesus. If that is so, then our Scripture this morning, Ephesians 2:19-22, is the theme text of Paul s letter. We ll start at the beginning of Eph. next wk, but it seems that one of the main things Paul wanted to get across to the Ephesian church & the individual members thereof was that they belonged. They were not 2 nd class citizens in the kingdom of God. Very likely, some well-meaning Jewish Christians had told them that unless they 1 st converted to Judaism & followed Jewish law, they

2 did not really belong to Christ. Certainly true that God set apart the Jews as His people, starting w/abraham. But God had a plan all along to bring together as one people from all nations, tongues, tribes & peoples. He said to Abraham (Gen.12:3), in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. That blessing came in the person of Jesus Christ, born of a Jewish maiden, into the family of the Jews, but whose work of redemption was for all who believe, Jew & Gentile alike. The Ephesian Christians were mostly Gentiles, not Jews. Listen to the words Paul wrote to them (& us!) [READ] I) No longer strangers & aliens That word translated stranger carries the tone of outsider not belonging, & w/out a share in (Strg s). As far as God was concerned they were/had been outsiders, but brought into the family thru faith in Christ & looked upon by God as His family/people, having a share in the blessings of redemption, about which Paul wrote in chap1. The word translated alien means one who lives in a place w/out the right of citizenship (Strg s). There are certain things you can t do unless you re a citizen of the US vote, run for office, etc. And those who do not have citizenship in God s kingdom cannot have the Holy Spirit w/in or the blessing of forgiveness or the hope of eternal life, etc. But Paul said to the Ephesians believers, you are fellow citizens w/the saints & members of the household of God. You belong to a household/ family, along w/jewish believers, along w/other Gentile believers. You belong! II) Built upon the foundation of the apostles & prophets If you build a house, you have to start w/site wk & laying a foundation, solid, strong. That word foundation metaphorically means beginnings, 1 st principles; an institution or system of truth (Strg s). Paul is saying that the teaching of the apostles & prophets their ministry & example & writings & oral teaching - was the strong system

3 of truth upon which the Church was to be built. In Scripture we have what we need, a solid foundation of truth, upon which we are to build our individual lives as disciples of Christ, & our local church, & upon which the whole Church is built. Note tho, that Paul also wrote that III) Christ Jesus Himself [is] the cornerstone David Gudzik wrote that The cornerstone literally means at the tip of the angle & refers to the capstone or binding stone that holds the structure together often the royal name was inscribed on it. In the East it was considered to be even more imp than the foundation. It is the most imp stone in the structure, the one on which it s stability depended. It s to the cornerstone that all the rest of the building is aligned. And so, all that the prophets wrote & taught aligns w/, flows from & points forward to Christ, the cornerstone. And, all that the apostles wrote & taught flows from & points backwards to Christ. And, as we follow the teaching of apostles & prophets, our lives will align w/, flow from & point to Christ. That s how it should be & must be our aim. When that happens, vs21-22 becomes reality [READ]. IV)God is building & dwells w/in His Household. Gudzik wrote, As we keep our common foundation, the whole building of God s people grows together in a beautiful way, as a holy temple where God dwells in beauty & glory. This whole matter of the Household of God can be seen on 4 levels, each of which gives us a sense of belonging & each imp for us to understand (Tidings). 1)Every individual believer is a member of the Household/family of God, the Church worldwide. We are citizens of God s kingdom & bro/sis w/every other believer in the world & every believer thruout history & until Jesus comes. We re part of something very big. 2)Every local church is a household of God. In Scripture, there was the Ephesian church & Corinthian church, etc. Here in Vernon we have 3 churches/

4 households. Every believer is or should be part of a local church family to which they are committed & w/whom they come together to worship/work. Sadly, such is not the case many believers who don t attend church & feel no need to belong locally, to their & others detriment. 3)The Household of God, then, is a household of households many local church families all over the world making up the worldwide Church. Our church family is one of myriads of church families in the Household of God. Then, too, our church is a household of households w/in our town/region. There may have been several house churches in Ephesus, but really only one Ephesian church. There s really only one church in Vernon, made up of every believer. And, we are part of the church of Windham Co, & the church of the Tri- State region, the church of New England, etc. All local households which are built upon the foundation/teaching of the apostles & prophets, w/christ Jesus being the cornerstone, are households of the Household. Finally, if you look w/in, 4)Every local church is a household of households - made up of several households families, whether 1 or 20 w/in those families Amidons, Arensmeyers, Deyos, LaValley, Goodwin, Knowles, Hutchins, etc. Now, there s a lot to this, which by God s grace & the Holy Spirit s leading we will consider this year, but let me close w/a few thoughts to be expanded upon later. A)If we are in Christ, then we do belong, 1 st to Him, but also to each other & the whole Household of God. If you want to belong to the Household of God, you must come thru faith in Christ. B)How we conduct ourselves (Vernon ACC) as a household of God reflects upon the Household of God. C)How we conduct our households (ourselves & our families) reflects upon the household (church) we are. D)Unity/Oneness in the Household & households results in God s glory & effective witness. The

5 mission of every household of God is the proclamation of the gospel. Out of oneness the message goes forth w/clarity. Where there is no oneness, the message is muted. It is imp that we act like a family of families, w/in the family of God. We are the Household of God!