Ephesians 2E. It s the start of a new year, and that means New Year s resolutions. Nevertheless, the tradition endures

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1 Ephesians 2E It s the start f a new year, and that means New Year s reslutins We reslve t eat better and exercise mre, t drp bad habits and start gd nes Many f ur reslutins last abut as lng as champagne n New Year s Eve Nevertheless, the traditin endures The secret t a successful New Years reslutin is t select gals that are easily achievable Fr example, here are sme f my reslutins Sleep in mre Reduce the number f jkes in my sermns...dne! Share my pinins with ther peple mre ften All easily achievable What is it abut a new year that prmpts us t adpt new thughts and new behavirs? I think the enduring ppularity f New Year s Reslutins is evidence f hw much we desire t becme smething better than wh we are Like wiping the slate clean, we re seeking the ultimate d-ver And maybe we re wishing that majr changes ur life can be as easy as flipping the page n a calendar Praise be t ur Lrd Jesus Christ that we have already received the ultimate d-ver thrugh ur faith in Him We re made new in His likeness And we have an entirely new and better future ahead f us And that future is clser than yu think, and it s begun even nw 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Ephesians 2D 2 f 14 Because even nw Christ is at wrk making many things new in us every day thrugh the study f His wrd In ur study f Ephesians, Paul s been explaining ur spiritual d-ver Nw at the end f chapter 2, Paul s pint is the unity f all believers made pssible by ur cmmn faith in the One Redeemer Paul began by reminding his largely Gentile readers hw they had at ne time been utside the grace f Gd Gentiles were strangers t Gd and t the cvenants that Gd gave exclusively t Israel Then in v.13 Paul said but nw Nw thrugh Jesus Christ, Gentiles have pprtunity t knw the Living Gd Nw the message f salvatin has reached ur ears And therefre thse wh were frmerly far away frm Gd have been brught near t Gd thrugh the crss f Jesus Christ Paul said it was as thugh the stne wall that barred Gentiles frm entering the Jewish temple had been trn dwn Spiritually speaking, Gentiles and Jews were n lnger separated Where befre the Lrd had revealed Himself nly t the Jewish peple Nw all peple culd apprach Him thrugh Jesus Christ Let s pick up there again in Paul s explanatin Eph. 2:14 Fr He Himself is ur peace, wh made bth grups int ne and brke dwn the barrier f the dividing wall, Eph. 2:15 by ablishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law f cmmandments cntained in rdinances, s that in Himself He might make the tw int ne new man, thus establishing peace, Eph. 2:16 and might recncile them bth in ne bdy t Gd thrugh the crss, by it having put t death the enmity. Eph. 2:17 and He came and preached peace t yu wh were far away, and peace t thse wh were near; Eph. 2:18 fr thrugh Him we bth have ur access in ne Spirit t the Father Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Ephesians 2D 3 f 14 Paul says ur cmmn faith in Jesus Christ destryed a barrier between Jew and Gentile, referring t the wall arund the temple Befre Christ, nly Jewish peple had pprtunity t enter the temple service and wrship the true Gd The Gentile even a Gentile wh feared and wrshiped Yahweh was never permitted t enter the temple grunds He r she culd nly wrship at a distance Nw Paul isn t saying that Gentiles were never saved We knw frm the Old Testament that ccasinally Gentiles wuld cme t faith and even attach themselves t Israel Biblical figures like Rahab, Ruth and the Queen f Sheba were Gd-fearing Gentiles And even entire Gentile cities like Nineveh came t faith But these were the exceptins that prved the rule Gentiles were largely excluded frm the family f Gd Only Jews enjyed an abiding relatinship with Gd thrugh the cvenants He gave t Israel Chief amng thse cvenants was the Msaic Cvenant, which defined Israel as Gd s peple and gave them Gd s Law The Law was the principle cause f Israel s separatin frm the Gentile natins The Law cmpelled Israel t live a unique lifestyle The Jews were t dress, eat, and therwise live very differently than their Gentiles neighbrs The law f cmmandments and rdinances was specifically intended t create divisin between Israel and the Gentiles And ver time thse rdinances enflamed the passins f the flesh leading t enmity between Jew and Gentile The Jewish peple became haughty and prideful tward Gentiles Their special relatinship with Yahweh gave Jews excuse t lk dwn n Gentiles, t despise them, t mistreat them 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Ephesians 2D 4 f 14 Meanwhile, Gentiles saw Jews as a strange and islated peple wh enjyed an unexpected prsperity S in jealusy Gentiles persecuted Jews seeking t take their prsperity fr themselves In that sense, Paul says the cmmandments f the Law resulted in enmity between the tw grups Gd wasn t t blame fr their sinful respnses t the Law Nevertheless, as lng as the Law held true fr Jews, it fstered separatin and the enmity that resulted Meanwhile, the was ne irnic similarity between Jew and Gentile was their sinful cnditin Bth Jew and Gentile were separated frm Gd because f sin Bth experienced enmity with Gd even as they had enmity with each ther The Jews thught themselves superir because they had the Law, but it was the Law f Gd that cndemned them fr their sin While the Gentiles thught themselves better because they didn t live in such strange ways, yet their gdless lifestyle left them with n hpe But all that changed when the prmised Messiah came t Israel and the wrld Paul says in v.15 that by His flesh Christ ablished the enmity that existed between these tw grups Obviusly, hatred between Jew and Gentile didn t disappear the mment Jesus appeared S hw did Christ ablish the hatred that marked the relatinship between Jew and Gentile? The answer is that Jesus flesh brught the Law f cmmandments t an end And it was that law that prmpted the divisin and enmity The Law f Mses demanded Israel live accrding t certain standards 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Ephesians 2D 5 f 14 If Israel met thse terms, then the Law als prmised that the natin wuld knw prsperity and security in their land Which was a veiled reference t Israel receiving the Kingdm But if Israel failed t live accrding t the standards f the Law, the cvenant required that Israel receive severe penalties The Law was unfrgiving...it ffered n escape frm its demands And n sinful human being culd ever meet its terms That s why the Sn f Gd, Jesus Christ tk n flesh t live as a man He came t live an earthly life that the Law demanded He never sinned scripture testifies, therefre Jesus met the Law s requirements fr righteusness And by His perfect life He is deserving f the Kingdm that the Law prmises But Jesus went a step further... Thugh He hadn t disbeyed the Law Himself, nevertheless Jesus died as the Law required He paid the Law s price fr sin Therefre, Jesus fulfilled r cmplete the Law s requirements fr righteusness and fr sin As Jesus Himself declared t the Pharisees in Matthew 5: Matt. 5:17 D nt think that I came t ablish the Law r the Prphets; I did nt cme t ablish but t fulfill. Matt. 5:18 Fr truly I say t yu, until heaven and earth pass away, nt the smallest letter r strke shall pass frm the Law until all is accmplished. Jesus said His very purpse in cming t Earth was t fulfill that Law T fulfill means t cmplete, s Jesus was saying He came t cmplete the Law by meeting all its requirements Cmpleting it fr righteusness sake meant living accrding t it s exacting standards, which Jesus did 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Ephesians 2D 6 f 14 But cmpleting the Law fr ur sake meant paying the price the Law required fr ur sin, which He als did Once everything required in the Law has been accmplished in Jesus life and death (i.e., by His flesh), then the Law was fulfilled Because Jesus fulfilling the Law in this way, it means the Law is n lnger in effect fr thse wh believe As a Jew r Gentile places his r her trust in Christ, the believer is credited Jesus wrk f meeting the Law s requirements By ur faith, the Law cmes t an end As Paul says in Rmans; Rm. 10:4 Fr Christ is the end f the law fr righteusness t everyne wh believes. It s because the Law has cme t an end fr believers that Paul says Jesus ablished enmity Jesus did away with the cause f that enmity, namely the divisins created by the Law itself There is n dividing wall between the tw grups In fact, there is n need fr a temple at all, nr sacrifice, nr any f the practices f the Law The surce f ur divisin was ended because it was cmpleted n ur behalf Whats mre, the end f the Law meant the end f ur enmity with Gd The Law was the surce f ur cndemnatin It was the Law f Gd that cnvicted us fr ur sin And it was the Law that specified the penalty fr sin, which is death But since Christ fulfilled the Law n ur behalf, we n lnger stand cndemned Paul says in vs that the Lrd intended His wrk f redemptin t make Jews and Gentiles ne new man New refers t the change that cmes t every believer 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Ephesians 2D 7 f 14 When faith in Jesus cmes, bth Jew and Gentile receive a new spirit and enter a new life freed frm cndemnatin and law Bth have changed yet neither has an advantage Neither can turn t the ther and claim that he had smething the ther lacked They bth required salvatin and bth have received it by faith They are ne man in the sense that they bth stand befre Gd as equals with the same identity in Christ Mrever, bth have been recnciled int ne bdy r gathering Where befre each grup cngregated separately, nw they are united as ne N further divisin, n further enmity Ntice in vs.17 Paul qutes frm Isaiah 57 where the prphet fretld that the Messiah s wrk wuld include uniting Jew and Gentile He wuld preach the Gd News t thse wh were near Gd, that is the Jews wh culd apprach Gd s glry in the temple And yet it was always Gd s desire t preach t thse wh were far t the Gentiles natins Here we see that Scripture acknwledges bth Israel s preeminence amng natins and the equality f Jew and Gentile in the Church Israel as a natin will always have a special place in the wrld as Gd has prmised But that distinctin is nt bserved n a persnal level within the Church A Jewish believer remains a member f the natin f Israel But within the bdy, the distinctins f Jew r Gentile has n relevance because we find ur way t the Father the same way We live in a very different wrld than the ne Paul knew 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Ephesians 2D 8 f 14 The church tday is virtually 100% Gentile, thugh there remains a Jewish remnant We yu can still fine churches tday placing undue imprtance n Jewish backgrund, traditins r even n practicing the Law itself But the Bible is abundantly clear that Jewishness ffers n advantage within the bdy f Christ And therefre, we ught nt waste time n it...let it g Instead, like a reslutin, let s fcus n what s new Eph. 2:19 S then yu are n lnger strangers and aliens, but yu are fellw citizens with the saints, and are f Gd s husehld, Eph. 2:20 having been built n the fundatin f the apstles and prphets, Christ Jesus Himself being the crner stne, Eph. 2:21 in whm the whle building, being fitted tgether, is grwing int a hly temple in the Lrd, Eph. 2:22 in whm yu als are being built tgether int a dwelling f Gd in the Spirit. As Gentiles we need nt hang ur heads r think urselves secnd-class citizens in the bdy f Christ On the cntrary, we are n lnger strangers and aliens Thse tw terms are fund in the Law The Law ften spke f freigners r strangers amng Gd s peple referring t the Gentiles It labeled Gentiles as lessr fllwers f Gd Gentiles culd assciate with Israel, participate in the feasts, wrship Yahweh But they were always utsiders Gentiles never frgt they were strangers and aliens amng Gd s chsen peple But we are n lnger t be cnsidered strangers r utsiders in the bdy f Christ 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Ephesians 2D 9 f 14 We are fellw citizens with all saints, bth Old Testament and New Testament All thse f faith in Jesus Christ are equal, made s by their faith in the wrk f Christ Paul says we are as privileged as the ne brn in the husehld f the master In the days befre Christ, a Gd-fearing Gentile culd cnvert t Judaism but that didn t make the persn Jewish A Gentile culd never becme Jewish, since Jewishness is by birth nly The best a Gentile culd hpe fr was t be permitted t remain amng Gd s peple fr a time, called a sjurner But tday by faith we are cnsidered members f the husehld with full privileges Paul ends the chapter with anther analgy, speaking f believers in the church like the stnes in a building He begins his rhetrical cnstructin prject with the mst imprtant part f any building: the fundatin Paul says the church bdy s fundatin was built by the apstles and prphets Paul is referring t the wrd f Gd delivered by these men The prphets f the Old Testament and the prphets f the New Testament, called apstles, delivered the wrd f Gd t wrld The wrd f Gd is the authrity fr all we believe and d as a bdy And f curse, at the crnerstne f that fundatin is Jesus Christ Himself, Wh established the church in His bld Christ is bth the subject f the wrd and the Deliverer f that wrd thrugh His Spirit And therefre the church, the bdy f believers, ceases t have authrity r purpse withut the wrd f Gd Since the wrd f Gd is the church s fundatin, then like any building, if ur fundatin is faulty, the whle structure will falter 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Ephesians 2D 10 f 14 A church damages its fundatin at its wn peril If a church bdy cmprmises n the authrity f the wrd f Gd, then it s dwnfall is nly a matter f time And cmprmises cme in many frms... It usually begins by denying the literal interpretatin f scripture Instead f being taught that the text means what it says, we re taught creative and false views And chasing after faddish interpretatins becmes a gal in itself leading the church int many flish beliefs and practices The final step and ne that usually cmes quickly is the church abandning the teaching f the wrd altgether Tday it s easy t find many churches at this pint Many church bdies meet under the banner f Christ but nt under the authrity f His wrd We re nt saying thse gatherings lack true believers We re saying thse believers lack the truth they ve gathered t hear If a church bdy is t remain true t its Master, it must frever submit t the wrd f Gd and never grw weary f studying and fllwing it As Peter said 1Pet. 2:2 like newbrn babies, lng fr the pure milk f the wrd, s that by it yu may grw in respect t salvatin, Next Paul says we, the believers, are the building, s as we knw the church is nt the building but the peple are the church But ntice als Paul emphasizes we have been fitted tgether The wrd in Greek refers t the way stne masns wrked the surface f adjining stnes t create a seamless jint Paul says we re nt just haphazard stacks f stnes that happened t cme tgether by chance and circumstances 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Ephesians 2D 11 f 14 On the cntrary, Paul says we were fitted tgether precisely by ur Father, the Master Stne Masn First and fremst, Paul is referring t the larger bdy f Christ When all is said and dne, the ttal ppulatin f Gd s peple will shw itself t be a perfectly fitted grup f humanity that serves Gd s purpses perfectly Nt a single persn will be superfluus t Gd s plan fr the Kingdm, nr will a need g unmet The Lrd will have exactly the number f peple He needs t staff His gvernment But each f us ccupies a particular place n earth and time within histry by Gd s design Therefre, we als knw Paul was als speaking f ur place in wn lcal church In rder wrds, we are nt participating in this lcal church by chance I m here fr a reasn, yu re here fr a reasn, the Father fit us tgether precisely He fitted yu and me s that we wuld slide right int place here and serve a unique purpse This fact reminds us that we shuldn t take ur participatin in a lcal bdy f Christians fr granted First and fremst, we shuldn t neglect gathering tgether, as Hebrews reminds us Imagine a wall cnstructed by Gd with each stne carefully selected t cmplete the msaic And nw imagine if a few f the stnes were taken ut They decided t stay hme n Sunday...what wuld happen t that wall? In the beginning, it s mstly a matter f appearances The integrity f the wall hasn t weakened, but it desn t lk right with thse hles 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Ephesians 2D 12 f 14 Instead f admiring the whle cnstructin as Gd intended, ur attentin is naturally be drawn t what s missing Like a church that misses key areas f leadership r vlunteers r funds r ther essential needs We may have 95% f what we need t glrify Gd as He intended, but it s thse few missing pieces that get ur attentin It reminds us hw imprtant every piece is in Gd s plan fr the church But as mre stnes g missing, the wall s very survival becmes at risk I m nt talking abut the failure f the Church Universal, f curse Christ is the One Wh builds and leads His church And He said the gates f Hell will nt prevail against it I m speaking abut the health and cntinuatin f a lcal cngregatin, the place where ur individual service take places We knw the bdy f Christ is much mre than a nce-a-week gathering, but that weekly gathering is f primary imprtance t spiritual health f every member If a believers drift away frm the gathering where Gd has placed them, they will suffer spiritually in the end Or even if a member f the bdies falls away frm crprate church attendance in favr f private persnal study r smaller grups, that stne has gne missing In rder fr stnes t be fitted t ne anther, they have t tuch ne anther And in rder fr each f us t play ur appinted rles in the bdy f Christ, we have t gather tgether with ne anther in the place Gd has fitted us But f curse, there is a time t enter int a new fellwship and there cmes a time t mve n We shuld leave just as we enter...bediently fllwing the call f Gd and ding s with jy 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Ephesians 2D 13 f 14 If we leave a church in prtest, we may be running away frm an imprtant lessn Gd wanted t teach us We need t feel equal cnvictin when we part frm a church as we did when we jined Secndly, Paul s analgy reminds us that each f us have a unique cntributin t make t the bdy where we meet As a masn shaped a stne, he tk int cnsideratin the shape f the stnes n either side The new stne was shaped t fit in that space perfectly In the prcess, the masn had t cut sme f the stne away t shape it prperly He must strike the stne carefully, kncking ff the rugh pints, thrwing ff sparks in the prcess But at the end f that prcess, the stne emerges smth and matched t its place in the wall That s a great picture f hw sanctificatin within the bdy f Christ wrks When we cme tgether with Gd s peple, we shw up with sme rugh edges Our persnality, ur habits and ur sins must be reshaped by ur Stne Masn, the Hly Spirit, wh chisels us by the wrd f Gd Which reminds us why the church must remain cmmitted t hearing the wrd f Gd taught It s the swrd in the hand f the Spirit t d His wrk n ur hearts That prcess can be painful at times, and it may thrw ff sme sparks Sparks f persnal cnflict, sparks f hurt feelings, sparks f wunded egs, sparks f cnvictin But if we give the prcess time and if we remain dedicated t filling ur place in Gd s building, then we ll see the fruit eventually 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Ephesians 2D 14 f 14 We ll find urselves slipping int ur place and as that msaic is cmpleted, we ll see the value f ur place in time We are Gd s building, and the mrtar hlding us tgether is the Hly Spirit Paul says in v.22 This is Gd s cnstructin prject and we are His materials Yu may feel yur participatin here desn t matter much But if that s yur attitude, then yu re selling the Lrd shrt Yu re frgetting the Lrd delights t shw Himself strng in ur weaknesses Yu re verlking His svereign chice t save yu and t bring yu here Allw me t prpse ur cllective New Year s reslutin We reslve t serve the Lrd in the New Year We reslve t serve Him in ur appint rle abve serving urself We reslve t make the gathering a pririty We reslve t cme prepared t wrship, pray, study and serve thers with all the energy, jy and persistence we knw Christ desires We reslve t be patient with the rcks arund us, mst f all the hardheaded pastr And we reslve t d everything will an attitude f lve 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.