Series: Ephesians One in Christ 5 Eph. 2:11-22 Valley Community Baptist Church April 29/30, 2017 Avon/Bristol, CT. Pastor Jay Abramson He Himself is Our Peace Why is ISIS so hard to defeat? And why on earth are young adults from all over the world, 90 countries at last count, still joining in big numbers? Anthropologist Scott Atran, who studies terrorism, who has testified before the US Senate and the United Nations Security Council, makes these observation: A July 2014 poll suggested that more than one in four French youth between the ages of 18 and 24 have a favorable or very favorable opinion of Isis, although only 7-8% are Muslim. It s communal. More than three of every four who join Isis from abroad do so with friends The way ISIS attracts people for example in the U.S. [is to say,] Look, we know you love your parents and your brothers and your sisters, and we know how hard it s going to be to leave them, but there are more things to do in life. Grander things. More important things. It s a thrilling cause that promises glory and esteem. Jihad is an egalitarian, equal-opportunity employer: fraternal, fast-breaking, glorious, cool and persuasive And they join a band of brothers and sisters, ready to sacrifice for significance. A reporter asked Dr. Atran, So, there s no way to win the social media war against the Islamic State? He replied, Yes, there is; and that is coming up with some kind of equally adventurous and glorious message that can give significance to these young people 1 Anybody know of an adventurous and glorious message that can give significance to young people? The apostle Paul has one. And we re going to look at it right now. It s a message that describes how the alienated in this world can find acceptance and a band of brothers and sisters who are unified and totally committed to the glorious adventure of creating a New Society. And it doesn t involve beheading anyone. He begins by showing us I. The Depth of Our Alienation The church in Ephesus was probably formed by Aquila and Priscilla around 52 A.D. Paul writes this letter about ten years later and now addresses a very sensitive issue ethnic friction between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers. He writes: (Eph. 2:11, 12a) Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise So Paul s referring to the very thing that is causing pain in their church, their former alienation from God and from one another. He s like a doctor who asks, Where does it hurt? And you say, It hurts right here. He then presses there until you wince and he says, Here? Why do doctors do that? Because it s the only way to remove the pain. Before Christ, there was a God-ordained separation between Jews and Gentiles. Why would God do that? Was God prejudiced against non-jews? No, but He was and is prejudiced against evil. God s laws prohibiting Jews from certain kinds of relationships with Gentiles was an attempt to prevent them from being influenced by evil. So, Gentiles were literally alienated, 1
made to be aliens from God s blessings by God s law. It wasn t prejudice because God threatened Jews that if they rebelled against His laws, He wouldn t bless them either. Now, this didn t mean that Gentiles couldn t worship God and be in a right relationship with Him. The Old Testament is filled with the names and stories of people like Melchizedek and Job who were Gentiles who loved and served God but were not beneficiaries of the provisions of the covenant. God chose the Jewish people to be the only ethnic group through whom He would reveal who He was. Why did He choose the Jews? Well, why not? He knew He was going to send His Son, so He had to pick some ethnic group. What difference does it make which group He chose? We should all be glad He chose SOMEBODY! So, what was the source of the ethnic friction? The Jewish Christians were arrogant about being the Chosen People and the Gentiles were jealous for not being the Chosen People. In verse 12, Paul makes reference to the Old Testament truth that Gentiles were strangers to the covenants of promise. This meant that any Gentile who didn t worship Yahweh was cut off from God. And he continues by spelling out the results of that alienation: having no hope and without God in the world. (Eph. 2:12b) Why is Paul discussing this? Because he s laying the ground work for the solution. But before he gets to the solution, he s got to properly describe the problem. And the problem he s pointing to is not an ethnic or political one. It s spiritual. He s not talking only about the problem of Gentiles being excluded from Israel. Actually, that wasn t a problem except for jealous Gentiles or arrogant Jews. He s talking about sinners, Jews or Gentiles, who are excluded from the kingdom of God! And all human beings, because we have a sin nature, (the old self of Rom. 6:6), we can never enter the temple in heaven where Jesus is. Our sinful nature that resulted in sinful behavior excludes us with the threat of eternal death (hell) if we try to force our way in. This is how deep and hopeless our alienation from God s kingdom would be except for one thing. And that s what Paul shows us next II. The Breadth of Our Reconciliation Beginning at verse 13, Paul describes it: (Eph. 2:13, 14) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off (behind the barrier of separation in the temple) have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one (Jews and Gentiles) and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility The Christian message of reconciliation by the work of Christ is real and miraculous and sometimes misunderstood or misapplied. Some have contended that all people will be included in God s eternal kingdom whether they have repented of their sins or not. This is known as Universalism and it teaches that the forgiveness of God will be universally applied to all people because God is so described as being full of love and mercy. Even some of Paul s language in this book is used to support the Universalists position. Verses such as 4 and 5: (Eph. 2:4, 5) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ So, how do we know that s NOT true, that everyone ISN T going to heaven? Well, first of all, because Jesus said it in His Revelation to John. In chapter 20, John is speaking of the great white throne judgment and he describes how all people who ever lived will be brought before that judgment And if anyone s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:15) 2
Secondly, we know Universalism isn t true because while love and mercy are attributes of God, they are only two of His attributes. He is also Just and Holy. The temple rituals of blood sacrifices and the washing and cleansing of the priests and even the fact that no one could go into the Holy of Holies except the High Priest once a year and that was only after he was bathed and offered sacrifices for his sins; those were all symbolic rituals visualizing the truth that God is so pure and holy and righteous that He can t even be in the same room with anything that is tainted by moral evil. So, for God to allow sinful people into His presence in heaven without their sins being washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ, would be a total contradiction of who God is, a contradiction of His holiness and righteousness. It would also be an enormous injustice because it would allow evil to go unpunished. Universalism then, the thought that unrepentant sinners would be welcomed by God into His kingdom, is a juvenile wish born really of an arrogant and prideful refusal to admit guilt or acknowledge one s sin. Paul is not speaking of that, but of the righteous work of Christ to fulfill His Father s demand for justice by paying the high price of our sin with His blood. Notice that it doesn t say that Jesus provided us with peace. No, it says, he himself is our peace. It was Jesus Himself who pictured this for us when He said: (John 15:13) Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Jesus epitomized that love at the cross. So, while Paul is NOT saying that all people are instantly forgiven their sins without repenting and brought into a universal kingdom of God, he IS saying that the kingdom of God is accessible to all people. How do you enter? Jesus already answered that question when He was here. Before the crucifixion, He told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. He ended that thought by saying: And you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:4-6) Jesus Christ is the only way to be reconciled with God. Not Mohammed, not Buddha, not any of the thousands of Hindu deities. Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone. Salvation is universally AVAILABLE, but not without the justice of repentance. But look what Paul says next. He becomes very practical and challenges us with III. The Necessity of our Unification In verses 14-16 he outlines a necessary application of this salvation truth. He writes: For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Eph. 2:14-16) Do you see that he is applying this to the ethnic struggle in the church in Ephesus between Gentiles and Jews? That s the application! And he continues And he came and preached peace to you who were far off (You Gentiles over there in the Outer Court) and peace to those who were near (You Jews here in the Inner Court). For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined 3
together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Eph. 2:17-22) Paul is defining the true church here, do you see it? This is what must be true of every gathering of Christians if they want to be a legitimate part of the body of Christ. There are four principle components. Let me point them out. First, the true church is made up of people who have committed their lives to Jesus. Members of the true church are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God The church is not a club that anyone can join. No, the true church is made up only of those who are no longer strangers and aliens to God but are saints, those who have received God s grace and mercy. Jesus is the cornerstone of this edifice. When the saints gather, others may attend worship or Bible Study or whatever, but the true church is only those who are members of the household of God where Jesus is the cornerstone. Secondly, the true church is built on the teaching of the Word of God. Paul says it this way, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus said: Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away Abide in my love. (Now watch this ) If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love (John 15:5, 6, 9b, 10a) And who detailed out Jesus commandments? The apostles and the New Testament prophets did. And Jesus said that these commands must be constantly taught. Matt. 28:20: teaching them to observe all that I commanded you The true church s foundation is the Word of God. Thirdly, the true church is not static, it grows spiritually. Paul is mixing two wonderful metaphors here. First he s saying that the church is like a temple. There s a foundation, there s the cornerstone and it s a structure that is being joined together. If you know anything about building, this all makes perfect sense. But, all of a sudden, he changes the metaphor. The next line is, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Now, we sometimes talk about a building growing as we watch the builders adding to it brick by brick. But this Greek word isn t talking about that kind of growing. It s referring to growing like an organism, like a plant, like a tree. So, the true church is a miraculous thing! You can build it brick by brick, but then look out! Because when the Spirit of God gets a hold of it, it s going to start growing like a tree! This can refer to adding more and more people as they are saved, which is the work of the Spirit, but it can also refer to each individual person growing spiritually too; growing into maturity. How are you doing in that area? Are you spiritually growing taller, stronger, more fruitful? The true church grows both numerically and in terms of our spiritual maturity. Neither of those will happen by accident. We need to decide to grow. And the last mark of the true church is that the people s lives become enmeshed together. It says, In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. This is describing true community. According to Dr. Andrew Lincoln, a New Testament scholar, the phrase, being built together, means that this is more than an individual experience; the process of being formed into the Church has to take place in the company of fellow believers. 2 So, you could come faithfully to a worship service every week, but if your life is not enmeshed, all tangled up with the lives of other people here, you aren t really part of the church yet. You see, Paul is comparing the mission of the church to the mission of the temple. In the Old Testament, what was the mission of the temple? Its mission was two-fold. First, it was the dwelling place of God. The Spirit of God literally lived in the Holy of Holies. If anyone 4
wanted to be near God or learn about God or worship God or serve God; they d go to the temple. Therefore, the temple was a gathering place for people who wanted to know God. But secondly, the temple was a sending place. No one lived in the temple. You came there to worship God which included teaching and edification and confession, repentance and adoration, praise and thanksgiving. And all of that was so you could go back into your world a different person, a person in right relationship with God. But, about 35 years after Jesus rose from the dead, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and it s never been rebuilt. So, where did the Spirit go? At Pentecost, Jesus inserted His Spirit into the temple of 3,000 of His followers. So, the church, the carriers of the Spirit, has replaced the temple. That s what Paul is saying here: In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 2:22) The true church is not a building. It s the katoikaytarion, the dwelling place for God by the Spirit. The Spirit lives in you, Christian. When you meet together with other believers to worship, to be edified, to encourage and admonish one another, you are the gathering place. But that is only half of your mission. You are the bearers of the Spirit. But if you only gather with other Christians and never pass the blessing on to people who don t yet know Jesus, you re like the baker who mixes together all the ingredients for a cake but never bakes it! If we do worship right, we ll have the same heart for our neighbors that God does. This past week, myself and a number of our staff here in Avon and pastor Chris in Bristol, attended a conference called Exponential. It was more of an experience than a conference. We worshiped with 4,000 other believers. It was incredible. We were taught and motivated by fantastically gifted preachers like Matt Chandler, Louie Giglio, Wayne Cordero and Francis Chan. Can you imagine? All in one week! But in a breakout session, I heard this statement made, God s church doesn t have a mission. God s mission has a church. 3 Do you understand the difference? God is on mission in this world. Have you and I joined Him yet? This world desperately needs and wants what only the church has. We have the high privilege as Spirit bearers to bring that Spirit into close proximity to people who are living alienated lives, who thirst for God and long for freedom and purpose and peace. By our lives, we can show them the glorious adventure that can give their lives the purpose they ve been longing for. This is the mission you were born into when you committed to follow Christ. Come, find your courage, live the adventure this is God s strategy to change and save the world. 1 Rod Dreher, The American Conservative, Terrorism & This Religious Century, Nov. 18, 2015 2 Andrew T. Lincoln, The Word Biblical Commentary, Ephesians (Dallas: Word Books, Publisher, 1990), p. 158 3 Brad Brisco, Exponential 2017 5