One in Christ! - Ephesians 2:11-22
One in Christ! - Ephesians 2:11-22
By Pastor Lee Hemen
January 29, 2017
There are those who think sin-centered humans can become colorblind by either making it illegal to be racist or by simply changing one’s mind; nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the only way one can become totally colorblind is through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote the church in Galatia that after one accepts Jesus they are changed and one becomes “clothed… with Christ” and because of this “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:27, 28 NIV)
Since all believers became one with each other, human distinctions lose their significance. Paul cut across these national, racial, and geographical distinctions and stated that they do not exist in the body of Christ so far as spiritual privilege and position are concerned. And because of this we as his followers are not to be like the rest of the world, we are to be racially blind as well. We are now one in Christ; let’s discover what this means for our lives…
READ: Ephesians 2:11-22
History tells us that some Jewish men prayed, “I thank God that you have not made me a Gentile, a slave, or a woman.” Jesus did away with such spiritual blindness. Paul teaches us…
I. We are one in Christ through his blood! (Vv. 11-13)
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)--remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
1. Sometimes we have to remember what we were before we came to Jesus in order to understand where we stand now. Paul bluntly writes the Ephesians: “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’.” Paul was reminding his readers what they were once, non-Jews, and what they were now – grafted into Judaism; kind of like when people forget that no matter whom you are and what part of the country one comes from if you were born here in the USA or have pledged your allegiance to this great nation we are all Americans first and foremost. Perhaps this is something far too many citizens have forgotten. In Jesus we are not white, black, yellow, brown, male or female first – we are first and foremost believers bonded together in him! We are one in the Spirit! Paul also wanted them to “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Paul presents exactly how the Jews spiritually and often physically saw everyone and anyone else that were not them. However, Paul relates “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” While Jesus’ blood is “precious” in that he died for our sins, Jesus’ actual physical blood is not the key but rather what it represents in that Jesus who is God died for us! Blood, whether it is from a lamb sacrificed for sins or the Messiah who died for our sins the blood that was shed for our sins represents life. Life to God is precious and sacred no matter if it is the unborn or an elderly adult. Yet, Paul wrote that “God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” (Romans 3:25 NIV) Jesus gave his life; shed his blood, for us while we were sinners! This is the key to our kinship. We are one in Christ through his blood!
EXAMPLE: A little boy got extremely agitated when he got a small cut on his knee. He came running into the house crying at the top of his lungs, “Momma! Momma! Momma, look at my knee!” When his mother finally calmed the little guy down she asked him why he was so upset over a small cut. He sniffed, “My blood was leaking out of me!” Just as blood was important to this little boy it is important for us all. We are one in Christ through his blood!
There are those who incorrectly think that everyone everywhere enjoys being a child of God, this is simply wrong. However, Paul teaches us that…
II. We are one in Christ through the peace he made! (Vv. 14-18)
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
1. Paul begins to teach his readers what Jesus’ sacrifice meant for the separation all sinners have from God himself because of our ungodly nature and tells us that “For he himself is our peace”. The fact is Jesus brought us peace with God! How did he do this? Jesus took the old covenant and made it new; he took both Jews and non-Jews and “made the two one”. Jesus did this as he “made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” that existed between God and man; between Jew and non-Jew or Covenant people and non-covenant people! Some have thought Paul is referring to the wall in the Jerusalem temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of the Jews. Or that it was the curtain that separated the people from the Holy Place in the temple. Others have suggested it meant the “fence” around the Law taught by some Rabbis. But all of these views are invalid because Paul is speaking of the spiritual separation that existed and not a physical barrier! Jesus did this “by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations”! And point in fact Paul explains that Jesus’ “purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” Therefore, there no longer exists an “us” and “them” in God’s kingdom. No one people have a spiritual superiority over the other! Yes, there exists the believer and the non-believer but after faith in God’s Messiah we are all made new and we all enjoy the same standing in him as believers! We know that the next verse (v.17) begins with “and” in the Greek. It is a continuation of Paul’s thought that Jesus is our peace because “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” So those who did not have the Jewish covenant are now grafted into it and made citizens of God’s kingdom with full rights and privileges of his chosen people because “through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” We are one in Christ through the peace he made!
EXAMPLE: On the playground there wasn’t a day that did not go by that one of us had to separate two combatants. Usually we separated them first and then made them explain to us what was going on, each in their own words. If there were witnesses we would get their input as well. It was not always easy getting to the truth. However our goal was always to try and calm the situation down and then in the end to have the offending parties shake hands and make some sort of peace. We all were at one time at war with a holy God but now we are one in Christ through the peace he made!
What often frustrates me about trying to have a logical conversation in our day and age is almost impossible. You cannot disagree with anyone. Far too many emote instead of using rational thought; they have no base. Paul teaches us that…
III. We are one in Christ because he is our foundation! (Vv. 19-22)
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
1. Paul begins this last section by relating, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household”. This is extremely important and teaches us that we are now God’s people when we place our faith and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord! This is why Peter would also teach that Christians “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV) Paul explained that this new relationship is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief Cornerstone.” Peter knew believers “come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him” and that we “also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4, 5 NIV) The cornerstone of Jesus’ church is built on himself and it is “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” We are “God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV) This “holy temple” is all who have believed In Jesus and Paul continues that “in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Paul would ask his fellow Christians, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV) We are one in Christ because he is our foundation!
EXAMPLE: Whether it is the family or a building a good foundation is extremely important. In the past few decades a lot of cities have had to update buildings in order for them to be able to withstand an earthquake. It is interesting to note that there are now studies that show that intact families with a mother and father have children that are more stable in life. Paul understood that God did the exact same thing for his kingdom, his church family. God knew we would be spiritually stronger because of Jesus. We are one in Christ because he is our foundation!
Conclusion:
We are one in Christ through his blood! We are one in Christ through the peace he made! We are one in Christ because he is our foundation!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
January 29, 2017
There are those who think sin-centered humans can become colorblind by either making it illegal to be racist or by simply changing one’s mind; nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the only way one can become totally colorblind is through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote the church in Galatia that after one accepts Jesus they are changed and one becomes “clothed… with Christ” and because of this “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:27, 28 NIV)
Since all believers became one with each other, human distinctions lose their significance. Paul cut across these national, racial, and geographical distinctions and stated that they do not exist in the body of Christ so far as spiritual privilege and position are concerned. And because of this we as his followers are not to be like the rest of the world, we are to be racially blind as well. We are now one in Christ; let’s discover what this means for our lives…
READ: Ephesians 2:11-22
History tells us that some Jewish men prayed, “I thank God that you have not made me a Gentile, a slave, or a woman.” Jesus did away with such spiritual blindness. Paul teaches us…
I. We are one in Christ through his blood! (Vv. 11-13)
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)--remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
1. Sometimes we have to remember what we were before we came to Jesus in order to understand where we stand now. Paul bluntly writes the Ephesians: “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’.” Paul was reminding his readers what they were once, non-Jews, and what they were now – grafted into Judaism; kind of like when people forget that no matter whom you are and what part of the country one comes from if you were born here in the USA or have pledged your allegiance to this great nation we are all Americans first and foremost. Perhaps this is something far too many citizens have forgotten. In Jesus we are not white, black, yellow, brown, male or female first – we are first and foremost believers bonded together in him! We are one in the Spirit! Paul also wanted them to “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Paul presents exactly how the Jews spiritually and often physically saw everyone and anyone else that were not them. However, Paul relates “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” While Jesus’ blood is “precious” in that he died for our sins, Jesus’ actual physical blood is not the key but rather what it represents in that Jesus who is God died for us! Blood, whether it is from a lamb sacrificed for sins or the Messiah who died for our sins the blood that was shed for our sins represents life. Life to God is precious and sacred no matter if it is the unborn or an elderly adult. Yet, Paul wrote that “God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” (Romans 3:25 NIV) Jesus gave his life; shed his blood, for us while we were sinners! This is the key to our kinship. We are one in Christ through his blood!
EXAMPLE: A little boy got extremely agitated when he got a small cut on his knee. He came running into the house crying at the top of his lungs, “Momma! Momma! Momma, look at my knee!” When his mother finally calmed the little guy down she asked him why he was so upset over a small cut. He sniffed, “My blood was leaking out of me!” Just as blood was important to this little boy it is important for us all. We are one in Christ through his blood!
There are those who incorrectly think that everyone everywhere enjoys being a child of God, this is simply wrong. However, Paul teaches us that…
II. We are one in Christ through the peace he made! (Vv. 14-18)
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
1. Paul begins to teach his readers what Jesus’ sacrifice meant for the separation all sinners have from God himself because of our ungodly nature and tells us that “For he himself is our peace”. The fact is Jesus brought us peace with God! How did he do this? Jesus took the old covenant and made it new; he took both Jews and non-Jews and “made the two one”. Jesus did this as he “made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” that existed between God and man; between Jew and non-Jew or Covenant people and non-covenant people! Some have thought Paul is referring to the wall in the Jerusalem temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of the Jews. Or that it was the curtain that separated the people from the Holy Place in the temple. Others have suggested it meant the “fence” around the Law taught by some Rabbis. But all of these views are invalid because Paul is speaking of the spiritual separation that existed and not a physical barrier! Jesus did this “by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations”! And point in fact Paul explains that Jesus’ “purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” Therefore, there no longer exists an “us” and “them” in God’s kingdom. No one people have a spiritual superiority over the other! Yes, there exists the believer and the non-believer but after faith in God’s Messiah we are all made new and we all enjoy the same standing in him as believers! We know that the next verse (v.17) begins with “and” in the Greek. It is a continuation of Paul’s thought that Jesus is our peace because “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” So those who did not have the Jewish covenant are now grafted into it and made citizens of God’s kingdom with full rights and privileges of his chosen people because “through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” We are one in Christ through the peace he made!
EXAMPLE: On the playground there wasn’t a day that did not go by that one of us had to separate two combatants. Usually we separated them first and then made them explain to us what was going on, each in their own words. If there were witnesses we would get their input as well. It was not always easy getting to the truth. However our goal was always to try and calm the situation down and then in the end to have the offending parties shake hands and make some sort of peace. We all were at one time at war with a holy God but now we are one in Christ through the peace he made!
What often frustrates me about trying to have a logical conversation in our day and age is almost impossible. You cannot disagree with anyone. Far too many emote instead of using rational thought; they have no base. Paul teaches us that…
III. We are one in Christ because he is our foundation! (Vv. 19-22)
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
1. Paul begins this last section by relating, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household”. This is extremely important and teaches us that we are now God’s people when we place our faith and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord! This is why Peter would also teach that Christians “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV) Paul explained that this new relationship is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief Cornerstone.” Peter knew believers “come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him” and that we “also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4, 5 NIV) The cornerstone of Jesus’ church is built on himself and it is “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” We are “God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV) This “holy temple” is all who have believed In Jesus and Paul continues that “in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Paul would ask his fellow Christians, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV) We are one in Christ because he is our foundation!
EXAMPLE: Whether it is the family or a building a good foundation is extremely important. In the past few decades a lot of cities have had to update buildings in order for them to be able to withstand an earthquake. It is interesting to note that there are now studies that show that intact families with a mother and father have children that are more stable in life. Paul understood that God did the exact same thing for his kingdom, his church family. God knew we would be spiritually stronger because of Jesus. We are one in Christ because he is our foundation!
Conclusion:
We are one in Christ through his blood! We are one in Christ through the peace he made! We are one in Christ because he is our foundation!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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