SERMON OUTLINE:
(A). Separation: What The Gentiles Were (vs 11-12):
• (1). Without Christ (vs 12a).
• (2). Without Citizenship (vs 12b).
• (3). Without Covenants (vs 12c).
• (4). Without Hope (vs 12d).
• (5). Without God (vs12e).
(B). Reconciliation: What God Did For The Gentiles (Vs 13-18):
• (1). He has brought the far-off near (vs 13).
• (2). He brought peace to the divided (vs 14-16).
(C). Unification: What Jews And Gentiles Are In Christ (vs 19-22):
• (1). A common access to God (verse 18).
• (2). A common citizenship (verse 19a)
• (3). A common family (verse 19b).
• (D). A common faith (verse 20-22).
SERMON BODY:
ill:
• The Great Wall of China was built to keep out;
• The invading hordes of Genghis Khan and other powerful enemies.
• This amazing defensive palisade stretches for 6700 kilometres (4163 miles).
• Over the Chinese frontier.
• It has stood for over 2000 years and is a symbol of a peoples’ desire to be safe.
ill:
• In Great Britain Hadrian’s Wall was built for a similar reason:
• To keep the wild tribes of the north;
• From threatening civilized Roman settlements in the south.
• It was built in the second century;
• And ran 73 miles long through the English countryside.
ill:
• How many of you can remember the infamous Berlin Wall;
• It had a different purpose two the other two walls mentioned.
• Its prime objective was to keep people in.!
• Like me were probably shocked at its destruction in 1989.
• Because it looked like it was going to stand forever!
• Yet in 1989 the wall came down;
• West Germans were reunited with East Germans;
• To become one Germany after 45 years of painful division.
This section of the letter to the Ephesians:
• Reminds us that Jesus came to destroy walls.
• His mission was to remove the barriers that keep us from knowing God,
• To remove the barriers that keep us from knowing each other,
• And ultimately living in true relationship.
• In this part of the letter to the Ephesians,
• The apostle Paul describes how Christ breaks down walls and brings people together
(A). Separation: What The Gentiles Were (vs 11-12)
• In the first ten verses of Ephesians chapter 2,
• Paul has talked about God’s plan to save sinful people,
• In this next section he is going to teach the Ephesians by way of contrast:
• In verses 11-12 he will remind the Ephesians of what they were.
• In verses 13-22 he will then focus on what they have become!
Most of the Christians in Ephesus were Gentiles (non-Jews),
• And verse 11 informs us they were called “the un-circumcision” by Jews.
• This was more than a description of a Gentile;
• It was also a derogatory remark!
• For Jews, circumcision was a badge of honour, a mark of distinction:
• Not to have that badge of honour meant you were in some way inferior.
Ill:
• The origin of circumcision is found in the Old Testament book of Genesis;
• When God spoke to Abraham:
• He made a covenant (a sacred promise, an agreement) with him,
• That from his family would become a great nation.
• As a sign of the covenant;
• All Jewish men (Abraham’s decedents) were to be circumcised – no exceptions.
• Throughout history and even today;
• All Jewish boys when they are eight days old are circumcised.
• i.e. They have a physical operation, minor surgery;
• When the foreskins on their penis is cut off,
• Remember a Jewish male had no choice in the matter,
• It was not an optional extra;
• It was an essential qualification;
• If he wanted to be included in this covenant, agreement.
• The Jews therefore looked down on anyone who was not circumcised;
• And sadly this happened not just in society;
• But also in the Church (i.e. Acts chapter 10).
• Some who had come to faith in Jesus Christ (been converted);
• Held that opinion that the ‘uncircumcised’ were a kind of second class believer,
• This obviously caused problems, division in the local Church;
• Especially as the Church in Ephesus was made up mostly of Gentiles (non-Jews):
So in these verses Paul will show that God has not only
• Made man and God to be at one.
• But he has also made both Jew & Gentile one!
Paul reminds the Gentile believers at Ephesus 4 things:
(1). WITHOUT CHRIST (vs 12a).
• Before they had become Christians;
• Most of these Ephesians worshiped the goddess, Diana,
• They had no idea concerning the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.
• Their conversion set them free from idolatry and gave them a living saviour.
• All Christians are those who have turned FROM idols to the living God.
• An idol of course is anything that takes the place of the true God in our lives.
• These Christians had turned from idols to serve the living God:
Quote: The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook, page 347:
Conversion: “The decisive act in which a sinner turns away from sin in genuine repentance and accepts the salvation that Christ offers.
The imagery in conversion is that of turning.
A person is going along a road and realizes that he or she is on the wrong track. They will never reach the destination if they continue in that direction. So the person “turns,” or “is converted.”
He or she ceases to go in the wrong direction and begins going in the right one. Conversion changes the direction of one’s course of life
from the wrong way to the right way, the way that God wants”.
Ill:
A little girl got saved and applied for membership to a church.
• She was asked by her minister: "Were you a sinner?"
• She replied: "Yes."
• The minister then asked: "Are you still a sinner?"
• Once again she replied: "Yes."
• The minister then asked:
• "Then what real changes have taken place in your life?"
• The girl responded: "The best way I can explain it is that;
• I used to be a sinner running after sin, but now I'm a sinner running away from sin."
(2). WITHOUT CITIZENSHIP (vs 12b).
• Starting with Abraham God built the Jewish people into a nation.
• He gave them His laws and His blessings.
• Israel was God’s nation, they were unique;
• They were in a position, a relationship that was not true of any other Gentile nation.
• A Gentile could take on the Jewish faith by becoming a convert, a proselyte,
• But he was not born into that very special nation.
• Citizenship (being born as a Jew);
• Gave you an advantage in discovering the true God.
ill:
• Herod’s Temple the centre for Jewish worship;
• But that temple was full of walls and divisions:
• The Jewish priests had the closest access to God.
• Their courtyard was built nearest the temple building.
• The Israelite men were in the courtyard beyond them.
• And Jewish women worshipped God in the courtyard beyond the men.
• Two walls and a number of steps down later,
• You reached the court of the Gentiles.
• The Gentiles could look up at the temple,
• But that was as close as they were allowed.
• Notices posted on the thick stone barrier between them read;
• “Trespassers will be executed”.
• To say that the Gentiles were cut off from God’s presence;
• Is an enormous understatement!
• Without citizenship they could not ever get close to God.
(3). WITHOUT COVENANTS (vs 12c).
There are various promises or covenants recorded in the Old Testament;
• i.e. We have the Abrahamic covenant (Geneses chapter 12.
• i.e. The Palestinian covenant (Deuteronomy chapter 28-30).
• i.e. The Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7 verse 8 & Psalm 89).
• But these were all made with Jews;
• God did not make any covenants with the Gentile nations.
• The Gentiles were “aliens” and “strangers”
• And the Jews never let them forget it.
ill:
• Many of the Pharisees would pray daily,
• “O God, I give thanks that I am a Jew, not a Gentile.”
These covenants reminded the Jews:
• Of their past;
• And they promised them a future.
• The Gentiles did not receive these promises,
• So they unqualified to claim them.
(4). WITHOUT HOPE (vs 12d).
Quote Warren Wiersbe:
“Historians tell us that a great cloud of hopelessness covered the ancient world.
Philosophies were empty; traditions were disappearing;
religions were powerless to help men face either life or death.
People longed to pierce the veil and get some message of hope from the other side,
but there was none”
ill:
• Evolution has produced the same reaction today.
• If we came from nothing (result of chance).
• And when we die we go to nothing (death is the end).
• Then the whole point of life, existence is nothing!
Ill:
• No where is that seen more clearly than at a funeral.
• Contrast with a believers and a non-Christian funeral.
(5). WITHOUT GOD (vs12e).
• The Gentiles had plenty of gods.
• ill: Paul discovered that in Athens (Acts chapter 17 verses 16-23).
• They even had a statue of an unknown God in case they missed one.
• Quote: Someone in that day said:
• “It was easier to find a god than a man in Athens.
• But the pagan - no matter how religious or moral he or she might have been,
• May have plenty of idols but they did not know the true God.
ill:
The writer of Psalm 115 contrasted the true God with the idols of the heathen.
For our God is in the heavens,
and he does as he wishes.
4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
shaped by human hands.
5 They cannot talk, though they have mouths,
or see, though they have eyes!
6 They cannot hear with their ears,
or smell with their noses,
7 or feel with their hands,
or walk with their feet,
or utter sounds with their throats!
8 And those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.
The story of mankind is not evolution but devolution!
• The first eleven chapters of Genesis give the story of the decline of the mankind.
• Moving from the one true God to the invention of many.
Quote:
“In the beginning God created man in his image;
since the fall, man has been remaking God in his image”.
(B). Reconciliation: What God Did For The Gentiles (Vs 13-18)
• Enjoy those two small words in verse 13 “But now”.
• ill: Hinges on a door that opens up and lets the light flood into a dark room.
• Into the darkness that the Gentiles were in - comes the dazzling light of God,
• He graciously intervenes into this situation - he works on behalf of lost sinners.
There is a twofold enmity mentioned in these verses:
(1). He has brought the far-off near (vs 13).
Ill:
Only one thing separates us from God.
• Not age.
• Not Colour or race.
• Not money (rich or poor)
• Not intellect (wise & simple).
• Not distance!
• One thing and one thing only SIN!
Verse 13: Tells us how God has brought us near to himself:
• “By his blood”. - That was the cost of our salvation!
• Salvation maybe free but it was not cheap! It cost Christ everything!
Ill:
• In his book, "Written in Blood,"
• Robert Coleman tells the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion.
• The doctor explained to the boy;
• That she had the same disease the boy had recovered from 2 years earlier.
• Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone;
• Who had previously conquered the disease.
• Since the two children had the same rare blood type,
• The boy was the ideal donor.
• "Would you give your blood to your sister Mary?" the doctor asked.
• Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble.
• Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister."
• Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room, Mary, pale and thin;
• Johnny, robust and healthy.
• Neither spoke, but when their eyes met,
• Johnny looked at his sister and grinned.
• As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny’s smile faded.
• He watched the blood flow through the tube.
• With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky,
• He broke the silence by saying, "Doctor, when do I die?"
• The boy gave his blood to save his sister – but he did not give his life;
• But Jesus gave his blood to save a lost world and he did give his life!
(2). He brought peace to the divided (vs 14-16).
• Jesus Christ has not only brought peace between the creator and the creation,
• But also between Jew and Gentile.
Notice:
• He has not made Gentiles Jews,
• And he has not made Jews Gentiles.
• But he has made both NEW
• Verse 15: “In himself one new man out of the two”.
All Christians stand before the cross on level ground:
• Young or old.
• Male or female.
• Rich or poor.
• Black or white.
• Jew or Gentile.
• We all need salvation from our sin
• And are therefore equal and have no cause for division.
Quote Galatians chapter 3 verse 28 (NLT):
“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus.
The apostle Paul describes for us here the greatest peace mission in history:
• Jesus Christ not only reconciled Jews and Gentiles,
• But He reconciled both to Himself in the one body, the church.
The word ‘reconcile’ means “to bring together again.”
Ill:
• A distraught husband wants to be reconciled to his wife who has left him;
• A worried mother longs to be reconciled to a wayward daughter;
• And the lost sinner needs to be reconciled to God.
Sin is the great separator in this world.
• It has been dividing people since the very beginning of human history.
• When Adam and Eve sinned, they were separated from God.
• And that separation has continued down through every generation.
• But like the Berlin wall, because of the cross, it is now destroyed!
(3). Unification: What Jews And Gentiles Are In Christ (vs 19-22)
• To emphasize the unifying work of Christ,
• Notice that Paul repeats the word “one”:
• Verse 14: “Made both one”.
• Verse 15: “One new man”.
• Verse 16: “One body”
• Verse 18: “One Spirit”.
Paul teaches us here that all spiritual distance and division have been overcome by Christ.
4 changes for Gods household.
(1). A COMMON ACCESS TO GOD (verse 18).
Don’t forget the situation that Paul was talking about here:
• The Jews could only access God through the High Priest.
• Who entered God’s presence once a year on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16).
• The Gentiles had no access at all to God.
ill:
• But one Friday afternoon, about three o’clock;
• All that changed.
• When Jesus cried out “It is finished, and he gave up his spirit”,
• Immediately in the temple, a curtain that had divided men and woman from God for centuries,
• Was torn apart, from the top to the bottom,
• And a new and living way was opened up to God.
• You and I as believers:
• Can now come freely to God in prayer;
• No more priests, no more sacrifices, no more dividing wall.
(2). A COMMON CITIZENSHIP (verse 19a):
The Gentiles were “foreigners and aliens”:
• A ‘foreigner’ is a visitor to another country,
• An ‘alien’ is one step more, someone who lives there but without rights.
• People without any rights ill: Asylum seekers / economic migrants,
• Those who hold no rights of citizenship in their new country.
But through Christ, these Gentiles who have become Christians:
• Have now been granted the same rights as Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah etc
• Not second class but first class, equal rights because of Jesus!
(3). A COMMON FAMILY (verse 19b).
ILL:
A young minister, with very small children,
• Preached to his congregation on the theme,
• "10 ways to raise good and godly children ",
• Some years later, with his children entering their teens,
• He returned to his theme, but the same sermon was entitled:
• "10 suggestions for raising good and godly children".
• Several years later, with his children now in their late teens,
• The sermon got another airing, this time presented as,
• "Feeble hints for fellow strugglers"
When these Gentiles became Christians (same for us today):
• We are not joining a club or society or organisation.
• We are born into a family.
• God wants our family ties to be intimate;
• And our bonds tight
(a).
• That means we have a support system that is not optional but essential,
• Made up of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• The Church should not be viewed as an optional extra for the Christian,
• Christ gave his life for it!
• If we are believers we should be committed to a local fellowship,
• And attend and get involved as much as possible!
(b).
• And we have a heavenly Father,
• Who is available to us day or not, he is only a prayer away.
Ill:
Prayer is like a telephone.
• Never engaged, never to busy,
• Waiting for us to call!
(4). A COMMON FAITH (verse 20-22).
• We have a common faith;
• Paul uses the picture of a temple to teach us some simple truths.
We are told that:
• Our foundations are the apostles and prophets.
• Their teaching is the New Testament scriptures.
• And Jesus Christ himself is the cornerstone.
Quote Hoehner:
“In ancient building practices “the chief cornerstone” was carefully placed.
It was crucial because the entire building was lined up with it.
The Church’s foundation, that is the apostles and prophets, needed to be correctly aligned with Christ. All other believers are built on that foundation, measuring their lives with Christ”.
APPLICATION TODAY:
• If you are a Christian; then you are not an independent free spirit,
• But you are part of God’s family
• Whether you are Jew or Gentile, Male or Female, Young or Old,
• We are one in Christ.
• We might not see eye to eye with each other all the time,
• But we are required to accept and value and love one another.
• The way we find support and show our love to each other,
• Is when we fellowship and meet together as God’s people.
