Unity in Christ
Ephesians 2:11-22
Slide
What do you think of when you think of walls?
Well, when we think of a wall we typically think of dividing something.
We build walls in houses to divide the house into different rooms.
In countries or towns, there were often walls that were built to show the boundaries of a town.
Most times in the ancient world, walls in cities were built to divide the people of the town from people not of the town for their protection.
In the modern world, when I think of a wall, I think of the Berlin Wall.
Slide
The Berlin wall was meant to divide too. It was erected in 1961 supposedly “to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany.” – Wikipedia – Berlin Wall
But in reality it was erected to keep its own people from defecting to the west through West Berlin.
You see, after WW2, the allied forces did not want Germany to rise again so, each of the allied forces controlled part of Germany and part of the capital city of Berlin which happened to be in the Russian controlled sector of Germany.
Well after the war as relations with the Russians declined and as they sought to build a communist state, they built walls around their territories to keep people from leaving.
Berlin posed a problem though. East Germans could go to Berlin and easily cross over to West Berlin and gain access to the West. That is until 1961, when Communists began building a wall entirely around West Berlin, thereby dividing Berlin and completely dividing the German people.
For nearly 30 years that wall stood as a dividing wall between the East and the West and the ways of life that each side of that wall symbolized.
Slide
But in 1989 the wall started coming down, and in 1990, it was completely destroyed and Germany was once again a unified nation.
No longer East Germany and West Germany. It was now Germany.
There was now unity where they had been division and that unity has helped Germany become an economic power in all of Europe.
Transition
That little history lesson leads to our study for today.
Today we are going to talk about division before Christ, especially between Jews and Gentiles, and the unity we can have in Christ and the power that that unity brings.
Slide
We are continuing on in our series through Ephesians and we will be studying
Ephesians 2:11-22. You can turn there.
Over the past weeks in our study of Ephesians, we have seen how we have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ, how We are called to know Christ more in this life, how we have been made alive in Christ and today we will see the unity we have in Christ.
So let’s read
Ephesians 2:11-22
11 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)— 12 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 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, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Pray
Ok, the message today is going to be largely a teaching time. We are going to learn some things about God’s plan for originally dividing people and his plan to bring unity again. And then we are going to talk about what this means for us today.
So in our passage today, Paul starts out these verses reminding the Gentile believers in Ephesus that at one time, while the
Jews were God’s Chosen People
Gentiles were without Hope
Slide
Ephesians 2:12
12 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.
I think we need a bit of background here.
In the Old Testament, we see after sin comes into the world through Adam and Eve that life gets hard and people seem to continually get worse. God chooses Noah and his family and wipes out everyone else, and again, people pursue sinful lifestyles and evil is prevalent. People do not follow after God. And God divides the peoples and nations
This is the problem of sin. Sin is a divider. We all have sinful nature and will not follow God on our own. So, God chooses Abraham from among all people and God makes a covenant with Abraham, an unconditional covenant that only has responsibility for God.
We see this covenant in Genesis 12:2-3
Slide
Genesis 12:2-3
2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."
Did you see this last line? God says all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
God chose Abraham, and the nation of Israel that would come through him, to be the conduit in which he would bless the world through bringing salvation through Jesus Christ.
He gave them a sign of this covenant in the act of circumcision, it was a physical mark that identified the descendants of Abraham.
But the Jews often thought more of themselves because of this physical mark and looked down on others who were “uncircumcised” instead of realizing that God chose them to reveal Himself to the world and use them to be a blessing to all the nations.
Circumcision no Guarantee of Faith
While this physical mark of circumcision was a sign of the covenant, it was no guarantee that a person was of the faith of Abraham, but often they thought the mark guaranteed their salvation much like some Christians today think that if they were baptized as a baby or go to church guarantees their salvation. It did not and does not.
God had set Israel apart to show the world who He was and to bring salvation to the world through Israel.
But while Israel had this mark of the covenant and remained separate nationally and ritually, the often rebelled against God morally and acted like the other nations around them whom God did not choose to work through.
These other nations, Gentile nations, had none of the things that Israel had.
They did not have a covenant, they were not God’s people, and so they were without the one true God and they were without Hope.
Transition
So while Israel had the covenants and were God’s chosen people, they did not follow God, and so there was
often broken relationship between God and the Jews,
there definitely was broken relationship between God and the Gentiles,
and there was broken relationship between the Jews and the Gentiles.
But God has made reconciliation in all of these relationships. And He did that through Christ. Look at what Paul continues to teach the Ephesians and us. We learn that
Through Christ…God made reconciliation between
…Jews and Gentiles
Slide
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 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,
God had originally made a difference between the Jews and the Gentiles to accomplish his purposes in bringing salvation into the world.
But now that Christ has come, there was no longer purpose in the division. So now that Christ has come He destroyed the barrier that divided them and through him created one new man through Christ, the church, the body of Christ, and bringing peace.
Slide
This division beforehand was clearly demonstrated through the Temple worship.
Before Christ and in the time of Christ, the place of worship was the temple because God’s presence was there in the holy of holies. People who feared and had reverence for the one true God would go to the temple to worship.
Jews did this and we even see God fearing Gentiles do this, like the Ethiopian Eunuch.
But the Gentiles were kept separate from the Jews.
Slide
In the temple grounds there is the court of the Gentiles where the Gentiles could come and gather and worship, but they could not go any further than this outer court. Only Jews could go into the inner courts and there were signs that read
Slide
NO FOREIGNER IS TO GO BEYOND THE BARRICADE AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE
WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME FOR HIS DEATH WHICH WILL FOLLOW
As the Ephesians heard Paul speaking about the dividing wall, they would have been picturing the dividing wall that separated them from the Jews in worshiping the Lord
But now in Christ, this division between Jew and Gentile was gone and God was reconciling the Jews and Gentiles.
Transition
And this dividing wall was not only a separation between Jews and Gentiles, but the Ephesians would also understood this wall as a separation between them and God as well.
And Christ did not only make reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles by making the way to God through Faith in Christ Jesus, but we see also that
Through Christ…God made reconciliation between
…Sinners and God
Slide
Ephesians 2:16-18
16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
For both the Jews and the Gentiles, salvation comes through Jesus Christ. This was God’s plan from the beginning and it is His plan for the future!
The Jews, even while being chosen by God, still needed their sins to be paid for ultimately by Christ.
The Gentiles needed their sins to be paid for by Christ.
You and I today needed Someone to pay the penalty for our sins.
And we all need the righteousness that only comes through faith in Christ.
Listen to what Paul tells the Romans in
Slide
Romans 3:22-23, 27-30
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, (between Jew and Gentile) 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, …27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
So God, through the sacrifice of Christ
brought reconciliation between the Jews and Gentiles AND
between all sinners and Himself
so that now we can experience unity.
Transition
How does he bring unity?
God brings Unity through the Church by…
Reuniting the Nations
Slide
Ephesians 2:19a - Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people,
As I was studying for this, I found an interesting insight from Warren Wiersbe.
In the Old Testament, sin divided the nations.
After Noah and his family came off the Ark, the nations were reckoned through his sons, Shem, Ham & Japheth. (Genesis 10)
Well their descendants sinned with the tower of Babel and were divided and separated.
Well, after the time of Christ when He made reconciliation between sinners and God, we see God reuniting those nations that were divided.
We see in Acts 8, a descendant of Ham, the Ethiopian Eunuch, is saved through Christ.
In Acts 9, a descendant of Shem, from which the Israelites came, Saul, who became Paul is saved through Christ.
In Acts 10, a descendant of Japheth, the Roman Soldier Cornelius and his family are saved through Christ.
They were all united in the church.
Today, it does not matter what your nationality is, Christ is available to you.
In the book of Revelation, we see that there will be people from every tribe, tongue and nation because Christ made salvation possible for all peoples of the world and brought unity to the nations through the church!
Not only that, but
God brings Unity through the church by…
Making one Family
Slide
Ephesians 2:19b - you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people…and members of God's household
God has brought unity through faith making us his family.
We are not only unified through Christ in the church, but we are part of His family.
John 1:12 tells us that when we receive Christ we “become children of God”
Ephesians 1:5 tells us that when we are in Christ, that we have been “adopted as his sons”
Those who trust Christ are His people and He makes us His family, no matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile!
And
God brings Unity through the church by…
Building a New Temple
Slide
Ephesians 2:20-22
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
When Christ died upon the cross, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies was torn signifying the removal of God’s presence in the Temple as the place of worship.
Today, we are the temple of God corporately as we meet together with the church.
Now it is true that Christians as individuals are also called the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), this verse here is indicating the corporate church is the Temple as well.
As we gather corporately, there is a unique presence of God’s Spirit that empowers and enables us together to accomplish His will.
Applications
So what does all of this mean for us today?
Be part of the Church
Well, regarding this last point, it means for the Christian, that it is not an option for you to not be part of a church.
And I don’t mean it is wrong to search out where you will attend and worship and that if you are between churches, that you are sinning.
But it is not acceptable to say, I am done with church.
The people in churches are just a bunch of hypocrites and sinners.
While that is true, so are you. And removing yourself from the church to not be a part of it is not what God wants.
And in fact, I would argue, that it is impossible to be in growing relationship with Christ apart from being part of the Church, his body, His corporate temple.
The apostle John, in 1 John writes to Christians and he equates being in fellowship with God with being in fellowship with his people in the church.
Slide
1 John 1:6-7
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
In Verse 6 he says that if we claim to have fellowship with him and walk in darkness (live a lifestyle of sin), we lie and do not have fellowship with the Lord.
But if we walk in the light (live a lifestyle of righteousness in Christ), we would expect him to say we have fellowship with the Lord, but he says instead that we have fellowship with one another.
That is because being in fellowship with the Lord means you are in fellowship with the church. If you are not in fellowship with the church, you will not be in a growing fellowship with the Lord!
You need to be part of the church, unified with His people, to truly worship the Lord because He is present in a special way when we gather corporately!
Unity in the church
And that leads to a second application
Christ wants us unified, not divided.
I want to read to you parts of Jesus’ prayer the night before he is going to the cross.
Slide
John 17:11b, 15-18, 20-23
11b - Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one…
15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world…
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Jesus desired unity between peoples and nations, and it is the church, His Body, the temple, that can unify us all as we worship Him.
Do we see that today? Do we see God unifying us through the church?
Around the world - Yes
I think across the world we see the reality of Jesus’ prayer coming to fruition as the church continues to grow in countries around the world. It is growing in Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula, Africa. God is bringing together people from all nations and unifying them with you and I in the church and as part of his family.
United States – No
But, closer to home, in the U.S, it seems we see a lot of division in the church
So how do we help bring unity?
Some might say, we have to minimize differences that people hold.
As long as someone says they love Jesus, let’s not get all hung up on what they believe about what the Bible teaches.
I have a word of caution for that.
Jesus wants unity, but not for unity’s sake.
He wants people, the church, unified around Him and the truth of His word.
Truly Loving Jesus is not is not something that is just said. It is evident in your actions, and the actions of a real follower of Jesus is shown by believing and following the truth as found in his Word
Look at Jesus’ prayer again.
Slide
John 17:17 - Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
And Jesus says just a few chapters earlier in John 14:15 that
"If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
The only unity that is possible is when we trust Christ and believe the truth of His word and are willing to follow it. If we are not willing to follow it, then we are really just following ourselves and our own beliefs and teachings, not Jesus.
So how do we help bring unity?
Share Christ and share the truth of His word
Be part of the church – using your gifts and talents and treasures.
Follow God’s word yourself, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As you do that, God will use you. In fact this is what Paul tells the Corinthians
Slide
2 Corinthians 5:17-18, 20
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
Once you have been reconciled to the Lord, he wants to use you to reconcile others.
Conclusion
Have you been reconciled?
Have you received Jesus Christ as your Savior, believing in Who He is (God in the flesh) and what He did (died for your sins and rose from the dead)?
If not, then with the faith the Lord has given, turn and receive Him and you will be reconciled and you will be part of the family of God.
And Secondly,
Are you being God’s ambassador to people to help bring them into reconciliation with the Lord and into unity into the church, so they can learn the truth of His word and experience the life he came to give?
If you have not been who God wants you to be, then
Be part of the church
Take steps to serve in the church
And take steps to follow after the Lord in His teachings.
Then you will not only experience the unity that Christ has come to bring, but you will be used powerfully to see that mission accomplished.
I am going to lead in a prayer of confession if you have never confessed Jesus as Lord and I am going to pray that God would help us to truly be his ambassadors to bring others into reconciliation and unity through the church.
Let’s pray.
Jews were God’s chosen People
Gentiles were without Hope
Through Christ…
God made reconciliation between
…Jews and Gentiles
…Sinners and God
God brought Unity making…
One Nation
One Family
One Temple
Outline based on Warren Wiersbe’s The Great Peace Mission
