Jesus Wants to Build a New Life for You!
Ephesians 2:11-22
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Series: The Book of Ephesians
(Prepared April 4, 2024)
BACKGROUND:
*Today we will finish chapter 2 in Paul's letter to the Christians in Ephesus. J. Vernon McGee gave this background: "Around the year 60 A.D. four men left Rome bound for the province of Asia, which was located in modern-day Turkey. Each man carried a Holy Spirit inspired letter written by Paul. Officers in the Roman Army had no idea of the heaven-sent power and importance of these letters from this little known prisoner. But if the empire had known, those four men would have been arrested and the documents destroyed.
*When the four Christians said goodbye to the Apostle Paul, each was given a letter to carry to his particular church. These four letters are forever part of God's Word. And they are called the 'Prison Epistles of Paul,' since he wrote them while he was imprisoned in Rome. Paul was there waiting for a hearing before Caesar Nero who was the ruler of the Roman Empire. As a Roman citizen, Paul had appealed his case to the emperor, and he was waiting to be heard.
*The four men and their home cities can be identified: Philippians 4:18 tells us that Epaphroditus was from Philippi, and he had the Epistle to the Philippians. Colossians 4:12 tells us that Epaphras was from Colosse, and he had the Epistle to the Colossians. In Philemon 1:10 we see Onesimus. He was a runaway slave from Colosse, and carried a letter to his master Philemon. The last of the four men was Tychicus. We will see him in Ephesians 6:21, and he carried the letter we are exploring." (1)
*Author John Phillips reported that "Ephesus was a large and important city in Paul’s day, with a population of about 350,000 people. It was on the western coast of modern day Turkey, midway between two continents. There east met west. Crowds of government officials, Roman soldiers, and Jewish businessmen rubbed shoulders with Eastern pilgrims flocking into Ephesus to worship at the pagan temple of Diana. That temple is famous as one of the wonders of the ancient world, but it was also a shrine to a false goddess who was "worshiped" through sinful sexual ways.
*Ephesus was Paul’s headquarters during his third missionary journey. He stayed in the city for nearly three years and established a large, influential church. His fellow workers and the new Christians fanned out from Ephesus to the surrounding territory. There they planted new churches in city after city." Later, the church in Ephesus was blessed to be led by the Apostle John. With this background in mind, let's begin by reading Ephesians 2:11-22. (2)
MESSAGE:
*Most people here in the United States tend to think of churches as buildings. And I am thankful for our church buildings, but it's important to know that if a tornado came through tomorrow, and knocked all of these buildings down, God's Church would still be here, because Jesus is building His Church with people. He is building it with everyone who has put their trust in Him.
*And here is something that may seem strange at first, but Jesus is making all Christians into a living, spiritual temple for the Lord. He has been working on this temple for over 2,000 years, and the Lord is still working on it today. That's why 1 Peter 2:5 tells Christians we "as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house."
*But this great project requires a transformation in people. It takes a whole new life. And in today's Scripture, Paul was writing about how Jesus had transformed the Christians in Ephesus. Jesus was building a new life for them all. And now Jesus wants to build a new life for you! How does He do it?
1. FIRST: JESUS SAVES US FROM OUR SINS.
*All of us desperately needed the Lord's salvation, because our sinfulness made us spiritually dead forever, and hopelessly separated from God. In vs. 12-14, Paul was talking our hopeless condition without Christ, so please listen to this paraphrase from the New Living Translation:
12. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from God's people, Israel, and you did not know the promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
13. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.
14. For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us.
*Jesus Christ is bringing all Christians together as living stones in His spiritual temple. But it took a maximum effort. Don Schultz asked Christians, "Are you surprised that God has chosen you to be a living stone in his spiritual temple? You should be. According to the Bible, you aren't the best of building materials. First of all, you, and other people don't fit well together. People clash with each other.
*In vs. 12-14, the Apostle Paul was talking about the hostility that existed between the Jews and the Gentiles. These two groups of people were very different religiously and culturally. They were so different that there was great hostility between them. For example, if you were a Jew in Israel, instead of walking 20 miles through Gentile territory to visit a friend, you would walk 80 miles around Gentile territory to get to your friend. These two groups of people did not like each other. But when they trusted in the Lord, He began to place them together as living stones in His temple.
*Why do people have such a hard time getting along? The most simple answer is sin. Every single person struggles with selfishness and a whole host of other temptations. That's why it's so surprising that God would use people as building materials for His spiritual temple: -- The gigantic problem of our sin." (3)
*We were all born with this deadly spiritual disease. That's why Romans 3:10 says, "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And Romans 6:23 tells us that "the wages of sin is death." That means eternal death. But thank God, that verse goes on to say that "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
*Billy Strayhorn explained that "we may have been cute babies, but we were all born with the sickness of sin in our hearts. Somewhere along the line we began to behave in selfish, sinful ways, and we're never as good as God intended." (4)
*That's why we need peace with each other, and most of all we need peace with God. But God knew this ahead of time, so He planned the way for us to be saved. God planned a way for us to have peace with Him, -- and Jesus Christ is the way! God's only begotten Son came to earth as a man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again forever from the dead. Now when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He forgives our sins, gives us peace with God, gives us eternal life, and makes it possible for us to live in peace with one another.
*As Paul said in vs. 13-18:
13. . . Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.
14. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us,
16. and that He might reconcile them both (that is, both Jews and Gentiles) to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity (or hostility).
17. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
18. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
*Our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ is the only person who can overcome the gigantic problem of our sin. We were hopelessly lost without Jesus. We could never be good enough to earn eternal life in Heaven. But when we trust in the Lord, He gives us a new life that lasts forever.
2. HOW DOES JESUS BUILD OUR NEW LIFE? HE SAVES US FROM OUR SINS, AND HE BECOMES THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR LIFE.
*We can see God's foundation in vs. 19-20, where Paul said this to all Christians:
19. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20. having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.
*William MacDonald said, "The chief cornerstone was the most essential stone in a building, and it was held in the place of highest honor." John Phillips said the chief cornerstone "formed the bond between the two most important walls of a building. All of the lines of a building were determined by the chief cornerstone, so if that stone was out of square, the whole building would be off. The chief cornerstone was always cut with greatest care and was laid with a special ceremony." William Barclay said, "Jesus is the foundation stone on which everything is built, and the corner stone which holds everything together." (5)
*Of course the apostles and prophets are important, because they got the message of salvation to us. But Jesus Christ is the key. Jesus is the cornerstone. There would be no building without Him. The whole spiritual temple rests on Him. The Lord holds it all together, and He paid for it all when He died on the cross for our sins.
*When McClendon Baptist Church began construction on their Children's Building years ago, the contractor immediately realized that the architect had forgotten to take into account the fact that the whole property was on a deep layer of silt. I think it was put there by floods from the Mississippi River before the levee system was built. That brown dirt was as hard as a rock in the hot, dry summers, but it almost turned into chocolate pudding in winter. So, the church was shocked to learn that the foundation had to be dug out 8 feet deep.
*It cost an extra hundred thousand dollars to fill in that hole with red dirt, and we did not want to pay all of that extra money. But it was worth it! It was worth it, because the building couldn't stand without that foundation. And you will never be able to stand without Jesus Christ as the foundation of your life! You will never be able to stand forever without Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He is the only foundation for eternal life. Jesus alone is the rock-solid foundation of our salvation. Nothing can shake Him. Nothing can break Him. And He will last forever!
*If you want the greatest life you can have, make sure it's built on the foundation of Jesus Christ! Then you will become a living stone in the House of God.
3. HOW DOES JESUS BUILD OUR NEW LIFE? HE BECOMES THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR LIFE. HE ALSO SHAPES US TO FIT WELL IN HIS SPIRITUAL TEMPLE.
*Verse 21 is talking about this great fit when it says, "In whom (that is, in Jesus) the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." The NIV says, "In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord." But the KJV gives us more insight, because it talks about the building being "fitly framed together." In other words Christians: We will all fit together very well in God's spiritual building.
*And the original word for "fitly framed together" is where we get our word "harmony," so Paul was talking about us living together in Christian harmony. But that takes some changes in you and me! And like a potter, God is molding and shaping us to fit His plans. God is taking our bad things away, and putting His good things in.
*But we have a part in the process, and we will see a great example of this just over in Ephesians 4:21-32. There the New Living Translation says:
21. Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus,
22. throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.
23. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.
24. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness -- righteous, holy, and true.
25. So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other.
26. And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27. for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.
28. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need.
29. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.
32. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
*From these verses we learn that Christianity is not just "a ticket to Heaven" kind of thing. Yes, God is getting us ready to spend eternity with Him, but true Christianity has great application for our lives today. It will help our relationships at home, at school, at work, and at church. True Christianity will affect every part of our lives, as God fits the pieces of His spiritual building together. He is molding and shaping us until His building fits together just right.
*Christian author Randy Frazee has a son who was born without a left hand. One day years ago, when Randy's son was very young, his Sunday School teacher was talking to the children about the church. And to illustrate her point she folded her hands together and said, "Here's the church, here's the steeple; open the doors and see all the people."
*Then she asked the class to do it along with her, -- not remembering that it was impossible for Randy's son to do this little exercise. When it suddenly dawned on her, she was horrified. But before she could do anything about it, the little boy sitting next to Randy's son, a friend from the time they were babies, reached out his hand and said, "Let's do it together." And they did. You see, all of us are lacking something, but the Lord will help us fit together perfectly in His spiritual temple. (6)
4. HOW DOES JESUS BUILD OUR NEW LIFE? HE SHAPES US TO FIT VERY WELL IN HIS SPIRITUAL TEMPLE. AND HE STARTS TO LIVE IN US THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
*Verses 21-22 tell us that in Jesus "the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
*Christians: Right now we are part of the spiritual Temple inhabited by God's Holy Spirit. This unique temple continues to grow every time another person is saved by receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That's why in 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul asked those Christians, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
*We are the spiritual temple of the Holy Spirit. But we are also in the spiritual body of Jesus Christ. The New Living Translation puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13:
12. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ.
13. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.
*Here God's Word gives us an amazing truth about being true Christians: We are in Jesus Christ! And He is in us!
*Thinking back to my high school days 55 years ago. I still remember Crazy Robbie Smith. Robbie was in my high school fraternity, and he was one of the nicest guys in school. He didn't drink or cuss. He was a good student and a good athlete. But my friends and I always called him "Crazy Robbie Smith," because Robbie had this crazy idea that he knew God in a personal way. Robbie even thought that Jesus Christ was actually living in his heart.
*We thought he was crazy. But 6 years later I found out that "Crazy Robbie" wasn't crazy after all. He was saved! Robbie was a true Christian, and the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ really was living in his heart.
*In 2 Corinthians 6:16 God tells Christians an amazing thing, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." God says, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them.''
*What assurance, Christians! Wherever we go, God is right there with us. Whatever we go through, wherever we are, whatever task God calls us to perform, whatever trial we have to endure, whatever delights we enjoy or heartbreaks we suffer, the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is right here with us, and even in us!
CONCLUSION:
*This is the kind of new life that Jesus wants to build for you. And you can have it today by believing in our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ. Open your heart to receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Let Jesus move into your life through God's Holy Spirit. He will forgive your sins, give you a brand new life, and make you a living stone in the spiritual house of God. Please call on Jesus to save you as we go back to God in in prayer.
(1) Adapted from THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH J. VERNON MCGEE by J. Vernon McGee - Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville - Copyright 1981 - "Ephesians Introduction" - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(2) Adapted from EXPLORING EPHESIANS & PHILIPPIANS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Exploring Ephesians - Introduction" - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(3) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Becoming a Brick in the House of God" by Don Schultz - Ephesians 2:13-22
(4) Adapted from online sermon "Life in the Spirit" by Billy Strayhorn - Galatians 5:13-25
(5) Sources:
-BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers" - Luke 20:9-18 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-Adapted from EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: LUKE by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Condemnation" - Luke 20:1-19
-Adapted from BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Public domain - "The Symbol of the Stone" - Matthew 21:33-46 - https://www.primobibleverses.com/view/william-barclay/the-symbol-of-the-stone-matthew-2133-46-continued
(6) SermonCentral illustration contributed by: Matthew Rogers - Source: "The Connecting Church" by Randy Frazee
