Chez Dieu – Eph. 2:19-22
Steve Simala Grant – Sept. 2, 2001
Intro:
You’ve likely heard about the man who walked past three brick layers at work. He stopped and asked the first one, “what are you doing?” “Laying bricks,” was the dejected, grumbling reply. He asked the second one the same question. He answered with a bit more life: “I’m making a wall.” He came to the third and repeated the question. The third bricklayer looked up with a dreamy, excited, far away look in his eye and said “I’m building a temple.”
Eph. 2:19-22 focuses on the building of God’s new temple – the church. The perspective is that of the last brick-layer – on the big picture, the end result, the goal.
1. Background:
The passage begins with the word “consequently.” That is a pretty big hint that we are jumping into the middle of a thought, and so need to look back to see what is being summed up here.
Vss. 11-18 have focused on Jesus work of reconciliation – of bringing together both Jews and Gentiles and making them into one new body which He then reconciles with God. The point of the verses is that Jesus came to tear down, to destroy, to abolish the barriers (he refers to them as walls) and make us into one new, united people as His children.
With all that in mind, Paul says “here is the result:” He then lists two specific things, first that we are now fellow citizens, and second that we are members of God’s household. Paul expands this second picture in vss. 20-22, using a building analogy to communicate what the nature of the church is. These verses are some of the most explicit Scripture texts in the Bible detailing the nature of the church.
2. Fellow Citizens:
The contrasts which Paul has been pointing out in all of chapter 2 is summed up in the first line: “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people”. As a consequence of what Christ has done, we are no longer on the outside – no longer foreigners and aliens.
I don’t know if any of you have had the experience of living in a foreign country – somewhere you are not a citizen. I haven’t, but I know that there are restrictions – sometimes there are places you may not go, things you may not participate in because you don’t belong – you are not a citizen.
That is how it was for the Gentile people in relation to God. If you are familiar with the OT, you’ll remember that the temple in Jerusalem was physically the place where God dwelled – before the building of the temple it was the tabernacle and another dwelling called “the tent of meeting”. God was actually present there. The temple was built with very specific places that only specific people could go – the outermost part being the “court of the gentiles”. It is significant that this was a part of the temple, but what I want to point out is that they were allowed to go no further – this was where they were stopped. In fact, we have uncovered archeological evidence of an inscription on the actual pillars of the temple forbidding gentiles to enter any further on pain of death. Paul has all this in mind as he says “You were…, but now you are fellow citizens”.
Being a citizen means that you belong – that this place is home. It means you are entitled to all the rights and freedoms and privileges of that society. As citizens of Canada we have access to medical care, we are protected by police and by a justice system, we have the right to vote on who our leaders and decision-makers will be. We have the right to seek the protection of Canada anywhere around the world. That sounds pretty good, especially as we watch other places in our world, and we need to thank God for that and thank the men and women who fought to earn those freedoms for us. But all of that is nothing compared to the rights and freedoms of being “fellow citizens with God’s people,” where the most significant result is that God Himself dwells with us. And that is the next image:
3. Members of God’s household:
Paul moves from a national image to a personal one. From a large scale “citizenship” to an intimate scale “member of the household”.
We’ve seen this theme already in Ephesians: 1:5 says God adopted us as His children; 1:13 says we were included in Christ; 1:14 says the Holy Spirit guarantees our inheritance; 2:6 says we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms; 2:15 says Christ has torn down the walls and made us one.
The point is that the church is God’s family. We have been included in God’s household, with all the rights and privileges and responsibilities that comes with that. Most of all, this second image is one of intimacy and belonging.
Where do you think of as “home”? You’re answer likely depends on what stage of life you are at, but most people have a place that they call home – it is a place of warmth, of acceptance, of honesty, of no need to wear a bunch of masks and pretend to be someone you are not. How did it get to be home? Probably the main factor is that there were (are) people there who love and accept you. Another key factor is time – it is a place you would go and be at – not a place you run in and out of like a convenience store, but somewhere you would relax and spend time with the people there. A third factor is likely that you let your guard down – took off the masks – stopped pretending – and were yourself.
This passage talks about the church, and God wants it to be home. It is His home, that is the point of vs. 22, and it is to be our home also. How do we become that as a church? First, we love and care for one another. Actively. Persistently. Tenaciously when needed. Second, we spend time together – far more than simply running in for a worship service on Sun am or Sat. pm. “Drive through church illust.” Third, we need to be real with one another, we need to take risks of letting others see our hurts and flaws and needs so that we can truly love and care for each other. Practically speaking, accomplishing that in a worship service is a virtually impossible task – that kind of “home” needs to be found in smaller gatherings of people, where there is more interaction and more opportunity to know each other. That is why small groups are such an important part of our church, and why we keep talking about them and encouraging people to join one or create one. We can and need to strive for this in our worship services, but it is in small groups that this finds its greatest fulfillment.
The rest of the passage describes this household of God, with building metaphors running through it. It talks about the foundation, the cornerstone, and each of us as individual bricks.
A. The Foundation:
You might expect this to be God, but in fact it isn’t – the foundation is the Apostles and Prophets. These two terms here are technical terms, referring to the “Apostles and Prophets” of the early church. The Apostles were the witnesses – actual witnesses – to Christ’ death and resurrection, including Jesus’ original disciples and a slightly wider circle which included Paul. Similarly the prophets were people in the early church who used their gift of prophecy in a founding way for the church.
We don’t have any of those apostles or foundational prophets today, 2000yrs later. But we do have their record – the Scriptures. They are the foundation we build upon today. That is why it is so crucial that they remain central to us today.
B. The Cornerstone:
God isn’t the foundation, instead Paul says Christ Jesus is the chief cornerstone. To understand the point, we need to understand something about building a house or a building. The most important part of the structure was the chief (or first) cornerstone. It was carefully chosen, as the strongest and truest, and it was laid down first. It set the direction – the walls came out from it horizontally, and also went up vertically. It supported the weight and tied the rest of the structure together. That is exactly who Jesus is to us the church – the one who ties us all together and holds us together – that is what vs. 21 tells us (read).
C. The Bricks:
read vs. 22. The apostles and prophets are the foundation, Christ the cornerstone, what makes up the walls? You and I. The picture is of individual bricks, each being put into place. That is you and I – we are each a brick being placed somewhere in the wall of the church.
Look at what God is building out of us together: vs. 21 “a holy temple in the Lord;” vs. 22 “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Isn’t that incredible? Amazing? God Himself living in us (corporately, remember we aren’t talking about individual believers here), and us together becoming a “holy temple”?
I take great comfort personally in the fact that God is the builder – notice it nowhere says this is what we are to create – it is “In Him” and then the verb form is passive – it is being done to us. Someone else – God by the Spirit – is the one building this holy temple. And that is good, because I know I can’t build a church like that! I can’t make us into a holy temple. We can’t build it, we can only be obedient to the builder. And if we aren’t obedient, we can mess up the building – we can make it so that it is not holy. But that is not the point of the image – the image is of the whole, joined together and becoming a holy temple.
So where does your brick fit in? We are at an exciting time as a church – a time of transition which brings newness; uncertainty also, but it an exciting uncertainty because no one is just standing still during the interim – the elders and admin board and CE and staff are all wanting to move forward. And we have a number of changes ahead in the next few weeks as we launch our fall programs. What is most exciting to me is that it is clearly evident that God is at work among us. God is leading us. God is in control, calling us to know who we are as His children, to know that He has called and equipped and empowered us to be a witness for Him in our world, and He has sent us to do that. We respond in obedience. Where do you fit in? I believe, beyond any hint of doubt, that God has brought us together as a church for this moment in time – that God has given us each gifts and abilities, and called us each to use them in service to God’s kingdom. We need each brick in its place. If you had told me 8 months ago that I would be here as an interim Sr. Pastor I might have laughed, but that is where my brick fits right now. Where does yours fit? Maybe a better question is “how do you find out where your brick fits?” One way is to do a long study on spiritual gifts, and talk about all the different ones, maybe even do some self-analysis. But frankly, we don’t have time for that and many of us have already done it! Instead let me suggest this: 1. look around for the needs. 2. pay attention to which of those kind of grabs you – even if you’ve never dreamed you would or could do anything like that. 3. pray about it. 4. most important – if you’re not sure, try it and see. I know a little about teaching and learning, and I believe that the best way to learn something is to try it and get someone to walk beside you to teach you as you do it. And if the results are that God’s kingdom is served and you know God has used you there, then you may have found your place. so those steps again (repeat).
In any household, the privileges come with responsibilities. Of course, for infants and toddlers it is all privilege and no responsibility, but that changes as we grow. We come to know our role, how we contribute. We find out where our particular brick fits in the wall. It is the same with God’s household – we have a responsibility to serve God in His Kingdom, wherever He leads. And the tricky part – the fun part – is that we do it together. Together, in our brokeness, we are being built “to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.”
Conclusion:
None of us make up the church alone. We need each other, because we are all broken and handicapped and unable to fight the battle ourselves. The bricks together form the wall, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets as recorded in God’s Word, with Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone, and the result is a structure which is strong and can stand firm against whatever Satan tries to throw at it. But only when the wall is all tied together, when there are no big gaps or bricks that are not secured. Let me leave you with this picture:
During Vacation Bible School one week a teacher had an experience with her primary class that she says she will never forget. Her class was interrupted on Wednesday about an hour before dismissal when a new student was brought in. The little boy had one arm missing, and since the class was almost over, she had no opportunity to learn any of the details about the cause or his state of adjustment. She was very nervous and afraid that one of the other children would comment on his handicap and embarrass him. There was no opportunity to caution them, so she proceeded as carefully as possible. As the class time came to a close, she began to relax. She asked the class to join her in their usual closing ceremony. "Let’s make our churches," she said. "Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open the doors and there’s..." The awful truth of her own actions struck her. The very thing she had feared that the children would do, she had done. As she stood there speechless, the little girl sitting next to the boy reached over with her left hand and placed it up to his right hand and said, "Davey, let’s make the church together."
