As we come near the end of chapter 2 we see that God has brought us from being dead in trespasses and sins, without God and without hope, strangers to the covenants of promise, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and from the life of God, to being reconciled through the cross, given access to the Father, made fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s own household.
Please note and let it be forever etched in your consciousness, that this is the most drastic change that could ever take place in a human life. From absolute and hopeless death and rejection, we were brought to a position of absolute and unshakable security in the presence of God, our Father. It is very important to see that this was accomplished through His cross, and that it was by one Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit, that both Jew and Gentile now have their access to the Father. It is a change, a reconciliation, a uniting, that could only have been accomplished that way.
Never, if we stayed alive and did good deeds for eternity, could we have had the life that God gives, or the fellowship that is found in Him, or been acceptable in His site, without Christ’s atoning work on Calvary’s cross, and the regenerating, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
Paul has adopted a sort of ‘building’ theme in the closing verses of this chapter to teach us some vitally important truths about the church and her relationship to her Lord.
But before we go there, I want to make some things very clear to you concerning this union, this unity, that has been wrought by the Holy Spirit of Christ.
I was honored to preach at the Uncompahgre Baptist Association Annual Meeting, in Paonia, Colorado this past year. The title of my sermon there was “Scriptural Unity”, and it was taken from these same verses in Ephesians 2. Anyone interested in reading more detail concerning what I’m saying here today is welcome to have a copy of that sermon. For now I’ll just capsulate that message and move on to our main focus for today.
We do a lot of talking in the church, about unity. We sing “We Are One In The Bond of Love” as we hold hands and try not to look each other in the eye because, contrary to what the musicals of the 40’s and 50’s portray for us, we do not like to gaze into one another’s eyes while we’re singing. We feel stupid.
We talk about keeping unity in our dealings with one another, and some pastors spend a very large percentage of their time exhorting their people to stop bickering and work toward unity.
I want you to see that in these verses, when Paul is talking about Christ breaking down the barrier of the dividing wall, and establishing peace by making both groups into one new man, and by His Spirit giving us access to the Father, and making us fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household as beloved children, he is talking about a unity ~ scriptural unity ~ that is entirely brought about by the Holy Spirit of God, in Christ.
That is to say, He assembles us in one body, ushers us into the presence of the Father, through the shed blood of Christ.
This is not a unity that we work toward, not a unity that we could have had any part in establishing. It is the work of the Holy Spirit entirely, and now it is on us only to be diligent in preserving the outward manifestation of that unity, in a bond of peace.
Listen,... I’m speaking in italics now because this is important for you to get...
When believers behave contrary to this unity; that is, when they gossip and backbite and bicker and reject one another, and all the other nasty, unloving, ungodly things that we do to one another, what we are really doing is expressing unbelief. We, by our selfish behavior, are denying the unity that the Spirit has wrought, and in essence, saying ‘I am not united with this one’.
It is the same as saying that the one we are despising is not in the family of God; and what right does any of us have, to say that?
But John was writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit when he said, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen’.” (I Jn. 4:20)
So you see, we are not under obligation to bring about unity in the body, Christian. We are simply to understand that He has made us into one new man, reconciled to the Father through the blood of His cross, and given equal and 24/7 access to the throne of the Father by His Spirit, and then behave toward one another accordingly.
Preserving the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace. We’ll talk more about that in chapter 4.
Before I move on let me clarify one more thing. This access we are given to the Father is not just a sort of standing permission to come and go, like the Throne room has a revolving door. It’s not just God’s ‘open door’ policy. That’s not what the Spirit is telling us there in verse 18 of Ephesians 2. What is being taught there is our permanent acceptance and right standing before a holy God, through Christ’s righteousness. In other words, we have been assembled before the Father by the Holy Spirit, and there we stand, permanently, united before the Throne, one in Him.
I wanted to cover that material first today, because it is important in understanding that what He has done, is to assemble His church in one Spirit; and since Paul is going on to use this illustration of a building, then we need to see ourselves as united as stones are united in a structure to form a whole.
Being fitted together, like a stone mason chips away at the edges of a stone and fills in the spaces with mortar, so the fit is tight and strong, built to withstand the most terrible of storm or shaking earth.
But they are built up; we are built up, on a firm foundation. So let’s go with Paul and let him show us what our foundation is made of.
First, in studying this foundation, we see that we are built upon THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS
We are now fellow citizens of Heaven with all the saints, and are members in perfect standing of the household of God. Now a strong and perfect house is no good at all, if it doesn’t have a strong and perfect foundation. And here we’re told that our foundation is comprised of the apostles and the prophets.
So we should look at those two groups of people and find out what it is that makes them such a firm foundation.
APOSTLES
Who are the Apostles? That may not be as simple a question as you think. When I was in my last couple years of Bible college, back in 1979-81, there was a doctrine going around (and probably still is in some places) that we are all apostles.
Now on the one hand, these people were making a good point. An apostle is a messenger. One sent on a mission. That’s precisely what the Greek word, apostolos means. Messenger. One sent.
In that sense, we as believers in Christ are all apostles, or more clearly, all messengers. All sent on a mission. Matthew 28:18-20 makes that clear. We have the message of life, and our Lord, in His commission to His disciples and therefore to all who would call on His name, is to go forth with this message.
In fact, the language being used there in Matthew has a military ring to it. It is said with the strength of a Commander in Chief, who says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on the earth, therefore I command you, go to all the nations,...” etc.
Perhaps we might even say that those gifted by God as teachers and preachers come under this title of apostles in an even more direct way. They are not what we refer to as ’lay’ Christians anymore; they have received a separate calling from the rest. They are called with a more specific calling, under the umbrella of which falls Matthew 28:18-20, but there’s more to it.
Paul said in Galatians 1:15 that God had set him apart from his mother’s womb, and called him through His grace, revealed His Son (Jesus) in him and sent him to preach.
I know that feeling. Very shortly after finally surrendering to the Lord at age 23, I was talking to one of the guys I was stationed with at that time, at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, and I declared to him that I was not cut out to be a minister like my dad, and did not intend to pursue going into the ministry.
My friend, who was not a Christian, grinned and said, “Don’t be so sure. God can make you anything He wants”.
Now I can’t imagine ever having wanted to do anything else. The thing I did that I loved most was being a police officer. But never was I as fulfilled and happy doing that, even on my most successful days, as I am doing this, on my most discouraging days.
I know there are men out there who have gone into the ministry for the wrong reasons. But the ones who are preaching God’s word because He set them apart and called them to it, are blessed beyond measure, as am I.
But people, I am not an Apostle. And this is where I take issue with those propagating that teaching. It puffs up.
The word, ‘apostle’, despite it’s actual definition, has come in our modern minds to refer to a certain group of men, hand picked by Christ, trained personally by Him, given very powerful ministries in order to kick-off the new Church in a really big way, and when we use the term of ourselves without a great deal of humble explanation accompanying its use, it is too easy for our fallen egos to get puffed up and start telling ourselves that we’re really pretty special.
I am a minister, a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It gives me a great deal of pleasure and joy to be able to call myself a preacher. But that is enough. I am one of the many defined in Ephesians 2:19, and I, like you, am built up on the foundation; not a part of the foundation itself.
What were the requirements to be an Apostle? There were two. They had to be eyewitnesses of Christ’s resurrection ~ that is, they must have seen the risen Christ, not been actually at the tomb when He came out ~ and they must have been taught personally by Him.
All of the 11 were, and so was Matthias, whom they chose to replace Judas Iscariot. It is there in Acts 1:21,22 where we find these requirements stated:
“It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us - beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that He was taken up from us - one of these should become a witness with us of His resurrection”
Now in case anyone is wondering about Paul, who came later, we know that He saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and received His commission personally from the Lord there, and the implication we get from scripture is that later he was taught by Jesus himself while in the Arabian wilderness and in Damascus for three years. (NOTE: This assumption is made by some because Paul later went to Jerusalem so that he might submit his gospel message to the Apostles, and after hearing it they offered him the right hand of fellowship. So it is taken from that, that he may have received his instruction from the Lord Himself. This is however not a vital issue, since as stated above, we do know for certain that he received his calling personally from the Lord on the Damascus road, and that is enough)
At the beginning of I Corinthians 9, Paul defends his calling with these words: “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
I personally have gained great encouragement from this passage, because there have been those who have taken a stand that I should not preach, and certainly should not pastor. But over the years I see the Lord working in my life, I see the spiritual fruit of my labors, I sense in my spirit that He has called me to this and supports me in it, and I remember that the Apostle Paul, himself, was rejected by the religious people of his day, and I rejoice and go on with what I was called to do.
But I am not an Apostle, nor are you. The Apostles are a part of the foundation upon which our faith is built.
They were personally taught by Jesus who came in and went out among them “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us“, said John, and they saw Him alive from the dead with their own eyes.
Then they spent the rest of their lives declaring His teachings and especially, His resurrection from the dead and His imminent return.
Actually, we might be more accurate in saying that we are built upon the foundation of the teaching of the Apostles, because from their day down through history to this day, those saved come to Christ through the original teaching of the Apostles, that has been passed down from mouth to mouth, written Word to regenerated mind, since then.
In his second letter to the church, Peter said:
“...we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ’This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased’ - (he’s referring to their experience on the Mount of Transfiguration) and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word made more sure, (because now they had seen and heard for themselves and were no longer depending on the words of the prophets before them), to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
So this is part of the strength of our foundation, believer; we are built up on the teaching of those who saw with their own eyes the risen Lord, touched with their own hands, heard with their own ears, and saw Him taken up into heaven, promising to return.
Now you may have noticed that Peter referred to the prophets in that passage I just read. More specifically, the prophetic word. “And we have the prophetic word made more sure...”
And Paul has told us in Ephesians 2:20 that we are built up on the Apostles and the prophets. So let’s talk about who they are.
PROPHETS
Again, there is a modern day interpretation of the word ’prophet’, that I am not certain we are justified in using; in that its tendency to puff up often outweighs its descriptive worth.
There is a study of what is referred to as the ’Motivational Gifts’ of the church, based on Romans 12:4-8 These are inborn characteristics; personality traits if you will, talents, that God has created in each of us and uses them in the function of His church.
Paul lists them for us, and he even uses the word ’prophecy’ in verse 6 of that chapter.
That same Greek word is used throughout the New Testament where we find the English word ’prophecy’, and it means to ’tell forth’, or to ’interpret divine will’.
In other words, a preacher, or teacher of God’s word is a prophet of God in the sense that he tells forth the revealed Word of God, being aided necessarily by God’s Holy Spirit in the interpretation of that Word, or he could not rightly divide the word of truth in his own human mind and therefore would fall quickly into error.
Now let me clarify that this is true of all believers. Jesus told Nicodemus that unless one was born again (or born from above ~ spiritually) he could not see the kingdom of God. And Paul told the Corinthians that the natural mind cannot fathom the things of God for they are spiritually discerned. So all believers are dependant on the Holy Spirit’s enlightening in order to understand the truth of God’s Word.
But those with this particular gift, often have a deeper insight into God’s revealed truth, to help them in leading others into truth through their teaching. That is God’s gift to the church through them.
However, again, care must be taken in glibly throwing this word around and using it like a badge of honor. We were in a church where there was a man who at some point had gone through a study on the motivational gifts. He was either told, or somehow gleaned from the study for himself, that his gift was prophecy. Therefore, in any Bible study setting, whenever there was something he wanted to add to the discussion he would preface his remarks with, “Now you have to remember that this is coming from a prophet, but...” and in his mind that justified any petty criticism or word of rebuke or exhortation he was in the mood to spew forth.
It puffs up, it does not serve.
We are not prophets, in the sense that Paul is speaking of when he says that we are built up on the Apostles and Prophets.
The prophets of the Old Testament spoke as they were inspired by God. He directly revealed Himself to them, and they were His mouth piece.
It was a solemn duty. If anything they predicted did not come to pass, the Law required that they be stoned to death. I wonder how many modern-day blowhards would think more carefully about their declarations if THAT was still a practice in the church...?
On the other hand, along with solemn responsibility came divine backing.
Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 starts out this way; “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways...”
The prophets suffered rejection and in very many cases, physical suffering and death at the hands of evil men. But they are vindicated by God Himself, in that He brought their words to pass as promised, and in the end, confirmed their message through His own Son.
They built the foundation of our faith. Or perhaps I should say, God built the foundation of our faith using them and the Apostles.
They were the ones who first spoke the message, and their message was always related to Christ. We who have come after them tell forth their message. There is no new revelation. They foretold as God revealed, we tell forth what He revealed to them.
God has revealed Himself through the prophets in many portions and in many ways, and again through His Apostles; listen;...
“After it (the message of salvation) was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard (that’s the Apostles), God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
Our message, all the things I have to say and teach you, anything I have to say, is founded upon the original revelation of God to and through the Apostles and prophets, or it is of no eternal value whatsoever.
There is one message. It is the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ. It was the message of the prophets of old as they spoke as the Lord gave them utterance, and it was the message of the Apostles.
It is, says Paul, the very cornerstone of their ministry, their teachings, and it is why we have such a firm and sure foundation.
Believers in Christ, there is a reason we sing things like, “On Christ, the Solid Rock I stand” And “The Church’s One Foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord”.
You will see it clearly, if you back up and remember the previous verses of this chapter, and remind yourself of what He has done.
He has brought us, who were far off, near to God by the shedding of His blood.
He has made peace between Jew and Gentile, between men and God, by tearing down the barrier of the dividing wall that kept us separate and made us strangers and aliens.
In the tearing of His own flesh he has abolished the hostility caused by the Law and the ordinances that kept us bound, and forbade us reconciliation with God or each other.
Then, after accomplishing His atoning, reconciling work, He preached the gospel of peace to us, introduced us to the presence of the Father, and made us citizens of Heaven and more than citizens; family, belonging to God’s own household.
What a firm foundation we have, believer! That’s why our church motto is “Building upon Christ, the sure foundation”. It is our only message. That the Master Builder has laid upon the surest, eternal foundation, His Christ the sure and solid cornerstone, holding up and witnessing to the message of the prophets of old and the Apostles of His church, and we are all a part of this holy temple in the Lord.
“...you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in scripture;
‘BEHOLD I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED’.” - I Peter 2:5,6
Friend, if you are one whose faith is built up on so sure a foundation, then I call you to rest, assured of your place in Him and your eternal home with Him, for it is a foundation that can never be shaken, and your confidence is well-placed.
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.
