INTRODUCTION
"One Nation Under God…" That phrase, One Nation Under God, which features so prominently in our Pledge of Allegiance has been the subject of much discussion and has become the scrutiny of many people over the last year.
It all started last year when a self-avowed atheist by the name of Michael Newdow brought a suit against two school districts in California challenging the constitutionality of the that phrase. On June 26, 2002, the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco ruled in Newdow’s favor. Shortly after the ruling, Newdow, in his own feisty way, described his position this way. He said:
"I brought this case because I am an atheist and this offends me, and I have the right to bring up my daughter without God being imposed into her life by her schoolteachers…. I believe in the Constitution. The Constitution says that government isn’t supposed to be infusing religion into our society… I choose to worship not believing in God and government should not thrust a religious idea down my throat. (Source: Litigant Explains Why He Brought Pledge Suit." (Transcript of CNN’s Arthel Neville phone interview during "Talkback Live." June 26, 2003. http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/06/26/Newdow.cnna/. Accessed on 5/25/03)
I have a sense that most—if not all— of you here today might have a problem with Newdow’s thinking. You might question whether Newdow is imposing his atheistic beliefs on a nation that by and large believes in God.
In fact, this Memorial Day, many Americans see it as a day to thank God for the great sacrifice of so many brave men and women who gave their lives to protect our citizenship in this one nation under God.
Yes, as Americans, we have a lot to be thankful for! But, as Christians. We have dual citizenships!
Christians are citizens of even a greater nation! In our text, we are reminded by Paul that we have been called to be “fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Eph 2:19-20)
You see, as great as our citizenship in this one nation under God is, we Christians have an even greater privilege to be citizens of God’s kingdom and family!
So, today I want to consider that phrase "One Nation Under God" in light of Paul’s teaching about the church in Ephesians 2:11-22.
PREACHING OUTLINE
Before we can understand the great promise we have as citizens of God’s kingdom, we need to come to grips with our real problem.
I. Our Real Problem (2:1-3, 11-12)
In one word…ALIENATION
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines “alienate” as:
to make unfriendly, hostile, or indifferent where attachment formerly existed or to cause to be withdrawn or diverted
On a spiritual level, Paul defines our alienation on two levels: vertical and horizontal.
+VERTICAL:Alienated from GOD (2:1-3, 12b)
-2:12b: … at that time you were separate from Christ…without hope and without God in the world.
-2:1-3: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
+HORIZONTAL: Alienated from ONE ANOTHER (2:11-12a)
- 2:11-12: 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.
Our vertical separation from God affects our relationships with one another.
In Paul’s day: Jews vs. Gentile
In our day, what is it?
·Blacks vs. Whites
·Haves vs. the Have-nots?
·Ridge-runners vs. Flatlanders? (in our county)
II. Bringing Together the Races (2:11-18)
God’s intention has always been to bring peoples together in a bond based upon truth and love.
A. Some people look at the legacy of the US as The Great Melting Pot as fulfilling God’s purpose for people
1. One children’s song captures the essence of America this way :
"My grandmother came from Russia
A satchel on her knee,
My grandfather had his father’s cap
He brought from Italy.
They’d heard about a country
Where life might let them win,
They paid the fare to America
And there they melted in.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
America was founded by the English,
But also by the Germans, Dutch, and French.
The principle still sticks;
Our heritage is mixed.
So any kid could be the president.
You simply melt right in,
It doesn’t matter what your skin,
It doesn’t matter where you’re from,
Or your religion, you jump right in
To the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
Ooh, what a stew, red, white, and blue.
America was the New World
And Europe was the Old.
America was the land of hope,
Or so the legend told.
On steamboats by the millions,
In search of honest pay,
Those nineteenth century immigrants sailed
To reach the U.S.A.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
What good ingredients,
Liberty and immigrants.
They brought the country’s customs,
Their language and their ways.
They filled the factories, tilled the soil,
Helped build the U.S.A.
Go on and ask your grandma,
Hear what she has to tell
How great to be American
And something else as well.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot."
2. As Christians, we should be proud of our nation and the history and legacy that it stands for. But, as Christians, let not be confused about the real melting pot.
B. The Church: One New HUMANKIND (2:14) is the greatest melting pot.
1. We have been brought into a relationship with one GOD through the blood of Christ (2:4-10, 13).
a. 1 Peter 1:18-19: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
b. Rev 5:9: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
2. We have been brought into one BODY of Christ, who is our peace and breaks down the walls that separate us from one another. (2:14-17)
- Ephesians 1:22-23: And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
3. We are recipients of one SPIRIT and thereby have unrestricted access to the Father (2:18)
III. True Unity (2:19-22)
One Nation Under God? Can we really have unity in our country? How about in the church of Christ?
A. True Unity in Our Nation?
In his book Fires and Furies: The L.A. Riots -- What Really Happened, James D. Delk describes the events of March 1991-1992 that reflected a growing racial strain in our nation. (Source: The description is from http://www.crimsonbird.com/history/rodneyking.htm. Accessed on 05/25/03. [Figures are from the book Fires and Furies : The L.A. Riots -- What Really Happened, by James D. Delk, 1985])
"On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was the driver of a car in Los Angeles, California, and Bryant Allen was a passenger in the back seat. The driver didn’t stop when signaled by a police car behind him, but increased his speed. One estimate said that King drove at 100 miles per hour for 7.8 miles.
When police finally stopped the car, they delivered 56 baton blows and six kicks to King, in a period of two minutes, producing 11 skull fractures, brain damage, and kidney damage.
A man named George Holliday, standing on the balcony of a nearby building, videotaped the incident. The next day, March 4, he gave his 81-second tape to Los Angeles TV channel 5. By the end of the day, March 4, the video was being broadcast by TV stations worldwide.
Unaware that the incident had been videotaped, the police officers filed inaccurate reports, not mentioning the fact that Rodney King was left with any head wounds.
On March 15, 1991, four police officers were arraigned on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force.
Almost a year passed between indictment and the start of the trial. Testimony began March 5, 1992.
On April 29,1992 the jury acquitted the four defendants.
Four white police officers had been acquitted by a white jury selected from the suburbs of assaulting a black man in the city.
Thousands of people in South Central Los Angeles responded to the verdict with several days of rioting. The violence spread to other parts of Los Angeles County. Federal troops and the California National Guard were mobilized to quell the riots. In six days of rioting, 54 people were killed, 2,383 were known to have been injured, and 13,212 people were arrested. There was an estimated $700 million in property damage in Los Angeles County."
As the rioting escalated, Rodney King the center of the storm came forward in the media spotlight and asked our nation, “Can’t we all just get along?”
The truth of the matter is our nation was then and is still now deeply divided over many things.
B. True Unity in the Church?
But, how about God’s new society, the church of Christ? The truth is… the church is often divided and fractured over many things as well. But, that is not the way it is supposed to be. The Church of God has a higher calling. Our calling is captured by three word images:
1, v. 19: the church is related to the kingdom (fellow citizens)
2, v. 19: the church is God’s family (members of God’s household)
3. v. 21: a temple in which God’s presence resides
The new society God has brought into being is nothing short of a new creation, a new human race, whose characteristic is no longer alienation but reconciliation, no longer division and hostility but unity and peace. This new society God rules and loves and lives in. (John Stott)
CONCLUSION
Are you a part of God’s new society by faith in his Son Jesus Christ? Are you fostering unity in the Spirit?
