This morning we are going to take a look at Breaking Down Walls, I will be reading from Ephesians 2:11-22;
Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh--who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-- that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
For people so greatly advancing in technology as we are, we seem to be declining at the same rapid pace morally. Heart transplants are becoming commonplace, but hearts of compassion are seemingly non-existent. Instead of tearing down the walls of hostility between ourselves, we have been erecting them with great care and diligence.
Do we think these walls help and protect us? We certainly must, for we spend a great deal of effort building and mending them.
The history of mankind is filled with the hostility of one person against another. Our text today deals with the hostility between the Jew and the Gentile. Paul was exposing a problem in the Church at Ephesus that we still struggle with today, prejudice and division. These walls have remained standing. All you have to do is pick up the daily newspaper or watch the news. What we read about in the newspaper or see on TV reveals to us the reality that these walls are still standing strong and high. The Berlin Wall may have been torn down but walls of other types quickly replaced it. It seems we have grown accustomed to building walls of prejudice and hostility between ourselves, and those who are different than we are. Wherever and whenever there is the "us and them" mentality, we see the walls start to go up. We are to be different than those who are lost. The Word of God commands us to come out from among them and be different.
Paul is dealing with the prejudice that is within the church. What Paul is dealing with is what we might call denominational differences or the color of ones skin. Sometimes we can become very judgmental or critical toward those who are of a different denomination or some one with a different skin color.
Paul say’s, " Wherefore Remember ". Paul is telling the church at Ephesus, when you think you are better and more spiritual than others because of your racial or denominational differences, remember where God brought you from and what He did in your life as a result of His saving grace. You are no better than the next person who has accepted God’s offer of salvation. So don’t think of yourself more highly than you should.
Romans 12:3-10 (NIV) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
There are two extremes that we must avoid. One is that of thinking poorly of ourselves and the other is that of thinking to highly of ourselves.
Paul is telling us that we need to have a proper viewpoint of ourselves if we are going to be effective in doing God’s work. We must have a proper opinion of ourselves based on the level of faith that we have along with the gifts that we have. We must realize that God has placed others in the body of Christ with gifts that are different than the ones that we have in order to get His work done. No one individual possesses all the gifts and abilities needed to make a church successful. It takes all of us, using the gifts and abilities that God has given us, working together to make the church successful.
I would like to use three words that would help us to understand our scripture text today and break down the walls that divide the body of Christ. These words will help us to have a proper opinion of ourselves. Theses words are:
1. Separation – this is what sin caused.
2. Reconciliation – this is what God has done.
3. Unification – this is what we are as a result of God’s work in our lives.
I. Separation
Separated from God, this is what we were before we were saved. Paul says that we were separate from Christ --- they were without Christ. He goes on to say that we were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel --- that we were without citizenship in God’s kingdom. That we were strangers to the covenants of promise) that we were without covenants to assure our future. We were in the position of having no hope and without God in the world --- as sinners were without hope and without God. This was our situation.
So a dividing wall of hostility had been erected. Paul speaks of this barrier of the dividing wall in verse 14. This wall of hostility found its expression in a physical wall surrounding the Temple. In Herod’s Temple there was separating wall between the area in which a Jew was allowed and the area designated for the Gentiles. There were inscriptions placed along the wall that warned the Gentiles to proceed no further. These inscriptions read in part, "Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death." This dividing wall symbolized the hostility between Jew and Gentile.
II. Reconciliation – this id found in verses 13-18
Only through Christ can the walls of prejudice come down. Christ came to break down the walls that divide us. Through Christ’s work and the shedding of his blood Christ has brought those who formerly were separated near. When Christ came He made Himself the basis for peace. No longer are we to relate to God based on the Law of commandments contained in ordinances. He has abolished that by His death on the cross. Now both Jew and Gentile alike can come to Him and be made into new men, thus establishing peace. Our peace is not based on our heritage, our performance, or the color of our skin. Through His word He reveals Himself as our peace. We are also told that through Him we have access in one Spirit to the Father.
This is what God did for Jew and Gentile alike. He brought them to a place of reconciliation. And it is His desire to bring all of humanity to this same place. He desires to make us into a new humanity. It is a new humanity based upon a new life in Christ.
There seems to be a tendency within us, inherited from Adam, not only to hide from God, but to hide from one another as well. There is a tendency to be suspicious of one another. There is a tendency to judge one another. There is a tendency to build walls to separate "us" from "them." But Christ has come to bring us together in Him. And in Christ there is absolutely no reason why we can’t come together. No reason, except of disobedience to Him.
There is now no division based on race, nationality, age, education, sex, or culture. In Christ the barriers are down. But let me say again, only through Christ can the walls of prejudice come down. And in Him they do, and they must!
Are there things in our lives that separate us from one another or other Christians? If there are, then we need to allow God to break down these walls. We can be sure as believers, that the things that separate us from one another, has not been placed there by God. The God of reconciliation has come to break down the walls that separate us.
There are several things that can get in the way of bringing down these walls. The first is pride. There is no doubt that pride is the root of so many sins. Pride is certainly at the root of prejudice. Some people are taught that they are inherently better than other people. Based on race or national origin, these categories change. This is not limited to race or nationality; it can also be true of religious denomination. Whatever the category, when one group feels that they are better than another group, you can be sure pride is at the root. Jesus came to do away with pride. Pride is one fence that needs to be torn down.
Another problem, which gets in the way, is the feeling of inferiority. Some people have been beaten up so much that they feel rejected. They not only feel rejected by other people, but they feel rejected by God. It’s easy to believe that since others don’t like you that God doesn’t like you either. When a feeling of inferiority victimizes you, you see yourself as a failure. And feeling like a failure you see everyone including God rejecting you. Other people’s pride and prejudice feed these feelings of inferiority. But it is all a lie from the devil. Jesus Christ accepts all who come to Him. There is no sin, no failure, and no fault, which can cause Him to reject you. When Jesus received the woman of Samaria, many were surprised that He would even talk to her. Many are still surprised at those whom Jesus chooses. You are never a second-class citizen if Jesus has chosen you.
A final difficulty is the problem of pressure. Sometimes we build the walls because of other people’s prejudice with whom we associate. The apostle Peter found this to be true in his own life. In Acts 10, God prepared him through a vision to go to a Gentile household in order to share Christ. God showed Peter through that vision that there was nothing unclean that God has made clean. Then He sent Peter to the household of Cornelius. There the Holy Spirit was poured out as He had been at Pentecost. Peter got the point, and rejoiced at God’s activity in their midst. But later on, Paul had to rebuke Peter because Peter withdrew himself from fellowship with the Gentiles when some of his Jewish buddies came from Jerusalem. Even Peter was a victim of the pressure that can be applied by others’ opinions. We also can be pressured this way.
Jesus has come to make peace. He has come to bring us together in Himself. Are there those with whom you need to make peace today? Are there attitudes you need to surrender today? Christ has come to set us free.
III. Unification verses 19-22
The Apostle Paul gives us three pictures of who we are in relation to God and other Christians.
1. Citizens In A New Kingdom
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints . . . (2:19a)
We are told that in Christ we are now citizens in a new kingdom. We are told that we are fellow citizens with the saints. When we come to Christ, we enter the Kingdom of God. And what is this kingdom? It is the place where God rules. When we come to Christ, we submit ourselves to the rule of God. Those who refuse to submit themselves to that rule have not really come to Christ. True believers enter the Kingdom because they enter into a relationship with God whereby they surrender their rights and submit to His rule. That is what the Kingdom of God is all about
2. Members In A New Family
. . . and are of God’s household. (2:19b)
God is not finished yet. Paul takes it a step farther by showing us a 2nd picture. Paul say’s we are members in a new family. We are of God’s household. In Christ we have a new family. We are brought into the inner circle of relationships.
When we are told we are of God’s household, it means we have now entered into the most intimate of relationships as members of the family of God. Those who are in this family are our brothers and sisters in Christ. And these relationships in the family of God enable us to have our needs met on a far deeper level. We can now be accepted fully, loved freely, greeted warmly, and encourage daily. This is what families are for.
3. Living Stones In A New Temple
. . . having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. - Ephesians 2:20-22
Here the apostle moves on to a new figure. It is the picture of a temple. It is the temple of God. This is not a physical temple made with hands but a spiritual temple in which we are the living stones. As living stones we are being fitted together as we are growing into a holy temple in the Lord. This temple into which we are being built together is in fact a dwelling of God in the Spirit. The apostles and prophets have laid the foundation for this temple with Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone.
In 1 Peter 2:5 we read, "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." This picture we see is of a holy temple which is a dwelling of God in the Spirit and which is made of us as living stones. What a beautiful image this is! This is not the picture of a temple made of bricks that are all alike. This is a stone structure. With each stone being different. But each stone is necessary. And each stone doesn’t come as it is, either. It says that we are being fitted together by a Master Builder. The Master Stonemason is in charge of chiseling us into just the right shape to be placed where He chooses.
God is conforming us to Christ. And He is also giving us gifts to serve in the Body of Christ. We are not all alike. We do not set the terms and conditions --- He does! God is building us together. In Christ, we are living stones in a new temple.
What is the purpose for which this temple is being built? Our text says that this temple is a dwelling place for God. The passage we read in 1 Peter say’s it is "a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." In other words, this new temple is built to contain the presence of the living God, and we are not only to contain His presence but also to respond to that presence as priests in praise.
