in Ephesians chapter 2 at verse 1. And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 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. 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 far 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your written Word.
We pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and we pray that You would encourage us and help us, God, to see Your promises as they are fulfilled in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus. How we thank You and how we praise You for Him. How we thank You and praise You for His life of obedience, His death on the cross, His resurrection again the third day, and His current session on high. And we look forward to his return in glory to judge the living and the dead.
We don't look forward to that because we are prepared in and of ourselves, but we look forward to it because we're clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And how we thank you and how we praise you that you are building your church, Lord Jesus, and that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Bless this time, we pray, in your most holy name. Amen.
Introduction: Gentile Inclusion in Scripture
Well, as I said, we've seen in the book of Genesis many promises concerning Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God. Specifically, in Genesis 9, at verse 27, Noah says, May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. It's an emphasis on Japheth being Gentilic or a Gentile being included in those promises that come to Shem, the Shemites or the Israelites. We've seen in our studies in Genesis several promises to Abraham that in Abraham all of the families of the earth shall be blessed.
When you turn to the Psalter you see the similar Emphasis that the nations will be glad through the God of Israel you see this emphasis throughout the prophets the prophet Isaiah Specifically in that servant song where the Lord says it's too small a thing with reference to Messiah's salvation work It's too small a thing that you only go and rescue the tribes of Jacob, but I will give you as a light unto the Gentiles and And lo and behold, we turn to the New Testament Scriptures, and we see that emphasis reiterated, and we see it realized and fulfilled in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, His life, His death, His resurrection. Christ says, go make disciples of all the nations. Christ has this emphasis for his church to not only evangelize the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but to go to the other nations as well. We see that in the book of Acts.
You'll be my witnesses, first in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. Well, here in Ephesians 2, the apostle is explaining what it looks like that now Gentiles have been included in the covenant promises of God. Just to sort of show you the structure and Paul's argument in Ephesians, you need to look first at Ephesians 1, verse 19. Ephesians 1, verse 19.
Actually, we'll back up to verse 15. Paul says, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, Do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers." Now here's Paul at the throne of grace. Here's what Paul prays specifically. He says, verse 17, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. the eyes of your understanding having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
And now notice in verse 19, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. Paul wants the people of God to understand something about the power of God. That's the third petition in his prayer. I want you to know what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.
He illustrates that power now in three particular ways. In verses 20 and following, he highlights that power as manifested when God raised Christ from the dead. In chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, he shows that power in the salvation of individual sinners. those identified in verses 1 to 3 as lifeless and helpless and hopeless, having been made alive by the power of God. And then in verses 11 to 22, there is another illustration or demonstration of the power of God, that he brought the Gentiles along with the Jews, not to be two separate peoples of God, vis-a-vis dispensationalism, but rather to be one new man in Christ Jesus.
And that's the emphasis of the apostle here in Ephesians chapter 2. But
Sermon Outline Introduced
I want to look at verses 11 to 22 under three considerations. First, the former plight of Gentile believers, verses 11 and 12. Secondly, the present reception of Gentile believers in verses 13 to 18. And then finally, the purchased benefits given to Gentile believers in verses 19 to 22.
Former Plight of Gentile Believers
But note first this former plight in verses 11 and 12. He says, therefore, remember. It's important for us to remember what we were and what we have become. It's important for us to remember this because it ultimately magnifies the grace of God.
We were dead in our trespasses and sins, and now we need to remember what we were and what we are. And that's Paul's emphasis with these Gentile Christians, that they are to remember what they were and what they had become. John Eady says, this exercise of memory would deepen their humility, elevate their ideas of divine grace, and incite them to ardent and continued thankfulness. We need to remember so that we respond with gratitude and thankfulness.
Now, Nody refers to their previous status. 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. In other words, they were Gentiles physically. They were not ethnic Jews.
And as a result, ethnic Jews, circumcised ones in the flesh, would refer to these people as the uncircumcision. In fact, it was a derogatory way, and it was a means by which they looked down upon them. I think I've shared before, a Jewish prayer was, thank you, God, that I'm not a woman. Thank you, God, that I'm not a slave.
And thank you, God, that I'm not a Gentile. There was that kind of animosity that obtained between the Jews and the Gentiles. The Gentiles were looked down upon by the Jews, and the apostle here is highlighting that that's not the case anymore. In Christ Jesus, there's not these two distinct people, but there's one new man in Christ Jesus.
And then notice with reference to the description of what they were prior to their inclusion in these covenant promises of God. Notice in verse 12, 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. They were aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel. They were outsiders.
They were not included in the specific things that marked Israel's religious life and worship. They were aliens. They were outsiders. They were not welcomed in.
They were on the outside looking in, and they were not welcome to participate. Notice that they were strangers to the covenants of promise. At one time, that was the case. But in Christ, they have been brought nigh, and participants in these covenants of promise.
Notice as well, they had no hope. What does this say concerning those outside of the church? Now, I'm not suggesting that the same sort of thing is the one-for-one analogy, old covenant Israel and the church today, but there's certainly some similarities. If you're outside the church, if you're outside of Jesus Christ, you're without hope.
It's within the context of the church that the means of grace are dealt with. It's by God's grace in the context of the church that sinners come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The apostle has a high view of the church. And I think that's one of the things that's so grievous about scandals in the church.
It causes animosity toward the church. And the people of God are not supposed to have animosity toward the church. They're not supposed to see it as the place where people get burned. They're not supposed to see the church as a place where sin is undealt with, or where criminals go undetected.
The church is always held in high esteem amongst the apostolic writers, and Paul is no exception. And then notice what he goes on to say, the only use of the word atheist in the New Testament, 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 here it is, and without God in the world. You were atheists. You were without God.
Today people think that atheism is something cool. The only time it's referred to in the New Testament, it's a horrible thing. To be without God in the world means to be hopeless. It means to be lifeless.
It means to be homeless. And it means ultimately to be estranged from the Commonwealth of Israel. It is a sad picture that Paul portrays of these Gentiles prior to their coming unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And structurally, it's exactly parallel to what he does with individuals.
In chapter 2, verses 1 to 3, he gives us this snapshot of what individuals are before they come to Christ. In verses 4 to 10, he gives us this snapshot of what they are after having come to Christ. He does the same thing here with reference to the Gentiles. They were Christless, and therefore they were churchless, hopeless, godless, and homeless.
Present Reception of Gentile Believers
But notice, secondly, the present reception of Gentile believers. Verse 13, he says, but now. The contrast, just like verse 4. Remember, here's what you were as individuals, verses one to three, but God in two, four.
Here he tells us their condition in verse 12. It's a hopeless, lifeless, homeless, terrible situation, but now you have been brought, or but now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. You see, brethren, this is cause for rejoicing. This is why we do what we do when we come here.
We remember these but-nows. We remember these but-gods. We remember what we were prior to the cross and what, by God's grace, we are now after having come to the cross. It is glorious what the Lord has done in terms of the salvation of individuals on a micro level, but in terms of this Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God on the macro level.
This is tying up several threads of biblical data and presenting it to us for our inspection and ultimately for our admiration, so that we can testify that all of the promises of God are yea and amen in our Lord Jesus Christ. So, but now, In Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, you were in that condition of being Christless, churchless, hopeless, godless, and homeless, but now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Christ Is Our Peace
Now, let's see how Jesus does this in verses 14 and following. Notice, first of all, the Lord Christ is our peace. Chill out, verse 14, for he himself is our peace. Isn't that something that every Christian can testify to?
Christ is our peace. We may see turmoil, we may see affliction, we may see trial, we may experience it in spades, but nevertheless, we have that peace with God that does surpass all understanding. The apostle highlights this emphasis. Remember in the upper room, Jesus says, my peace I give you, my peace I leave with you.
Not as the world gives do I give. The world has a form of peace. The world has an analog of peace. The world has these things that try to anesthetize people so that they have some degree of comfort, but it's not a lasting and abiding peace.
That peace with God that we enjoy is there in the midst of trial and affliction and hardship and difficulty. It was there in the heart of King David of Israel when he was being hunted like a dog. It's there in Psalm 63 when David's out in the wilderness. Why?
Because he's being hunted by Saul, or he's being hunted by enemy nations. And nevertheless, he has this peace in his heart. We have that peace through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Bible everywhere emphasizes that.
Christ Makes Peace: The Wall Removed
But then notice as well, the Lord Christ makes peace. He not only is our peace, but he also makes peace. And Paul explains that in verses 14b to 16. Notice he makes the two, Jew and Gentile, into one.
It says, he himself is our peace who has made both one. Again, I just don't understand what drives what's called dispensationalism. If you've never heard that word, then I'm probably going to confuse you for the next three minutes. But if you have heard that word, what's the fundamental tenet with reference to dispensationalism?
It is two peoples of God. There's the Jews and the Gentiles. But everything in the New Testament pressures us to realize that that distinction has been obliterated. It's been done away with.
That's the glory of the cross, is that the Gentiles now are participants in the covenant promises of God made initially to Abraham. If we are Abraham's seed, or if we are believers in Christ, we are Abraham's seed, irrespective of our ethnicity. It's all about being a spiritual Jew, being a spiritual circumcised person. That's the emphasis in the Scripture. not two peoples of God, but rather one people of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John Eady again said Gentiles are no longer formally excluded from religious privilege and blessing, and Jewish monopoly is forever overthrown. This idea that in the future the great and glorious plan of God is to get the Gentiles off the church so that God can now deal with the Jews again has no basis in the scripture. Now, we are told that it does, but it simply does not. The glory of God's gospel is that the two become one in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's a beautiful thing. I don't know why there's this antipathy to it. The whole movement of Scripture leads us to Christ as the great unifier, as the great Savior of both Jew and Gentile. And then notice as well, he broke down the middle wall of separation.
There's a few views on this reference. Notice the end of verse 14, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. The three views that I'm aware of says, one, the wall at the temple in Jerusalem, which kept the Gentiles in the outer court away from full privilege. I don't think that's what's in view.
A second view is the veil or curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Now, he certainly does that in the sense that not only the high priest on the Day of Atonement goes into the Holy of Holies, but now every believer in Christ goes into the Holy of Holies. But I don't think that's in the Apostle's mind in 2.14b. Rather, it is the enmity that existed between the Jew and the Gentile. the enmity that existed between the Jew and the Gentile.
Because at one time, these Gentiles were aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel. By the grace of God and the power of the Christian gospel, they've been brought nigh. They have been brought in. They are now present participants in those covenant promises.
And so the enmity that at one time obtained is no longer there. Paul hasn't got animosity toward Gentiles. Peter doesn't have animosity toward Gentiles. The apostles don't have animosity toward Gentiles.
And neither do any other converted Jew in the history of the church. And then notice as well,
The Threefold Division of the Law
he says that Christ abolished the commandments. You've got to understand something about passages like these. There's this simple approach to law passages in the New Testament that says, well, if it says the law is abolished, therefore, there's no more, you know, Ten Commandments. The law is divided into three parts.
There's the moral law of God. That's the Ten Commandments, what we call the Decalogue. Decalogue simply means ten words. And that decalogue is trans-covenantal.
That means it doesn't matter what covenant a person is under, they always have abiding responsibility to those Ten Commandments. As well, it's not specifically for the saved, but it's over all men everywhere. It's not that the pagans are somehow exempt from Sabbath-keeping, or the pagans are somehow exempt from the prohibition against idol-making. No, the Ten Commandments covers all of God's creatures because it's a revelation of who God is.
And then you have what's called the judicial law. This governed the people of Israel when they lived in the land. And the judicial law was simply those Ten Commandments worked out in society. For instance, the judicial law had a specification concerning a goring ox.
The ox that gored. If my ox got out and attacked you or your ox, I was held responsible. I would have to pay a great big fine. If it was found out that my ox had previously gored, and I was aware of it, I could be capitally punished as a result.
So you trace back to the moral principle, it's the Sixth Commandment, that it's working out in the society was that goring ox law. As well, you were mandated to have a wall around your roof so that persons wouldn't fall off. Now, the judicial law expired with the Commonwealth of Israel, but there's a principle of general equity. We ought to put fences around swimming pools.
That makes good sense so that our two-year-old neighbors don't wander over and end up drowned to death. So you see, there is that general equity with reference to judicial law that it's good. There's wise things that we ought to learn. And then there's what's called the ceremonial law.
And with reference to the ceremonial law, it regulated Israel's religious worship. It was about types and shadows ultimately pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact,
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 9
turn to Hebrews chapter 9 for just a moment. I referred to this this morning. A lot of this has to do or a lot of this is similar with reference to Peter's or Stephen's speech in Acts 7. But if you look at Hebrews chapter 9, You can see this ceremonial law, and you can see the reality that it was to be temporary.
It wasn't to be abiding forever, like the Ten Commandments. Notice in Hebrews 9, 6. Now, when these things had been thus prepared, this is talking about the earthly tabernacle, talking about those things that mark Israel's religious life. Now, when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
But in the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance, the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience. Sounds just like Stephen before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 7. This was all designed by God to point us to Christ.
Now that Christ is here, we don't go backwards in redemptive history and construct temples. We don't go backwards in redemptive history and sacrifice animals. We don't go backwards in redemptive history and exclude Gentiles. No, we go forward because of what Christ has done.
So
The Ceremonial Law Abolished in Christ
back to verse 9, it was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who perform the service perfect in regard to the conscience, concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of Reformation. Now for you young Protestant proud men, that's not the Reformation in the 16th century. It's not what he's talking about. Time of Reformation is Christ.
All these things serve their function and purpose, but when Christ comes, He abolishes the ceremonial law. Not because it was bad, not because it was defective, but because it pointed to Him, and He has fulfilled it, and therefore, we are not prohibited from eating bacon. Therefore, we are not demanded to go to the temple. Therefore, we're not supposed to go through the various things that marked Israel's religious life.
That's what Paul is highlighting in Ephesians 2, having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances. Our confession says, all which ceremonial laws, being appointed only to the time of reformation, are by Jesus Christ, the true Messiah and only lawgiver, who was furnished with power from the Father for that end, abrogated and taken away. The reference to circumcision in verse 11 and the reference to temple in verse 21, there in Ephesians 2, I think reiterates, highlights, or affirms and confirms this interpretation. The law that Christ abolished was not the Ten Commandments.
The law that Christ abolished was the ceremonies, and the reason He abolished them is they were no longer necessary because they preached Him. Now that He's come, we no longer need to subscribe to those particular things. So I think it's a very bad misinterpretation from professing Christians today to take some passages and say, well, there you have it, no more law. We can go to Tim Hortons on Sunday.
We can do whatever it is we want on Sunday. It's interesting that it's the fourth commandment that everybody sees obliterated. Even persons that jettison the 10 commandments won't advocate murder. They won't say it's okay, we can go out and commit adultery, because we're not under law, we're under grace.
Thankfully, there's enough common sense and restraint in their hearts that they don't argue the way they do with the fourth word. It's the fourth word that has the greatest degree of antipathy directed toward it. But brethren, there is both ceremonial and moral aspects with reference to the fourth, and it's abiding along with the other nine. So don't be one of those people that say, well, we're not under the law, we're under grace.
Again, persons say that, and it's a quote from the Bible, but they don't know what it means. That's a bad thing. Romans 6.14 does not mean you can go commit adultery. Romans 6.14 does not mean you get to be an idolater.
Romans 6.14 does not mean you get to covet. Romans 6.14 does not mean you get to lie, and to cheat, and to steal, and do all manner of evil, because we're not under law, we're under grace. We're not under law as a covenant of works by which we find acceptance with God. That's Paul's point in Romans 6.14.
It's a very easy thing, this threefold division of law. It's not something that only rocket scientists and PhDs are able to see. Paul tells us that it's not circumcision, but rather the keeping of the commandments of God that matters. There's this difference in approach even in the Old Covenant prophets.
When God says, it's not sacrifice that I'm after, it's mercy. He's not saying don't sacrifice, but he's highlighting in terms of law, you ought not to neglect justice, mercy, and faith. You ought not to neglect those moral principles given to us by the Ten Commandments. It's not the sacrifice so much as it is the heart of the sacrificer.
So that threefold division of the law is absolutely crucial. And in this particular section, we're dealing with the abolishment of the ceremonial law.
One New Man from the Two
Again, he highlights the fact that God or Jesus creates one new man from the two. One new man from the two. Verse 15, 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. You see, he not only is our peace, but Christ makes peace.
And the way that he makes peace is through the blood of his cross. And he brings these Jews and Gentiles together, and he makes them one new man. They're not separate. They're not distinct.
They're not two peoples of God. It's not the case that Gentiles are going to be raptured out, and then God's purposes for Israel, that plan A, will be put back into effect. That is just an utter misreading of the data of Scripture. And it's unfortunate that it's such a stronghold in the churches today, but if people read Ephesians 2 the way Paul intended us to read Ephesians 2, we wouldn't posit two peoples of God.
We'd see the glory of the Christian gospel is that Christ makes one new man. And then notice, he brought reconciliation through the cross. It's a beautiful thing. that he might, verse 16, that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. That Jew-Gentile distinction that was there prior is now put to death through the blood of the cross.
But notice, Christ not only is our peace, according to verse 14, and Christ doesn't only make peace, according to verses 14b to 16, but Christ also preaches peace. This is one of those passages that preachers really like because it sort of validates them. You know, you probably have something in your job that you do and somebody says, oh, that's really neat. And you get a good feeling there.
Look at the glory of preaching as revealed to us by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2.17. Notice 2.17, and he, Jesus, It's a good capitalization there, good interpretation. It is Jesus. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.
So Christ is our peace, Christ makes peace, and Christ preaches peace. Now, where in the gospel records did Jesus ever go to Ephesus? Where in the gospel narratives, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, did Jesus leave the confines of Israel? When did Jesus step one foot off and go into Ephesus?
And yet Paul says he came and preached peace to you. What's Paul's point? that when Paul and his companions went to Ephesus in Acts chapter 19, as they spoke the truth, it was as if Jesus himself preached to those Ephesians. Turn to Romans chapter 10 for just a moment, where the same sort of emphasis is seen. Romans chapter 10.
The whole emphasis here is on believing the gospel, looking unto Jesus. We see that in verse 10. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now notice in verse 14.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe? Now, there's some interpretation going on here. I'm going to read it the way I think Paul intended it.
Verse 14. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
In other words, as Christ is accurately preached, it's as if Christ himself is preaching. By the power of the Holy Spirit, as the Word of God goes forth, we can say that Christ preached peace to us. I submit to you that the New Testament has a high regard for preaching. It does for the church, and it does for preaching.
Remember that in the first century, there were other media available for them to communicate the gospel. Drama was big. Theater was big. Miming, I think, was big.
There was a whole host of ways to communicate the message. What does God choose? What does God ordain? The foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
The second Helvetic confession in chapter 1, paragraph 4 says, the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. Wherefore, when this word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very word of God is proclaimed and received by the faithful, and that neither any other word of God is to be invented nor is to be expected from heaven, and that now the word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches, for even if he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the word of God remains still true You see, the New Testament has a high view of church and it has a high view of preaching. That's why we believe that you ought to come to church. That's why we have an evening service.
That's why we have a Wednesday night Bible study. Because the church isn't in the first place a social gathering. The church certainly isn't, in the second place, a place for entertainment, but rather it is the pillar and the ground of the truth. It is the very household of God himself, and God demands the propagation of the truth to the people of God for their edification and their maturation and their growth in grace and knowledge, and it's a place where sinners are confronted with who they are under a holy God and they are told, hopefully begged and implored, to flee to Christ for salvation.
The New Testament has a high view of church, it has a high view of preaching. Back to Ephesians chapter 2,
Trinitarian Access to the Father
notice the apostles' Trinitarian theology in verse 18. He says, for through Him, Jesus Christ, we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. If a sermon could be preached equally in a Christian church and a Jewish synagogue, then it's not a good Christian sermon. It must be Trinitarian.
We come to the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our hymnody, our psalm singing, our worship service, and certainly our preaching must be markedly Trinitarian. That is absolutely crucial. Some would suggest that there's only a few texts in the Bible that highlight the doctrine of the Trinity.
Most persons know Matthew 28. Go, make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Well, something you need to see that in the book of Ephesians, for instance, Paul's theology is Trinitarian throughout. He just traffics in these themes and in these concepts without saying, OK, now I'm going to talk about the Trinity.
He's just Trinitarian. Verse 18 is Trinitarian, for through Him, Jesus Christ, we both, Jew-Gentile, have access by one Spirit to the Father. We come through the Mediator to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Purchased Benefits for Gentile Believers
Now let's look finally at the redemptive benefits, or the purchased benefits, given to Gentile believers. Verses 19 to 22. Notice, verse 19, now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and citizens. which you were prior. Remember, you were aliens and strangers according to verse 12.
But because of what Christ accomplished at the cross, that's no longer the case. Now, verse 19, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. That's a beautiful thing, isn't it? At one time, these Jewish people would thank God that they were not made Gentiles.
And now you're worshiping right alongside of them and your brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. We have that corporate solidarity because of the work of the Savior on the cross. Yes, there's individual benefit, but brethren, there's corporate benefit. And if there's one problem that the church in our generation is really, really engaged in, it's an individualism.
You look at the scriptures and what what do we see for instance in Psalm 87? God Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than the dwelling places of Jacob Does it mean he hates the dwelling places of Jacob doesn't mean he hates families doesn't mean he's against individuals it means that the corporate gathering of God's people is a joy and a delight to him and And it's the same thing in the church of Jesus Christ. The church isn't supposed to be just a place where we come to get our batteries charged. Certainly that happens, and it's a blessed benefit or corollary.
The primary emphasis for us gathering together is to worship God as his people. There's a corporate solidarity, a one-bodiness that the apostle highlights is now true because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished. Notice in verse 19b, your fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. You were without God in the world at one time.
You were without God in the world. You were atheists. But now, guess what? You are members of the household of God.
It's a great thing, isn't it? We're told the church is the household of God. Not just here, but we're told it in 1 Timothy 3 as well. God's invited us into his house.
God has brought us into his house through the bloodshedding of his own Son. We who once were far off have been brought nigh now through the blood of Jesus Christ. And we are members of the household of God. Now, some in this particular group of people and some in other churches have, you know, nice positions of authority or prestige in their business settings.
Others may not have that. They may feel like, you know, I'm sort of losing out in terms of my potential and all that I could possibly be. Well, in the final analysis at the end of the day, if you are a member of the household of God, that trumps just about everything. Well, it does.
It trumps everything out there. What identifies you? I'm a business owner, that's not a bad thing. I'm a husband, not a bad thing.
I'm a father, not a bad thing. I'm a mother, no, it's a great thing. Hard thing too, mothers. But I'm a member of the household of God.
Again, when church scandals happen, what happens? Everybody gets mad at the church, get mad at the fools and the idiots that caused the problems, but never ever direct that anger toward the bride of Jesus Christ, the household of God. I remember one time many, many years ago, we were going through some difficulties in our church. And our kids were little, and I was pretty shaken up on this one particular instance.
And I got home, I got on the knees with the kids, and I said, never, ever, ever judge the church based on the conduct of some of those within the church. Don't do that, because it's typical for preachers' kids at times, or missionary kids, to rise up and have an antipathy against the church. They see the church as the place where their father has been chewed up and spitting out. They see the church as the place that has made life hard.
So I tried to exhort them as children, never despise the church over the conduct of certain individuals within it. And then I was able to highlight, contrastly, there's good people. And I mentioned several names, persons that are here now. And that was a great benefit and a blessing and a boon to be able to do that with the kids.
So when these things happen in churches, or when there's cover-ups in churches, the response ought not to be, we hate the church. No! The church is the bride of Christ. The church is the apple of His eye.
The church is that for which Jesus died and was raised again. Brethren, if you have one thing in your life, have an esteem, not only for Christ and His finished work, but for His bride. We wouldn't take it lightly if somebody insulted our bride, or they insulted our spouse, or they said, oh, she's terrible, or she's horrible, or she's this, or she's that. We would want to defend her honor.
That's what the people of God ought to be about. And that's what's embedded in this particular text.
The Church as Temple and Household
Notice what Paul goes on to say. He says in verse 20, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. There's dignity here, isn't there? There's blessed dignity.
There's things to esteem here. We're not just a group of people that find ourselves together on Sunday morning and Sunday evening. The church is built upon the foundation of these apostolic men, these men who died for the cause of God and truth. The chief cornerstone is Jesus Christ the Lord.
And then notice what the apostle goes on to say, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, verse 21, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. You see why Stephen is perceived to be anti-temple in Acts 7? It's because he's actually right concerning temple theology. It was those unbelieving Jews that made up the Sanhedrin that put all of their eggs into that basket of temple.
As long as we've got temple, we've got everything. Stephen saw correctly, the temple points to Christ. In Christ, it's the people of God that are the temple of God. That's why we don't have a special structure that we go to.
That's why we don't have to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem. That's why according to John chapter 4, the time is coming. when it won't be here or there that the fathers worship, but wherever people are, will worship God in spirit and in truth. So 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. Again, you see the Trinitarianism.
We've got God, probably Father, we've got Spirit references, we've got Jesus references. It's not one text here or there that mentions the Trinity in the New Testament. The New Testament, and I would argue the Old Testament, is Trinitarian to the core. It is Trinitarian to the core because that is who the true and living God is.
He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That's the true and living God. See, the Apostle is emphasizing this. You might say, well, why are we focusing on the corporate element tonight?
Because after all, the supper represents my salvation. It represents my coming to the Lord Jesus. And when I come to this bread, when I come to this wine, I think about what Jesus did for me. And that's good, brethren.
And you should think about what Jesus did for you. But think about what he did for all of us. Because one of the emphases in Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11, is that we have communion together, not just vertically with reference to God, but communion with one another. There's a one loaf mass expressed by the people of God at the supper.
There is one body and we are worshiping him together. Persons who are diverse. We don't have the Jew-Gentile thing going on here, but we have diversity. We have older people, we have younger people, we have ethnic differences, We have sociopolitical backgrounds that are different.
We have all kinds of things. I think I've shared before. It always intrigues me that a young guy from Southern California ended up in Chilliwack. That is God, because I never in my wildest dreams would have ever even assumed that I would go to Canada, let alone Chilliwack.
I just didn't even know what a Chilliwack was. This is God. He's put us together, and there's this body element that is missing today. Brethren, we ought to feel slighted, we ought to feel gypped, we ought to feel less than if we are not in the public place where God has promised His special presence.
It's the church. The church has esteem in the pages of God's Word. If we love Jesus, we will love the church. And Paul sets forth before us here a great view of church, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
That's why I say God has promised to dwell with His people in this new covenant era in the church. He's with us. He's present in Revelation chapter one. Where is Christ?
He's in the midst of the lampstands. He is walking among the churches while they convene for public worship. F.F. Bruce, commenting on this temple significance, says, as the God of Israel had once taken up residence in the wilderness tabernacle and later in the Jerusalem temple by His name and His glory, so now by His Spirit, He makes the fellowship of believers, Jewish and Gentile alike, His chosen dwelling place.
No privilege is bestowed on the people of God in which Gentiles do not enjoy an equal share. Then I want to give one final quote, and then we'll close. This is from a commentary on 1 Samuel chapter 26. Now, the scene in 1 Samuel chapter 26 is that David is being hunted.
David is being persecuted. David is on the run. David has had to leave the confines of Israel. And now he has the opportunity to kill Saul again, but he doesn't take it, because David is a respectable man.
He's not going to touch the Lord's anointed. But David's complaint is, I don't want to leave the confines of Israel. I don't want to leave here because God is here. This is where the temple is, or the tabernacle.
This is where the people of God are. It's a big problem for me to be outside of Israel. Now, Saul shows a degree of repentance. We can air quote that.
Who knows if it was real or not, but he goes soft on David, at least for that particular time. But David's concern is, I don't want to be outside of the confines of Israel because it's within Israel that God is present with his people in corporate worship. Yeah, David can find God in the wilderness according to Psalm 63, but where does David especially find God? In the sanctuary.
It's in the sanctuary. There's an emphasis on the corporate nature of worship in David and in the Bible. Now, this is what Davis says concerning David. He says, didn't David know what every enlightened Christian know?
That you can pray and commune with God anywhere? Apparently, the writer of Psalm 63, 139, and 142 was well aware of that. But David was more enlightened than many enlightened Christians. He knew that to be cut off from Yahweh's inheritance, verse 19, was to be cut off from Yahweh's face, verse 20.
In other words, if you're outside of the land, you're cut off from Yahweh's face. He says that when one had left Israel, there was no possibility of public worship. He goes on to say, this is not the place to sketch a biblical theology of worship. Suffice it to say that David would have made a poor space-age evangelical.
He would never have been content with his study Bible, prayer list, and a quiet cave. Yahweh's face or presence was especially seen in the sanctuary, Psalm 63, 2. Yet David was being driven away and cut off from tabernacle and sacrifice from priest and festival. He was being shot out of the land and sanctuary where Yahweh met his people.
To be cut off from the ordinances of public worship is David's most severe grief. Would that cause me anguish? This is Davis's question. Would it cause you anguish if church was canceled today?
If the snow fell in such an amount that we had to say no worship, or the power was out and we had to say no worship, would there be any anguish? And there was quite a windstorm. The wind blew that cover off the speaker there and blew my office door open. It was locked.
I came to the church yesterday morning. The door was actually blown open. yet the power is on. God's for us. But would it cause us anguish if the public worship of God was shut down?
Would it? Is that something that would affect you? Is that something that would perhaps hurt you? Is that something that would cause you a degree of irritation or frustration?
He says, to be cut off from the ordinances of public worship is David's most severe grief. Would that cause me anguish? He says, Christians have surpassed David in privileges, but few have approached him in appetite. I think Davis is right on.
I think he is spot on. Yes, David can meet God in the wilderness, but David knows God is especially found in the sanctuary. David says, Yahweh delights in the gates of Zion more than the dwelling places of Jacob. The Apostle Paul moves in a demonstration of the power of Christ from the individual reception of redemptive benefit to the corporate reception of redemptive benefit to show us that we, the people of God, whether we're Jew or Gentile, we share the same privilege and we together are being fitted together as the very temple of God himself.
I submit the New Testament envisages a high view of the church. So don't let any church scandal, any church difficulty, any church problem ever turn you from the church. There's a lot of people that do a lot of foolish things, and there's remaining corruption in the hearts of everyone. And unfortunately, at times, they can do damage to churches.
But the church as church is something to be loved, it is something to be prayed for, it is something to be fought for, and it is something to endear in the heart of God's people.
Application: Love and Esteem the Church
Well, brethren, I hope that we have seen how, in Jesus Christ, the promises of God are yea and amen, not only to Jews, but also to Gentiles. This is, in fact, a demonstration of the power of God. He raised Jesus from the dead, He saves individual sinners, and He saves Gentiles, and brings them together with Jews, not to keep them as two distinct peoples, but rather to make one new man. And the way that Christ does this is through the blood of His cross.
If you have not come to Christ, it's the blood of the cross that ought to be that which entices you. Because it's through that blood of the cross that sinners find forgiveness. It's through the blood of the cross that sinners find salvation. It's through the blood of the cross that sinners find acceptance with God.
Well, let us close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for Ephesians 2, and for what Christ accomplished in accordance with the prophets and with the testimony of Old Covenant Scripture. We praise You that in Your time You sent Him forth, born of a woman and born under the law, to redeem those under the law. And how we thank You that You have saved us, how we thank You that You've overcome in our own individual lives the various things that Paul explains in verses 1 to 3, and that as well You have overcome the problems of us being Gentiles. You brought us nigh through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We praise you for that inclusion in the covenant promises of God, and we pray that you would help us to appreciate the work of Christ and help us as well to esteem the church of the Lord Jesus. And we ask in His most blessed name. Amen.