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Peace With God / The Great Peace MissionIf I was going to write a letter like this one to the Ephesians I think I would approach it different then Paul. I would start with the practical things of chapters 4,5 and 6. I would start with. Eph 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Eph 5:1 Be imitators of God. Live your life according to your faith. Live in a way that you represent Jesus with your life. Imitate God who is holy and righteous in everything. I think that is how I would start this letter. Well, aren't you glad I'm not Paul? Because when you really think about it Paul's approach is much better then mine. He takes the Ephesians who were first generation Christians. Men and women who had no model before them, who did not understand what God expected of them in their everyday lives. Paul writes his letter in such a way as to lay a foundation of faith. He lays a foundation of important doctrinal truths so they will not just have a bunch of rules to live by. They will not have high goals that can not be met. Rather they and us today have an understanding of who Christ is, what he has done and of our high calling because of the grace of God and the faith we have. Yeah I'm glad I'm not Paul, and I'm glad that he lays this foundation of faith for us today. Because when we know Christ better, when we realize that God has given us this wonderful gift of salvation, by grace through faith. Suddenly all the things of chapters 4, 5 and 6 become acts of faith. And not rules for living. Today as we consider the end of chapter two. We find there was a dividing wall between the races, and a dividing wall between all men and women and God. Paul tells us that now that wall of hostility is gone. Now everyone who believes in Jesus Christ can have peace. Peace with God, and peace within because you are now justified – you are in right standing with God. So Jesus was on a great peace mission. To bring peace on earth, to bring peace with God, to bring peace in the hearts of men and women who trust in him. Peace in our time! Peace with honor!" Those were words of British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, when he returned from conferences in Germany in 1938. He was sure that he had stopped Adolf Hitler. Yet one year later, Hitler invaded Poland, and WWII had begun. Chamberlain's great peace mission had failed. It seems that most peace missions fail. I read that from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 850 there were 7,500 "covenants" agreed on among different nations with the hope of bringing peace -- but no covenant had lasted longer than two years. Or I think about the efforts of Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton in the Middle East, or today as the UN tries to negotiate peace in Darfur Sudan, all these efforts seem to fail in fact most so called, “peace missions” never really do what they set out to do. But there is a "covenant" that has lasted - and that will last – that is the eternal covenant made by God. That covenant is sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ. So it's Jesus Christ's “peace mission” that Paul explains in this portion of text with three very important words summarize this work of our Lord: Separation, Reconciliation, and Unification. READ EPHESIANS 2:11-12
Having already written about salvation and how it is all the work of God and not of works so we can not boast. Now Paul turns to the work of Christ for Gentiles in particular. Most of the believers in the Ephesian church were Gentiles. They may or may not have known about God's workings in the Old Testament. But what they knew for sure was that for hundreds of years, the Jews had looked down on the "uncircumcised” Gentiles with an attitude of disdain. Of course that was an attitude that God had never intended. What many of the Jewish people did for the most part was segregated themselves from others. They created barricades so no one could get to worship God except those who had the right birth. Just an example is something Archaeologists discovered as an inscription from Herod's temple, that read: “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” It was never God's plan to put a barricade to stop people from worshiping him. But many of the Jews did just that, they segregated themselves from others and used their circumcision as proof that they were God's people. But the fact that a man had received the physical mark of the covenant was no proof he was a man of faith. Gal 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Those who have trusted Christ have received a spiritual circumcision of the heart and are marked not by men, but by God. This is one way Jesus rocked the boat of the religious zealots of his day. He at with people of questionable character, he hung out with tax collectors and prostitutes. See Jesus did not practice putting up a barrier, he did not practice segregation, but he did practice separation. Segregation says, I am better then you. You are second class, where separation touches those who need to be touched but is not influenced by their wrong behaviors. Jesus influenced all who he ate with, he ministered the truth to whoever came to him. What about us today? So many people think they are God's child because they have godly parents, or because they belong to a good church-- that they are right with God. Or they look down on others who do not know the Lord. So the scripture we just read in Galatians is very true today. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. How does my faith express itself? James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith ; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. So Paul tells the gentile believes to remember that they were considered second class. Remember you were separated by the religious leaders and remember you wee separated from Christ. Look at what he says.
The Ephesians worshiped the goddess Diana, and knew nothing of the Gospel. For us today, before you gave your life to Christ, you too were lost in your sin, you too knew nothing of salvation by grace. You too had no idea that when you submit to Christ you are the workmanship of God created to do good works for Christ. So Paul reminds the Ephesians and us that we were without Christ and had no citizenship. 2. Without a covenant. While the blessing to the Gentiles was included in God's covenant with Abraham, God never made a covenants with the Gentile nations. The Gentiles were "foreigners " and the Jews never let them forget it. Many of the Pharisees of Jesus day would pray daily, "O God, I give thanks that I am a Jew, not a Gentile, a woman or a dog." 3. Without hope. The world during Paul's time had a great cloud of hopelessness over them, their philosophies were empty; their traditions were dead; religions were powerless to help men face either life or death. And that is still true today, as people strive for fulfillment in the world. They look purpose in pleasure, or wealth, or drugs, alcohol, and relationships, or some great social cause. Yet those things bring no hope, there is a void in their lives just like Paul speaks to the Ephesians. 4. Without God. During Paul's time their were plenty of gods that people worshiped. Remember when Paul went to Athens he even found a shrine to an “unknown God.” Just in case they missed on, the Athenians made a shrine to the “whatever god.” But things have not changed much today, in America we do not have idols on ever corner-- but in India where Joe and Kumari live they do. Still people in America still bow before many of those same things today. God's of pleasure, god's of lust, god's of materialism. All those different things still leave us without the living God. Psalm 115 asks the question, “Why do the nations say 'where is your God.” The answer comes “Our god is in heaven and he does what pleases him.” Then the Psalmist goes on to tell us that people make idols, or gods, that look like something but really have no life in them. “They have eyes but can not see, ears but can not hear...” Then he concludes with these words. Psalm 115:8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. Whatever anyone worships is what they will become like. If you bow before the idol of greed, you will end up a greedy, miserable person. If you live for the god of lust, you will be consumed by a lustful empty lifestyle. If you live by trusting in your own understanding, and not the Lord's wisdom, you will end your life lost without hope without God -- just like Paul reminds the Ephesians that they were. 1 Cor 6:9-11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. That is what you were, past tense. Why is important to remember what we were before we came to Christ? I think as you remember the depths of where you were when Christ found you. As you recall the lost state where God has taken you from, you will never become like many of the religious leaders of Jesus day did. You will not be holier then thou, you will not push people away, you will welcome them into the kingdom, you will be gentler with them, you will evangelize all the more. Because you remember that you too were once without Christ, without hope , with out God, in trouble, having no future. So Paul begins this section to the gentiles, reminding them of what they were before Christ, without the promises, without hope, without God – in the world. There was Separation. READ EPHESIANS 2:13-18
Jesus took what separated us from God and he reconciled us. To be reconciled means to be "to change thoroughly from one position to another." Reconciliation, is what happens when someone is completely altered and adjusted to a required standard. Like reconciling your check book. It is made right to the standard. So reconciliation is to be made right with God. Look again at V13, he says "but now." You were separated, but now your reconciled. Do you have a “but now” in your life? Have you been brought near to God by and through the blood of Christ? In order to know God, you must have a “but now.” And that “but now” is only by Jesus Christ who brings not only Jews but Gentiles to be reconciled, into one body, the church. The word reconcile can also mean "to bring together again." A distraught husband wants to be reconciled to his wife: A worried mother longs to be reconciled to a wayward daughter; And the lost sinner needs to be reconciled to God. Sin is the great separator in this world. It has been dividing people since the very beginning of human history. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were separated from God. Before long, their sons were separated from each other and Cain killed Abel. The earth was filled with evil and violence and that brought judgment. Then even after the Flood, men sinned against God and tried to build their own unity without God's help. The result was another judgment that scattered the nations and confused the languages. Then that God called Abraham, and through the nation of Israel, Jesus Christ came to the world. It was his work on the cross that abolished this separation between Jew and Gentile and between sinful people and God. But that was a lesson the early church had trouble understanding. For centuries, the Jews had been different from the Gentiles - in religion, dress, diet, and laws. Not until Peter was sent to the Gentiles was their even an understanding that God abolished the barrier between the two peoples. But with the salvation of the Gentiles problems began to develop, some of the Jewish Christians insisted that the Gentiles had to become Jewish to become a Christian. But when they sought God the conclusion was, "No! Jews and Gentiles are saved the same way - by faith in Jesus Christ." The separation was gone! How is it gone? 1. V14 -- He is our our peace. John 14:27 (Jesus said) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. When the UN fails to find peace, when the politicians of the world can not make peace -- Jesus Christ the prince of peace - brings something different. His peace was given -- not negotiated. Notice it is not like the peace of the world. The world's peace might be defined as the absence of conflict, but God's peace is reconciliation. Being conformed to the standard of God by the blood of Christ. And God's peace brings inner peace, that says “do not let your heart be troubled or afraid.” When the world is stressed, we can have peace. When the end seems near, the believer can have great peace. Ps 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; Peace with God not because we are Jews nor because we are gentiles, nor because we earn that peace. But peace with God because everyone who calls on Jesus name has access to the Father and has peace with God. So if by faith in Christ anyone is accepted by God, why is it that so many try to keep people out of the kingdom of God. Some people say, you need to clean up first, you need to clean up physically or you need to get your act together practically. No that is not the Gospel of grace alone and faith alone. For grace says come as you are. Notice the strong language Paul uses for Jesus work in reconciliation -- “abolished the the Law.” The word abolish means "to nullify." The Law no longer holds sway over either Jew or Gentile, since in Christ believers are not under Law but under grace. The righteousness of the Law, revealing God's holiness, is still God's standard. But now we are reconciled to that standard by the means of Jesus Blood. He is our peace! Is Jesus your peace? Do you have what the bible describes as the peace that passes all understanding? Do you have peace with God? Rom 10:12-13 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." When some Jews created a barrier for the gentiles, there needed to be reconciliation between them, but that is not what Christ died for. He died because everyone needed his reconciliation. "For there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:22-23). The same Law that separated Gentile and Jew also separated men and women from God, and Christ bore the curse of the Law. Warren Wiersbe tells of a man who stopped by his office and wanted to get help. "My wife and I need a re-cancellation!" he blurted out. Wiersbe knew he meant "reconciliation." But he writes, that in one sense, "re-cancellation" was the right word. They had sinned against each other (and the Lord), and there could be no harmony until those sins were canceled. That is the essence of reconciliation. A loving God wants to reconcile the sinner to Himself, but a God of holiness must see to it that sin is judged. God solved the problem by sending His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins, thereby revealing His love and meeting the demands of His righteousness. It was truly a "re-cancellation." Jesus Christ "is our peace" / He made peace with God for us/ He "preached peace." / He was born the prince of peace. Jew and Gentile are at peace with each other in Christ, and both have open access to God. First we saw Separation, then Reconciliation, finally! READ EPHESIANS 2:19-22
Paul starts with the word consequently. “Because you are reconciled” because you are not alienated to God but along with all the church, you are citizens and part of God's household. That is true unity, unity with others, Jews, gentiles, male, female, all one family.
Foundation of the Apostles and prophets. God had raised up prophets throughout Israels history. These men and women would speak forth the word of God. Men like Elijah who in the boldness of the Holy Spirit called out 450 false prophets to a showdown on Mt. Carmel. Men like Jeremiah who faithfully preached God's word for forty years only to be ignored by God's people. Men like John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. The family of God is build on the foundation of the prophets and the Apostles. Jesus choose twelve ordinary men to bring the Gospel to the world. Twelve men full of the Holy Spirit, men who all but one would die a martyrs death. God took those men and their message and on that he built his church. Foundations of the Apostles who's message was the same as the prophets. Turn to the Lord. Apostles like Paul, although not part of the original 12, he wrote most of the new testament, and gives us this practical foundational truths we are reading today. With Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. The idea of the cornerstone is that it is what holds everything together. While in Israel this month we saw many ancient buildings with capstones in the arches. If you pull out the capstone from the archway, the entire ceiling will collapse. That's the idea of the cornerstone. Is Jesus your cornerstone? Is Jesus the one who holds your life together? Is your life built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and him crucified? In Jesus Christ the whole building of the church, is joined together, Jews, gentiles Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, whoever they may be, we all rise together to become a holy temple to the Lord. Acts 7:48...The Most High does not live in houses made by men... God dwells in the hearts of men and women who call on him. Eph 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. So Paul emphasize the unifying work of Christ: "made both one" "one new man" "one body" "one Spirit." All spiritual division have been overcome by Christ. In the closing verses of this chapter, Paul gives three pictures that illustrate the unity of believing Jews and Gentiles in the church.
Israel was, God's chosen nation, but they rejected their Redeemer. Matt 21:43 (Jesus said) "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. This "new nation" is the church, "a chosen generation . . . a holy nation, a peculiar people." Sin has divided mankind, but Christ unites by His Spirit. All believers, regardless of national background, denominational affiliations, all belong to that "holy nation" with citizenship in heaven.
Through faith in Christ, we enter into God's family, and God becomes our Father. God's family is found in two places, "in heaven and earth." Living believers are on earth, representing the Lord now. Believers who have died are in heaven where we long to be. How do you become part of God's family? John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
In Ephesus there was the great temple of Diana one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In Jerusalem there was the temple built by Herod the Great. But Jesus spoke about another place where he dwells. When Peter confessed Jesus as Lord, Jesus said: Matt 16:18...on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. The Holy Spirit builds his temple by taking dead stones out of the pit of sin and giving them life, and making them into the temple of God. 1 Cor 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. How does your life, honor God? How does my body honor God? Offer to him this life as a living sacrifice to him. In closing look at our final verse. Eph 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Notice the words Paul chose here, “are being built.” Its a process, God live in you now, he dwells in the temple of your body, he is working in you. Are you allowing him to build you up. Build you into the one who represents him in all you do? PRAY. INVITE, BENEDICTION. SING. Series: Ephesians -Through the Bible |
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