WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.560 I'd like to just remind ourselves of the angelic messages that occurred when the shepherds were keeping their flocks at night. 00:00:07.860 --> 00:00:09.960 This is Luke chapter 2 at verse 8. 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:16.120 You'll remember the story, of course, that there was an angel who gave a message and then the angelic host spoke. 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:22.859 And there were shepherds living out the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:29.199 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.520 But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:38.200 I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:43.399 Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:45.280 He is Christ the Lord. 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:47.299 This will be a sign to you. 00:00:47.760 --> 00:00:50.780 You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:57.359 Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:06.239 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests. 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:14.099 Especially this afternoon, I'm interested in exploring what this word peace means in verse 15. 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:23.539 And the declaration of peace that the angelic host gives to the shepherds, and by application gives to us. 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:33.600 I think we've been used to, at least in these last few years, from 2014 now through 2018 and on to 2019, 00:01:34.100 --> 00:01:39.300 we're used to anniversaries of the First War, the First World War, the Great War. 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:42.680 It was also known as the War to End All Wars. 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:50.719 There's another anniversary I'd like to remind you of, and this occurred in August of 1928, 90 years ago. 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:57.739 There was a gathering of 15 nations initially, and these 15 nations agreed. 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:00.539 It's interesting to get such agreement. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:04.920 They gathered and they agreed to a declaration. 00:02:05.539 --> 00:02:13.879 It had been drafted by the American Secretary of State, Frank Kellogg, and the French Foreign Minister, Aristide Briand. 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:22.960 And this pact became known as the Paris Pact, or the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War, 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:25.639 as an instrument of national policy. 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:29.659 So these 15 nations, and just to give you an idea of which nations they were, 00:02:30.180 --> 00:02:32.960 some of the names or terms are a bit quaint today. 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:38.159 Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia doesn't exist anymore. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:50.180 France, Germany, British India, the Irish Free State, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, United Kingdom, the United States. 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:58.680 So these 15 nations agreed in August of 1928 that as of the summer, or July of 1929, 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:01.400 that this pact would come into effect. 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:08.680 And by 1929, a total of 62 nations signed up to outlaw war. 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:10.819 What a remarkable development. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:18.159 What a remarkable concord that 62 nations, major nations, came to this agreement 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:23.599 that war was no longer to be an instrument of national policy. 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:30.300 Now I said a moment ago that we sometimes referred to the 1914-1918 war 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:33.860 as the Great War or the War to End All Wars. 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:37.439 Generally now we refer to that war differently, don't we? 00:03:37.820 --> 00:03:42.360 Because in 1939 there was another worldwide conflagration 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:44.900 that got the name of Second World War. 00:03:45.160 --> 00:03:48.939 So we refer to the 1418 war as the First World War. 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:55.220 And the War to End All Wars was no longer an applicable title for that war 00:03:55.220 --> 00:03:57.680 because yet a greater war occurred. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:03.180 Now if you think that worldwide conflagrations are the only expression of war, 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:07.920 I look today on the Global Conflict Tracker. 00:04:08.760 --> 00:04:10.740 It's quite sobering reading. 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:12.360 I guess you can find anything on the internet. 00:04:12.480 --> 00:04:17.100 But this global tracker lists 25 existing world conflicts. 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:18.920 Some of them are longstanding. 00:04:19.460 --> 00:04:23.540 The border between Pakistan and India, that's a hot topic. 00:04:23.540 --> 00:04:30.319 Palestine and Israel, that seems to be rumbling on for, again, the last 70 or so years. 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:34.580 But there are conflicts probably that you're not aware of, I certainly wasn't aware of. 00:04:35.300 --> 00:04:39.520 Growing destabilization in Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:43.580 the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, just to name a few. 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:53.479 So you go back to 90 years ago and this enthusiasm that we as a concert of nations could outlaw war. 00:04:54.019 --> 00:04:58.919 And the Kellogg-Briand pact was really an expression of optimism and hope. 00:04:59.579 --> 00:05:05.939 But the sad reality is that the nations of the world were unable to achieve their end. 00:05:06.219 --> 00:05:07.620 They had a noble desire. 00:05:08.039 --> 00:05:09.459 Let us abolish war. 00:05:09.539 --> 00:05:10.479 Let's make it illegal. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:15.340 The United States Senate passed that act by 85 to 1. 00:05:16.080 --> 00:05:20.020 The U.S. Senate never passes measures by that majority. 00:05:20.580 --> 00:05:21.740 So there was an enthusiasm. 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:22.879 There was a hope. 00:05:23.460 --> 00:05:31.140 But the reality of this world meant that the Kellogg-Briand pact proved to be unsuccessful. 00:05:32.020 --> 00:05:32.900 Japan signed. 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:34.400 Germany signed. 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:35.819 Italy signed. 00:05:35.819 --> 00:05:42.259 And not many years later, the world was again plunged into international war. 00:05:43.459 --> 00:05:49.899 Now, 2,000 years ago, in a very obscure place, it wasn't the leaders of the world. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:53.399 It wasn't the kings and the princes and the prime ministers and the presidents. 00:05:53.600 --> 00:06:00.279 But it was an unusual audience of shepherds that they received angelic messages. 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:05.899 You'll notice that the first message was a universal message. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.979 The one angel said something that was true for everyone. 00:06:10.599 --> 00:06:11.539 Do not be afraid. 00:06:11.679 --> 00:06:15.719 I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 00:06:16.559 --> 00:06:21.479 The message of the gospel is a universal declaration of good news. 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:27.660 Every man, woman, child has good news found in the arrival of Jesus Christ. 00:06:28.259 --> 00:06:34.939 The arrival of Jesus Christ, the incarnation, has transformed human history as we know it. 00:06:35.379 --> 00:06:39.720 So the individual angel gives a message for all. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:43.800 But then we have an even more remarkable cycle. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:48.160 Angelic messengers are quite rare in the Bible. 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:50.400 They don't happen on every page. 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:56.779 But by comparison, appearances of the angelic host are incredibly rare. 00:06:57.500 --> 00:07:00.879 We get some glimpse of the angelic armies in the Old Testament. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:06.859 We get a glimpse of the angelic host or the company of angels in the book of Revelation. 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:14.819 But here we have the angelic host speaking, again, not to the kings, not to the presidents, 00:07:15.039 --> 00:07:17.339 not to the prime ministers, but to shepherds. 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:23.259 Now, the angelic host has a message, but it's not a message for all. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:24.979 It's a message for some. 00:07:26.039 --> 00:07:34.299 Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. 00:07:34.300 --> 00:07:41.240 And this is one of the conundrums, or this is one of the, call it the dichotomies of the gospel. 00:07:41.840 --> 00:07:48.900 That the gospel is good news for all, but the benefits of the gospel is only good news for some. 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:57.160 So the arrival of Jesus brings hope to everyone, all people, all nations, man, woman, child, you name it. 00:07:57.160 --> 00:08:01.320 But the benefits of the gospel only belong to some. 00:08:02.380 --> 00:08:06.700 Remember the great proclamation of John 3, 16, for God so loved the world. 00:08:06.960 --> 00:08:07.680 That's all. 00:08:08.080 --> 00:08:10.560 Every one, every nation, every people. 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:16.120 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish, 00:08:16.200 --> 00:08:17.879 but have everlasting life. 00:08:17.960 --> 00:08:22.740 The gospel declaration for all, the gospel benefits for some. 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:25.759 And the angelic hosts are declaring peace. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:32.659 They are declaring peace, but only peace to those upon whom the favor of God rests. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:39.500 The benefits of the gospel only come to those who enjoy the favor of God. 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:46.220 With you this evening, I'd like to explore what this word peace really means and what it implies 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:55.940 and why we can say that Jesus Christ, he himself is our peace, the language that the apostle Paul uses in Ephesians. 00:08:55.940 --> 00:09:05.320 So if you think of the Bible as a big book with a big story, every story has a beginning and every story has an end. 00:09:06.060 --> 00:09:08.700 The beginning of our story is all good. 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:11.680 There is harmony and peace. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.939 And this word peace, the Old Testament word is shalom. 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:22.319 It's not just an absence of war, but it's a presence of harmony, wholeness, completeness. 00:09:22.819 --> 00:09:26.659 You go back to the beginning and that's exactly what the world was. 00:09:27.179 --> 00:09:29.359 The world was at peace with its creator. 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:31.939 The world was at peace with itself. 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:38.039 And the people, the human couple, Adam and Eve, they had harmony with one another. 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:45.360 So there's a perfect peace that existed in those first few chapters of the Bible, the beginning of the story. 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:51.019 And then you skip to the end of the story, the final two chapters, Revelation 21 and 22. 00:09:51.599 --> 00:09:59.519 And that peace, which was lost through the fall, that peace is restored, regained and renewed 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:04.539 so that there is a perfect harmony restored to this world. 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:10.500 A perfect harmony restored between God who created, God who sustains, God who redeemed, 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:14.939 and the new inhabitants of this regenerated and renewed world. 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:20.360 So if you understand the beginning and the end, you understand that peace was there at the beginning, 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:21.919 peace will be there at the end. 00:10:22.079 --> 00:10:28.279 But today we are desperately seeking this kind of harmony and this kind of wholeness. 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:33.980 So when the fall happened, those relationships were broken. 00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:39.839 Those vertical relationships between the creature and the creator were broken. 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:42.939 And broken by sin, broken by rebellion. 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:45.439 That we declared war against God. 00:10:46.139 --> 00:10:50.299 And by our declaration of war, we lost all that we had. 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:57.659 That's the great theme of Paradise Lost, Milton's poem that he wrote those many years ago. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:05.419 This paradise, this glory, this relationship, this harmony was shattered because of human sin. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.419 So the relationship vertically between us and God. 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:13.740 The relationship horizontally because the first thing that we see when Adam and Eve sin 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:17.339 is the first argument between human beings. 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:21.200 Adam blames Eve, Eve blames a serpent. 00:11:21.920 --> 00:11:28.560 And we see that even the peace that was there between man and woman and the created world was lost. 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:33.800 So peace at the beginning, peace at the end, but no peace now. 00:11:34.500 --> 00:11:37.379 We are looking, we are searching, we are striving for peace. 00:11:37.560 --> 00:11:40.980 There is something within the human heart, something within the human psyche 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:44.280 that strives to see peace on earth. 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:47.879 And yet every effort fails and falls short. 00:11:48.319 --> 00:11:54.539 Whether the efforts of war to bring peace or the efforts of legislation to bring peace, 00:11:54.679 --> 00:11:56.980 we simply cannot do it. 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:02.720 And yet God in his grace and in his power declares peace. 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:08.459 It's said that humanity, mankind has the ability to declare war, 00:12:08.699 --> 00:12:11.659 but only God can declare peace. 00:12:11.659 --> 00:12:16.000 As we consider the angelic proclamation, 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:20.299 notice first the proclamation puts God at the forefront. 00:12:20.899 --> 00:12:22.740 And God is always at the forefront. 00:12:23.379 --> 00:12:26.980 That the message of the gospel is a benefit and blessing to us, 00:12:27.179 --> 00:12:31.399 but the gospel is a proclamation first and foremost of the glory of God. 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:33.519 The grace of God, the power of God, 00:12:33.740 --> 00:12:37.299 that we see the manifestation of God in his glory, 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:42.659 in the arrival of the Son, the incarnation, the outpouring of the spirit of Pentecost. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:45.240 That God takes center stage. 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:47.319 We don't take center stage. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.399 He takes center stage. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:51.199 He deserves all praise. 00:12:51.319 --> 00:12:52.399 He deserves all honor. 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:54.359 He deserves all glory. 00:12:54.699 --> 00:12:58.199 And the benefits percolate down to us. 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:01.540 He gets the glory and we receive the blessings. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:02.860 We receive the benefits. 00:13:03.020 --> 00:13:07.800 So long as his favor rests upon us. 00:13:08.420 --> 00:13:11.940 Now with that angelic proclamation ringing in our ears, 00:13:12.060 --> 00:13:15.540 the angelic host appearing to these shepherds at night, 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:18.080 one angel terrified them. 00:13:18.460 --> 00:13:21.840 The whole angelic host must have petrified them. 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:25.340 Turn with me just for a few moments to Ephesians chapter 2, 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:27.440 where we began our reading. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:32.920 The apostle Paul addresses the human situation. 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:36.639 And he addresses the twofold problem in turn. 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:40.120 Ephesians chapter 2 divides into two parts. 00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:44.600 This is one example where the division, chapter division, is helpful 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:48.840 because verses 1 to 10 deal with the vertical problem. 00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:53.000 The problem that you and I have as members of the human race 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.879 because we are out of relationship with our God and creator. 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:01.799 We're told that the world, the flesh, and the devil have dominion 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:08.399 until we see the intervention of God, his grace, his power, and his glory. 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:12.399 So the apostle Paul describes us in verse 1, 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:17.820 as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:26.140 The Bible is unhesitating in its insistence that you and I are sinful in nature, 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:30.560 sinful in action, and our sinful actions, our sinful nature, 00:14:30.760 --> 00:14:34.340 alienates us, separates us, and makes us spiritually dead. 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:38.460 Spiritually dead people have no capacity to do anything. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:42.200 Spiritually dead people have no capacity to achieve anything. 00:14:42.660 --> 00:14:44.100 We cannot please God. 00:14:44.180 --> 00:14:45.360 We cannot honor God. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:49.080 Why? Because the God who created us, the God who sustains us, 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:52.240 spiritually speaking, we are dead and insensitive. 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:55.060 We cannot hear him because our ears are deaf. 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:57.480 We cannot see him because our eyes are blind. 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:00.600 We cannot feel him because our hearts are stone. 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:04.080 And we cannot understand him because our minds are dull. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:10.659 That is the reality of human nature apart from the grace of the gospel. 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:14.600 But we see this transformation in verse 4. 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:15.939 So we're dead. 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:21.519 We are under the authority, under the power, under the condemnation of this world. 00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:26.620 But because, in verse 4, of his great mercy, because of his great love for us, 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:32.259 God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:38.959 Even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.960 We have caused the problem. 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:45.080 The solution will not come from us. 00:15:45.540 --> 00:15:49.060 The solution must come from God and has come from God. 00:15:49.280 --> 00:15:53.240 So the declaration was accompanied by action. 00:15:53.900 --> 00:15:59.879 The angels prefigured or prefaced or previewed the coming Jesus to say, 00:16:00.300 --> 00:16:02.960 you have not seen anything yet. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:13.540 The apostle Paul writing after the arrival of Jesus is reflecting upon that great act of grace on the part of God. 00:16:13.660 --> 00:16:16.379 That we dead are now made alive. 00:16:16.540 --> 00:16:16.840 How? 00:16:17.060 --> 00:16:18.320 By Jesus Christ. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:25.300 God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. 00:16:25.299 --> 00:16:27.459 So Jesus is the key. 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:33.179 Jesus is the key to our justification, our regeneration, our renewal. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:41.659 The only way that dead people can be made alive is if we have faith in the dead man, Jesus, who was raised back to life. 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.059 The savior of the world, the son of God who came on a mission. 00:16:45.579 --> 00:16:48.259 He came to seek and he came to save. 00:16:48.579 --> 00:16:50.120 So he paid the price. 00:16:50.439 --> 00:16:51.539 He bore the cost. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:53.839 We receive the benefit. 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.800 So the apostle Paul is addressing the vertical problem. 00:16:58.340 --> 00:17:01.340 The separation that is caused by spiritual deadness. 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:02.680 God is alive. 00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:03.480 We are dead. 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:04.440 God speaks. 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:05.259 We can't listen. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:07.140 God demonstrates his glory. 00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:08.460 We just can't see it. 00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:11.579 We can't understand it and we can't respond to it. 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:15.759 But God makes us alive in Christ. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:21.059 And these great words in verse eight, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. 00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:24.759 And this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. 00:17:25.159 --> 00:17:27.480 Not by work so that no one can boast. 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:30.899 How do we know if the favor of God rests upon us? 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:34.919 How do we know if that angelic declaration of the host is ours? 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:38.159 How do we know if we have the favor of God? 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:42.240 The favor of God is found only in the Son. 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:49.420 And having faith in the Son brings that favor, brings that blessing, brings that benediction 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:54.080 that the angelic host gave to the shepherds 2,000 years ago. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:18:00.019 But what does this vertical relationship, this restored relationship with God look like? 00:18:00.659 --> 00:18:03.799 Well, Paul not only gives us a theology, he gives us the practice. 00:18:04.379 --> 00:18:12.319 He said, for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:14.960 prepared in advance for us to do. 00:18:15.879 --> 00:18:21.899 Now, this whole theme of gospel and good works has bedeviled the church of God for hundreds 00:18:21.899 --> 00:18:22.559 of years. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.519 People say, well, what is it? 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:30.359 Is it the gospel, what Jesus has done by grace, or is it good works? 00:18:30.899 --> 00:18:36.839 Well, the apostle Paul makes it quite clear that it's not by our works, but by his work. 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:38.419 It's not us, it's him. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.639 And yet, in Christ, we are now created. 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:44.480 We are now equipped. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.339 We are now enabled to do good. 00:18:47.879 --> 00:18:52.399 Previously, we were dead, incapable, unable to do anything good. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.059 Now we are alive. 00:18:54.059 --> 00:19:01.259 Now the relationship has been restored, and we should naturally want to live, to please 00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:08.559 God, to do what is right, to do what is good, to demonstrate the grace of God in our lives 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:12.579 and in our actions, the reality of Jesus in our lives. 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:18.000 So peace with God is that vertical relationship restored. 00:19:18.939 --> 00:19:24.339 But the apostle Paul reminds us that the peace that Jesus brings is not just vertical. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:30.819 And this is the challenge, I think, that we, in our reformed strand of the Christian church, 00:19:30.879 --> 00:19:32.079 need to take to heart. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:35.980 Because we rejoice in the gospel. 00:19:36.179 --> 00:19:38.039 We rejoice in the work of Christ. 00:19:38.179 --> 00:19:42.339 We rejoice in what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. 00:19:43.159 --> 00:19:49.159 But does that make us a people who are instruments of peace? 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:52.079 Remember Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers? 00:19:52.079 --> 00:20:01.419 Do we have this realization that if we receive a vertical peace with God, that that then finds 00:20:01.419 --> 00:20:04.500 a translation into our horizontal relationships? 00:20:05.639 --> 00:20:12.819 Sadly, we find that many folks who rejoice in the gospel find it absolutely impossible to 00:20:12.819 --> 00:20:15.259 maintain positive relationships with people. 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:20.539 But the apostle Paul says the two have to go hand in hand. 00:20:21.099 --> 00:20:24.440 And that's why the second half of chapter 2 in Ephesians is so critical. 00:20:24.940 --> 00:20:30.200 And that's why the word peace is constantly being spoken by the apostle Paul. 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:33.619 Because he describes the separation. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:37.379 Verse 12, he says we were separate from Christ. 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:41.859 Remember, he's largely speaking to a Gentile audience, a Greek audience. 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:44.579 Separate, excluded. 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:49.180 Foreigners, without hope, and without God. 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:50.960 That's what we were. 00:20:51.740 --> 00:20:52.819 But what are we now? 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:58.099 Now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood 00:20:58.099 --> 00:20:58.779 of Christ. 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:01.720 So the vertical relationship has been restored. 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:06.140 And now the horizontal barriers that separate people have been destroyed. 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:11.559 There is no longer two people, Jews and Greeks, Jews and Gentiles. 00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:14.460 There now is one people of God. 00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:19.759 So today we need to see an expression of peace. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:22.359 Not just in our dealings with God. 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:24.460 Not just in our appreciation of the gospel. 00:21:24.460 --> 00:21:29.299 But we need to see an expression of peace in our relationships with one another. 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:38.119 Because Paul goes on to say, for he himself, Jesus, is our peace, harmony, wholeness, fullness, 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:39.000 completeness. 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:42.139 Who has made the two, two different peoples. 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:46.680 One, who has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:51.060 By abolishing in his flesh with his commandments and regulations. 00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:59.080 His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:07.100 And in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put to death 00:22:07.100 --> 00:22:08.460 their hostility. 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:11.660 So there's a two-fold hostility, isn't there? 00:22:12.059 --> 00:22:15.019 There's a hostility that exists between people and God. 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:18.340 The cross deals with that hostility. 00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:20.720 Jesus deals with that hostility. 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.640 And there's a hostility that exists between people. 00:22:24.340 --> 00:22:26.299 And Jesus deals with that hostility. 00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:32.980 And his cross deals with that hostility that he, on the cross, bore the cost, paid the price, 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:37.500 so that we can be brought to God and that we can be brought together. 00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:39.660 Is that visible? 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:41.460 Is that obvious? 00:22:42.180 --> 00:22:50.420 Would somebody observing the church of Jesus Christ identify this reconciliation between people? 00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:55.980 Do we demonstrate in our lives and do we demonstrate in our character and our behavior 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:58.200 that we are indeed one people? 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:04.180 Oh, there's diversity, different cultures, different backgrounds, ages, education, 00:23:04.600 --> 00:23:07.559 all different things that could be distinctive. 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:12.539 There's nothing wrong with having distinctives that I look different than you or I act, 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:14.779 you know, we have different cultures, different ways of speaking. 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:16.000 There's nothing wrong with that. 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:20.319 But there's a unity that should permeate the people of God, 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:24.940 that the distinctions and differences that separate people in the world 00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:29.019 should not separate people in the church of Jesus Christ. 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:32.500 So rich people should worship God alongside of poor people, 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:36.380 people from all different backgrounds and all different races and all different cultures, 00:23:37.080 --> 00:23:41.299 that all those hot spots in the world that we should see visible demonstrations 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:45.420 of the grace of God in healing relationships among people. 00:23:46.180 --> 00:23:48.400 So peace is not achieved through war. 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:51.940 Peace is not achieved through declaration or legislation. 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:55.519 But peace is achieved by Jesus Christ on the cross. 00:23:55.779 --> 00:23:58.740 Peace with God and peace among people. 00:23:59.539 --> 00:24:02.920 Because the Apostle Paul goes on to say, 00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:07.580 his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, 00:24:08.320 --> 00:24:09.820 thus making peace. 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:16.140 And in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:19.460 by which he put to death their hostility. 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:22.299 Sin brings separation. 00:24:23.180 --> 00:24:25.220 Gospel brings reconciliation. 00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:28.100 When we come to the New Testament, 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:33.620 we realize that there is not one word that can adequately describe the gospel, 00:24:33.940 --> 00:24:37.120 that can adequately summarize the benefits of the gospel. 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:38.660 We need a whole dictionary. 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:42.940 We need words like reconciliation, as well as justification, 00:24:43.600 --> 00:24:47.240 as well as sanctification, regeneration, renewal. 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:49.799 And we need this word, peace. 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:53.319 And these different words have different contexts. 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:56.920 Very often we find ourselves using the language of the courtroom, 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:59.120 which is also Paul's language, 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:02.140 the language of justification of being declared righteous. 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:06.519 And that is the cornerstone or the hallmark of our gospel. 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:10.440 But we also need to use language of relationships, 00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:13.200 of reconciliation, of peace, 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:15.359 of two peoples becoming one, 00:25:15.700 --> 00:25:20.599 of distinct people groups becoming united together in Jesus Christ. 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:23.819 Because Jesus came in verse 17, 00:25:24.379 --> 00:25:27.420 and he preached peace to you who were far away, 00:25:27.779 --> 00:25:29.839 and peace to those who were near. 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:35.459 For through him we both have access to the Father by one spirit. 00:25:36.980 --> 00:25:38.879 Came to this country 28 years ago. 00:25:38.919 --> 00:25:40.359 I don't know if this is still required, 00:25:40.919 --> 00:25:46.500 but within seven days I was required to appear at the police station down at FEDIS, 00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:47.699 police headquarters, Edinburgh. 00:25:48.179 --> 00:25:50.119 And I had to register as an alien. 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:53.500 I had to get a little card with my picture in the card 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:57.879 and a stamp that said that I am a resident alien here in the United Kingdom. 00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:02.340 I don't have that card anymore because I'm a citizen now. 00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:04.140 I'm a citizen of this country. 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:05.700 I don't need to register as an alien 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:08.840 because I have all the rights and responsibilities as a citizen. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:10.840 We once were aliens. 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:13.100 We once were foreigners. 00:26:13.280 --> 00:26:14.480 We once were cut off. 00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:16.900 But we're now part of God's kingdom, 00:26:17.120 --> 00:26:18.740 part of God's household. 00:26:19.260 --> 00:26:22.660 And if we are made citizens of his kingdom, 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.560 and if we are members of his household, 00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:29.159 that brings a relationship on the human level 00:26:29.159 --> 00:26:32.119 between every other member of that household, 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:35.399 every other member of that kingdom. 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:38.759 I didn't choose who was going to be a member, 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:40.379 who was going to be a part of the United Kingdom. 00:26:40.859 --> 00:26:43.099 I became part of that country. 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:47.200 Likewise, I didn't choose who was a member of my family. 00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:48.980 I became a part of that family. 00:26:48.980 --> 00:26:52.039 And every member of my family I'm related to. 00:26:52.380 --> 00:26:56.460 And every member or every citizen of this country I'm connected with. 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:02.539 And that's the reality of the horizontal peace that the gospel brings. 00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:04.539 So what does that look like? 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:09.519 If good works is the outworking of the vertical relationship being restored, 00:27:09.620 --> 00:27:11.380 that we're now created to do good works, 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:18.000 surely what Paul is saying is that we should demonstrate in our personal relationships 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.480 the unity that exists in the gospel, 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:24.100 the unity that exists between the people of God, 00:27:24.560 --> 00:27:28.000 that we should be, as Jesus says, the peacemakers. 00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:31.220 He, of course, is the ultimate peacemaker, 00:27:31.540 --> 00:27:33.680 but we are to be reconcilers. 00:27:34.080 --> 00:27:38.360 We are to be messengers, ministers of this grace and of this goodness. 00:27:38.359 --> 00:27:45.539 So do your relationships demonstrate the unity of the gospel? 00:27:45.979 --> 00:27:48.179 Do your relationships here within this church 00:27:48.179 --> 00:27:52.240 give a visual expression of the oneness that we have in Jesus? 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:57.719 Do we show this world that the barriers are broken down, 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:00.859 that the dividing wall of hostility has been removed? 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:04.559 So the quality of the peace that Jesus had brings, 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:09.159 that declaration of peace that occurred those many years ago 00:28:09.159 --> 00:28:13.779 is seen in our relationships, our human relationships. 00:28:14.179 --> 00:28:16.639 Imperfectly, we make a lot of mistakes, 00:28:17.379 --> 00:28:20.679 but you and I should treat one another as fellow citizens, 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:22.659 members of one household. 00:28:23.179 --> 00:28:27.679 And those things that divide us on one minor level, 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:30.980 we should find our unity in Jesus, 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:37.140 in the cross, in his work, in his word, and in his service. 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:41.140 So only God ultimately can bring peace. 00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:46.019 The arrival of Jesus was heralded by a declaration of peace. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:51.759 The peace that was achieved was achieved on the cross at a great cost. 00:28:52.259 --> 00:28:53.500 It was his cost. 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:55.340 It now becomes our benefit. 00:28:55.339 --> 00:28:59.500 But we are here, and we are here with a mission, 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:01.539 and we are here with a message, 00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:04.939 and we need to speak, and we need to show 00:29:04.939 --> 00:29:08.119 that we now have a new relationship with God, 00:29:08.339 --> 00:29:10.639 that we have a new relationship with one another. 00:29:11.139 --> 00:29:14.339 And when the gospel takes root in the lives of people, 00:29:14.679 --> 00:29:18.139 and when the gospel finds expression in the relationships of people, 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:19.779 just watch out. 00:29:20.259 --> 00:29:22.899 In the first two centuries of the Roman Empire, 00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:25.019 persecution was rife. 00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:27.019 Opposition was great. 00:29:27.620 --> 00:29:31.080 But men and women observed that the Christians were different, 00:29:31.620 --> 00:29:33.780 that they treated each other differently, 00:29:34.080 --> 00:29:35.740 that they treated the weak differently, 00:29:35.860 --> 00:29:37.360 that they treated the poor differently, 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:39.500 that they treated the vulnerable differently, 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.860 that the marriages among Christians were different, 00:29:43.220 --> 00:29:46.040 that the relationships within this community were different, 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:49.420 that people who were rich and people who were poor ate together. 00:29:49.420 --> 00:29:50.560 That was remarkable. 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:53.820 The poor ate on their own, and the rich ate on their own, 00:29:53.880 --> 00:29:55.500 except in the Christian church. 00:29:56.140 --> 00:29:57.960 And those looking in said, 00:29:58.060 --> 00:30:00.460 there's something about this community of believers, 00:30:01.019 --> 00:30:04.060 something about these people who call themselves Christians, 00:30:04.060 --> 00:30:07.160 that is different, that is distinct, 00:30:07.600 --> 00:30:08.700 but that is attractive. 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:11.660 And wherever the Christian church spread, 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:15.100 people observed how they lived. 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:16.480 And very soon, 00:30:16.560 --> 00:30:19.680 that observation led many to come to see for themselves 00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:21.980 what it was about this Jesus, 00:30:22.420 --> 00:30:24.759 and what it was about these people of Jesus. 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:28.600 And one of the great explanations for the gospel advancing 00:30:28.600 --> 00:30:31.100 was the quality and the character 00:30:31.100 --> 00:30:33.200 of the lives of the followers of Jesus. 00:30:34.100 --> 00:30:36.060 Maybe today, 2,000 years later, 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:38.440 maybe we will experience persecution, 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:41.480 maybe we will experience increased opposition, 00:30:41.980 --> 00:30:44.700 maybe the numbers of Christians in this country are few, 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:48.799 but surely the quality of our relationships should shine. 00:30:49.340 --> 00:30:51.620 The quality of our relationships with one another 00:30:51.620 --> 00:30:54.100 should be distinctive in a good way, 00:30:54.740 --> 00:30:57.940 and we can demonstrate in action the reality of Jesus 00:30:57.940 --> 00:31:00.799 in our hearts and in our lives. 00:31:01.360 --> 00:31:01.880 Peace. 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:04.220 God declares peace, 00:31:04.360 --> 00:31:05.539 God achieves peace, 00:31:05.539 --> 00:31:07.619 and God in turn calls us, 00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:09.819 blessed are the peacemakers, 00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:13.279 for they will be called sons of God. 00:31:13.799 --> 00:31:14.619 Let us pray. 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:17.700 Father, we commit ourselves to you 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:19.059 in the name of Jesus. 00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:19.559 Amen.