WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.380 chapter 2. We're going to read the whole chapter, but we're going to read it in two 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:15.140 sections. And so first of all, we're going to read verses 1 to 10 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:26.240 to hear the before and after of Christian experience. Paul is going to describe to 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:32.920 these believers what their life was like before knowing Jesus, and then the difference that God's 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:41.479 grace to them in the sending of Jesus has made. It's the same story that's true of everyone who's 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:45.340 a follower of Jesus. So let's hear God's Word in Ephesians chapter 2. 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:55.039 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you 00:00:55.039 --> 00:01:01.700 followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:09.319 at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the 00:01:09.319 --> 00:01:18.039 cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:28.860 deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with 00:01:28.860 --> 00:01:38.400 Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:47.240 up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:56.919 ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 00:01:57.759 --> 00:02:07.659 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, 00:02:07.659 --> 00:02:18.680 not by works, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:29.439 to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Amen. We'll pick up our reading there in a few 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:38.460 minutes, but before... One more thing to say. I have, for those of you who need to pick them up, 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:43.520 copies of instruments in the Redeemer's hands. So folks from the elders, women's pastoral team, 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:49.879 there's some there. I've also got some more coming. Let's turn in our Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:58.400 from verse 11 to verse 22. And we'll keep our Bibles open here. If you don't have a copy of the Bible, 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:04.260 well, it's up on the screen, but there's also Bibles in both window shelves at the back. 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:08.040 And so let's hear the Word of God once more. 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:18.819 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:25.259 who call themselves the circumcision, which is done in the body by human hands, remember that at that time 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:32.659 you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the 00:03:32.659 --> 00:03:39.919 covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, 00:03:40.579 --> 00:03:48.419 you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, 00:03:48.419 --> 00:03:54.739 who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 00:03:55.239 --> 00:04:02.119 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create 00:04:02.119 --> 00:04:10.139 in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of 00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:16.740 them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to 00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:23.920 you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:32.840 Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with 00:04:32.840 --> 00:04:40.319 God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:49.060 with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:58.740 and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:09.339 a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Amen. This is God's Word. So we're continuing 00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:17.919 this week to think about the truth of reconciliation. As we continue to think about what the Bible 00:05:17.919 --> 00:05:22.519 teaches us about the gospel, what is the good news of what God has done in and through Jesus, 00:05:22.919 --> 00:05:29.039 and how should that change and shape how we live our lives as God's people today. 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:43.620 And we begin by recognizing the tragedy of dividing lines. As we see week after week the unfolding 00:05:43.620 --> 00:05:53.620 sadness and destruction that's going on in Ukraine, the new reality after the Russians illegally 00:05:53.620 --> 00:06:01.180 annexed some of those parts of Ukrainian land is that they have set up, as it were, a new iron curtain, 00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:10.319 making it incredibly difficult for people to move around in their own nation. And one of the effects of 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:18.639 that is that families and communities have been divided. There were lots of stories of anxious and 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:27.319 distressed people wondering, will I be able to cross this barrier to be able to be reunited to my husband 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:38.680 or to see my children again. And sadly, this is the kind of reality that's all too familiar in our world. 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:55.540 societies polarized by politics, segregated by race, divided by the inequalities of wealth, the haves and the have-nots. 00:06:56.860 --> 00:07:08.019 There are scars on every society based on divisions of different kinds. But we also sadly establish our own 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:20.959 personal, invisible walls. Perhaps because of anger, because of jealousy or pride. Perhaps a lack of 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:31.799 understanding, a lack of patience, a failure to forgive, a failure to extend a welcome. We too create division. 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:41.900 So there are scars on every human heart. Sadly, there are scars of division within God's church. 00:07:42.900 --> 00:07:51.660 And the Bible says to us very clearly, this is far from the ideal. To understand what God's ideal is for 00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:57.699 community, we go back to the Garden of Eden. We go back to the Garden and what we find is flourishing. 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:05.420 And we find healthy relationships between Adam and Eve and their God, and between Adam and Eve as husband 00:08:05.420 --> 00:08:13.579 and wife. Before there was sin, relationships were good. But once sin came in, there was division. 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:22.800 Adam and Eve hiding from God. Adam and Eve turning on one another, pointing the finger of blame at each other. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:32.299 And that extends to the next generation, where Cain, in jealousy and anger, killed his own brother. 00:08:33.180 --> 00:08:37.200 And that story of division is one that we can trace through the story of the Bible, 00:08:37.680 --> 00:08:41.779 and we trace it through the story of human history. 00:08:41.779 --> 00:08:52.699 So as we recognize that reality, the question for us to consider is, is where is hope to be found? 00:08:54.059 --> 00:09:01.600 When we understand that all is not well. And again, we look to the Bible for our hope, 00:09:01.860 --> 00:09:08.639 and we look to God who promised one will come, who will bring blessing, who will bring peace, 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:18.240 who will reconcile. That one is the Lord Jesus. And what we see in Ephesians 2 is Paul reminding 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:26.220 Christians of what God has done in and through the Lord Jesus. Last week, if you were here, 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:32.360 we thought about reconciliation on the vertical level. How God has acted through the Lord Jesus 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:40.080 to deal with that sin barrier, that barrier that creates our natural hostility against God and means 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:49.580 a holy God is opposed to us because of sin. But God deals with that barrier by sending his own son Jesus 00:09:49.580 --> 00:09:58.120 to be the Savior, one who would bear the sin of his people, one who would remove the guilt by taking it on 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:06.139 himself. Jesus, the one who establishes peace in his own body so that we can be reconciled to God. 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:11.139 Well, this week, we're still going to see that, but we're going to think too about reconciliation on 00:10:11.139 --> 00:10:19.480 the horizontal level. How by God's design, he is establishing peace with one another within the church. 00:10:20.220 --> 00:10:25.899 And one of the things that we always need to remind ourselves as Christians is that by God's design, 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:33.220 the Christian church has both a unique message and a unique power. Because we have the gospel, 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:41.759 because we have God's grace, because we have the Spirit dwelling within us, the church has the gospel, 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:49.740 and it is the gospel that brings deep and lasting healing and restoration. And so we need to remember 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:56.700 we have a message that the world both needs and one, though often they don't realize it's to the church 00:10:56.700 --> 00:11:02.680 and to the gospel they need to come. So what we're going to see today is that because Jesus Christ 00:11:02.680 --> 00:11:09.039 has reconciled us to God and reconciled us to one another within the church, reconciliation 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:19.180 should be the goal of God's church. So let's turn in our text to verses 11 to 13. 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:26.480 To think about the privilege of reconciliation. Look at verse 13. 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:35.039 Now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:41.860 So we have thought about 21st century lines of division in society. Well, there was those existing 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:48.759 in the first century, and one of the greatest divisions with the most hostility was that between 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:56.080 a Jew and a Gentile. A couple of examples from Jewish teaching in the first century, 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:02.799 they were instructing people, if you come across a Gentile woman at the point of giving birth, 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:08.539 do not offer any help, because we do not want another Gentile in the world. 00:12:08.539 --> 00:12:20.079 If your son or daughter chooses to marry a Gentile, hold a funeral, because that child is dead to you. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:27.519 That's the line of division that existed in that society. But here's the amazing truth, 00:12:27.579 --> 00:12:34.719 before we even look at the details, who's Paul writing to? Paul is writing to Gentile Christians, 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:42.899 and they now share the same church with Jewish Christians. So God, by his saving grace, has 00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:50.840 overcome some of the deepest and most fundamental barriers in society. And Paul wants to remind these 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:56.060 Gentiles of their privilege. And he wants to do that by, first of all, showing them their 00:12:56.060 --> 00:13:03.139 disadvantages, showing them the barriers that stood against them. So let's look at those briefly. 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:12.019 First of all, in verse 11, let's begin. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:17.860 birth. So let's just stop there. So there's the first barrier, simply their birth. By being born a 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:26.840 Gentile, they stand on the wrong side of the tracks. It goes further. Remember that formerly you are Gentiles 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:33.700 by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision. What's this speaking 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:41.040 about? This is speaking about prejudice in society. This is speaking about insults being traded, 00:13:42.139 --> 00:13:51.400 verbal grenades being thrown by Jew and by Gentile against one another. That's a barrier to entering 00:13:51.399 --> 00:14:02.500 the church. Continues, verse 12. Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ. 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:11.079 Because you were Gentiles, because you had no access to the Old Testament, you had no idea that God had 00:14:11.079 --> 00:14:17.259 promised a Savior, the Christ. One who would bring healing and restoration and establish peace between 00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:27.360 people and God. They didn't know that. He goes further. You were excluded, verse 12, excluded from 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:36.740 citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise. So they were on the outside of God's 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:44.799 kingdom. None of the rights and privileges of a citizen. They were foreigners to all of those wonderful 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:48.919 covenant promises that God had established with his people in the Old Testament. 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:54.179 By birth, by rights, they were not part of that. 00:14:56.740 --> 00:15:02.479 And so as Paul will say to them at the end of verse 12, remember that you were without hope 00:15:02.479 --> 00:15:09.939 and without God in the world. You had no living hope, living in fear and living in ignorance. 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:18.340 You had no true God. You were worshipping idols. All of these barriers. 00:15:20.160 --> 00:15:25.600 And if that was the end of the story, that'd be total despair, wouldn't it? That would be 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:34.960 like hearing a desperate diagnosis without ever hearing of the cure. But that's not the gospel. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:43.879 The gospel says, verse 13, but now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near. 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:54.800 You were far, but now you've been moved near. They have been taken past the iron curtain. 00:15:54.799 --> 00:16:05.639 No longer in the gospel, outsiders. They are now insiders. To use the language of Miroslav Volf. 00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:16.679 They've moved from exclusion to embrace. Now, how has that happened? Well, it's happened, 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:27.339 Paul says, because Jesus Christ destroys division. It's by the blood of Christ that they are brought near. 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:32.620 What does the blood of Christ speak to us of? It speaks of his sacrificial death. 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:40.899 It speaks of his giving his life to pay the price, to take the penalty for our sin and for our guilt. 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:51.539 So in that event in history, these Gentiles could be reconciled to God. And they're told that it's 00:16:51.539 --> 00:17:00.240 now in Christ Jesus that they are brought near. They have been united to him by faith. 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:08.940 They have this personal experience of what God has done in Jesus' death and resurrection. 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:14.340 So this double separation, where they were separate from God and separate from the people of God, 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:26.120 has been ended by Christ, by his grace, by the grace of God. Now, to think about ourselves here today 00:17:26.120 --> 00:17:35.360 in this room, some of us in this church have had wonderful privileges, brought up in Christian homes 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:43.179 by Christian parents, brought up reading God's Word, taught how to pray, brought to church. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:47.579 We have had wonderful privileges as if we were those who were by nature near. 00:17:49.219 --> 00:17:53.059 But there are others who have not had that privilege. 00:17:54.639 --> 00:18:00.240 Speaking to a friend this week, 26 years of age before ever hearing about Jesus, 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:07.480 who he was, what he had come to do. Somebody put it this way, some of us, it's as if, you know, 00:18:07.539 --> 00:18:13.140 English is our first language, so it's really easy and it's very natural. Other people don't have that 00:18:13.140 --> 00:18:16.620 privilege and have to wrestle with trying to learn a second language later in life. 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:24.559 Some have had great privilege, some didn't have those privileges. But here's the wonderful thing, 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:30.919 is that Paul is saying that whether we think about ourselves and say, I was by nature near or I was 00:18:30.919 --> 00:18:39.879 by nature far away from God, there is one truth for us all, that God has reconciled sinners through 00:18:39.879 --> 00:18:48.039 Christ, that Jesus' blood shed on the cross pays the penalty for sin, breaks the power of sin in our 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:56.059 lives for whoever we are as we look to Jesus in faith. Martin Luther King once said, love is the only 00:18:56.059 --> 00:19:02.819 power capable of turning an enemy into a friend. And what we see in the gospel is that God's love 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:09.519 in Christ does that twice over. God's love that comes to us through Jesus has the power to end our 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:15.759 war with God and it has the power to end the wars that we establish with one another too. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:23.119 So as we think about the privilege of reconciliation that Paul brings to these Gentile Christians, 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:30.420 we need to recognize the privilege that there is in the gospel. But we also need to hear this 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:38.460 invitation as well. Because Paul would say to us, come to Jesus to be brought near to God. 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:49.340 come to the Lord Jesus as Savior to be brought near to be brought among the people of God. It is faith 00:19:49.340 --> 00:19:57.960 in the Lord Jesus Christ that moves us from being far to being near. And it's also a reminder to us as 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:06.420 Christians to treasure what we've been given. As Christians, we should never lose sight of how hopeless we were 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:16.100 by nature. That Ephesians 2 is our spiritual biography. And so we should be profoundly grateful 00:20:16.100 --> 00:20:25.160 for the mercy of God in sending Jesus to reconcile us. Well, if that's the privilege, the central section, 00:20:25.300 --> 00:20:32.519 verses 14 to 18, wants to draw our attention to the power of reconciliation. Look at that first 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:41.900 phrase in verse 14. He himself, Christ Jesus himself is our peace. And in this section, we're introduced to 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:46.839 what Paul calls, in verse 14, the dividing wall of hostility. 00:20:49.339 --> 00:20:56.059 You know, so picture what might a dividing wall of hostility look like. In my head, I think of the Berlin Wall. 00:20:56.059 --> 00:21:06.200 But there are examples that we still see today. So during COVID times, in sort of poorer countries, 00:21:06.919 --> 00:21:13.399 there were lots of stories of Christians being denied access to aid and support given to other citizens 00:21:13.399 --> 00:21:20.000 simply because they were Christians, places like Myanmar. And that kind of inequality and that prejudice 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:30.960 still exists, dividing walls of hostility. Well, let's take in our minds a very quick tour to Herod the Great 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:40.680 Temple in first century Jerusalem. So the temple building, it was elevated. It was up on a high place. 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:46.579 And then there were two outer courts. There was the Court of the Jews, five steps down, 00:21:46.579 --> 00:21:55.759 and then another 14 steps down, the Court of the Gentiles. Now doesn't that say something about how 00:21:55.759 --> 00:22:02.759 the Jews regarded the Gentiles? This isn't God's design, but that's what they'd done. And between the 00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:09.220 Court of the Gentiles and the Court of the Jews, there was a one and a half meter stone barricade. 00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:18.200 And there were signs placed on that wall. In 1935, a team from a museum in Istanbul found 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:23.700 one of those, a Greek sign. And here's what it said. It said this, 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:32.579 No foreigner may enter within the barrier and enclosure round the temple. Anyone caught doing so 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:41.000 will have himself to blame for his ensuing death. There's a dividing wall of hostility. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:43.859 Trespassers will be executed. 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:55.740 There was a sinful prejudice in the first century world. There was a dividing wall of hostility. 00:22:55.740 --> 00:23:07.319 But what does Paul say about the work of Jesus? Jesus Christ destroys division. Jesus, as it were, 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:16.599 in a spiritual sense, took a sledgehammer to that wall in his death, breaking down the barrier 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:25.160 so that Jew and Gentiles, so that anyone by faith might be part of God's kingdom. 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:35.880 The emphasis is on Jesus and his work. He himself is our peace. And there are four actions of Jesus 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:43.140 as we see him as the ultimate peacemaker that we're going to see in our text. First of all, 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:51.559 and we've already mentioned it, verse 14, Jesus has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of 00:23:51.559 --> 00:24:00.440 hostility by setting aside in his flesh, the law with its commands and regulations. So the coming of 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:11.779 Jesus in the flesh has served to set aside the law with its commands and regulations. 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:17.619 So one of the great barriers between Jew and Gentiles was the ceremonial laws that had been 00:24:17.619 --> 00:24:25.139 established. Food laws, laws about circumcision, since the coming of Jesus, what they pointed to had been 00:24:25.139 --> 00:24:31.459 fulfilled, and so they no longer had any place in God's church. So that barrier, it was designed to be 00:24:31.459 --> 00:24:43.059 taken away with the coming of Jesus. But Jesus has also, for his people, removed the condemnation 00:24:43.059 --> 00:24:52.919 that was due to us in the moral law. He's also taken that away by Jesus taking our sin and taking the 00:24:52.919 --> 00:25:01.559 penalty that we deserve to face. And he kindly and freely and graciously took that for us, thus securing 00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:13.899 our peace. So Jesus has destroyed the barrier. And he's done that for a purpose. Look at verse 15. 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:18.779 Jesus has created a new human race. 00:25:21.159 --> 00:25:31.220 His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:41.660 peace. Here's the wonderful way that Christians of any kind answer the question of our identity. 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:48.480 Not in terms of Jew and Gentile, not in terms of ethnicity or cultural background or gender. 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:59.660 I am a new creation in Christ. Those barriers that serve to divide do not define us, should not define 00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:10.540 the church. Because Jesus has come to make peace. To make in himself one new humanity, one new creation. 00:26:12.460 --> 00:26:19.420 What else has Jesus done in making peace? He has reconciled. Look at verse 16. 00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:26.440 And in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross. 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:37.420 So Jesus Christ's sacrifice in his one body has dealt with the sin, has dealt with the hostility of 00:26:37.420 --> 00:26:45.539 his people towards God, has taken the hostility that a holy God has towards sinful people. Jesus has 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:52.620 taken that so that instead of condemnation and separation, we can enjoy peace. 00:26:52.619 --> 00:27:02.799 We can enjoy peace with God and peace with one another. Because Jesus has reconciled. 00:27:04.199 --> 00:27:13.459 And Jesus also, we're told, preached. He came and preached peace to you who are far away, 00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:23.079 and peace to those who are near. For through him, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:32.420 Same message to those who are by nature far away, to those who are by nature near. It's the same good 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:41.819 news that Jesus is the Son of God and he has come to be the only Savior for sinners. And that in trusting 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:47.859 in Jesus and his work on the cross, that we have the same access to the one Father in heaven, 00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:55.679 by the one Holy Spirit who gives us new life, who causes us to cry out in our hearts, Abba, Father. 00:27:57.419 --> 00:28:05.559 That's true of every Christian. So the peace that Jesus creates is peace in the gospel that unites us 00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:14.500 around himself. So that nothing that could divide us is ever going to be as strong as what unites us in 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:24.419 the gospel. Because what unites us is our strong Savior and the gospel that he has brought. So Paul 00:28:24.419 --> 00:28:31.359 draws us deliberately to the person of Christ who is good news, who is our peace. Where do we find the 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:39.219 grace and the help to be reconciled by looking to Jesus? We fix our eyes on Jesus who is our peace. 00:28:40.879 --> 00:28:48.519 One really profound example of this, Corrie ten Boom. Some of you will know Corrie ten Boom's story. She, 00:28:48.919 --> 00:28:56.859 along with her family in Holland in the 1940s, were hiding Jews from the Nazis. And eventually, 00:28:56.859 --> 00:29:01.639 she and her sister were discovered and sent to a concentration camp in Ravensbrück, 00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:13.219 where her sister died, but Corrie survived. And in 1947, she went to Germany to preach and to share 00:29:13.219 --> 00:29:21.039 her story, to talk about the good news of God's forgiveness. And one evening in Munich, as she was 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:29.220 concluding her meeting, as she saw someone approach, and she recognized that this was the most notorious 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:36.920 guard from that Ravensbrück concentration camp. He didn't recognize her. And he came to speak to her and he 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:49.000 said, I have come to discover that God in Jesus has forgiven me. Can you forgive me? And do you know her 00:29:49.000 --> 00:30:07.299 response at that moment? She said, I can move my hand to extend a welcome. You must provide the feeling. 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:17.599 And as she considered in that moment, the gospel of God's forgiveness of her, she felt a genuine love 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:25.799 for that former prison guard, now a brother in Christ. And she forgave him and she embraced him. 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:40.359 The powerful grace of God in Christ is such that guilty rebel sinners are forgiven and embraced and welcomed by God. 00:30:42.940 --> 00:30:54.180 So we are invited to turn from sin, turn to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, and to know reconciliation with 00:30:54.180 --> 00:31:04.759 him. But we also know that the grace of God, as it's poured out into our hearts, gives us a heart full of love that comes 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:11.980 from God, that enables us by grace to embrace the role of being a peacemaker. 00:31:14.019 --> 00:31:18.980 That we would be enabled to make peace with one another. 00:31:18.980 --> 00:31:24.500 Because we know that the gospel ends barriers of division. 00:31:25.720 --> 00:31:27.279 And we know that's God's design. 00:31:28.620 --> 00:31:32.000 And let's think about that in our last section, verses 19 to 22. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:36.259 Let's think about the portraits of reconciliation that we have here. 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:39.240 Look at verse 20. 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:42.880 That phrase with Christ Jesus himself 00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:45.880 as the chief cornerstone. 00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:48.460 Verse 19 begins, 00:31:48.880 --> 00:31:49.780 Consequently. 00:31:51.020 --> 00:31:52.340 There are consequences. 00:31:52.560 --> 00:31:57.080 There are results that flow from the reality that Jesus has come to make peace. 00:31:57.900 --> 00:31:59.180 What is the consequence? 00:31:59.360 --> 00:32:00.840 What do we see in the kingdom of God? 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:02.200 What do we see in the church? 00:32:02.620 --> 00:32:09.100 Well, Paul paints up three different portraits of this reconciliation that Jesus has come to establish. 00:32:09.099 --> 00:32:16.559 Let's speak to us of unity in the church in the Lord Jesus. 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:23.159 The first of those portraits is that of being a new kingdom. 00:32:23.459 --> 00:32:24.659 So look at verse 19 again. 00:32:25.319 --> 00:32:30.259 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, 00:32:30.980 --> 00:32:35.740 but fellow citizens with God's people. 00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:40.259 Those ethnic barriers are gone. 00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:44.400 The people of God share the same citizenship. 00:32:45.740 --> 00:32:50.259 No longer foreigners by grace brought near. 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:53.839 What does our passport say? 00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:58.079 Our passport says we are citizens of heaven. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:06.519 Christ makes us a new society under him as our king. 00:33:06.659 --> 00:33:09.659 So we have a new kingdom. 00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:14.179 But we are also, verse 19, 00:33:14.740 --> 00:33:18.460 made members of his household. 00:33:20.639 --> 00:33:24.279 In Christ we are also a new family. 00:33:24.279 --> 00:33:27.940 And in this family, 00:33:28.339 --> 00:33:31.720 we share the same father in heaven. 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:36.680 We share the same standing as brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:38.359 heirs to the kingdom. 00:33:40.879 --> 00:33:42.839 By the grace of God, 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:47.019 we are adopted into God's family. 00:33:48.660 --> 00:33:52.279 That God, by his grace, has reconciled us. 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:54.359 That's the heart of our father. 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:59.220 And so one of the family values then of the church 00:33:59.220 --> 00:34:01.500 is that we pursue unity. 00:34:02.339 --> 00:34:04.500 We value reconciliation. 00:34:06.379 --> 00:34:08.440 So there's a new kingdom and there's a new family. 00:34:08.579 --> 00:34:11.559 And also, in verses 20 to 22, 00:34:12.219 --> 00:34:14.940 there is a new temple. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:17.519 What a great hope. 00:34:17.820 --> 00:34:19.460 The old temple, the physical temple, 00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:21.320 that had that dividing wall of hostility, 00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:24.320 that's not now where God dwells. 00:34:26.180 --> 00:34:27.780 Where does God dwell now? 00:34:29.100 --> 00:34:31.200 He dwells among his people, in the church. 00:34:31.640 --> 00:34:33.480 And the church, we're told in verse 20, 00:34:33.580 --> 00:34:35.160 has a shared foundation. 00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:38.700 We're built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets 00:34:38.700 --> 00:34:40.220 with Christ Jesus himself 00:34:40.220 --> 00:34:42.220 as the chief cornerstone. 00:34:42.600 --> 00:34:44.580 The church is built on the message 00:34:44.580 --> 00:34:46.320 which is all about Christ. 00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:46.960 Christ. 00:34:48.080 --> 00:34:50.500 The church is built on Christ himself. 00:34:51.240 --> 00:34:53.640 He is the chief cornerstone. 00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:56.400 Just as the cornerstone was so important 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:58.300 to give strength and stability 00:34:58.300 --> 00:35:00.500 and alignment to the foundation of the building, 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:03.380 Jesus is where our strength is found. 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:07.539 Jesus is the one that we need to line up with. 00:35:07.539 --> 00:35:11.300 And we're told, in verse 21, 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:12.639 in him, in Christ, 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:14.360 the whole building is joined together. 00:35:16.279 --> 00:35:17.779 Jesus isn't just the foundation, 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:19.019 he's also the cement. 00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:21.599 That the gospel of God's grace 00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:22.880 is what binds us together. 00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:26.300 And it rises to become a holy temple 00:35:26.300 --> 00:35:27.420 in the Lord. 00:35:28.440 --> 00:35:30.579 And in him, you too are being built together 00:35:30.579 --> 00:35:32.219 to become a dwelling 00:35:32.219 --> 00:35:34.079 in which God lives by his Spirit. 00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:36.199 Who are we as the people of God? 00:35:36.259 --> 00:35:38.019 We are a new home 00:35:38.019 --> 00:35:41.779 where God dwells among his people. 00:35:43.360 --> 00:35:45.079 What wonderful images 00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:47.539 speaking of the reconciliation 00:35:47.539 --> 00:35:48.980 and the unity 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:51.340 that God is creating 00:35:51.340 --> 00:35:54.960 and that God desires. 00:35:56.699 --> 00:35:58.179 Isn't that a beautiful portrait? 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:01.699 Doesn't that give us a longing 00:36:01.699 --> 00:36:03.019 that we would see this? 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:04.960 Perhaps it gives us a longing 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:06.239 for our heavenly kingdom, 00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:07.840 for our heavenly home, 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:08.880 where this is true 00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:09.840 for the people of God 00:36:09.840 --> 00:36:10.860 for all eternity. 00:36:11.579 --> 00:36:13.039 But doesn't it also give us 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:14.239 a goal to pursue 00:36:14.239 --> 00:36:16.079 here and now? 00:36:18.759 --> 00:36:20.179 Paul is saying to us, 00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:22.599 we must aim for this ideal. 00:36:23.159 --> 00:36:25.139 If this is the masterpiece 00:36:25.139 --> 00:36:28.119 that God is creating in Christ, 00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:31.759 then if we are building up division 00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:34.300 where Jesus is seeking peace, 00:36:35.740 --> 00:36:36.620 it's like we're taking 00:36:36.620 --> 00:36:38.380 a can of spray paint 00:36:38.380 --> 00:36:39.380 and we're graffitiing 00:36:39.380 --> 00:36:42.460 all over this wonderful masterpiece 00:36:42.460 --> 00:36:45.160 that God is creating. 00:36:45.160 --> 00:36:48.380 We must pursue unity 00:36:48.380 --> 00:36:49.280 and reconciliation. 00:36:50.640 --> 00:36:52.700 Imagine this ideal in the church 00:36:52.700 --> 00:36:55.120 where the strongest of hatreds 00:36:55.120 --> 00:36:57.060 and prejudice are being overcome, 00:36:58.020 --> 00:37:00.060 where old wounds are being healed 00:37:00.059 --> 00:37:01.619 as forgiveness is extended, 00:37:01.619 --> 00:37:03.679 where local and foreign 00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:04.820 from around the world 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:05.599 can be welcomed 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:07.079 and treated equally, 00:37:07.340 --> 00:37:09.779 and only because we have Christ in common. 00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:12.699 What incredible message 00:37:12.699 --> 00:37:14.279 this would be to ourselves 00:37:14.279 --> 00:37:16.320 and to the world. 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:18.400 Here is where you find peace 00:37:18.400 --> 00:37:19.420 the world dreams of. 00:37:21.699 --> 00:37:23.179 And so Paul is reminding us 00:37:23.179 --> 00:37:25.000 that by the power of Christ, 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:27.519 we can and we must 00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:29.139 both show and tell 00:37:29.139 --> 00:37:30.400 the gospel 00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:33.039 that a reconciled 00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:34.320 and united church 00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:37.440 is God's missionary plan 00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:41.320 to show a divided world 00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:43.800 the gospel is true, 00:37:44.840 --> 00:37:46.800 that Jesus Christ 00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:48.739 transforms hearts 00:37:48.739 --> 00:37:50.300 and lives 00:37:50.300 --> 00:37:52.120 because 00:37:52.120 --> 00:37:55.360 Christ Jesus 00:37:55.360 --> 00:37:56.820 has brought 00:37:56.820 --> 00:37:57.780 his people near. 00:37:58.680 --> 00:38:00.080 Because Christ Jesus 00:38:00.080 --> 00:38:00.600 himself 00:38:00.600 --> 00:38:02.019 is our peace. 00:38:03.019 --> 00:38:04.620 Because Christ Jesus 00:38:04.620 --> 00:38:07.019 is our cornerstone. 00:38:08.400 --> 00:38:09.380 Let's pray. 00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:10.840 Let's pray that we would 00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:11.600 see these things 00:38:11.600 --> 00:38:12.260 to be true. 00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:15.000 Lord, 00:38:15.200 --> 00:38:15.820 our God, 00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:16.480 once again, 00:38:16.580 --> 00:38:17.780 we are so thankful 00:38:17.780 --> 00:38:19.960 for reconciliation, 00:38:20.360 --> 00:38:21.240 we're so thankful 00:38:21.240 --> 00:38:22.440 for your grace 00:38:22.440 --> 00:38:23.720 that transforms 00:38:23.720 --> 00:38:25.480 hearts and lives 00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:26.540 and relationships. 00:38:27.420 --> 00:38:28.220 And Lord, 00:38:28.280 --> 00:38:28.920 we pray 00:38:28.920 --> 00:38:30.680 that as we recognize 00:38:30.680 --> 00:38:31.780 your ideal 00:38:31.780 --> 00:38:34.000 of people being united 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:35.840 in Christ Jesus, 00:38:36.800 --> 00:38:39.240 of barriers being broken down 00:38:39.240 --> 00:38:41.240 through Christ Jesus, 00:38:41.560 --> 00:38:43.960 of peace being established 00:38:43.960 --> 00:38:46.220 because of Christ's work 00:38:46.220 --> 00:38:47.120 on the cross, 00:38:47.780 --> 00:38:48.760 and we pray 00:38:48.760 --> 00:38:49.140 that you would 00:38:49.140 --> 00:38:50.660 cause us to confess 00:38:50.660 --> 00:38:52.540 where we have 00:38:52.540 --> 00:38:53.700 caused division, 00:38:55.100 --> 00:38:56.140 you would cause us 00:38:56.140 --> 00:38:57.600 to trust in you 00:38:57.600 --> 00:38:59.600 in order to seek 00:38:59.600 --> 00:39:00.420 reconciliation. 00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:02.340 Lord, 00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:03.120 that we would be 00:39:03.120 --> 00:39:03.800 a church 00:39:03.800 --> 00:39:04.680 and we would be 00:39:04.680 --> 00:39:06.260 a people of God 00:39:06.260 --> 00:39:07.460 who show 00:39:07.460 --> 00:39:08.460 and tell 00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:09.880 the glory 00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:10.800 of the gospel 00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:12.320 to a world 00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:13.360 that so desperately 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:14.480 needs healing 00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:16.040 and unity. 00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:17.559 we pray 00:39:17.559 --> 00:39:18.579 in Jesus' name. 00:39:19.300 --> 00:39:19.639 Amen.