As we consider our vision of life and ministry together over the next 10 years,
we have been studying Ephesians to understand God's vision for the church
! and getting to know who is the church that God wants us to become.
Finding out our characteristics of the bride that God is preparing for His Son,
hoping that we will align our vision with God's vision for the church
as we look forward to the time we honour God with how we live and do ministry
at St. Paul's, united under Christ.
The church is God's new humanity, society and people,
where old barriers are broken down.
The church is what the world needs.
And we have seen in Ephesians so far that we are blessed to carry out God's plan
to bless His world.
We are growing in God's love and living hope to glorify God.
And we are alive, safe from making God's bride more beautiful.
So today, we'll consider how we are united from the passage that Anne just read out for us
from chapter 2, verse 11 to 22, with the following points.
And you can follow that along in our church app.
So, three points I want to talk about.
A divided humanity, describing our condition outside of Christ,
alienated, estranged and without hope.
A united church, proclaiming the great reconciliation work
that Christ accomplished on the cross, making the two groups one.
And being a united church,
depicting our new identity and mission within this new community.
Fellow citizens and members of God's household,
built together to become God's temple.
So last Sunday, Steve, our senior minister,
explained our predicament and condition as human apart from God.
We are dead because of our self-centeredness.
Selfishness, a constant calculating of what is in it for me,
is the root of sin and cause of problems we see in this world.
We live in a world riddled with division, opposition and alienation,
where separation along racial, political, social and generational lines grow ever deeper.
It's not much different to the time of Paul when he write this letter to the divisions.
One of the more obvious separation was among believers
when they start segregating and giving other people groups labels and names.
We read,
Remember that at that time you were separated from Christ,
excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigner to the confidence of the promises,
without hope, without God in the world.
Humanities segregated and call each other names due to selfishness.
The computer within each one of us are constantly in overdrive,
working out who are my in-group that will confirm my identity and worth.
Who are the group that I can step on to elevate myself,
to achieve greater return for whatever effort I put into my life.
So with five faces, Paul revealed a picture of profound darkness and despair
of a divided humanity.
Firstly, he talks about separating from Christ.
This is a fundamental alienation.
Christ is a source of life, truth, and a way to our Heavenly Father.
To be separated from Him is to be cut off from life's meaning,
ultimate truth, and eternal destiny.
This is a spiritual death that mentioned last week in previous passage.
Secondly, he used a face excluded from citizenship in Israel.
Israel here referred to the nation God chose in history to bear His redemptive plan.
To be outside of this community means you were not part of the official narrative
of God's salvation story.
An outsider, a marginal figure.
Citizenship can only be by birth or granted.
And John 1.12 says,
Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believe in His name,
He gave the right to become children of God.
It's a privilege that cannot be earned or bought.
It can only be received by faith in grace.
We can often see how so many people turn their privilege as a weapon
to exclude and ostracize those they label as foreigners or outsiders.
Their action reflects the deep sense of loss and separation within themselves.
The barrier and unrest they face when they try to reach out to their Father God.
In our faith that Paul uses foreigners to their confidence of the promise,
God made confidence of promises to Abraham, the father of our faith,
of redemption, rest, and ultimately a Savior.
These promises are to Abraham himself and his offsprings.
And Galatians 3.7 says,
tells us that those who have faith are children of Abraham.
This confidence, a vessel of hope of inheritance,
but as a foreigner, humanity have no share in these certain future-oriented promises.
The future of humanity can only be the best described
as a crop shrouded with uncertainty.
And Paul goes on to say,
without hope, without God, without the promises,
all striving was ultimately fertile,
because humanity is dead in our transgression.
Despite its pantheon of gods,
the Greco-Roman world was largely pessimistic or vague about the afterlife.
They embarked on world concords to build great monuments
to show their significance,
but deep down is meaningless.
Meaningless.
Utterly meaningless.
Everything is meaningless,
as said by the teacher of Ecclesiastic.
The feeling of despair is what we can strongly resonate
within our secular society today.
Our digital world has given us a parallel tour for connection,
yet we are arguably a lonelier, more alienated society than ever.
We create perfect lives on social media,
yet feel deeply inadequate compared to others.
We might have hundreds of friends online,
but no one to sit with us in our grief.
Anxiety, depression, and a search for meaning in achievement,
likes, or substance manifest our state of hopelessness.
And finally, without God in the world,
the ultimate poverty.
It doesn't mean polytheism or atheism per se,
but it's more about not knowing the one true living God,
the creator who is full of grace and truth,
life is of death of an orphan wandering in the cosmos.
We live in a growing heat economy
of transactional homelessness.
The increasing number of ride-share driver,
task app contractor, and delivery person,
they're essential to cities' function,
yet they have no stable place in it.
No company health insurance,
no retirement plan,
no team lunchroom.
They're perpetual outsiders,
navigating systems not built for them,
always looking for a next kid.
To be without God in the world
is to live in a state of spiritual kid world.
We hustle for meaning.
The next promotion,
the perfect relationship,
a fitness goal.
We contract for temporary relief,
a vacation, entertainment, retail charity.
But we have no permanent home,
no secure inheritance,
no loving father who provides and protects.
As a stranger,
negotiating with a universe
that feels impersonal and transactional,
our labor for purpose
never leads to permanent rest.
This homelessness
is a core human condition
when we are apart
from being brought into
the household of God.
So this fivefold description
is a microscope
of the shared human condition
of life without Christ.
Racial superiority and prejudice,
cultural arrogance and disdain,
social stratification and opposition,
political polarization and hospitality,
and even division within churches
over traditions, practice,
or theological nuance
are the external walls
that divide humans.
We also build internal walls
of pride, self-righteousness,
judgment, bitterness, and unforgiveness.
This wall isolates us
from each other
and from the life and love of God.
And Paul wants us to remember
this former condition
so we can see that
what we need saving from
is not only personal guilt,
but also this corporate,
structural reality
of division and alienation.
God's plan of salvation
from the very beginning
is to create
a united new community.
But now in Christ Jesus,
you who once were far away
have been brought near
by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace,
who has made the two group one
and has destroyed the barrier,
the defining wall of hostility.
By setting aside in fresh
the law which is commands
and regulations,
his purpose was to create
in himself one new humanity,
out of the two,
thus making peace,
and in one body
to reconcile both of them
to God through the cross,
by which he put to death
our hostility.
He comes and prays peace to you
who are far away
and peace to those
who are near.
For through him
we both have access
to the Father
by one spirit.
But now,
it's one of the most powerful
transitional places
in the scripture.
All the former darkness
is utterly rewritten
by the work of Christ.
Paul here unfilled
the most central
revolutionary
social truth
of the Christian faith,
that Christ himself
is our peace.
Peace is not
an abstract feeling
or temporary truth.
It is a person,
Jesus Christ.
He achieved unity
through the cross.
The basic of the unity
is the blood of Christ.
The cost of being brought near
was astronomically high,
achieved not through
compromise
or moral persuasion,
but by the blood of Christ.
By giving his life
on the cross,
Christ paid the ultimate price,
satisfying the demand
of justice,
appeasing God's wrath
and providing the basis
for forgiving
the debt we own each other.
This is the foundation
of reconciliation.
The method of unity
is destroying
the defining war.
The law
with its commands
and regulations
are the instrument
and sign
to tell us
how short
we have fall
from God's standard.
It's a symbol
of our separation
from God
and his people.
That war
which defied
was abolished
by Christ
in his flesh.
How did he
do this
in his flesh?
by fulfilling
the law
perfectly.
And then on the cross,
he bears
his curse
for law
breakers.
Thus,
the law's function
as a condemning
and dividing force
was set aside
for those
who trust in Christ.
No longer
a barrier
between people
and God
and people
with peoples.
the purpose
of unity
is to create
one new humanity.
God's purpose
was not simply
for believers
to conform
to certain rules
and regulations,
but to transform
in a new humanity
that he is creating
for himself.
This is a new creation,
a brand new category
of humanity.
In this new community,
being in Christ
is a new
primary identity.
Racial,
cultural,
and social differences
remain,
but they lost
that defining
and dividing
power.
Instead,
they become
a diverse canvas
upon which
the rich grace
of God
is displayed.
And the dual
dimension
of unity
are peace
with God
and peace
with each other.
Christ's work
brings reconciliation
in both
the vertical
and horizontal
dimension.
Vertically,
reconcile both
of them
to God
through the cross.
We are enemies
of God
because of our sin.
The cross
appeased
their hostility,
restoring our
relationship
with God.
Horizontally,
the same cross
put to death
the hostility
between humans.
When we stand
together
at the foot
of the cross,
seeing ourselves
equally
as sinners
saved by grace
alone
through faith
alone,
any sense
of superiority
based on law,
lineage,
or cultural
lost its footing.
Ultimately,
through Him,
we both
have access
to the Father
by one Spirit.
What a glorious
truth.
The Church
is not a club
of morally
improved individuals,
but a new
creation
community,
purchased
by Christ's blood
from the death,
resurrected
by His power
from death,
and united
by His Spirit.
Our peace
is found
on Christ's
finished work,
not on our
achieved
consensus.
So how do we
live our being
at the United Church?
Let's read on.
It says,
Consequently,
you are no longer
foreigner
and stranger,
but fellow citizens
with God's people
and also members
of His household.
Built on the foundation
of the apostles
and prophets,
with Christ Jesus
Himself
as the chief
cornerstone,
in Him,
the whole building
is joined together
and raised
to become
a holy temple
in the Lord.
And in Him,
you too
are being built
together
to become
a dwelling
in which
God lives
by His Spirit.
Since we have
been made
one in Christ,
how then
shall we
live out
this identity?
Paul uses
three powerful
metaphors
to describe
our present status
and ongoing
process
of growth.
So firstly,
we are citizens
and family members.
No longer foreigners
or strangers,
we now possess
the ultimate
belonging
and identity.
We are fellow citizens
sharing equal rights,
responsibility
and protection.
We are even more
significantly
members
of His household,
children in God's family,
brothers and sisters
to one another.
This means
church relationship
surpasses
ordinary
club friendship.
It's a family
love relationship
bought by the
blood of Christ.
Our responsibility
to one another
is the loyalty,
acceptance
and support
all to family.
And secondly,
we are a temple
under construction.
This is a dynamic,
growing metaphor.
The church
is a building
with apostles
and prophets
as foundation.
Apostles and prophets
are common terms
referring to the Bible,
which witness to
and proclaim
the truth
about Christ.
Our foundation
will become stronger
as we connect
with God daily
in reading the Bible
and prayer.
as we,
as well as
intentionally
sharing the gospel,
which are
two of the
seven rhythms
of grace
that is listed
in the book
of our season magazine.
The chief
cornerstone
of the church
is Christ Jesus
Himself.
The cornerstone
determines
the alignment
and angle
and stability
of the whole structure.
Christ
is our standard,
our center
and our reliance.
True unity
happens
when every part
is aligned to Him
as we practice
the seven rhythms
of grace.
The building process
is described
as in Him
the whole building
is joined together
and raised
to become
a holy temple
in the Lord.
As we worship God
and build
spiritual friendship
weekly,
which are
another two rhythms
of the grace
that we have mentioned,
each believer
is like
a living stone
as referred to
1 Peter 2,
verse 5,
being built
together
by the Spirit.
The process
requires
joining together,
fitted and connected
precisely,
and rises
gradually,
requires time,
patience,
and growth.
Unity
is not a state
of perfection
achieved overnight.
It's a process
of continuing
being built
together
in Christ,
which sometimes
involves
sanding and
trimming
and all those things.
And thirdly,
we are God's
drawing place.
This is the ultimate
purpose
of the church
existence,
to be God's
drawing.
In Old Testament,
temple
was a place
where God's glory
temporarily
resides.
Now,
through His
living Spirit,
God takes up
permanent residence
in His new
temple,
the united
community of
church.
God desires
to manifest
His presence
and glory
in the midst
of our loving
church life
together.
When we make
every effort
to keep the
unity of the
Spirit,
we display to
the world
the reality
of God
with us.
We are united
as we look
forward to
our life and
ministry for
next five to
ten years.
We must let
unity be called
to our
community's
DNA,
bearing in
mind the
picture of
the gathering
of multitude
in Revelation
7, verse 9.
A great multitude
that no one
could count,
from every
nation,
tribe,
people,
and language,
standing before
the throne,
before the Lamb.
We hope to
display Christ's
unity in our
diversity,
unity.
To live in
unity,
each of us
must constantly
return to the
foot of the
cross.
When I feel
impatient,
judgmental,
or distant
from other
member,
I need to
remember,
Christ died for
them as he
died for me.
I, like them,
am a sinner
saved by grace.
The cross
stripped me of
any right to
look down on
anyone,
and give me
the motive
to forgive
and reconcile.
St. Paul
is a church
comprised of
people from
different cultural
backgrounds,
social strata,
and age groups.
So let's not
try to erase
those differences,
but lean to
appreciate them
in Christ.
See how they
enrich the
weakness of
Christ's body.
Our unity
is not in
uniformity,
but in
diversity,
testifying to
the supernatural
power of
Christ that
bring us
together.
So every
time we
choose fellowship
over isolation,
forgiveness
over bitterness,
or humble
collaboration over
selfish ambition,
we are not
just being nice,
we are
practicing for
eternity.
In a
divided world,
a genuinely
loving,
united
Christian
community,
is itself
a powerful
gospel
proclamation.
It proves
to the world
that Jesus
is real
and that
his spirit
has a power
to change
hearts and
dissolve
hostilities.
Our
attractiveness
to the
community
will depend
significantly
on the
genuine,
supernatural,
and able
love we
have for
one another
across natural
barriers.
So let
let our
unity
be our
witness
to the
world.
Let's
look again
to Christ
who is
our peace.
The
wars in
our society
in our
own hearts
are strong.
It seems
permanent,
but the
resurrection of
Christ
declared that
war is
final.
The
mightiest
war ever
built,
the war of
death itself,
is strutted
on Easter
morning.
Every
other
dividing
war of
hostility
is by
comparison
a temporary
fence.
We can
rely on
the Christ
who has
already made
peace and
submitted to
the guidance
of his
whole
dream
drawing
spirit,
allowing
him to
build us.
This
once scattered
hostile
stone into
a dwelling
fit for
his glory.
So let's
live in
light of
our destiny.
Let the
vision of
that grace
unite
the
multitude
through our
prayers,
soften our
hearts,
and guide
our
action.
Let's
be a
people so
captivated by
the beauty
and glory
of God
that we
cannot help
but to
live it
out in
the present.
In the
coming weeks,
as we
study the
rest of
Ephesians,
Paul will
show us
how to
live our
life that
is grace
filled.
And cross
shaped.
A life of
a true
disciple of
Jesus,
a true
Christian.
Paul will
show us
in the
rest of
this
letter how
to
fulfill
the
good
works
which
God
prepared
in
France
for
us
to
do
in
our
marriage,
our
family,
our
workplace,
and our
day-to-day
life.
Our
aim at
St.
Paul's
is not
just to
build a
cohesive
church
for the
next
ten
years,
but a
united
church,
joining
God
in the
construction
of his
eternal
dwelling
place.
He is
preparing
for his
one and
only
Son.
We are
by grace
becoming
here,
now,
and what
we will
be
forever.
One
redeemed
people
from
every
division,
united
by one
Savior,
to the
glory
of one
God.