Ephesians 2:11-22
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Better Than Chip and Joanna Gaines
Better Than Chip and Joanna Gaines
Intro: Chip and Joanna Gaines got nothin’ on the Trinity when it comes to renovation projects.
Some of you have no idea who Chip and Joanna Gaines are so I want to take a few moments to explain who they are and what they do so that you are clued in and not clueless for the next 30 minutes or so.
Chip and Joanna....
What is your favorite “Reality TV Show?”
The text starts starts with the word “Therefore.” So we ask, “What is the “therefore,” therefore?” It ties it back to what Paul just said. Well what did Paul just say?
Review: Because of God’s rich mercy, great love and immeasurable grace, we who were once dead in our trespasses and sins and enslaved to the devil and our own indwelling sinful desires have been made alive and raised up and seated with Christ so that God could boast in the future ages about His immeasurable grace! That immeasurable grace was freely given to those who are “in Christ” as a gift by God’s grace so that none of us can boast. (This is key to understanding what is next…so that NONE OF US COULD BOAST ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE SALVATION WISE). It is all a gift. It is a package deal. And when we realized that how should we respond? The text told us last week to go for a walk. Walk in the good works that God prepared beforehand to walk in.
What good works in that? First, we noticed that the primary work for the believer is to remain a believer.
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
And this is hard…but you must run to Jesus ever moment of every day and say, “Lord, I believe…help my unbelief.”
Then we take Him at His Word and seek to be conformed to HIs image by loving what He loves and hating what He hates and do to other no matter how undeserving they might be, as He has done to us.
We will dispense “rich mercy” to those in our path…to those who are in desperate need and undeserving. We will pour our “great love” to those who are our households and even our enemies. We will give an incredible amount of grace in gift from. That’s what God did for us…He saw us in our deepest need and gave us Jesus. We needed to be saved from His wrath, and so we gave us the gift of Jesus…so we wouldn’t blown away like chaff talked about in Psalm 1:4. The wicked are just driven away from the presence of the Lord by the wind. Our God is incredibly gracious.
We are not what we think, we are worse than we think, but in a contrasting way God is not what we think, He is infinitely better than we can think.
And since we are in Christ we have an obligation to be “Christ like.” We have an obligation to be “God-like.” We must be “godly,” so we we must become infinitely better than the current version of ourselves. We must become more conformed to His image day by day. We are told in verse 10 that....
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We need to walk into the “good works” that God has designed for us. We MUST do this. This is what we were created for. This can only happen by the incredibly great power that is at work within us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
We talked last week about walking in the “good works” that God prepared for us to walk in. What “good works” were you able to walk in this week?
We are going to need this other worldly power because Paul is God to transition to the passage today and challenge us to join God in a renovation project that will be costly but well worth the effort.
And once the renovation is done…we will all be able to step back and gasp at the beauty of what God has done.
Chip and Joanna don’t got nothing on Jesus when it comes to fixing up that which was old, dilapidated and ugly.
Read the Text:
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Textual Idea: Humanity needs to be fixed up!
Textual Idea: Humanity needs to be fixed up!
God is in the renovation and flipping business.
God is in the renovation and flipping business.
Step One: Assessing the Problem (v. 11-12)
Step One: Assessing the Problem (v. 11-12)
One of the first things Chip and Joanna do as they enter into the house is assess the problem areas. What is wrong with the house? What needs to change in order for the house to be more suitable for the new owners? That is what Paul is going to do here. He is going to walk into the Ephesians house and begin to poke around a little bit. He will open up all the cabinets and closets and drawers and try to make sense of the mess that is there. This is what Paul says,
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
When Paul walks into this house, He doesn’t see one problem…He actually sees five problems. There is a great gulf that exists between Gentiles and Jews and really even more of an issue was there was a chasm that stood between the Gentiles and God. We will identify the 5 problem areas here in a minute, but first let’s notice what Paul tells the Ephesians to “remember.”
Paul encourages the Ephesians to “remember” their bleak condition before Christ. He names 5 ways in which they were separated from God with the climax being “without hope and without God.” How has your ability to hope been affected by having a relationship with God?
This is amazing because to “remember” something…it has to be part of your past. Like remember the time we could _______. Remember that time Shawn made that massive ice cream sundae in church? Etc. Paul wants the Ephesians to remember something that used to be true of them.
This was their reality.
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—
Paul wants the Ephesians Gentile believers to remember that “in a sense” they were worse off than the Jews who had the physical mark of the covenant seal…circumcision. Someday…we are going to have to do a series of how OT concepts are progressively unfolding throughout Scripture to point us to NT realities. Circumcision is one of those OT concepts that is stunning to see how it develops theologically over time. We won’t say anymore about it today accept to highlight why Paul brings up the topic here…which is, “there is a contrast between the Jew who has this physical mark in his flesh and the Gentile who has his foreskin, and is thus disdained by the Jew.”
Paul say remember when that used to be your reality? The gracious work of Christ in the lives of both Jew and Gentile has profoundly changed this reality.
There was a barrier between God’s covenant people and those who were not His covenant people. There was a wall in the house where there shouldn’t be a wall. It is like one of those “warbox” homes…where there is no ‘great room’ there is just a whole bunch of tiny rooms everywhere. And now Paul is going to walk through the house and point problems in a rapid fire way. He is going to show you all the tiny rooms that exist that are posing a problem for the new home owners…
This is a downward spiral...
Separated from Christ - no national hope of a coming Messiah (Christ = Messiah) (The OT promised that a Messiah would come for to rescue Israel…the Gentiles were “separated from the Messianic hope.”
Alienated from the commonwealth of Israel - This phrase just further expands what Paul just referenced… (A commonwealth is a “community of citizens that are separate and distinct.” This is a community of people that God has formed for Himself. This community enjoys a particular relationship with God.” oh and you weren’t part of it.
Strangers to the covenants of promise - They had no relationships with covenants God made with His people.
Without hope - This is the result of deficiency. Paul is walking the homeowners through the house and they get to the point where they say…this place is hopeless…there is no way we should have bought this place. This place is hopeless. And finally…the final stroke of Paul’s quill in this sentence is devastating.
Without God - ἄθεος - It’s where we get the word “Atheist” from. (God / not)
This house is unlivable.
Paul asks the Ephesians to remember this former reality. We too need to remember this about our past. This was us outside of the gracious work of the Jewish Messiah. He has come to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found!
What hostile walls are separating us from our brothers and sister?
The Plan and the Cost (v. 13)
The Plan and the Cost (v. 13)
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Despite all the problems with the house, Chip and Joanna try to paint a picture of what the house could be like if a renovation were to take place, but is it going to cost something. It is usually a significant amount of money to remove structural walls and get more of that open concept feeling in the living space. Usually they will say something like… “Let’s say you get the house and the lot for 225k. And you have a renovation budget of 75k…leaving you with an all in budget of 300k. (First of all you know that at that price point they aren’t buying property here in Lynden!!!)
Anyway…all the changes these things we discussed: the removing off the walls and the new floor and roof and updated bathrooms…(etc)…all can be done for 300k. The couple says…ok we will do it.
In order for the renovation to take place…money has to be in place and then handed over to the bank, or construction company. People need to get paid.
Humanity was in need or renovation and a price had to be paid. More specifically, in this passage, Paul just highlighted 5 different massive “structural walls” that needed to come down just between the Jews and the Gentiles. That is going to cost something.
And so Jesus says to the His heavenly Father,
“Hey we can do all this. My earthly father was a carpenter. I am good with my hands…I can take down walls. I know a thing or two about the construction business. I am your man. Let’s do this. What’s the budget? What is this going to cost? What is the asking price?”
God the Father says, “Your blood is the asking price.”
So just like the innocent blood of Abel that was crying out from the ground to convict Cain for His sin of murder, the innocent blood of Jesus would cry out from the ground to redeem all those who were dead in their trespasses and sins and who repent and trust in the sacrifice of Christ.
Jesus paid the price. He was the slain ram. His blood was the blood of the New Covenant which was offered once and for all for the forgiveness of sins. His blood was the blood of atonement that was painted over the proverbial doorframes of our lives to save us from the angel of death. And it was costly. The all in budget was way more expensive than trying to build a property in Lynden! Look at what Peter says,
Silver? Gold? That is treasure…that is some of the rawest, most precious metals this world has to offer, but they are “perishable.” They won’t last. We needed something more precious…more costly…more rare…more permanent…we needed the precious blood of Christ. He Himself was the all in budget to make this renovation a reality.
And once He pays the cost…it’s...
Demo Day (v. 14-15)
Demo Day (v. 14-15)
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
This is Chip’s favorite day…you can even buy shirts and hat and other trinkets that say Demo Day. This is were you begin to address all the problem areas of the house. They couldn’t be addressed until the purchase was complete. But now that the finances have been secured and permits granted by the authorities…Chip can get in there and start swinging his sledgehammer and smashing things to make way for the restoration.
Look at how beautifully verse 14 begins:
“For He Himself is our peace.”
First of all, notice the word play here…it is all over the text from this point on…we won’t notice each occurrence but look over it on your own sometime this week. Up this this point in this section, the Ephesians were referred to as, “You Gentiles.” There was a distinction that left them in isolation…but now look at this. It is beautiful. Paul says,
“He Himself is OUR peace.”
Because of the work of Christ…there was a wall that came down. There is a unity that has been accomplished between Jew and Gentile that was accomplished by Jesus body on the cross. He death brought enmity’s death and now PEACE has been established.
Isn’t that what this whole WORLD is looking for these days? Peace among the inhabitants of the earth? Between races? Between nations? Between citizens? Between social classes? Between Lydnites and Bellinghamites? This is what EVERYONE WANTS but NO ONE HAS.
The only ones who really have “peace” in our broken world are those who are ruled by the by the “Prince of Peace.” He Himself become our peace. And to see the wonderful fruit of “peace” in your life you must be born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God who grows His fruit in us… fruit like: Love, like Joy…like Peace in your life.
Jesus Himself has become our “peace.” How has the Prince of Peace demonstrated His authority over you lately?
Jesus made peace a reality and He did this on DEMO DAY. The day Jesus died was the ultimate demo day…because both Gentiles AND Jews were reconciled to God through Jesus body on the cross.
He abolished the law and commandments not by “eliminating them” but by “accomplishing them.” EVERY LAW! EVERY ORDINANCE! EVERY COMMANDMENT! ACCOMPLISHED to the the point where some of the very last word that came from the mouth of Jesus was, “It is finished!”
God took the sledgehammer of His justice and smashed Jesus.
And with His sacrificial death, Jesus flung a sledgehammer through the “dividing wall of hostility.”
Walls are instruments of division…Paul refers to this a “wall of hostility.”
Look at that this picture.
National Museum of Israel in Jerusalem…this is an actual a stone that was unearthed from the temple.
The inscription is a, warning to foreigners…saying, “We can’t be held responsible for what might happen to you if you go into the temple.”
Jesus prophesied that the temple would be destroyed. Not only the physical building, but also the temple of His body.
The temple building, (the meeting place with God) was demolished…along with the dividing wall of hostility as well as the barrier that separated the Holy presence of God and those that are unclean.
Jesus body was also the meeting place with God and it was destroyed for you and for me…and it was destroyed so that God could start making a new temple…a new place for His temple presence to dwell. A new temple would need to be constructed.
Once demo day is done…the rebuilding can begin.
Reconstruction (v. 15b-18)
Reconstruction (v. 15b-18)
When Chip and Joanna take down a structural wall…a header need to be put in its place in order to support the weight of the structure. A beam needs to be put into the place where the wall once stood so that load can be carried to the outside walls otherwise the crushing weight from what is overhead will cause cracks and shifting to occur…or even worse maybe a full blown collapse.
Look at what Paul says next about the “reconstruction” process. God wants to build a new place for His Spirit to dwell…but He just took out a huge societal wall! What is He going to put in it place. What can hold possibly hold this whole thing together? And what Paul writes next is fascinating.
15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Once again look at the word play! “one new man in place of the two,” “us both,” “one body,” “we both” “one Spirit.”
Verse 18 is a proof for the Trinity! look at it.
The two have become one…there is a unity accomplished. Look at verse 18, “Through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” All of a sudden we have an open concept floor plan! We are like…wow…this is so nice now…it is a great use of the space....it is all opened now…how nice.
How was this accomplished? Well a beam had to be put in place.
16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
The two divided rooms or the divided humanity has been “reconciled” to each other and to God, “in one body through the cross.”
σταυρός
σταυρός
A BEAM WAS PUT IN PLACE!
Literally speaking… a “CROSS BEAM” was put in place.
For those who have ever installed a cross beam header you know that it has to be cut just right to fit. It has to be snug in order to bear all the appropriate weight. And so it is usually a tight fit. When moving a beam into place…you will see guys beating on this thing and making it submit to their will. They pound on it until it gets into just the right spot.
This is what happened to Jesus…he was submissive to the Father’s will. He was submissive to the will of the crowd yelling out, “Crucify him! Crucify Him.” He was lead like a lamb to the slaughter and although He was tormented with agony, His willingness to go through with the torture was the answer to His own prayer of “Not my will but Thy will be done.”
And a horizontal beam was presented to Him and He took it and He carried it up to a high place as an offering.
And not just a horizontal cross beam…but a vertical one as well that was dropped into a hole in the ground.
Then the horizontal beam was attached to it and Jesus was attached to the horizontal beam as the sound of hammers clanging on nails that are ripping through flesh is heard alongside the excrutiating torturous cries of pain coming from the mouth of the one who made all things, “by the word of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6).
And then He was hoisted up. He was held high. He was put into place.
The soldiers and the crowd and authorities…sarcastically say… “there…that should hold him.”
But little did they know He really was, in all actuality load bearing. He was bearing the weight of the sin of the world and while doing so crying out to God, “Father, forgive them…they no not what they do.”
And by HIs death He killed the hostility.
The death of Jesus killed the hostility that existed between the Jews and the Gentiles. Are there any “walls of hostility” that are erected between you and someone else at FCC that needs to come down? Are you willing to take a sledge hammer to it?
A header becomes a permanent structure in a renovation project. Look at what the author of Hebrews says:
22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. 23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
WOW! - The point of Hebrews is that Jesus is better (angels, priest, prophet, king, covenant… Jesus is better than Chip and Joanna at renovation!)
At the end of the day, Chip and Joanna walk away from the work they have done…but Jesus remains as a high priest forever and He always lives to make intercession for His own and He has permanently inserted Himself into the renovation project the becoming incarnate and taking on flesh. He has permanently inserted Himself into the renovation.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
Now after the problems with the property have been assessed and dealt with, and paid for…in the final segment of the show, “Joanna get’s to do her Joanna thing.”
Usually at this point the whole crew leaves and just leaves her there to do the finishing touches to personalize the space. She often works through the night to make the house into a home. She is doing this because the next day is the big reveal.
The Big Reveal (v. 19-22)
The Big Reveal (v. 19-22)
The big reveal is awesome to watch. Usually the people end up in tears over how beautiful the outcome is. So often you hear the people say… “Joanna put into reality my dreams”. They often say that the outcome is, “Better than what I could have ever expected.” or “This is way better than I could have ever come up with. I can’t believe she did this. I can’t believe this is mine!”
Look at the big reveal of God’s renovation project of fallen, broken, fragmented, and isolated humanity.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
The text speaks for itself. I almost don’t have to expound on this. My words won’t add anything to its beauty.
This is better than our dreams. This is way better than we could have ever imagined. This is way better than what we could have come up with. The dwelling of God is within the gathered church!
We don’t have to go to the temple mount in Jersualem if we’re Jewish or to Mount Gerizim if your Samaritan to worship God. Because...
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We don’t have to go to the temple because the corporate gathering of the church is the temple!
This isn’t us going to God…this is Emmanuel, “God with us” coming to us and dwelling in us corporately.
Look at the church!
Last week I said…look at what God has done to save us. Look at Him. Look at His immeasurable riches and great love and extravagant costly grace. Look what He has accomplished…but this week God says…
“Look at my church! Look at them! Look at my dwelling place. I dwell among them. When they gather together in unity there a fantastic space for hospitality and entertaining. I am making my appeal through them. I am winning people back to myself through them. I am building them up. I am the Head and the Cornerstone of these people. I am over them and I am beside them and underneath them are my everlasting arms.
Look at my church! Look at my blood bought bride!
Look at my Body! Look at my hands and my feet!
Look at them walking in the good works that I have prepared before hand for them to walk in.
How beautiful. How marvelous! What restoration! What renovation!
We should step back and be in awe of what He has done. We should say, “I can’t believe this is mine.” I can’t believe I get to be a part of this!
The spark that began at Pentecost that united people from all over the then known world to hear the Gospel proclaimed to them clearly in the own language has become a full blown fast moving forest fire down through the ages. It has jumped continental divides. It has raged on from one generation to another generation and it has produce a great cloud of witnesses in it’s trail…and it will continue on into the future until our faith will be sight and we behold him seated on the throne and we hear the faith empowering words of Revelation 21:3.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
The Unity of the church is essential. That is what we will see played out throughout the rest of this book. But for right now we simply marvel at what God has done for us.
Paul teaches that our individual bodies are, “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19), but in Ephesians 2:22, Paul states that “we” are corporately “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Why are both statements true?
Unity in the church is essential. This isn’t even a question. I just wanted to put that our there as a statement of fact!