Heaven’s New Community

To conquer division, you must conquer. the sin that divides. Division runs deep. But Dr. Tony Evans says the cross runs even deeper.

Because what Jesus came to do was erect harmony where there was hostility. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. We may live in a world that's divided, but God has already designed a plan to bring people together. And it starts with the church.

Today, Dr. Evan shows how Jesus breaks down the walls that divide us. Let's join him in Ephesians 2, verse 11, for a look at how believers can experience true unity without losing their God-given uniqueness. Three words will help you to appreciate. This passage.

Separation, reconciliation, and Unification. Verse 11 and 12. Talks about Two kinds of separation that existed in the church that Paul wants to address. One, The social separation as seen in the words uncircumcision. And circumcision, he calls them Gentiles in the flesh, that is.

As people look at other people, this is who you are. As men recognize differences, that's who you were. And he says that was an unenviable position to be in. Why? Because You have to understand that Gentiles were scorned by Jews.

They were called the Gentile dogs. They were viewed as unclean. Galatians 2. Verse 11 and following. After Peter had learned his lesson from God.

Guess what happened? He was eating pork chops with the Gentiles. Finally found out that pig he'd been missing all of his life wasn't that bad.

So he's eating some pork chops with the Gentiles, and guess what?

Some of the men of the circumcision came in, that means Jews. They came in and saw Peter, their pastor and fearless leader, fraternizing with the Gentiles. and said basically, how dare you eat with them. We got to go to heaven with them. And when we get there, we'll fellowship.

But from there till then, They belong on this side of town and you belong on that side of town and nobody crosses these tracks. These are two separate worlds. That text says that Peter was so intimidated by the circumcision, the Jews. By his own race. That he backed up from the Gentiles.

And can you imagine how they felt? and went to the Jews. Because he could not associate with them and keep his Jewish friends. They're part of the church, but they're bringing into the church the old standards of measurement. The old standards of adjustment.

The old standards by which Social acceptability is measured. And those of us who are aware of American history, No. That the church was one of the prime promoters. of segregation in the history of our country. Bringing the standards Outside of the church.

Into the church and making them God standard, and then dare to quote Bible verses on top of it. That is the atmosphere. That he is addressing. He is addressing an atmosphere where they were separated. And what you have to understand is.

Sin always separates. They were separated socially. But that was really because they were separated spiritually. Please notice the lines here that we are given in verse 12. They were separated from Christ.

In other words, they had no hope of a Messiah. Not only that, But they had no hope, so they were hopeless, he says. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 4 says that we don't sorrow as those who have no hope. And do you know the Gentiles had no hope? They had no hope.

They didn't know what to look forward to. No clear perspective on eternity. Let me tell you something about hope. You have to have two things to have hope. They have to have a promise to look forward to.

And you have to have somebody who can pull off the promise. That is why Christians have hope. Because not only do we have the promises of scripture, they're backed up by somebody big enough to pull it off.

Now this separation led to the need for reconciliation. And this is where our Savior comes in. But now, verse 13 says. That's a lot like Verse 4 of chapter 2, but God. But this time he says, but now in this alienation and separation, look at what happens.

In Christ Jesus, you who are formerly afar off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ, referring to his sacrificial death.

Now let me tell you why you have disharmony between races, between couples. between friends, between anybody. The reason why you have separation. always is related to sin. Why?

Because sin is driven by selfishness. You see, people sin because they want to satisfy self. That's why you sin. You want to do something that pleases you, even though it doesn't please God. And the thing that pleases you that doesn't please God is sin.

Now, if you get two people living in the same house, And both are selfish. I want my way. She wants her way or vice versa. You will automatically Count on it, erect the wall of separation. You can bike on it.

Once you introduce selfishness, to a relationship. You will automatically Bring some separation in the relationship. to conquer division. You must conquer the sin that divides. What you cannot do is inaugurate authentic relationship unless you deal with the spiritual issue of sin.

So, what God did in Christ. by his blood was deal with sin.

Now notice verse 14. In fact, you'll see it. All through this section. He says in verse 14, he himself is our Peace. He himself is our peace.

Notice what he says in verse 17. He came and preached peace. He came and preached peace. What he is saying is that Jesus Christ brought harmony. Or the basis for harmony where there was division.

Now, this is a very important one I'm getting ready to get into now, because it not only affects Jews and Gentiles, it affects blacks and whites and Hispanics and Asians, it affects husbands and wives and parents and children, because what Jesus came to do was erect. harmony where there was hostility. His death was about bringing things together. The word reconciliation means to bring together again. That which was split up to bring together again.

Now you remember in World War II Europe was divided. It was divided from the Warsaw Pact And NATO. Germany was split right down the middle. And to separate East Germany from West Germany, they erected the what? Berlin Wall.

That was the natural result of the dividing of Europe as the outcome of World War II. Two different lands, two different philosophies, communism versus democracy, two different peoples, always on the verge of either a hot war or a Cold War. That wall represented hostility.

Now, notice what Jesus did in verse 14. He himself is our peace. So, our peace is a person. who made both groups into one, Jew and Gentile, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall. This is a Berlin Wall.

There's a real wall. You say in the Jerusalem temple. One built by Herod. There was the wall of the Gentiles. It's separated.

The Gentile court? from the Jewish court. A Gentile better not. Try to climb over that wall. You in East Germany, you try to climb over that wall when it was up.

to West Germany, they have men there with rifles to take you down. No climbing over this wall. In biblical days, They had in the court the wall that separated the Jews from the Gentiles. And the Bible says in the book of Acts, they sought to kill Paul. Because they thought he was bringing a Gentile over the wall.

This was serious stuff. This was death stuff. That's how much the hatred was. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's death on the cross, he says.

Obliterated the wall, the Berlin wall, spiritual Berlin wall, that separated people who were separated for years.

Now, the implication of this is staggering, as you'll see in a moment. But what Jesus did was He broke down the barrier. That is what that wall represents by doing what? Turning two groups In one group.

Now You can't turn two into one and still have two. All right. This new group. That would incorporate Jews and Gentiles is called the church. That's the unique entity This thing called the church, heaven's new community, would be a new race, almost like a third race.

A third race of people. who would be brought together in one family. based on one person, Christ. who did one act. And that was by his blood.

Tear down the hostility.

Now what was the hostility that put up the wall in the first place?

Well, he tells us in verse 15. by abolishing in his flesh The enmity. The conflict, strife, division, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in himself he might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace.

Now this is deep. Christ tore down every wall that once divided us. But to fully appreciate that, we need to understand where the walls came from in the first place. doctor Evans will have that for us when he returns in just a moment. First though, let me tell you about a resource that builds on what Tony's been discussing today.

His devotional book Stronger Together, Weaker Apart, speaks directly to the division we're seeing in our culture, our churches, and even our closest relationships. it goes beyond simply tolerating one another. Through guided prayers and thoughtful devotions, It shows how God empowers us to love people we don't always agree with. and move toward genuine spiritual unity. We'd like to send you a copy of Stronger Together, Weaker Apart as our thank you gift in support of Tony's ministry here and around the world.

And along with the book, you'll also receive all eight full-length messages from his current teaching series, Love Will Overcome. This is a special limited time offer, so don't put it off. Visit tonyevans.org or or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. where a team member is ready to help. The number again is 1-800-800-3222.

I'll repeat our contact information after part two of today's message, and this. Many of the stories of the Word of God were depicted in artistic forms, and some of the most magnificent pieces are still available to us today. On the Unbound Podcast, Dr. Tony Evans and his guests explore how we encounter the spirit in everyday life, including art. I love that you are looking at the art and the architecture and really tracing that line.

It must be true above all else, right? Why not make it beautiful? Like I added. Listen to the Unbound Podcast. The Unbound Podcast with Tony Evans, available on all major podcast platforms.

Right now, let's return to doctor Evans for more of today's lesson. If you read the Old Testament, as I said earlier, The Jews had laws given to them by God, right? Let me tell you about the essence of those laws. The essence of those laws Separated what was clean and acceptable to God. And what was unclean and unacceptable to God.

So let's break that down a little bit. If you were a righteous Jew Big feet you would not eat. Pig feet you would not eat. You read the why? Because in the law...

Pig's feet were unclean.

So with chitlins, ham hocks, And all that other stuff, all right? I was unclean. God called it unclean. If you ate that food. Then you became unclean.

Because you ate that which was unclean.

Now what you think them Gentiles like to eat? Pig feet, hog maws, chillins, pork chops, ham hocks. They were eating this stuff all the time.

So not only were they born unclean, Because the Jews didn't like them because they weren't Jews. But they lived unclean because they enjoyed the very things that the Jews were restricted from because they were unclean.

So the Jewish law. was a wall. Because it separated that which was clean versus that which was unclean. But here's the good news. In the death of Jesus Christ.

The ceremonial laws were no longer in force. He canceled them out.

So that no longer Could you appeal to your diet or to any other ceremony, to observing a certain day, to doing things a certain way, as a means of separation, because Jesus Christ abolished that as a standard by which unclean and clean was measured?

Now, you may raise the question, then why God ever set the standard in the first place?

Well God created Israel to be a unique people. He gave them unique laws, unlike any of the other nations. He gave them unique guidelines like nobody else had.

So that They would become a light to the nations because they would be so peculiar. People would want to know: why are you so different? The same thing God says to the church today: we are a peculiar people. If you're not a little bit weird, you're not a good Christian. Hello.

The Gentiles would say. You don't eat pork chops? Why? Then the Jew was supposed to open his Bible and say, because we have to be clean before God, and that would lead him into Jewish evangelism to explain who the true God was and that he had unique standards. All through the Old Testament, God criticizes Israel for being like the other nations.

Because when you're like the other nations, you lose your witness. But when Jesus Christ died, he abolished the need for the ceremony because the ceremonies were all there to point to the need for a savior. Once the savior comes, you don't need the ceremony anymore.

So it was abolished. Not only did he abolish. Or nullify The ceremonial law But he kept perfectly the moral law, the Ten Commandments. He never sinned. Man, you know what?

You're not going to heaven because you've never sinned. Do you know why you're going to heaven? You're going to heaven because Christ has covered you with his righteousness.

So that's what Jesus did by abolishing it. And he made the two, verse 15, in the one new man, establishing peace.

Now, let me tell you why this is important. This is important because if you don't see yourself as part of the new man, you'll keep functioning like you're part of the old man. Not only was the wall torn down, But the Bible says when Jesus died, the veil in the temple was rent.

Now, you know what the veil was? The veil is what kept you from going into the holiest of all, which was where God's glory was.

So there was a wall to keep you from hooking up with other folk, and there was a veil to keep you from hooking up with God. When Jesus died, he solved two problems, not one. You can now relate to God, and you can now relate to one another through God. He solved two problems. That leads to the the third thing, unification.

First of all, New citizens.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens.

Now, what's that? A foreigner, right? That's a foreigner. A stranger or an alien is a foreigner. You are no longer foreigners.

Gentiles used to be foreigners, even though they lived there to the Jewish world. You are not a foreigner. Because he didn't just come to gain us peace vertically. He came to grant us peace horizontally. Then, why don't we have peace?

Because we want to live in the flesh. And not in the spirit. His final illustration is a building. Having been built. Uses a building motif.

He says three things about the building. One, The building is on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. What does that mean?

Well, they were responsible for recording and proclaiming the word of God. The apostles and the prophets laid the biblical foundation for the church.

So what he is saying is that the church is situated on Christ and his word. For Christ is the foundation, but their job was to take the truth of Christ and record it and communicate it.

So that's why 1 Timothy 3.15 says that the church is the ground and pillar of the truth. It is the foundation of truth. That is, the word of God is the standard by which we measure our relationships. The word of God is the standard. Secondly, he's the cornerstone.

Christ himself Being the cornerstone. That's a picturesque word. Let me tell you what the cornerstone was. The cornerstone related to the architectural design of the building. And the cornerstone was the alignment stone by which the unity and symmetry of all the other stones would be measured.

In other words, the cornerstone was so situated that in order for the building to be straight and be positioned right, all the other stones had to properly align themselves to the cornerstone.

So Jesus is the alignment stone. We ought to all be in line with him.

Now, what does this say? He uses the word temple. You know what the temple was? It was where God hung out. Your body is the temple of God, but so collectively we represent the temple of God.

And if we are unified as a body, then guess what we will be? We will be the hangout of God. We will be where God's hangout was. That was his glory. That was where he hung out.

And God is not hanging out in a lot of churches today. Because they're using false criteria. Jesus is not the cornerstone. The apostles and the prophets, that is, the word of God is not the standard. And every brick is not fitting in.

We got bricks that want to isolate themselves from the building yet hang around the neighborhood. Every brick has been positioned to fit in. Unity is what he's talking about. moving in the same direction. Let me close with this passage.

2 Corinthians. Five Where's AT?

Now, all these things are from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ. And gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Verse twenty. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were entreating through us. We beg you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Now here's what I want to close with. God in Christ has not only been the reconciler, He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Did you hear that? You have a job to do. and that is to be a reconciler.

You know, the problem is a lot of us are not reconcilers because we keep the divisions going. We keep mess going. He says, you are my ambassador and you are to be the reconciler. We ought to be the promoters of racial harmony, of class harmony. We ought to be the promoters of families staying together and not breaking up.

We ought not to be promoting a godless agenda, but done based on truth and righteousness, not based on race and culture, because sometimes people are wrong and they do need to change. But the standard is we must promote reconciliation. Dr. Tony Evans, laying out God's plan of reconciliation that begins with believers in the church. And he'll return with a final word in just a moment.

Don't go away. I want to invite you to join me for the trip of a lifetime. Tony Evans invites you to journey with him through Israel this October. We're going to gather together with many of our friends to survey the sites of the Holy Land. You'll visit the site of the Sermon on the Mount, tour the Old City, including the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, and the Garden of Gethsemane.

You'll overlook Nazareth, stand on the Mount of Olives, and walk the road where Jesus made his triumphal entry. Along the way, Tony will share messages that'll give you new insight into familiar Bible stories. Not only will we have a great time in his word together, we'll have a great time being together with so many who love the Lord and who love his word. There's a lot more in the itinerary. Visit tonyevans.org today to get the details and register before space runs out.

Don't miss this chance to add a whole new dimension to your faith. Visit TonyEvans.org today. Looking forward to meeting you for a glorious time on our journey to Israel. If you'd like to hear the complete version of today's message, including insights we weren't able to fit into the broadcast format, Just ask for the teaching titled Heaven's New Community. Better yet, receive it as a part of Tony's Full Love Will Overcome audio series.

Bundled along with his popular devotional book, Stronger Together, Weaker Apart. designed to help believers pursue unity through the power of prayer. This special resource package is available for a limited time as our thank you gift. when you support the ministry of the alternative with a financial gift. You'll find all the details online at tonyevans.org.

Or you can speak with someone on our resource team by calling 1-800-800-32-22. available day and night to help you. That number again, 1-800-800-3222. or online at tonyevans.org. Prejudice takes practice.

And doctor Evans says most of us have been training in it since childhood. On Monday, he'll show how God can help us break the habits that keep unhealthy biases alive. Right now, though, he's back with these closing words. When we adjust to the cross. will be God's new hangout.

And he'll feel at home with us because we're doing his thing, not our thing. Then you'll see some answered prayer. You'll see some powerful presence. You'll see some supernatural activity. Why?

Because he can trust us. with what cost him his son his life. And that is reconciliation up. and reconciliation out. That's heaven's new community.

That is the church.