The Reconciliation

Take your Bibles. I invite you to turn to the Epistle of Ephesians, chapter 1. And as you turn there, let me set the stage for our message this morning by saying that in chapters 1 through 3, Paul talks about our position in Christ. And then in chapters 4 through 6, that we'll be looking at in the weeks to come, he talks about our Christian practice.

In other words, bodybuilding to get Christians in shape to serve Him. Pastor Monroe thus far has led us in the study of this great Epistle by preaching three messages under the umbrella heading our great salvation. In the first message here in chapter 1, he covered God's plan.

And we see what Paul says to us here in chapter 1 of Ephesians that God in His great love, in verse 15, predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will. That in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. Then in his second message, we looked at our salvation through the lens of God's power. In the second half of chapter 1 in verse 19, we learned that what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of His great might. That He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body. Then in chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, we looked at the riches of our great salvation. In those verses, Paul reminded the Ephesians of their moral condition before their conversion to Christ. He stated in verses 2 and 3 that you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world.

You were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. In verses 4 and 5, he reminded them of the riches of their salvation in Christ by saying, But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together in Christ. So how is someone saved? Well, he went on to answer that in verses 8 through 10. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That brings us to our text this morning where Paul reminds us that both Jew and Gentile are reconciled to God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is his teaching on reconciliation with God and each other so important? Because of pride, hostility between Jew and Gentile had grown over hundreds of years. That hostility caused issues in the early church. The truth of the gospel of grace that Jew and Gentile could be unified in Christ was not an easy thing for people to grasp. On the one hand, you had many Jewish believers who thought that it was unimaginable that Gentiles could be saved unless they first became a proselyte Jew.

How? By keeping the Mosaic law and becoming circumcised if he were a man. For example, in Galatians chapter 2 we see that Peter was intimidated by certain Judaizers to compromise the gospel. They insisted that a man had to be circumcised to be saved. For that reason, as you may recall, Paul opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, Peter was eating with the Gentiles, but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.

That's Galatians chapter 2 verses 11 and 12. On the other hand, you may have Gentile believers that had difficulty with such things as eating meat that had been offered to a pagan deity. Thus, in many such ways, Jewish and Gentile believers in the early church were stumbling over their formal traditions and beliefs. And in so doing, they were at odds with each other. Those differences fueled disunity within the Ephesian church itself. What one group considered important, the other group oftentimes thought was irrelevant.

What's the big deal? Thus, you had hostility toward one another in the two groups. In our text this morning, here in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 11 through 22, Paul confronts their disunity from two angles. First, he describes their former spiritual alienation as Jews and Gentiles, and then he describes their new spiritual identity and unity in Christ. Follow along as I read Ephesians chapter 2 verses 11 through 22.

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. 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. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility 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 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. What a beautiful passage. And here we see in these 12 verses, Paul calls us to remember four important facts about our past and present standing before the Lord.

Four important facts that we'll review here this morning. Fact number one, concerning our pre-salvation past, Paul wants us to remember we were condemned before God. Let's look at this a little more closely in verses 11 and 12. Therefore, remember, 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, 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. These verses begin with the powerful reminder therefore, remember Gentiles who you once were. Remember your past. Where you've come from based on what Christ has done to give you new life through His grace as described in verses 1-10. You were dead in your sin, and yet God made you alive in Christ. Be grateful for your deliverance from your sinful past and come to fully appreciate your reconciliation to God. Remember where you once walked.

Remember that. Well, the same is true for us, beloved. Paul's teaching is here to remember who we were in our presalvation days so that we can be even more grateful for what Christ has done for us. And when you think about it, nothing should inspire us with more gratitude than for a Christian to look back and remember what he was like without Christ separated from him.

That should bring great gratitude into our hearts and minds to reflect upon the great deliverance that we've experienced as we take a look at our former sinful lifestyle. Notice in verse 11, that the Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. He's emphasizing here the physical, external nature of the distinction between Jew and Gentile. Jews being circumcised physically disparaged all non-Jews by calling them the uncircumcised. It was a term of derision.

A term of defamation. You're not part of us. Remember what David said to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 when he confronted the Philistine. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who defies the armies of the God of the living? Well, this physical difference between Jews and Gentiles affected every area of their lives.

It created great social and spiritual divides between them. But circumcision has never been a mark of personal faith and trust in the Lord. For Jews or anyone else.

Let me remind you of a few things. Go left four epistles back to the book of Romans. Turn there with me. Keep your finger in Ephesians 2. Go back to Romans 2, verses 28-29. I'll show you a couple of illustrations here from Paul's writing to the Roman Christians. Romans 2, verse 28. Again, keeping in mind that external things like circumcision or baptism, things of that nature, never have been a mark of personal relationship with Christ. For a Jew or a Gentile or anyone else, Paul reminds us of that here. Romans 2, verse 28. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. Notice that. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the what?

The heart. By the Spirit, not by the letter of the Law. Again, we can't keep God's moral commandments perfectly. Thus, the need for a Savior. His praise is not from man, but from God. Just a couple chapters over, Paul reminds the Romans about the life of Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. He was saved before he was circumcised.

Turn over to chapter 4. Take a look at verses 9-12. Here we see again another illustration of justification by faith alone in the patriarch Abraham. Verse 9, is this blessing then only for the circumcised? Or also for the uncircumcised?

For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness should be counted to them as well. And to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the what? The faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

So there's a couple examples again clearly. Circumcision does not give us a personal relationship with God. It's the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Now go back to Ephesians 2 and take a look at v. 12. Here Paul reminds us that we were condemned without Christ just like the Gentiles in biblical times. So as we walk down through this passage, I want you to think about your past. Again, the condemnation that we all experience, the wrath of God as John 3.36 talks about, that was upon us in our pre-salvation days.

Reflect upon that for a few moments here as he's describing as the Gentiles were. Remember, that you were at that time separated from Christ. Spiritually, we were what? Dead. We were dead, separated from Christ.

Notice that. Separated from the Lord Jesus. Not having the Savior, and we had no true purpose. The Gentiles had their own pagan deities, which were simply the extension of their own sinful lifestyles. We have had our own idols as well when you think about your pre-salvation past, didn't we? We worshiped things of this world, and we stood condemned because of our sins separated from Christ.

Paul wants us to remember that. The condemnation that we experienced. Notice there also, they were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, because God had made Israel His chosen people into a nation where He was the King and Lord. In the Old Testament, that's called a theocracy. God ruling over the nation of Israel. His chosen people.

God gave them His special blessing, His protection, His love. But before our salvation, we were alienated from His promises as well. Notice also the Gentiles were strangers to the covenants of promise. Not able to partake of God's divine covenants, beginning with Abraham, in which He gave them a land, a priesthood, a nation, and to those who believed in Yahweh, eternal life. But like the Gentiles, we too were strangers to those covenants in our pre-salvation days.

And notice also, they had no what? No hope. No hope, because they rejected God and worshiped their own idols. Think about our pre-salvation past when we worshiped vain idols that could never give us the promise of hope.

Things in your life that maybe you hoped in. But it's not true hope, because it wasn't based on the promises of God in Christ. And notice lastly there, the Gentiles were without God in the world. They were not atheists per se, because they had many gods. But did not recognize the one true God. Their hearts worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, as Paul describes in Romans 1.

So it was with us. We were once without God in the world, worshiping our own idols. Things of the world without Christ. Paul wants us to remember that.

It's quite a description, isn't it? Of their lives in biblical times, the Gentiles, but also our lives as well, before we knew the Lord. Paul's saying, remember your condemnation. Like the Gentiles, we stood condemned because of our sins before a holy God. As James says, if we stumble in one point in God's moral law, we become what? Guilty of all.

Because He's perfectly holy. And we are not. And thus, we stood condemned.

It's pretty heavy, isn't it, to think about? But hopefully, it causes us to turn the page. Verses 13-17.

Let's turn the page. The second important fact that Paul encourages us with, remember we are now reconciled through Christ. Verses 13-17. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility 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 and might reconcile us both to God in one body, through the cross, thereby killing the what?

Hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. Look at verse 13 again. But now, in Christ Jesus, one of the great buts of Scripture, makes you think of Joseph at the end of his story in Genesis 50.20 when he looked at his brothers, right? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to preserve many people alive. But God. Earlier, we read here from chapter 2 that we were dead in our trespasses and sin, but God made us alive by His grace and rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us. But God. Here's another wonderful but now.

But now. You were formerly separated positionally from God, but now, positionally, we are in Christ Jesus because of our faith and trust in Him. Verse 13, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Far off. That was a common Jewish term in rabbinical writings used to describe the Gentiles. Those who were far away from God as they viewed them with disdain.

Apart from the one true God. The God of Israel. In biblical times, the Jews believed that converts to Judaism were brought near only through the temple and their covenantal relationship that Abraham is our father. As you remember the Pharisees saying to Jesus.

They viewed them as the Gentiles as people who were far off. But notice what Paul's saying now. We are now brought near by the blood of Christ. Making it clear that everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ by faith alone, whether Jew or Gentile, can be saved. It doesn't matter what our background is, our ethnicity and so forth, but we can be brought into a spiritual union with God by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why? Because His blood can immediately wash away our what? Our sins. If we confess Him as Lord and Savior. And because He paid the penalty for our sins, and He places us into the Kingdom of God.

From darkness to light. The just for the unjust. The Lord Jesus Christ. Look at v. 14.

We just sang about this. For He Himself is our what? Our peace. Who has made us both one, and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility. He Himself, this emphatically indicates that Jesus alone is our source of peace. He is the answer for mankind's problems.

Not politicians. Not being kind to each other outside of Christ in that sense. He Himself is the one who reconciles sinful man to God the Father. In Isaiah 9-6, the prophet Isaiah said, for a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders, and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ.

Hundreds of years before His birth, the prophecy, the Messiah is coming. He is the ultimate Prince of Peace. Christ alone. Romans 5-1, therefore, having been justified by faith, we now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Wow, what great truth that is. And true peace can only come, beloved, when we die to ourselves. And the only place self dies, if you look up, is at the foot of the cross. Is at the foot of the cross.

Why? Because Christ perfectly fulfilled the laws of God to create in Himself one new man in the place of two. No longer Jew and Gentile. One new body in Christ. And how did He do that?

Look at v. 15. How did Christ accomplish this? V. 15, "...by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in the place of the two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." Christ has forever broken down the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. Broken down in His flesh. That dividing wall. Through His death and resurrection.

Why? Because He abolished the Old Testament ceremonial laws. The feasts, the sacrifice, that dividing wall of hostility in the temple which uniquely separated the Jews from the Gentiles.

There was an outer court that the Gentiles could enter, but no further than that to go into the inner sanctum where only the Jews could go. Christ reconciled us with God and each other through His sacrifice on the cross. It's interesting if you note there, take a look at the word reconcile. It's a very specific, a strong Greek term that Paul uses here. Turning from hostility to friendship.

Very strong. We go from being hostile toward each other to being friends. Only through Christ. Emphasizing that total reconciliation can only come through Christ with God and each other. Colossians 1 19-20, Paul says, For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross. Christ came to die to bring peace to us. But it only comes, truly, through Him. In Christ, Jew and Gentile are one new man.

Has the idea of referring to a different of kind and quality. That we are new creatures. Spiritually, a new person in Christ is no longer Jew or Gentile, only Christian. One with the Lord.

And one with each other. Galatians 3 28, we'll put it up here on the screen for you. Galatians 3 28. There it is.

Follow along there. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Paul says in Colossians 3 11, Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave-free, but Christ is all and in all. We are one together. So, beloved, think about this for a moment. The most important identity is not our status in society, but our identity in Christ, and the reality that we are one in Christian family. We're brothers and sisters in the Lord. What a tremendous truth that is.

It's mind-boggling. That's what we've sung about this morning. The peace of God being extended to us, who once were separated far from Him. And yet He brought us near through the blood of Christ.

I want to put up another PowerPoint slide here. The unity with diversity policy. Pastor Monroe read this two weeks ago in his message welcoming us in to the body of Christ.

He taught at Apropos in this study. Notice Ephesians 2 being quoted there as we'll be looking at chapters 3 and 4 coming up in the weeks ahead. Our conviction is that there be one united people of God drawn from all races and cultures. Recognizing our equality in Jesus Christ, our goal is for different ethnicities and cultures to come together as the body of Christ at Calvary with mutual love and respect.

Enriching and strengthening one another. That's well stated, isn't it? That's a good, wonderful statement. Flowing out of the truth of the Scriptures that we're studying this morning that we're one in Jesus Christ.

Beautiful, beautiful sentiments. Now look at v. 17. And Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. Notice the word preached. It literally means to announce good news. And it's used throughout the New Testament to proclaim the Gospel. The good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. Pastor Caswell in his prayer this morning said, hey, as Pastor Powell opens this, to preach the good news to evangelize people. To tell them about Jesus.

That's what he's saying here. The good news, those who were far off, the Gentiles, and those who were near, the Jews have access to God's peace through Christ, the Prince of Peace. He is the one who can bring peace into our lives. The third fact that Paul encourages us with is found in v. 18-19. Remember, we are assured access to our Heavenly Father because of what He's done. We're assured direct access to God through Christ.

Look at v. 18. For through Him, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. So you see, in Christ, we have direct access to our Heavenly Father through the Spirit. All the resources of the Trinity are ours at salvation. Access is only used three times in the New Testament. That word.

That specific word. And in each case, it refers to our access directly to God. It's in Romans 5.2. And also, as Pastor Reese will be talking about tonight, in Ephesians 3 here, v. 12. So take a look at that.

Just flip over. Take a look at Ephesians 3.12. In Christ, whom we have boldness and what? There it is. Access.

With what? Confidence through our faith in Him. We have direct access. What a great truth. We can come to Him with boldness and confidence at any time knowing that we're welcomed by God because of what Christ has done for us.

Wow! That is just magnificent, isn't it? We are no longer, notice, strangers and aliens, but we are fellow citizens with the saints, other believers, from every era who have trusted in God. And we are called saints some 60 times in the New Testament. Because, Paul reminds us in Philippians 3.20, our citizenship is not here, but where?

In Heaven. Our citizenship is in Heaven. No longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints of God. Notice he goes on to say, we are members of the household of God. So keep in mind that heavenly citizenship and family membership are not two distinct roles or positions, but different views of the same reality. Because every kingdom citizen is a family member, and every family member is what?

A kingdom citizen. We're members of each other. We're in the family of Christ. And yet, the New Testament calls us saints. Or as I like to refer to being the pastor of senior adults here, to our senior saints here at the church. It's a good biblical concept.

Saints. The fourth fact that Paul encourages us with is to remember we build together on the rock of Christ. Verses 20-22. Notice, verse 20.

Build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God, how? By the Spirit.

Notice that. By the Spirit. In Christ, we are joined together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord. And in that process, God wants us to be pursuing not necessarily personal happiness, but personal holiness.

First Peter 1.16. You shall be holy, for I am holy. He wants the body of Christ to become more and more holy as we mature in Christ.

Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That refers to the divine revelation that God's given to us in holy Scripture. In the New Testament. God's special revelation to us. His Word. The Word of God. Christ Jesus, as we sang just a few moments ago, being the what? Cornerstone.

In whom the whole structure being joined together. Again, I quote from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 28.16. Spoke of the coming of Christ in these terms. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation.

Whoever believes will not be in haste. Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone. Look at verse 22. In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Notice that we are being built together, beloved, as the body of Christ.

Being built up together. Attached to Christ through the Spirit. Notice, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Meaning the Holy Spirit takes a permanent resonance in us when we come to Christ. Us, the church, the great spiritual body of believers for the purpose to advance His Kingdom. That's the work that He's doing in us as the body of Christ. 2 Corinthians 6.16. Paul reminded the Corinthians there, you are the temple of the living God. Because the Holy Spirit lives within us.

The temple of the living God. What a tremendous passage. Let me review those four facts with you.

I hope maybe you jotted them down so that you can go home and review them this week. Remember that we were condemned before our holy God, before salvation. Paul goes on to teach us here, remember we are now reconciled through Christ.

Through His blood. Remember we are assured access to our Heavenly Father because of His great work. That we can go directly to God anytime and pray. And remember we are being built together on the rock of Jesus Christ Himself.

He is the rock. Hopefully, as we think about this song even onward Christian soldiers, that we as the body of Christ here at Calvary, that our main focus is to advance God's Kingdom and to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. Let me give you a couple of applicational points here to think about.

Those of you taking notes, you can jot these down. Since we are one body in Christ, we are here to build one another up. In the unity of the Spirit for the work of the ministry.

To build each other up. In Ephesians 4, Paul talks about that. That unity and to being built up to do the work of the ministry.

To maturity. So that we're no longer children trot, to, and fro by false doctrine. But that we are grown up in maturity to serve Him. That's why Paul says in Ephesians 4-11 that he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the what?

The work of the ministry. For building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine and by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Let's be encouraging each other. Let's help disciple each other. To build one another up in the faith.

The Calvary church is known as a marching army for Christ. And that we're helping each other to do that. Secondly, turn back just a couple epistles to 2 Corinthians 5. How relevant is Paul's words here in Ephesians to us about being reconciled to God? Being one body now in Christ?

What is our mission now? Go back to 2 Corinthians 5 and see how applicable our marching orders are from the Lord. We are now ambassadors for Christ. 2 Corinthians 5, 17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old things have passed away. The cold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us, notice that, the message of reconciliation. Therefore, beloved, we are ambassadors for Christ. God making His appeal, how?

Through us. How does faith come to people? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by what? The Word of God. We are His ambassadors.

We are His spokesmen. For our sake... Oh, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Verse 21, For our sake, He made Him to be sinned who knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God. Beloved, God's given us the ministry of reconciliation. Now that we're one body, Jew, Gentile, as a matter, those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we are one body. He's given us the ministry of reconciliation. He's entrusted us with that message to go and proclaim it to the world. We are His ambassadors. And we need to implore others, of course, with the good news of the Gospel, to come to Christ, because He is the One who can give us true peace. Jesus Christ. Let's be about His business and helping each other to do that. Onward, Christian soldiers.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we stand in awe with this great, magnificent passage that Paul's given to us in Ephesians 2. As we reflect back upon our own lives, we are truly humbled that You extended Your grace by Your great love through the sacrifice of our Savior. That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And that You have reconciled us to Him.

And that we are now one body. Help us, Lord, to be great ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ. To be about Your Kingdom work. And help us to encourage each other in the faith. To disciple one another. Those who are more mature in the faith here at Calvary, to help those who are younger in the faith. Men with men and women with women to help each other to follow You more closely. So we thank You for this great passage and this time to be together. So we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.