Villa Rica 12/26/04
Ephesians 2:11-22  

    In Ephesians we are taught the wonderful truth that we who were once not a people are now the people of God. We learn that the middle wall of partition between the Israel of God and us Gentiles and has been broken down and is now abolished. There is now a new man in Jesus Christ. He has done something that completely changes the former economy of the people of God. He also relocates the capitol of the Israel of God. It is no longer Jerusalem located in the Middle East; His capitol city is the New Jerusalem in heaven. The Lord Jesus is there right now reigning as King. We don't see Him. He is invisible. But be very sure of this, beloved, He is there right this very moment and will always be there. He will return to this earth to gather unto Himself all His children, but His Kingdom has already commenced.

    Furthermore he has a Temple not made with hands. His temple is not of stone, wood and gold but is what is described as His body. He is the head and we are members of His body. We are called the temple of the living God. As Paul says in this passage, we are the building of God that is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, the dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

      I believe it is important to get a hold on what Paul is teaching about the oneness of the people of God. In verse 14 he says that He has broken down the middle wall of partition and has made both one. He has brought peace between Jews and Gentiles in Himself. He makes in Himself a new man of the two. What exactly does that mean? Well, it means that when he gave Himself as the propitiation for our sins by dying on the cross the old Israel has now been made into a new entity. A new people are formed from among both Jews and Gentiles. It is not the same as before. There is now a blending of Jews and Gentiles. And Gentiles come from all different nationalities and races and cultures of people. They are all put together in what is now called the Church of the living God, the kingdom of God.

God has terminated the old arrangement. It is no more. There are now a people from all parts of the world and they are all of the same family and kingdom. There is no longer Jew or Greek, As Paul says in Galatians 3:26-29  ²⁶For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

        There is no longer any distinction between Jew or Gentile or any other category of persons. All become one in Jesus Christ. It is a new form of the old Israel that includes all people who are baptized into that one body of Christ. He is the new man that brings peace to all, peace with God and peace with one another.

          We learn in Ephesians 2:19 ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 

We have a new identity as Christians. Paul uses a number of figures and pictures to explain that identity. He has already suggested that we are a body. We can all picture a body, our own body with its various parts and members which all contribute to the one body. Each part and member has a function and purpose. So in the body of Christ we are one body with many members, each having a contribution to make to the rest of the body. But here in verse 19 we are told that we are like a political entity like a city or a state. He speaks of the Gentiles as no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,

Paul speaks of the Christian as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. I believe people need to understand that the Church is a commonwealth, it is a Kingdom. It has officers. It has a government. We are part of that commonwealth by virtue of our membership in the Christian Church.

Just as we enjoy privileges by virtue of our citizenship in the United States, so we enjoy privileges by virtue of our citizenship in the Kingdom of God. We enjoy the benefits of the laws and agencies of government that are established. We are given protection. We have police and armed forces to defend and protect us. We have firemen to put out fires and render emergency assistance. We have 911 to call in an emergency. We have all sorts of benefits that go with United States citizenship.

All the resources of the Kingdom of Heaven are behind every citizen of the Kingdom. The Psalmists often speak of the protection of the Almighty when they face dangers and foes. For example in Psalm 3:1-6 

     Many are rising up against me.

² Many are saying of my soul,

  “There is no deliverance for him in God.”

^Selah

³ But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

⁴ I was crying to the LORD with my voice,

  And He answered me from His holy mountain.

Selah.

⁵ I lay down and slept;

  I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.

⁶ I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people

  Who have set themselves against me round about.

Zechariah 2:8 --for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye--

Jesus said in John 10:28   I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 

Is there any safer place to be than in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ? Romans 8:31  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  

We have God's protection and all the powers of heaven are at His command to help us in any time of need. How wonderful to be a part of the Kingdom of God.

The Lord is my Helper, says the writer of Hebrews. The terrible dragon that arises against the Church of God, casts out of his mouth a flood of water to try and drown the church in error and heresy. He is ever and always trying to destroy the Church. But the Word of God tells us that we overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. This is the way we defeat the Devil when he comes with all his malice and menacing power. Paul was often openly beaten and harassed and put through various trials. But he wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:12 ¹²For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 

And we are taught that we have immediate access, not just to the magistrates and officials of this Kingdom but to the King Himself. We can go into His very presence with our petitions and problems. He is ever near to hear our cries for help and succor. Oh, how we ought to glory in our citizenship in this great and glorious kingdom and its Sovereign Jesus Christ, who is Lord over all the earth.

We have a national capitol in Washington DC and a state capitol in Atlanta but the capitol of the Kingdom of God is Jerusalem in heaven. Our King is on the throne in that highest and holiest place of all. We are bound together as one holy nation by this citizenship and our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are one people, one commonwealth, one Church.

      But we not only have the picture and description of the church as a commonwealth with all of the benefits that go with being in this Kingdom but we are told that we are of the household of God. This is something that is more intimate and meaningful than being a part of a commonwealth. It is a deeper and more intense relationship. We can be part of the commonwealth and be bound together in this political and national way as one people but to be part of a family is a closer relationship. So the unity that exists in the Christian Church between members is not a loose attachment, it is an intense, close, intimate attachment.

          Christ did not take on Himself the nature of angels but He took on man's nature; He has been made a little lower than the angels. He has come down to our level. He took on human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He is our Brother. He is the First-Born among many brethren; and He says, Behold I and the children that God hath given me. He understands us. He sympathizes with us. He is in heaven to represent us. He is ever there with the Father interceding for us. And because we are in this relationship we are joint heirs with Him.

There is a present sense in which we are seated in the heavenlies with Him but there is a day coming when we shall behold Him and be in a new spiritual body with Him forever. And all that belongs to Him will also belong to you and me, for we are joint heirs with Him. All Christians cry 'Abba, Father'. We belong to Him and to all who belong to Him. The Church is a brotherhood. It makes us one in a way that the citizenship union does not. We are of the household of  God. We are more than a congregation of Christians, we are a family. We have communion with our Heavenly Father and with all His children who are born into His family by the same Spirit. We are a body, we are a kingdom and we are a family.

  We are also a Temple. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we have that intimate communion with our Creator and Savior in that tight and close connection of a building that is joined stone with stone, a holy Temple.   We are not just worshipers who go to a temple; we are a part of the Temple of God. He indwells His Temple by His Spirit and we are in Him and He is in us.

      We see then our great privileges as members of the Church of Jesus Christ. And with privilege goes responsibility. It is inevitable. Enjoying such a position, such a dignity, and such glory participating in such privileges. Oh, how great is our responsibility! After all, we belong to the greatest commonwealth, the greatest family in this world or the next. We are of a royal family; God's own intimate family and we are a temple of God. We ought to respect our heritage and family name. We should want to at all times represent our King, our commonwealth, our family and our Temple. We are members of the greatest Kingdom and the greatest King. We are espoused to Him. He is the Bridegroom and we are his Bride. We are married to Him. We have the highest privilege that can come to any person or people. We belong to Him. We are His and He is ours. How absolutely wonderful!

          The apostle in Philippians 1:27-29 tells how we should live:  ²⁷Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,Because we are a holy family, no uncleanness or improper conduct should be seen in us.

 In Colossians 3:5-17 the apostle elaborates on how Christians are to conduct themselves:  ⁵Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. ⁶For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come ^upon the sons of disobedience, ⁷and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. ⁹Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, ¹⁰and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— ¹¹a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, ^barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

¹²So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. ¹⁴Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of ^Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.Col. 3:5-17 

          In closing let me quote a few words spoken by our Lord Himself Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷“If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

  (Matthew 5:16; 5:43-45) 

          Charles Colson in his book  Loving God, wrote, Christianity is not just a high‑sounding ritual which we perform on Sundays. Christianity is abiding by Biblical standards of personal holiness and in turn seeking to bring holiness into the society in which we live.

May this become second nature to all of us who belong to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! May we desire to never disgrace Him or bring reproach on His holy name. We are responsible to live holy lives as befits God's people. And by this men will be drawn to Him and glorify Him.

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The paper and sermon manuscripts from Pastor Todd W. Allen are made freely available for review and distribution. We only request that proper web page attribution be provided if distributed for any reason. Please be gracious to forgive typos and errors of expression. These notes are faithful approximations of what has been preached. May God be glorified in the preaching of His Word.

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