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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-lavery/devotional/
Acts chapter 21, and we'll read from verse 27, Acts 21 and 27. And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which are of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people and laid hands on him, crying out, Men of Israel, help!
This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people and the law, and this place. And further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus and Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.
And all the city was moved, and the people ran together, and they took Paul and drew him out of the temple, and forthwith the doors were shut. Now turn, please, to the book of Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1.
And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love were with he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace are ye saved. Now farther down the chapter, verse 16.
And that he might reconcile both that is Jew and Gentile unto God in one body, by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them which were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. Now God will bless the reading of his precious word. Just a few little words, three short words rather, about what we have read together.
We read in the book of Acts of that day when Paul went up to Jerusalem. And when he went up to Jerusalem, there was others with him. It was this man, Trophimus, who was an Ephesian. And they supposed that he had taken him into the court of the Jews.
We know he hadn't gone there, but that's what they accused Paul of. And then it says, and the door was shut. So really, we can see this today, that the door was shut both to Jew and to Gentile. They could only go so far, as far as the temple was concerned.
None of them could go into the holiest of all. And there was a great uproar. But thank God, when we come to the book of Ephesians, there's access for both Jew and Gentile. The Jew thought he was far better than the Gentile, but Paul tells us in chapter 2 and verse 1, those who were dead in trespasses and in sins.
I'm not sure if he's thinking maybe trespasses more in relation to the Jew and sins more in relation to the Gentile. But he goes on to show, he said, in time past ye walked. And probably you know that when you read the book of Ephesians, you need to be careful to look at the ye and look at the we.
And when he's speaking about the ye, he's speaking about the Gentiles. So the Gentiles had nothing to brag about. That's us. We had nothing to brag about. But it says, we walked according to the course of this world.
According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children are in the sons of disobedience. So that's a little picture of the Gentiles, not only in that day, but in this day as well.
And then the Jew, he thought he was far better. There was enmity between Jew and Gentile. They were worked up with their enmity when they put Paul and Trophimus and others, they put them away and the door was shut.
They shut the door. But then he said, now among whom we, also we, now he's speaking of the Jew, verse 3, that our conversation, our manner of life and times past, in the lusts of our flesh. Fulfilling the desires of the flesh.
They thought they were better than everyone else. They would have told you they're fulfilling the word of God. But it was just an empty thing and it was the desires of their own flesh and of their mind.
So it wasn't just an outward thing, but it was an inward thing as well. And were by nature the children of wrath even as others, that is even as the Gentiles. So God brings them all down on the common ground.
Now when it comes to the access that we have, and in the verse that we read in verse 18, we have both access. It's a, it's really the thought of introduction. Jew and Gentile, right on the same plane.
The enmity was broken down by the cross. What a tremendous work was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. This is a wonderful chapter. Especially after you read chapter 1. And you find about all the blessings that we've been brought into, and one day we're going to reign as Adam and Eve were over the world, we're going to reign with Christ.
Going to be a tremendous day. But think of the material that God had to work with. None of us could boast about anything. And especially the Gentiles, they had no claim on the God of Israel. No hope of a coming Messiah.
Far away from God. But what a tremendous work must have taken place to bring us into that place of nearness. And while there might have been a door shut in the book of Acts, here's a door that is open.
It's a door to heaven. And when we were here this morning, when we're worshipping, when our brethren are worshipping, we're worshipping in a heavenly sanctuary. People ask you if you have a sanctuary in your church, as they would call it.
And I tell them, well, we have a heavenly sanctuary. Far better than an earthly sanctuary. Sometimes they ask you, do you have an altar? I said, yeah, we have an altar. We're off. They have no right to eat what's served at Tabernacle.
But these aren't, we're not talking about material things. That's what the nation was all occupied with. That is a nation of Israel. They had that temple, Herod's Temple. Must have been a quite a, quite a building.
And then you would say, well, Trophimus, and he likely would hear this letter read, what about you? Well, he'd say, well, we had a temple too. We had the Temple of Artemis, a beautiful building with so many pillars and just a great big building.
But what have we now? Well, the Jew would say, well, you don't have anything. You don't have a temple. You don't have a priesthood. You don't have anything. And the idolater would say the same thing. Don't, don't have a temple.
Ah, but he says, you're a temple. That's the, that's the thought. A habitation of God in the Spirit. The last part of this chapter, we didn't read it. But just think of it, that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross.
What a tremendous work that was. For Jew and Gentile, both to be brought in the middle wall of partition that separated the Jew from the Gentile in the temple, is broken down. And he says, having slain the enmity thereby.
I know it took a long time for some of them to realize this. They would bring some of the grave clothes of Judaism, maybe into the local assembly or try to. Others would be still occupied with their idolatrous foods and what they would eat and so on.
But he said, God has brought this. And now we both have access in one spirit unto the Father. One Father. And each one of us. But remember, it's Jew and Gentile that's really in view. Of all access. A door opened in heaven that no one can shut.
And there's no believer barred from it, whether they go to local assembly or not. We all have access right to the Father. We all have one Father. And we're no more strangers and foreigners. Verse 19. But fellow citizens, citizens of the saints and of the household of God and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. You can see why he's the chief cornerstone. He's the one that accomplished all this. He's the one that brought we who once were far off. I've been brought near at an infinite cost, the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm sure we appreciate it, especially when we're here to remember the Lord. But I hope we take the savor of the meeting with us and have an appreciation of what the Lord has done. The lowly place that he took.
Now he's the chief cornerstone. So may the Lord help us to give him that place. You know, the disciples, they once said to the Lord, have you seen this great building? Look at the stones of the building.
It wasn't long after that the Lord said, the stone that the builders rejected, the same has been made the head of the corner. There was no room for him and their building. But thank God in the building that we're associated with and that we're in built upon the teachings that is of the apostles and the prophets.
But the Lord himself as a chief cornerstone. So may the Lord give us an appreciation for the access that we have onto him. What a change, what a transformation taking place in the dispensations for by grace we're saved through faith that not of ourselves, the gift of God, not of works.
Yes, any man can, but we can't boast about anything except maybe what Paul himself said, God forgive that I should glory or boast saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's everything, isn't he going to be great.
Soon we're going to see him. Okay. Are we anticipating that the Lord is anticipating it. He can't bear to be separated from us. There'll be something wrong if we could bear to be separated from him. May the Lord help us to enjoy the place of nearness that we've been brought into until the day when we'll see him face to face.