PLAYING IN THE SAME KEY (Eph 2:17-22)

TWELVE 5 CHURCH

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midweek bible study uh... every wednesday we meet in this room at six thirty and we are going through an introduction to systematic theology uh...

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everybody's had a book we've been walking through a chapter at a time and we would love for you to come in and join us as part of that uh...

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the youth meet over in the house ages ten and up is over at the house and they have been walking through the book of first john with pastor jeremiah so remember midweek wednesday night six thirty excellent time of fellowship and bible study and uh...

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just being together which is a part of church right well uh... we also have uh...

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prayer meetings on tuesday morning uh... this past week we didn't have it we had to cancel but this week we're on but we typically meet every tuesday morning between seven and eight a .m.

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and i know some of you a lot of you cannot make it but i've said it before even if you can come in for five minutes and pray uh...

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we're praying for the church we're praying for each of the people that are here we even pray for the regular attenders we pray uh...

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for the community we pray that god would work in our midst and we're trying to make a habit of just continually going to the source going to god and asking for him to work uh...

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because he's the one that has to do the work and we're just along for the ride for the most part no amen to that huh?

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okay alright well and i ask also that you would continue to pray for our deacon nominees uh...

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these men have been coming early on wednesdays and having to sit and listen to me for an hour uh...

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talk through their reading uh... a book together and learning what it means to be a minister of mercy uh...

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a true new testament deacon and and so pray for them as they as they really talk to their families their wives as they examine themselves if this is truly the calling for them uh...

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so continue to keep them in your prayers and if you know who they are you can encourage them in that process well before we jump into our time of worship our call our call to worship uh...

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we always try and pray for another local church and this morning uh...

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we would like to pray for logos fellowship we have some great relationships over there with a lot of those guys in the leadership at that church uh...

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we love that people and we just want to lift them up to the lord this morning and let uh...

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trust the lord again go to the source and ask that he would work in their midst as they gather to worship so if you wouldn't mind pray with me dear heavenly father thank you thank you for how you have brought us into the body into the very household of god as your people and that you were building us on that foundation of christ lord i lift up our brothers and sisters at logos fellowship father i pray that you would work in their hearts lord mold them lord i pray that you would uh...

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allow their leadership discernment wisdom but also i ask that you allow them to humble themselves before you we all need that i need that jeremiah needs that every christian does lord that we would humble ourselves before you and i pray that for them that they would they would rely on you they would trust in you they would rest in you lord give them peace even now lord help them to be diligent to proclaim your word i pray this morning for their people as they as they come together to sing to fellowship to read to hear to see your word played out lord i pray that they would be further sanctified molded more to the image of our great savior jesus christ work in their midst bring about revival into their church that would spread into this community lord we thank you for them in christ's name amen well again before we go to a call to worship we actually have one of the things that we love to celebrate here which is a new member recognition so i'm gonna ask justin and ebony to come on up y 'all seen justin and ebony around here y 'all been coming now for a few months right it's been a bit now time flies and y 'all seen them around here they've gone through the new member process we've met many times i've known y 'all for quite a while and so they love the lord they love the church they love ministry they love to serve and and we are so grateful to have them interested in coming and being a part of of what god's doing here and we're we're excited to see how god uses y 'all here they have gone through that process they know what it means to be a part of this church this is a serious matter for us isn't it this is not just coming forward and saying i want to move my membership is it this is a this is a process that somebody that has to know what we're about and want to be on board with that y 'all have done that are y 'all excited so justin justin is a pharmacist in walnut ridge and ebony has just you're just now finishing up your masters you're going to finish it next may and you're going to be a guidance counselor that's awesome and you currently work at Jonesboro school district okay

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I should know this right but they have decided to come and move their membership here to to 12 -5 and be a part so I encourage you to pray for them

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I pray that god would would guide them in the ministry opportunities to use their specific gifts and abilities into this body how he sees fit and we're grateful to have them here for all of you that are members of 12 -5 if you affirm justin and ebony as being a part of this body a part of this congregation please stand in affirmation alrighty praise god you can be seated well as we do every time we have a commissioning right and it's only one so y 'all got to fight over which one of you gets it or if it's just going to be kind of the family bible but an

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ESV study bible because this is what we're about right this is this is the tool that we base everything off of why do we do ministry a certain way because that tells us to why do we live our lives a certain way because that book tells us to that is what we're looking to so that's why we like to commission you guys with that and we're grateful to have you here amen let's pray for them dear heavenly father lord thank you thank you for justin and ebony and their heart for you their desire to serve you lord

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I'm so excited to see how how you use their particular gifts in this body

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I myself have been encouraged by them and I pray that they too are encouraged here by other brothers and sisters lord over the next few years

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I pray that you would continue to use them mightily lord we thank you for them and we thank you for this body in Jesus name amen amen thank y 'all alright that's good exciting you know what before we before we go to a call to worship why don't you stand and sing this with me take my life and let it be consecrated lord to thee take my moments and my days let them flow in endless praise let them flow in endless praise take my voice and let it sing always only for my king take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee filled with messages from thee thank you our call to worship this morning comes from psalm 146 where the psalmist says praise the lord we will praise the lord as long as we live we put no trust in princes and a son of man in whom there is no salvation when his breath departs he returns to the earth on that very day his plans perish the lord sets the prisoners free the lord opens the eyes of the blind oh the lord watches over the sojourners he upholds the widow and the fatherless but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin praise the lord and all god's people said let's pray a prayer of adoration to that great god dear heavenly father we come to you once again and we just praise you for who you are god you are a god who loves the righteous and none of us were righteous oh father but then you send your son to redeem us and to make us righteous and then we stand before you holy god we stand before you with no condemnation father but you are holy you are perfect and because of your son we are redeemed thank you

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I pray that we would worship you this morning in spirit and truth we know that you are with us today as your people as we prepare to worship you we know that you are guiding our worship because you are the one that is working in us for your purposes and your good pleasure we thank you in christ's name amen alright amen it's good to be in the house of the lord this morning amen so glad that you are with us today we chose to come out and worship sing out lift your voices we worship the god who was we worship the god who is we worship the god who evermore will be he opened the prison doors he parted the raging sea now god he holds the victory sing it out church there's joy in the house of the lord there's joy in the house of the lord today and we won't be quiet we shout out your praise there's joy in the house of the lord our god is surely in this place and we won't be quiet we shout out your praise we shout out your praise we sing to the god who heals we sing to the god who saves we sing to the god who always flakes away well he hung up on that cross then he rose up from that grave my god still rolling stones away amen there's joy in the house of the lord there's joy in the house of the lord today and we won't be quiet we shout out your praise there's joy in the house of the lord our god is surely in this place we won't be quiet we shout out your praise sing we were the beggars we were the beggars now we're royalty we were the prisoners now we're running free we are forgiven accepted redeemed by his grace let the house of the lord sing praise we were the beggars now we're royalty we were the prisoners now we're running free we were forgiven accepted redeemed by his grace let the house of the lord sing praise there's joy in the house of the lord there's joy in the house of the lord today and we won't be quiet we shout out your praise there's joy in the house of the lord our god is surely in this place and we won't be quiet we shout out your praise there's joy in the house of the lord there's joy in the house of the lord today and we won't be quiet we shout out your praise there's joy in the house of the lord our god is surely in this place and we won't be quiet we shout out your praise we shout out your praise praise amen, psalm 72 give the king your justice, oh god and your righteousness to the royal son may he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice let the mountains bear prosperity for the people and the hills in righteousness.

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May he define the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor.

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May they fear you while the sun endures and as long as the moon throughout all generations.

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May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

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In his days, may the righteous flourish, amen, and peace abound till the moon be no more.

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May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

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May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust.

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May the kings of Torres and of all the coastlands render him tribute.

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May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him.

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All nations serve him, amen. ♪

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Bless your name, O God ♪ ♪ Stand it out from dawn to setting sun ♪ ♪

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Your name will sound with every single day ♪ ♪ Your glory far exceeds all human guide ♪ ♪

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So with each breath I'll bless your name, O God ♪ ♪

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No more will we weep for our children yet to come ♪ ♪

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As generations stand undisturbed ♪ ♪

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Your strong and mighty deeds are always known ♪ ♪

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O God, most high, your name will be revealed ♪ ♪

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It's so long and gravy to be praised halfway ♪ ♪

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It's so long, it's so long ♪ ♪

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May your gracious hand provide ♪ ♪

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Your mercy means to find the hope inside ♪ ♪

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When we call out to you, you hear our cries ♪ ♪

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And all I need, your gracious hand, O God ♪ ♪

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It's so long and gravy to be praised halfway ♪ ♪

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Forever without it, creation will rejoice ♪ ♪

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In works of wicked man you destroy, sing it out ♪ ♪

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Your power will proclaim till Christ is here ♪ ♪

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And you will reign forever, it is the

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Lord in glory ♪ ♪ It's so long and gravy to be praised halfway ♪ ♪

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It's the Lord, it's the

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Lord, it's the Lord, it's the Lord ♪ We just thank you,

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Lord, for this time of worship. You've allowed us, God, to be here, to worship your name.

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Father, we thank you for your son that you've sent, the true and better Adam. Praise you,

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God. God, we just praise you for sending that gift,

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God. Praise you. ♪ Christ the true and better Adam ♪ ♪

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Son of God and son of man ♪ ♪ Who when tempted in the garden ♪ ♪

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Never yielded, never sinned ♪ ♪ And he who makes the many righteous ♪ ♪

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Brings us back to life again ♪ ♪ Dying, he reversed the curse and rising ♪ ♪

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Crushed the serpent's head ♪ ♪ Christ the true and better Isaac ♪ ♪

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Humble son of sacrifice ♪ ♪

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Who would climb the fearful mountain ♪ ♪

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There to offer up his life ♪ ♪ Laid with faith upon the altar ♪ ♪

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Father's joy and only son ♪ ♪ There salvation was provided ♪ ♪

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Oh, what full and boundless love ♪ ♪

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Amen, amen ♪ ♪ From beginning to end ♪ ♪

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Christ the story is the glory ♪ ♪

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Hallelujah, amen ♪ ♪

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Christ the true and better Moses ♪ ♪ Caught to lead a people home ♪ ♪

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Standing bold to earthly powers ♪ ♪

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God's great glory to be known ♪ ♪ With his arms stretched wide to heaven ♪ ♪

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See the waters part in two ♪ ♪ See the valleys torn forever ♪ ♪

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Cleansed with the blood we pass now through ♪ ♪ Amen, amen ♪ ♪

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From beginning to end ♪ ♪ Christ the story is the glory ♪ ♪

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Hallelujah, amen ♪ ♪

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Christ the true and better David ♪ ♪

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Holy shepherd, mighty king ♪ ♪ He the champion in the battle ♪ ♪

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Where, O death, is now thy sting ♪ ♪

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In our place he bled and conquered ♪ ♪ Crown him

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Lord of majesty ♪ ♪ He shall be the throne forever ♪ ♪

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We shall hear his people sing ♪ ♪

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Amen, from beginning to end ♪ ♪

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Christ the story is the glory ♪ ♪

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Hallelujah, amen ♪ ♪

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Christ the story is the glory ♪

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For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.

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He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy.

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From oppression and violence he redeems their life and precious is their blood in his sight.

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Long may he live. May gold of Sheba be given to him.

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May prayer be made for him continually and blessings invoke for him all the day.

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May there be abundance of grain in the land. On the tops of the mountains may it wave.

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May its fruits be like Lebanon and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field.

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May his name endure forever. His fame continue as long as the sun. May people be blessed in him.

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All nations call him blessed. Blessed be the

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Lord, the God of Israel who alone does wondrous things.

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Blessed be his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory.

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Amen and amen. The prayers of David, the son of Jesse are ended.

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Amen. And on his heart

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I know that while in heaven he stands no tongue can but hear his deep cry.

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No tongue can but hear his deep cry.

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And Satan tempts me to despair.

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He tells me I am not guilty there. But I look and see him there.

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And I hear him answer from my soul. Because a sinless

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Savior died. My sinful soul is counted free.

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For God the just is satisfied to look on him.

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Raise him up, risen son of God.

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His love is righteousness. The great unchangeable life of the

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Lord. With his hand

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I cannot attack. My soul is purchased by his blood.

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My life is filled with Christ in my heart. With Christ my

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Savior, my God. With Christ my

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Savior, risen son of God.

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Raise him up, risen son of God, risen son of God.

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God, that's why we're here this morning is to praise you. Your mighty name. Thank you,

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God. Praise you, Lord. God, as we continue this time of worship, and reading the word and hearing it preached,

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God, I pray that you'd prepare our ears. Give us ears to hear what the Spirit speaks to the church this morning,

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God. Continuing worship and offering, Father. That you would use these offerings and these gifts for your kingdom,

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Father. You would put it in our hearts and our minds. Today we live for you. God, we thank you.

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In your name we pray. Before the throne of God above.

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I love that song. What great truth.

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We stand righteous because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.

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Go ahead and open your copy of God's word to Ephesians chapter 2. Before we get to that, let me pray for us that God would illuminate our hearts and minds to his truth through the

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Holy Spirit. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you. Father, I pray that you would speak to us today through your word.

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Father, your word is clear. It's true. It's precise. But we, as frail, fallible creatures, sometimes distort it.

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Sometimes misunderstand it. Forgive us. Oh, God, but allow us this morning, your people, to hear truth.

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To know it. Guard my lips from error, Father. I beg of you. Thank you in Christ's name.

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Amen. Ephesians chapter 2. And we're going to start reading in verse 14.

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And if you were with us last week, you will recall that we looked at verses 14 through 16.

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And we saw that there was this dividing wall of hostility that has now been done away with.

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This hostility between both Jewish and Gentile believers, mind you.

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Jewish and Gentile Christians, there is no longer a divide. He has broken that down, and he's done so in the body of Christ.

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So let's read there, starting in verse 14, as a reminder. Paul says, 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.

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And as we looked at this text, we saw how these earthly Christians, they were building walls of division within the very body of Christ.

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And we were reminded as we looked at that that we ourselves today often do the same thing, don't we?

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We often build these walls of division. We build dividers between us and brothers and sisters, and we create hostility in a place where Christ himself has abolished such hostility.

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And we're confronted with this truth. We believers, we can't help but feel the weight of our own sin and culpability in the propagation of this division, right?

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All of us are guilty of it at times in different ways, and we feel the weight of that, and we think just for a moment that peace, it's just not really attainable.

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We just think so differently than other brothers and sisters. We come from completely different backgrounds.

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We come from completely different cultures. That believer is not in the right denomination.

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I've got the right denomination. They're the wrong denomination. That believer supports the wrong political party, or something as benign as, well, our personalities just don't mesh.

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I have to love them, but I don't have to fellowship with them. Or I'll give them the shirt off my back, but I won't give them my time.

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These walls of division. And then we wonder with all of these differing personalities, these differing opinions and theological persuasions, these different ethnicities and cultures, how could we possibly be unified?

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How could we come together? And those of us in here that love studying

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God's Word and love theology, we understand the theological ramifications of this abstract reality.

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We know the fact that we are one body in Christ. We are unified. We understand that theoretically.

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But the physical reality seems to be one that makes this outward expression of unity impossible.

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Well, Paul knows this. Paul is human too, right? Paul understands these small things that just continue to build up and build up and cause such divisions.

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And you can be sure that he felt the weight of that, specifically in his time because Paul was a

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Jewish Christian that was ministering to Gentile Christians. But I think that's why he goes on in this letter to give us the key to unlocking this reality.

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So read with me there in verse 17 as he goes on. There in chapter 2 of Ephesians.

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And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

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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.

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Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the

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Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the

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Spirit. You know, when me and Erica, or I should say

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Erica and I, speak properly here. When Erica and I were planning our wedding, when

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Erica was planning our wedding, right, there was one big request about that wedding from me and it was that I wanted a string quartet.

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That's what I asked for. I didn't want just a piano or an organ like any old other wedding. I wanted to make it complicated.

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And I wanted a string quartet. And so what we did is we picked a string quartet that we knew of. They were a great group.

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Unfortunately, this particular group had double booked, and so they had to split forces.

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If you know anything about a quartet, it's four players, strings like a small little mini orchestra.

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And so what they had to do was they had to do two fill -ins in each group and split forces and go other ways.

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But I'm not sure that they vetted these fill -ins very well.

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And so as people are coming in into the wedding and the quartet is playing in the background, technically playing,

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I guess, it starts off sounding a little rough. It was a little rough.

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You could hear it was real pitchy. They weren't quite playing together. And all of us kind of thought, well, they're kind of working out the kinks.

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By the time the wedding starts, this is going to be good. However, by the time the wedding starts, it had gotten progressively worse.

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It had gotten worse. Mind you, there are hundreds of people at this wedding. This wedding is packed, and all of them are on edge because each song begins to sound more and more like a dying cat.

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And so by the time we get to the wedding march, Erica and her father are walking down the aisle to the sound of, and I'm really exaggerating that for the good.

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It was really, really bad. And so all of these people are laughing out loud, especially my mother -in -law on the front row, just laughing hysterically.

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I guess everyone was laughing except for your dad. I jokingly tell him, as soon as he turned the corner and opened the door and looked down the aisle and remembered she was coming to marry me, he started weeping.

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So he's the only one crying. Everybody else is laughing hysterically. You see, the good thing is that no one ever forgot our wedding, did they, babe?

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If you were at our wedding, you remember our wedding very well. The bad thing is they don't remember it for the right reasons.

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They don't remember the wedding for the right reasons. And I share this because I think that right there is often what people looking into the church remember.

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This is often what they remember. They remember it. They remember it well. They remember it for its disunity.

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They remember it for its awkwardness. They don't remember us as Jesus said that they would know us when he mentioned that in John 13.

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He says, By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. So why was this string quartet so bad at our wedding?

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Possibly a lack of practice, wrong sheet music, I don't know. But I think it had more to do with their tuning.

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If you're a musician, you know what I'm talking about. Had more to do with their tuning. You see, being a musician, you're forced to learn to play with others in unison.

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That's the point of music. That's what makes music so beautiful is you're playing with other instruments that are adding to this beautiful sound that's building upon each other.

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And the first and biggest part of playing in unison together is proper tuning. We had a pastor at our church,

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Pastor Rick Cobb. He was the guy that taught me anything music that I know,

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I know from him. And Pastor Rick always led our music team at church. And whenever we had a full orchestra on a

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Sunday in preparation for that, Pastor Rick would go to each instrument with what's called a tuning key.

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You all know what I'm talking about where you hit it on the side and it gives out a frequency and a pitch. And he would walk to each instrument, and he would hit that tuning key, and he would make the violin tune to that very tuning key.

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And then he'd walk over to the oboe, and he'd hit it again, and the oboe would tune to that tuning key. And then he'd walk over to the guitar player, tuning key.

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Every instrument one at a time, and he would hone in every instrument to this one source, meticulously unified source.

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Then and only then were we able to properly play together in unison. You see, if each instrument that was playing, if each one had tried to tune on their own based upon their own standard of tuning, which some musicians will try to do, oh,

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I've got good pitch, I can hear it, and they tune on their own, they would not have been in unison with the other instruments, would they?

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They needed to be in tune together. And I believe this analogy is similar to what Paul is telling us here in this text.

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Notice how he first further affirms this wall of hostility being abolished.

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Look back at verse 17 with me. I want us to really hone in on this reminder.

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In verse 17, he says, And who's the he? Who's the he?

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Jesus, right? This is Jesus. When I read that,

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I can't help but think of what we studied not too long ago in the Sermon on the Mount, right? All the words of Jesus from that Sermon on the

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Mount, they're resonating in my head as I read this passage. It says, Now who's the you?

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He's speaking to Gentile believers, right? These are Gentile believers there in Ephesus. He says,

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You were not in the covenants at that time.

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You were alienated from it, as he had said previously. But he says, The Jewish believers.

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For through him, who? Jesus, right? We both,

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Jew, Gentile, white, black, male, female, anyone, have access in one spirit to the

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Father. Now, as a side note, I want you to notice something here in Scripture.

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I want you to pay attention to this. Notice the Trinitarian language. I've been hitting this the whole time through this book.

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Remember, this is something that only a triune God could accomplish. Look at verse 18.

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For through him, Jesus, we both have access in one spirit, and notice that spirit is capitalized.

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Who is that? The Holy Spirit, to the Father. The Father chose us, the

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Son redeemed us, and the Spirit seals us. This has been the resounding theme from the beginning of this letter, hasn't it?

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This is Paul's purpose in letting us understand this. This is a Trinitarian work. If you have a non -Trinitarian

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God, you do not have the gospel. This is core here. So look at verse 19, though.

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So then. Some of your translations probably say, therefore. It essentially just means because of this.

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Because of this peace that is made with Christ and that has abolished all of this that we've just studied over the past, over last week and today.

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So then, because of this, therefore you who, Gentile Christians, he's writing to Ephesus, are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens.

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The language used here that Paul, in Paul's writing in the Greek, it's contrasting these previous two words that he has used, strangers and aliens.

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What is Paul saying here? He's saying that you were strangers and aliens. What he means by that is you were a foreigner.

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You were completely detached from this nation, from this country, from this people.

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But now, when he uses the wording that he uses for fellow citizens, he brings it together in perfect unity and says, you,

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Gentile believer, you have the exact same rights, privileges, and standing.

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You're a fellow citizen. And then he says, you're a fellow citizen, notice, with the saints.

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Who are the saints? Who are they? Every believer, right?

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Jew and Gentile. How do we know this? How do we know that these Gentile believers are saints?

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Because it looks like he says fellow citizens with the saints. Maybe he's calling the Jewish believers the saints and he just says, well, you're a fellow citizen with them, but that's not the way it's written here.

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And we know that because of chapter 1, verse 1 in his greeting. Who's Paul writing to? Gentile Christians in Ephesus.

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And what does he say? Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus.

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These are fellow saints. They're fellow citizens and fellow saints.

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And, well, what does he mean by that? That you are members of the household of God.

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See, up until now, Paul has been using this analogy of the body to refer to the church, hasn't he?

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We talk about that a lot around here, the body. The church universal is this organic thing.

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It's a body, and this analogy is a beautiful analogy, and that's what he's been using. And now he switches analogies, notice.

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He tells us that we are members of the household of God. You see, analogies have limitations, don't they?

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Every analogy falls short of the perfect picture of what it's seeking to portray, especially heavenly truths.

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And that is why I believe that the New Testament switches back and forth with analogies in regards to the church and its relationship to the triune

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God. We need multiple avenues to understand this great truth.

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This relationship between the church and the triune God is so intricate.

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It's so complex. It's so personal. It's so otherworldly that mere human terms cannot express its magnificence, can it?

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It can't even come close. And so we need multiple analogies just to get a glimpse into this glorious truth, don't we?

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And that's why Paul uses this. And this analogy of the household of God, it gives us a picture of something lost that has been found.

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Actually, let me rephrase that. It gives us a picture of something lost into something infinitely greater.

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What do I mean by that? Something lost into something infinitely greater. Well, think back to the first three chapters of the

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Bible. God created the earth, and it was good, wasn't it?

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We see God communing with Adam and Eve right there in the garden.

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You see, the garden was a temple of sorts. The temple essentially mediates the presence of God to His people, okay?

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And so this in the garden, Adam and Eve walking with God, is a temple of sorts.

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It's a dwelling place. It's a household. But what happened? Sin. Adam's sin separated us from the presence of God.

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Separated Adam and Eve from the presence of God. This Adam who was a priest of sorts, remember?

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He was tasked to care for the temple there in chapter 2, verse 15. That's why God put him in the garden.

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He says, here's the garden. Care for it. Take care of it. And so Adam is somewhat of a priest there in the temple of God, the very dwelling place where God mediates with His people.

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He's in the presence of God. But now after eating the fruit, he's what? He's cast out of the temple, out of the presence of the

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Creator. And when I say presence, I don't mean that God doesn't know where He's at.

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God is omnipresent. He's everywhere at all times. What I mean is communion with the

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Father. He's cast out of communion. But then later on, we see

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God making a way, don't we? We see glimpses of it all the way from chapter 3, all the way to the end of Revelation.

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We see it building up to this point of where He's taking it. But He makes a way for His people to be with Him again.

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But He does so in a tent, doesn't He? A temporary mobile temple while His people are in the wilderness.

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God makes a way. And once again, we have priests involved, don't we? We see this, the care for the temple in Numbers 3, where God tells

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Moses to establish the Levites as priests for the temple, to care for the household of God.

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And ultimately, the Jewish temple was built, wasn't it? When Israel finally comes out of the wilderness and they come into Jerusalem, eventually this temple was built.

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And this right here is where the people of God came to make sacrifices. This is where the people of God came to be in the presence of God Himself.

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In communion with God. Oh, but this, thank goodness, was not the ultimate plan, was it?

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This was not the end all. You see, Jesus Himself confirmed this to the woman at the well, didn't

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He? In John 4, verse 21, what does He say? He says, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the

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Father. And later on in verse 23, He says,

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But the hour is coming and now is here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

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You see, earlier I said this analogy of the household of God is something lost into something infinitely greater.

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You see, Adam, the priest, walked with God in the cool of the day.

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Didn't he? He walked with God, God by his side, communing with God in the garden.

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And now, now Jesus, the great high priest, what does He do?

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He brings us into perfect spiritual union with the triune God. We're no longer walking side by side with Him.

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We are in perfect union with Him. See, we're no longer caretakers and friends.

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We are now sons and heirs, as Paul has laid out previously in this letter. We are members of the very household of God where He meets with His people.

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He's with His people. He's in perfect communion with His people. See, this is why

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I think Paul is using this analogy. And he goes on to further expound on this analogy. Look at verse 20 with me.

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This household of God, built, built on. It's a house.

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It's a structure. It's a building. It's something in this analogy that we're seeing that is being built.

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It's built on the foundation. Now, anyone in here ever seen a house or a building get built?

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The first thing that ever has to happen, what is it? Is the foundation has to be laid. The ground has to be prepped.

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The soil has to be properly cared for. It has to be the right location. And then that foundation gets poured.

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And it better be able to handle the weight of what's going forward. But not only handle the weight of what's going forward, it lays out the trajectory of this building is going to be square and stable.

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It lays out the footprint of what this building is going to look like.

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There is a foundation that is laid. And that's what Paul says. He says, this household of God, it's built on the foundation of.

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And what does he say is this foundation? The apostles and prophets.

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Wait a second. I thought the foundation was Jesus. Paul said that over in 1 Corinthians, didn't he? This foundation is

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Jesus. So what does Paul mean here? That this foundation of the apostles and prophets.

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Well, to help us better understand this, actually turn to that passage in 1 Corinthians with me. Chapter 3. 1

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Corinthians 3. We're going to look at verse 10. When Paul, writing to the church in Corinth there, he says, according to the grace of God given to me, speaking of himself, like a skilled master builder,

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I laid a foundation. Actually, look back at verse 9.

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What does he mean by this? We can see this, how this is connected. For we are God's fellow workers, you are

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God's field, God's building. It's the same type of analogy that he's using here.

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You, Christians in Corinth, you are God's building. And I have been laying a foundation.

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What were the apostles and the prophets? They were the beginning of this building, weren't they?

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They were at the very beginning, the onset of this church, universal, this dwelling place for God with his people.

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Their efforts as builders was used by God to build this temple, this household of God, which is you and I now.

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We have been now 2 ,000 years. That building is continually being built, and those blocks are continually being laid.

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The whole of the church, you and I are stones in that building. Notice that Paul goes on in 1

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Corinthians there, in verse 10 of chapter 3. He says, and someone else is building upon it.

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Let each one take care how he builds upon it. You see this analogy of the church being built, this dwelling place of God, this temple of God dwelling with his people?

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Started in the garden, man ruined that. And then God started to restore it.

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He put that in a tent. His dwelling place was the tent amongst the people of Israel in the wilderness.

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Eventually, he came into the temple in Jerusalem where the people met in the presence of God. And then now, based on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, this church, this building, this dwelling place, this unity is being built.

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And you and I are part of that. And he says, let each of us take care how we build upon it.

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How are we building upon this building? Go back to Ephesians there in chapter 2. In the next part of verse 20, what does he say?

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He says, Christ Jesus being the cornerstone.

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This language is very similar to what we saw last week in the previous verse when he says Christ Jesus himself is translated from a word that is emphatic in what

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Paul is writing, meaning it's him alone, no other. There is no other source.

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It is Christ and Christ alone who is the cornerstone.

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So what is a cornerstone? Well, during this time when a building was being constructed and the masonry work began, the stone work began, the builders meticulously and intentionally placed a special stone.

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As a matter of fact, historians find that a lot of those special stones are engraved. They have markings on them.

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This is a special stone. And they lay it at the starting point and a marker of a foundation.

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So before they even begin a foundation, it has to start with what they refer to as the cornerstone.

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As a matter of fact, if built properly, historians say that if you could remove the cornerstone, if you could just get to the cornerstone and remove it, the entirety of the house or building will collapse.

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It's the pivotal part of building. And every good mason and every good builder understood the cornerstone and the importance of this cornerstone.

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It set the trajectory of what this house was to look like, where it was to go, if it was going to be in line, if it was going to be structurally sound.

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If everything, a part of that house, everything was based on this cornerstone.

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So what is Paul meaning by referring to Jesus as the cornerstone of the foundation? Well, look at verse 21.

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In whom, Jesus, the cornerstone, the whole structure, just as I said, the entirety of it that is being built and is continually being built.

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It's not done being built, by the way, is it? It's continually being built. There are the elect from every tribe, nation, and tongue continually being saved, and it is continually being built.

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But it is built, and in whom, in Jesus, the cornerstone, the whole structure being joined together.

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Now, this language here, I want you to notice it, because remember, unity, one body, one building, unified.

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We're not separate. This is not something that is individualistic. This is unity.

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This is together. You cannot live the Christian life outside of this. It is impossible.

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And if you are a Christian, you're brought into it. And he says, look at it. He says, together, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the

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Lord, the dwelling place. He's restored Eden, but better.

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That's the church. Look at verse 22. In him, in Christ, you also,

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Gentile believers, there in Ephesus, are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the

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Spirit. Think about that for a second.

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We know theoretically, oh, unity in the body, one in the body in Christ of God.

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Notice each one of us, if we're in Christ, we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit, as we've talked about previously in this letter.

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God himself is dwelling here. This is his dwelling place. This is where he meets his people.

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This is where there is no longer a need for you and I to raise a lamb, to take it to a

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Levite priest who falls short and has sinned himself, so that he can kill that lamb and sacrifice as a picture of your sins being cared for at a specific location in a specific temple.

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The great high priest has already paid all of that. And now you are a stone in that building, the very dwelling place of God.

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Don't talk about unity. You want to talk about seeking to be unified, because Paul has already told us in 1

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Corinthians, hey, you better be careful how you build upon it. You better be cautious how you build upon it.

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You see, this is why it's so important for us to be unified. Now, earlier

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I pointed to the difficulty that we have as Christians being unified, and I said that Paul gives us the answer in this text, and you've probably been wondering, when are you going to get to that, pastor?

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I want to know what the key is. I want to know what the answer is. Come on. But I also shared the need for each instrument in an orchestra to be tuned to the same source.

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This is essentially what Paul is saying here. If you're a part of the body, if you are a part of this building, if you are a stone in this, then we too must be tuned, must be aligned with the cornerstone, that singular source.

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Outside of that, we are out of tune. If we're not in line with that cornerstone, we are on a different foundation.

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See, as Pastor Rick walked by and hit that tuning key and held it in front of each instrument, each instrument honed in their senses onto that tuning key, and they tuned their instrument meticulously to that.

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And he walked back and forth to each person in that orchestra, and then as we got to practice and each instrument begins to play, there is a unified, beautiful sound coming up into the nostrils of God.

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Because it's unified, it's together. It's tuned to the same source.

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As a building, we must be in line with the cornerstone. That's the first and most important thing.

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Jesus Himself is that cornerstone. Remember what

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Paul said though, 1 Corinthians 3 .10, let each of you take care how you build upon it.

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Because in the next verse, verse 11 there, he says, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is

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Jesus Christ, the cornerstone. The cornerstone. We must take care.

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You want to know how to be unified with another brother and sister that you may not get along with, or you disagree with, or you don't understand?

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Because in yourself, you don't have the ability to do that, do you? You can set at home all you want, and you can try and tune to whatever frequency of spirituality you think you can get between you and God, and then you come into the orchestra and start to try and play with everyone else who's done the same thing.

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It's going to be chaos, isn't it? It's going to sound like the string quartet from our wedding.

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And that's what the church often looks like, isn't it? Oh, but when we are tuning from the same source, when we are in line, when that stone that's being built right now, this house is getting big, this temple is getting awfully big, we're 2 ,000 years into this building, right?

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And this building is getting up, and all of a sudden, we are not aligning that next layer of blocks with the cornerstone?

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We're not taking care of how we build upon it, are we? Praise God, the apostles and the prophets did.

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The foundation that they laid based off of the cornerstone was perfect. It was great because God oversaw it, and he built a foundation that is now secure, that is now straight, that is now plumb, and absolutely enough.

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But we get off of that, don't we? And then we're not in unity. Here's the thing.

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Look to Christ. That's all that boils down to, isn't it? Look to Christ.

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Look to the cornerstone. That's your answer. That's the answer for everything around here, isn't it? That's the answer to your problems.

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If you want unity, look to the cornerstone. Be unified. Be square. Be in line with the foundation, the building, the temple of God that is being built.

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You want to stop causing division? Look to the cornerstone. Look to Christ. We have been brought into unity with the triune

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God. We've been made into a household, a temple for the creator. We have to constantly be reminded of that, don't we?

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Because I so often don't look to Christ. I think

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I am. I think I'm looking to Christ. I believe

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I'm looking to Christ. But sometimes it's a Christ that I've conjured up in my own head.

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You can't just take somebody at their word and say, I'm a follower of Jesus, can you? Because what

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Jesus? Jehovah's Witnesses have a Jesus. Mormons have a Jesus. Even Muslims have a

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Jesus. What Jesus is it? Every denomination has a

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Jesus. Every group has some form of a Jesus. But what Jesus is it?

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Well, here's the key is what Paul said. It's that foundation that's been built by the apostles and prophets.

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You want to know what Jesus? I wish I had a Bible up here, but I got my iPad. My Bible's in here.

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Look to his word. That foundation, the house is already being built. You don't have to go back to square one and go,

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I'm going to build a second building next to that cornerstone. That's not how it works. You have to go and say, what did the apostles say?

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What does the New Testament say? What does the Old Testament say? What does God's words say? What have they built upon it?

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That's the Jesus I'm looking to. That's the cornerstone because they're in line with it. That's how we do it.

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That's how we find unity in Christ and Christ alone. You and I are not unified with a

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Jehovah's Witness. They're on a totally other foundation. They've got their own wonky cornerstone, right?

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But we are unified together, aren't we? We're unified with the other gospel -believing church down the road and the other believers and our

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Christian neighbor who claims the biblical Christ. And we should and can and will have unity because this is the very temple of God.

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Think about that for a second. If there was a physical temple that you knew God was dwelling with His people in it, would you actually walk into it right now and have disunity with somebody else that's in that very presence of God?

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I'd be scared to do that, wouldn't you? Yet we do it all the time. But Jesus Christ, He died and He rose to purchase that unity.

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Look to Christ. Look to the cornerstone. Amen? Amen. Let's now prepare our hearts to go to the table so we may see once again what our great

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Savior has done for us. If you are a follower of Christ looking to that cornerstone and in good standing with other brothers and sisters, you are welcome to this table.

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But I caution you, where there's disunity, there's warning. Paul said some of you are sick and some have even died for coming to this table in an unworthy manner.

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So I ask you to make sure that you are not sowing seeds of discourse between you and others that are part of this great body, that are part of this building.

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Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you. For we, your children, get to stand made righteous because of your

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Son. We, your people, Father, get to come before you and we get to partake of these elements and this ordinance.

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Expressing to each other and to the watching world right now, expressing our unity with our

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Savior Jesus Christ and His shed blood and His body that was given for us.

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Help us, Father. Guard us from coming in an unworthy manner,

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Lord. I pray that you would convict us of sin where we need to be convicted and give us encouragement where we need encouragement.

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Father, work in us as a people and be honored in our worship during this time.