Ephesians 2:11-17

We just had some fun outside For those of you who've seen it most everybody here in the building has already seen it, but for those of you on Watching us on zoom.

There's a Rubber ball like a beach ball Out on the property and there are three turkey buzzards out there playing with it

Yes, oh, so they're up to four are they're gonna choose sides now Perhaps play soccer for something buzzard ball

I have noticed in our yard probably everybody's got this if there's a

Something on the ground and there's a little bird that's trying to play with it or gets to it or something

And a bluebird sees it They they will chase that little bird away.

They're just They're unfriendly towards all other birds Blue jake

They are they're very mean birds and if they don't you know, they don't necessarily go after each other, but I have also noticed

Up at Cooperstown we have They're not seagulls. They're whatever it is lots of them and There's always the alpha bird

You know and if he wants to get to that piece of bread that was dropped nobody nobody else can touch it

They're very very Territorial. Yeah Where we're at in Ephesians 2 has nothing to do with birds

Good But it does but it does have to do with perceived privilege and and almost being territorial in other words

I Have the right and the privilege to be doing this you don't fit my demographics and so I I perceive you to be something less than I am and this was of concern in Ephesus at the time we had

Paul on his second missionary journey Met with the people in Ephesus and large numbers of people came to know the

Lord that church was planted At the end of his third missionary journey

He couldn't get to Ephesus because the harbor was no longer navigable So he went to Miletus and he called for the elders and he gave them more instruction

So the church was growing and thriving And at the same time we had the diaspora going on anybody know what the diaspora was

Why Yes, the Jewish Christians Scattering of the

Jewish Christians. They were becoming somewhat of a threat to the

To the elite Jews if you would in Jerusalem, and so they were were scattering them

And so now there became this question of Well should Gentiles become

Circumcised like Jews. Are they less worthy of God's grace and mercy and everything else.

We're God's chosen people. We're that special people We've gone into chapter 2

And we started out in the first three verses with a very Graphically bleak picture of the condition of all mankind without Christ dead in your trespasses and sins

And then we went into verse 4 through 7 and it starts out with the phrase in the

Greek Oditheo, but God and it talks about how God in his mercy

And in his sovereign love but provides the way for all your dead and trespasses and sins

Raises up together in heavenly places then at the end of verse 7. It's really for his glory

Anyway, and and then last week Jeff brought us into an amazing discussion of salvation

By grace through faith and that God is really the author of all of this

We cannot take credit for any of it and He now goes into this discussion because he wants to assure

Those new believers in Ephesus that they are not second -class citizens

When it comes to their standing before God There is not the 18 and then everybody else there

There is this reality that there is one family in God So he's going to go into a section now in verses 11 through 17

That are going to assure us my one take away from this Section is that God's offering is not just for the

Jews God's offering is not just for the Jews Hallelujah to that.

Yeah. Yeah But it is also for the Jews So it's not that the

Jews are now totally excluded But it's not just for the Jews.

Would you open us in a prayer, please? Yes Father thank you so much for grafting us in.

Yes. Thank you Lord for that Such a great salvation Lord help us never to take it lightly or to drift away from so great a salvation

Lord We thank you for it We pray now as we consider these realities and these these words from Holy Scripture that we would be

Transformed by them and that you would use your word to strengthen us and to sharpen us sanctify us by the truth

Your word is truth in Jesus name. Amen I'm gonna ask you to give me

Jeff verses 11 to 17 and Carol I'm going to ask if you would get

Romans 8 5. I'm going to talk to the first one. Thank you And first Corinthians 15 22

Bob I'd ask if you'll have that ready. I'll talk to the second Corinthians when we get there, but give me 11 to 17

Okay We are in Ephesians Chapter 2 verses 11 to 17

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the

Uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision which is made in the flesh by hands

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ alienated from the

Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself

One new man in place of the two so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross

Thereby killing the hostility and he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace

To those who were here. It's an awesome stuff. We start out with that word. Therefore Takes us back.

He's just gone into you were dead. You are brought into life You are raised up in heavenly places

Reminding them of all this kind of stuff, but he wants now to get as I said to get them into this

Assurance that there are not classes within God's God's economy We are all sons of Adam daughters of Eve.

We are all in the same boat Yes, the Jews are his chosen people

But when it comes to our relationship with him, we're all the same And so he says remember at one time you were and then he says you were

Gentiles in the flesh Says you were called on circumcision by those who are the circumcision in the flesh made by hands

So he he calls to mind the fact that okay, you really you are

Gentile That's that's a given fact that that's a that's a fact but what's going on right now is

Almost the world is identifying or calling you something that God necessarily does not

How does the world generally decide the value of a person

Thank you. Well prestige. How else does the world perceive you?

looks You know what there how much in the news and stuff like that racial profiling whatever

But then again the attractive almost attract more positive attention

I know my time on the school board. I've become very aware of There is something like 15 percent of the students in Mount Laurel between K and 8 that are mentally disabled

And and they need to be handled Appropriately there are differentiations.

There are differentiations. It's not something we can get away fact. In fact When the world looks at us when the world looks at people

We should not be surprised that these are the things that they use they use their own observation their own set of rationale

Because we know in 1st Corinthians 2 14. It says that natural man can't even perceive things of God So there's no reason that we would expect the world

To look at us any differently than by the exterior now, they sure they look at things.

Are you a kind person? That kind of stuff, but it's still all very very Superficial Romans 8 5 you have that Carol So when we have in this case we have

Jews who Unfortunately, we're probably talking that this context because of the diaspora

We're probably talking about Jewish believers There's the ones that scattered the regular

Jews who were not calling themselves Christians had no reason to leave home Occupation family behind there would have been

Jewish believers that would have left and their household perhaps But but even amongst even amongst them there was this

Tendency to look at people on the outside When People you made the world especially are

Perceiving things based on our own fleshly nature. Well, that's what we're going to see

We're going to see things that way. I just wanted to stop here and just briefly admit the fact that just because Just because a person has been born again this process that we looked at Ephesians 2

With Ephesians 8 9 and 10 just because that happened does not mean that we are void of the tendency of Judging things by the flesh, but in this case, he says remember you are

Gentiles Remember that you have been called the uncircumcision by that which is the circumcision made in the flesh

That's probably hurtful to them. But here's the truth. It's true What what these people have been accusing them it is in fact true now at one time

Prior to the salvation prior to this process culminating at verses 8 9 and 10

They were without they were alienated they were not in fact

At that time they were not circumcised, but now they are to what extent

Were the Jew Gentiles not circumcised but now they are They weren't circumcised physically, but they're there are

Exactly that's scriptural Yeah, we have been circumcised in the heart now

They say that there are those who perceive you because they're circumcised in the flesh and you're not

But there there is another message in there that without Christ you are

Uncircumcised with Christ you have the circumcision in the heart and that that nature is cut away

First Corinthians 15 22 You see the the the

Ephesian believers they do need to recognize that prior to their salvation

They were in Adam and they are dead now It's different in Christ all have been made alive.

So there is the importance of them Remembering that second Corinthians 5 17 tells us that we're a new man in Christ old things have passed away

All things are made new And so while at one time they could say this isn't right the

Jewish believers Accusing us of being the uncircumcision because they're circumcised and are we all one in the same?

Well, yes we are But also there's a second level that says don't forget. Don't forget that that is true.

That's that's who you were It does go on and in verse 12.

Give me verse 12 again in Exodus 29 So if you would get the Exodus 29 passage the

Jeremiah 31 stand if you would get that and the Jeremiah 29 candy if you would have those ready, please give me verse 12 again

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ alienated from the

Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world.

That's a pretty tough list Yeah of reality, there's five things in there at least they have no fellow they had at that time no fellowship with God Now we the

Jews Were a very special people And they still are

At right now. We're kind of in this parentheses called the church age But the Jews definitely were a special key

Exodus 29. Sue. Do you have that please? This is the to this is to the nation in entirety

And it is a it's a promise that God gives it does not seem to be at that time

Conditional that you're being obedient or not being obedient. Now we go we know we go to Deuteronomy the curses blessings and the curses

What would happen but his presence with them? I will be your God and in fact as Joshua's getting ready to take the nation into the promised land

He tells them no one's going to stand against you because I will be with you Now in reality the people even at that point have not been the model of perfection around You know in the relationship with God But this was a promise

God gave them is that I will be with you and no one can stand against you now again

There's a little asterisk to that. We know what happens After Jericho when they go to fight

AI what happened and AI the first battle of AI So That's the cause what happened in AI first battle you're right what happened in the first battle of AI They were defeated

They were clobbered And there were many many reasons for it One of them is that there was sin that hadn't been dealt with and another was a

Joshua Decided to go in battle with AI without ever consulting the

Lord He knew how to take care of it So those those are all there But you see the

Nation of Israel had this special special promise with God and that lasted until Things went so bad

That the Shekinah glory left the temple left Jerusalem left the

Nation of Israel completely vulnerable and unprotected So But this is this is something that the

Nation of Israel had as a people fellowship with God that the Gentiles never had that and in fact when

When the spies went to Jerusalem and met Rahab Rahab reported that the people's hearts melted with fear because they had heard how the

Lord had fought for them on the other side of the river So there is this there is this

Difference between Gentile and Jew the Jew did have fellowship with God the

Gentiles did not at that time in fact the Gentiles Did not have something that the

Jews did and that's citizenship within a theocratic state The one true

God they never had that as Gentiles Individuals did we do know that Rahab professed.

We know that Ruth did we know that Nineveh did repent so there are times where God does react to to a faith response by people

But the Nation of Israel had this had this special blessing and in fact

Genesis 12 God tells Abraham all of these promises the

Abrahamic promise. What was God going to do for Abraham? Pastor Give them a land bless them and those who bless

Abraham and his people will be blessed. So the nation's blessed through that seed Now this is how it's really exciting.

We'll talk about this at the end of the lesson. There were promises of Things that God was going to do for Abraham and for his his descendants.

I will bless you etc. Etc At the end of it verse 3 All nations will be blessed through you.

So there there there is an extension that's to be given But but generally speaking the

Abrahamic promise is something that the Nation of Israel could stand on In fact, it was repeated over and over again over and over again and the promises of God being with him

Eventually the Prophet Jeremiah Expands this concept of a covenant promise.

What do we have? I Will make the house of Israel After that time declares the

Lord. I will put my law in their mind and write it on their hearts

I will be their God and they will be my people No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother saying know the

Lord because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest declares the

Lord for I will forgive their wickedness and Will remember their sins no more

Pastor when does this covenant come to fruition in the new covenant when Christ?

Dies and rises from the dead in his blood his blood. Yeah, and and then a second fulfillment

In the eschaton. Yeah second fulfillment the eschaton It's interesting because in that particular prophetic

Proclamation it's given to Israel under the house of Judah All right.

All right now we know that Gentiles are now grafted into the tree so we can claim this but here's the thing prior to being grafted into that tree

Gentiles do not have even that promise Prior to being grafted into that tree.

It says we have a true hope We have knowledge of God Jeremiah 29 11 candidate of that The Jews have a promise and there's hope in that promise and Again the

Gentiles as a people don't have that Gentiles who do turn and are grafted and will have that hope

But at that time it says remember that you at that time were separated

And it goes on with this stuff without the privileges that God gives to his people

Ephesians were desperately lost And you go back to verses 1 2 & 3 to see exactly how desperately lost

People are now give me 13 through 15 2nd Corinthians 5

John totally if you would have that and Matthew 5 17 rich if you would have that ready

Give me 13 to 15, please Ephesians 2 13 to 15 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off had been brought near by the blood of Christ For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of Commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two so making peace the word but often when you're in this

Very bleak passage And the word but is sent followed by just the amazing blessings that are that are made available what we have in these few verses are the obstacles are removed and they're removed by the act of one on the cross

Why was the cross necessary For So you actually brought out the two most important points one is payment was needed

My sins are egregious offense to God and they had to be paid for and they're either going to be paid for For propitiation or we're going to pay for them for the rest of eternity

That there is no escaping the payment for sin But you brought up the second point is that the cross was adequate for the propitiation of that sin

But now in Christ Jesus you who are sometimes far off are now bought by Bought near by the blood of Christ.

This is the this is the amazing thing removing the obstacle of verse 12

The horrible obstacles were so we're completely alienated in alien without God in the world

But now in Christ Jesus You who were far off are now bought now. We were alienated

We are far away from God without him in the world, but now we're bought in by his flesh

It says he is our peace He's broken down that dividing wall of hostility

Now on one side that dividing hot wall of hostility can look like the

Jews Finding themselves to be the privileged ones the Gentiles outside the privilege and there's a dividing wall of hostility and to a large extent

That's a true statement Because the Jews needed to understand there was no wall and the Gentiles needed to understand that they weren't being held back by any wall

But the real wall of hostility was between any man and God And so it's brought down by the blood of Christ he's our peace and then it says that he has abolished the law of commandments made in ordinances a

Lot of things here a lot of obstacles to be talked about. The first one is that What I am and who

I am as a sinner requires Restitution And in Galatians 2 20 is this profession that Paul says

I am crucified with Christ Nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me so having

Blood of Christ having washed us clean Having the process that Jeff went through the whole last week.

There's nothing I can do to make this happen I now have this new identity. I now have the

Holy Spirit living within me It's no longer I who live that he who lives within me

Is that Corinthians 5? Can I first say you mentioned that you know

Our sin is an offense to God and I've heard people say so conveniently that well

I don't believe in sin, so I don't believe that I've offended God and I don't need to see because I don't believe in sin

Yeah If you want to get into a debate you're usually now you're talking to the atheist if you want to get into a debate on That you can go down the path of saying

Are there are there laws in the municipality where you lived and And it's hard to say there aren't the laws then you can say well why?

Well because there's a standard of behavior there's a standard of behavior and if Municipalities set up standards of behavior so that society can live with reason

Why can't God set up standards of behavior? Breaking those standards of behavior in the municipality is a misdemeanor or a felony well.

It's it's sin There's absolute truth and breaking that absolute truth is it said if you really want to get into a debate

But I got news for you trying that argument isn't going to convince anybody so the

Holy Spirit's going to do it I know because I've tried it with my brother 2 Corinthians 5 18 and 19 yes all this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and Gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ God was reconciliation was reconciling the world to himself

Not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message

The passage uses the word a few times

Reconciliation yeah, give me a definition of reconciliation Making friends of people who had become enemies there you go

That's a great. That's a good like mine a little better. I thought no. No that's great I was gonna say

I know you've been involved in in marital counseling Typically what you're seeking for in marital counseling is a reconciliation

And Kind of Suggests that there was a fracture of the relationship and and so some way there's a there's a

Restoration of a common bond a common mind common set of goals. Well the reality is that we are because of Our acceptance of Satan's lie that you can be like the most high

We're separated from God the only way to reconcile that is to say I cannot be like the most high

God And everything I've done has been wrong and the by the blood of Christ that that's our reconciliation

These obstacles that are brought into our lives that that separate us from God They are removed and to the point where he is now our peace

And to have to have a relationship of Peace the mandates that neither side is

Yes And There goes the word

Unless you are born again There goes that phrase unless you are born again when when

God in in the sixth day He created a whole lot of stuff including including man, how did he perceive that creation that's good.

No Very good on the first five days. It was good on the sixth day.

It was very good And when he described the discussion that goes on inside the

Trinity, right? Let us make man in our own image

This has nothing to do with taking a snapshot and Photoshopping it on it has nothing to do with that.

It has to do with the attributes of God that can be imparted upon man but man

Spit it out And so now one by one by one by one by one man has the opportunity to be reconciled

To what we were conciled So that we are now Made right in our relationship with God.

Does that work for you? It's a beautiful picture of what you know

What happens at that point of salvation is it? What was in the way can now be removed so that we can now have this fellowship with God That's not to say that we always live in fellowship with God But it's there but it's there is there for us

He says that I came to abolish the law of commandments made in ordinances and rich Give me

Matthew 5 17 Wait, wait, wait, wait, it says here in Ephesians that Jesus did not come to a limit then he came to abolish the law of the commands of Matthew Jesus says

I have not come to abolish the law Yes, it does. Here's what here's what is being abolished the ordinances the way that man

Believes the law can be kept that's abolished. The law is still there

In fact, Jesus says what's the first and greatest commandment? Love the Lord your God all your heart your soul and your mind second is like it love your neighbor himself and on these

Hang all the laws he never came to abolish them But what he came to abolish was man's need to set up limits

Do's don'ts to be good enough to satisfy God. That's what he came to abolish

The law is still there, but you you just need to accept God and not have

God except you Those things that stood as obstacles between man and God are removed by Christ Jesus and by him alone

There's nothing any one of us can do to eliminate these obstacles But the good news is that they are all eliminated by Christ Jesus Give me verses 15 and 16, please and have a kick one will go back to you

Carol if you would get that We're starting we're okay 2nd

Corinthians 5 Bob if you would have that and Hebrews 10 Sue if you would have that and Roman I can talk to the rest of them.

Go ahead So Ephesians 2 15 and 16 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two so making peace and Might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross

Thereby killing the hostility. Oh, man, there is no there's there's no longer.

You're a saved Jew You're just a Gentile none of that none of that applies anymore through Christ through Christ He creates this one new man out of the two

Out of the two so that he can he makes peace and he made it on the cross For us and the intent of that cross was to reconcile us back to God Killing killing that hostility

Have a kick one you've got that just the first phrase of it Okay, that's enough

God's perfectly just and justified Sin cannot come to him some kid that cannot be in his presence when when

Satan Approaches the Lord every day and says did you see what

John did yesterday? He's right He is right

I am a sinner But the And and he is sitting at the right hand of the father saying, please look at John through my blood

Please look at him through my blood because my blood washes that and my blood takes that sin and takes it as far as the east

Is from the West so his sin is not in your presence father Because I paid for it and my blood paid for it

In fact, that's second Corinthians 5 you have that Bob I Made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God Go ahead, what do you got anywhere?

Well, they took one says Wow Everyone says great, but it's a referral to Colossians 4 2 & 6

Matthew 5 48 just just that the fact that And this

I one of the questions that people ask is why would God turn his face

From Christ. He says why hast thou forsaken? Yeah, and it's because It was said and God can't look at me

Christ to be sin And God can't look upon sin

So there's the abandonment. God forsook Jesus. Yeah, there's a there's a term called imputation and The sin of Adam is imputed on us.

Okay on the cross My sin was imputed on the

Lord was teaching a college class college and career class

And we were going over attributes of God and I was talking about the holiness of God and at the beginning of the class

I said somebody gave me a definition of the holiness of God and this one young man Raises hand and he said when the father turned his face from the son when he was on the cross

I said we're done. I can't teach any more than that Here's here's an amazing thing because Christ's righteousness is imputed to us.

This does not say if I read this It does not say that I will become

Capable of doing righteous acts. That's not what it says here. It says that I become righteous

So if I looked at my passport to go to heaven it says

Righteous that that's that's who we are from what we were

To what we are we are and we are actually become righteous And so Hebrews 10 19 gives us this beautiful opportunity

The the Jews were terrified Of the very very presence of the holy place

So much so that the high priest What did the how did he go into the holy of holies to do his ministry?

With bells on his on the hem of his garment so that if they stopped hearing the bell jingling and And a rope around his ankle they couldn't go in to get him

They could pull him out could not go in without without the righteousness of it.

The ark is falling off the cart After that is he was now aching he was dying forget that Nothing can be done in God's presence, but but righteousness

We actually we actually have access to the holy of holies

It says in Mark 15 that the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom

We now have access directly in reconcile us to God in one body

Through the cross. That's what we have Romans 10 did I give you that? Did I give that to you?

See it? No Romans 10. Yeah Romans 10 12 But there is no difference between Jew and Gentile the same

Lord All right, there is no distinction between Jew or Greek the same

Lord is the Lord over all who call on Him the beauty of this passage is the fact that although sin places a barrier and man cannot cross that barrier

The cross restores that access that we have takes away all the barriers through the blood of Christ Give me a verse 17

And he came and preached peace to you who are far off and peace to those who were near This is also kind of interesting because you've got you got to look at that scripture as it says, you know in Luke 4

Jesus says I must go to the cities and preach the peace of the kingdom of God And where is it?

He says he goes to the synagogues He goes to the city to the cities to the

Jews and preaches in the synagogues And in Matthew 10, he takes the 12 and sends them out and this time when he sends them out

He says don't go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans And at that time the

Word of God was being given to the Jews Uniquely to call the Jews to him

First 2nd Peter 3 9 he says I wish that none would perish but that all would come

Acts 17 says God declares to men all everywhere to repent and then acts 2 has a

Transfer of exact words from Joel 2 and basically says whoever calls on the name of the

Lord will be saved It's no longer Only the

Jews who get the message it's all of humanity that gets the message

Candy would you give me acts 1 verse 8? It's not on the list I get acts 1 verse 8, please and I want you to note the sequence of this command

Note that sequence From Jerusalem to Judea to Jews and then even to Samaria hated people and To the uttermost parts of the world this gospel message the

Evangelion is now going to be given not just to the Jews But to everybody

I Want you to understand that this section here this passage is such a teaching on the fulfillment

Promises that our faithful God gave us John to tell you I'm gonna ask you to have

Romans 116 ready, please Genesis 12 we talked about God gave a promise to Abraham that he would be a great person his offspring would be as the sands of the sea

It also said that all nations will be blessed through you

Now listen to the power of Romans 1 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel

It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes To the

Jew first and also to the Greek It does say to the Jew first and when Jesus came he would preach to the synagogues

And he would send his folks to the to the Jews and in fact when Paul would go on his missionary journeys

He would start out in the synagogues But it's then to all The message of this

Section here is that God's offering is no longer is not just to the

Jews all obstacles have been removed through the blood of Christ our the propitiation for sin

Reconciliation has been made sure would you close? Thank you father for this indescribable gift

Thank you that we Gentiles who were far removed and not reconciled

Your enemies even We were without God and without hope in the world and yet you have grafted us in and you have made us one new body

Thank you Lord that you have brought us near by the blood Thank you for the blood that precious blood of Jesus, and thank you

Lord that we are a church one church All reconciled in this one new body

So thank you for this incredible message and for your huge plan that you had from even back in before the foundation of the world

Revealed to Abraham in Genesis 12 And now that we can be a part of this and know it

Lord that you've made these things known to us It's all the more reason to delight in you and to go tell it on the mountains in Jesus name