We live in a world that is increasingly polarized.
Ideas and issues divide our society. Undoubtedly,
you have varying reactions when you hear such
terms as liberal or conservative or black and
white. Or when you hear American citizens or
illegal aliens. When you hear terms like rich,
poor, or middle class. You may have a certain
feeling within when you hear the term communist
or socialist. Others, when they hear the term
capitalist. There's a polarization in our society
over the issues relating to male and female.
the gender issues. Right now, we're coming through
a period in our state when there's IR and DFL,
some polarization around them and the platforms
they've adopted. Among many Christian people,
there's a polarization regarding the public school
or the Christian school or the right to life
or the freedom of choice. we are increasingly
becoming a polarized society. Some of you feel
very deeply about some of the issues that I've
mentioned. But none of the feelings that we have
today, I think, can compare to the depth of visceral
reaction that was experienced in the ancient
world between the Jew and the Gentile. Centuries
of prejudice, unwritten volumes of angry, spiteful
words, vandalous and vicious acts of bias and
hatred drove the deepest possible wedge between
the Jew and the Gentile in the ancient world.
And it was in that pressure cooker of deep...
emotional division between the two groups that
God did something that is absolutely amazing.
He created a brand new unit or group embracing
both Jew and Gentile, making them equal before
Him, making them one in Christ, one body. and
that is the church of Jesus Christ. Would you
please turn in your Bible to Ephesians chapter
2, and let's begin reading in verse 11 regarding
this marvelous thing that God did. Therefore
remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the
flesh, and so he's addressing primarily Gentiles,
as I am this morning, who are called uncircumcision.
That, by the way, was a term of derision and
spite and hatred, who are called uncircumcision
by the so -called circumcision, which is performed
in the flesh by human hands, says the apostle.
Remember that you were at that time separate
from Christ, excluded 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 formerly were
far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made
both groups into one and broke down the barrier
of the dividing wall. by abolishing in his flesh
the enmity, which is the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, that in himself he might
make the two into one new man, thus establishing
peace, and might reconcile them both in one body
to God through the cross, by it, the cross, having
put to death the enmity. And he came and preached
peace to you who were far away and peace to those
who were near. For through him we both have our
access in one spirit to the Father. Ephesians
is a book of the body, the body of Jesus Christ,
the church. It is another of the metaphors or
the pictures of the church that we find in the
New Testament. It is probably the fullest picture.
that we find. And interestingly, it is used only
by the Apostle Paul. He loved this idea of the
body representing the church. Today we're going
to see this theme that we are members of the
unified body of Jesus Christ. First of all, I'd
like for us to examine the theological foundation
to that statement. and then see the practical
considerations to it. We who have trusted the
Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are members of the
unified body of Jesus Christ. Now when we talk
about the theological foundation, I get a little
bit worried. Because there are some people who
have a misconception about theology. They see
theology as a dry... irrelevant subject debated
by out -of -touch professors in a seminary. Well,
there probably are some seminaries that have
professors that way, but that's not the fault
of the theology. Actually, theology is practical
spiritual reality, which affects all of us in
our understanding of God and our relationship
to Him. And so when we talk about the theological
foundation or basis of the church, we are talking
about something that has to do with you and me.
We're not talking about empty theories. We're
talking about realities that impact us and our
relationship to God and our understanding of
Him. It's important. You will notice that in
our text, the apostle first talks about our past,
what we were, those of us who were Gentiles.
He says in verse 11, formally, that is, before
you were saved, before you came to faith in Jesus
Christ, he says you were Gentiles in the flesh.
That was our ancestry. In the flesh, we were
uncircumcised Gentiles as the Jews looked down
upon us. And they considered themselves to be
the circumcision, the special ones. Now he says,
I want you, Gentiles, to remember something.
I want you to remember what you were. You know,
folks, it's good for us every now and then. to
think back and remember, to remember what we
were, and by the grace of God, where we might
be today. F .F. Bruce said, nothing is so apt
to promote gratitude as a retrospective glance
fixed on the hole of the pit from whence we have
been dug. What we're going to look at today is
the pit of Gentile ancestry out of which most
of us were dug. What is said in this passage
is descriptive of every lost person today. It
may describe where some of you are right now
in your relationship to God. I hope that might
change even before you leave here today. But
for those of us who are saved, let's see for
a moment what we were. It seems to me that he
gives six descriptive phrases of what we were.
First of all, he says we were separate from Christ.
Verse 12. Separate from Christ. Christ has to
do, of course, with the expected Jewish Messiah,
the Deliverer. The Gentiles did not anticipate
any such Savior. History to the Gentiles was
a meaningless cycle. of predetermined events.
Gentiles did not worship the true God and expect
his Christ, but our ancestors, on the other hand,
worshipped false gods of pagan mythology. In
Ephesus, the chief worship was given to Diana
or to Artemis, the goddess of fertility. It is
debated how she was represented in the idol of
that temple. There are some who describe her
as a black animal, perhaps a bear or a wolf,
having many breasts, ugly, debased, and the worship
around her was equally debased and debauched
in the way it was carried out. They had no expectation
of deliverance. The Gentiles simply went there
to pour out their worship before this pagan idol
which could not hear or speak or act on their
behalf. That's the pit from which most of us
were digged. Today, to be separate from Christ
describes most of the world. Cut off from him,
to be lost. There are some people who say, well,
it doesn't really make any difference if a person
believes in Christ. As long as he believes in
something sincerely, God will find that acceptable.
I want you to know that that is a lie. And it
is created in the heart and in the mind of Satan.
Because it does absolutely matter upon what or
whom our faith is resting. and faith that is
resting upon anyone. But Jesus Christ is faith
that is misplaced and which will lead a person,
though he may be sincere, to a Christless eternity.
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father but by me. That
is exclusive. And frankly, it's a turnoff to
a lot of... so -called intellects in our world
who like to be more broad -minded. But my friend,
biblical Christianity is not that broad -minded.
The Bible says that there is salvation in no
other, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved. Not
one other name. To be separate from Christ is
to be totally lost. And that's where we were.
He says, secondly, we were excluded from the
commonwealth of Israel. We were not citizens
of that people that God had chosen for himself.
We were stateless. We had no part in God's dominion.
Gentiles, of course, could be saved in the Old
Testament, but to be saved, they had to become
proselytes. They had to come to Israel and find
out about the true God. Generally speaking, Gentiles
were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel
unless they proselytized. He describes us thirdly
as those who were strangers to the covenants
of promise. It's not that some of the covenants
of the Old Testament don't deal with Gentiles,
because they do. But the Gentiles did not themselves
receive any covenants from God in the Old Testament.
They were given to Israel. The promises were
to Israel and through Israel then to Gentiles
in some cases. There were no direct covenant
benefits for Gentiles. In fact, most of the Jews
in that day, the religious Jews would pray, Dear
God, I give thanks that I am a Jew and not a
Gentile. And the reason was that the Jews had
the covenants. That was one of their privileges.
Fourthly, he describes us as having no hope,
and that's because of what we've already said.
Devoid of any light, any future hope. All you
have to do is to go back in some of the historical
records and read the inscriptions on the tombs
in ancient Rome. And you find out that those
people died without any ray of hope whatsoever.
Death was just the end. There was nothing beyond
that for them. They were without hope. Then they
were without God, number five. Literally, they
were godless. This, by the way, is a favorite
expression of the Apostle Paul describing the
Gentiles. He uses it several times. Oh, it's
true. Our ancestors, those Gentiles, had many
gods. In fact, when the Apostle Paul went to
the city of Athens, you may remember, he said,
I think you have gods here to everyone. But I
did notice that in case you missed one, you had
an idol to the unknown God. And that was true.
Very religious. Many gods, but they were without
God. Capital G. Why is that? Because... They
were separate from Christ. They were excluded
from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to
the covenants of promise. They were without God.
And that's the pit from which we came. And finally,
he says, without God in the world. In the world.
That is a legal phrase describing the position.
that our ancestors and we were in before we knew
Jesus Christ, in the world, a part of it. We
were identified with Satan's thing, the cosmos,
the system that he has put together to oppose
God. We were a part of that. We were in the world.
Now, my friend, if you today have never trusted
Jesus Christ as your Savior, these same phrases
can somehow relate to you. This describes not
where you were, but where you are. And what you
need today is to be saved by placing your faith
in Jesus Christ. Now, I'm assuming that most
of us today have come to that point at some time.
And so what we've just talked about describes
what we were, our past. And now we have a more
happy picture to see, and that is our present
in verses 13 through 18. That's what we are in
Jesus Christ. He says, but now, and that's the
pivot in the passage, but now in Christ Jesus
you who were formerly far off, that's Gentiles,
far off from everything, have been brought near
by the blood of Christ. Our present condition
can be summarized in those words, in Christ.
Christ Jesus. Whereas before we were in the world,
in Satan's domain, a part of what he's doing,
now he says we are different. We are in Christ
Jesus. We have been translated from the kingdom
of Satan and the power of darkness into the kingdom
of God's dear Son. We are in Christ Jesus. Our
standing before God is entirely different than
it was. Now we are in Christ Jesus. You say,
well, that's just theological jargon. Listen,
my friend, that theological phrase describes
the reality of your life in Jesus Christ. It's
not dry, dusty stuff. It tells you that as God
sees you now, he doesn't just see you, he sees
you in. Christ Jesus, clothed in His righteousness.
In Christ Jesus it says that we've been brought
near. That's the second phrase that we'll look
at, describing our present. We're brought near
to God. Formerly far off, now brought near. What
a wonderful truth that is, that in Christ Jesus
we are embraced by God. Whereas before, because
God is holy, we had to be away from him. Far
off. Now, we are embraced by God as our Heavenly
Father in Christ Jesus. Now, why can a holy God
embrace us? Does he just somehow hold his nose
and ignore our sin? Does he just wipe our sin
away and put it under the rug? Try to forget
about it? No. No, the reason that He can embrace
us, the reason that we are brought near is because
we've been cleansed from our sin. God isn't ignoring
it. He's dealt with it in a most holy and righteous
manner, and that is through the death of His
Son. Notice what it says in this verse. We have
been brought near by or through, this is the
way, what? The blood of Christ. That is the foundation
of our being brought near. That is the basis
as to why God can embrace us. It is the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I realize there are
some who say, oh, that is a bloody religion you're
talking about. It's distasteful. It's out of
date. Listen. If one ignores the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, he cannot be saved. Because
it is by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that
our sins have been dealt with, and we are brought
near to God. Don't let anyone ever tell you that
the blood is for a different age, or that it's
something distasteful to talk about. It's not
pleasant. But it is a theological reality. It
is something that has to do with our very relationship
to God. The reason that God can bring us near
is because of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
No sin can ever be forgiven except that which
is paid for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You say, what about the people in the Old Testament?
Jesus hadn't died then. Their sins must have
been cared for some other way. Not so. Not so.
Remember all those sacrifices that were offered,
the blood that was shed, that provided what is
called an atonement, a covering for their sins.
But my friend, when Jesus died on the cross,
he died for the sins of those in those past generations
who had by faith offered the sacrifices. who
had by faith believed the promise of God. It
was as though all of those sacrifices in the
Old Testament were IOUs. And God accumulated
them and accumulated them until Jesus died. And
when he died, he paid off all of those in the
past. You see, their sins were forgiven because
of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, as our
sins are forgiven. by His blood. We are brought
near through His blood. Someone has written,
nearer, so very near to God. Nearer I could not
be. For in the person of His Son, I am just as
near as He. You say, how close to God am I? You
are as close to God as Jesus Christ. You see,
before there was hostility in our hearts toward
God because of sin. And that bubbled over toward
others. Hostility outwardly, horizontally. And
especially was there hostility, as I've said,
between Jew and Gentile. But I want you to know
that when Jesus... Died on the cross, he dealt
with that hostility and that enmity too. You
will notice that he says in verse 14 that Jesus
Christ is our peace. Warren Wiersbe said that
Jesus' coming was the greatest peace mission
in history. He came to be the peacemaker. But
not only did he make peace, he himself is our
peace. He made peace between Jew and Gentile,
verses 14 and 15. Notice it says that he made
both groups into one and broke down the barrier
of the dividing wall. Literally that says he
broke down the fence of the middle wall. You
say, what in the world is that? Undoubtedly the
Apostle Paul had a specific thing in mind, and
that was the wall that was present in the temple
in Jerusalem. For in that temple in that day
there was a wall which separated the temple itself
from the court where the Gentiles could come.
There was a middle wall, a barrier established,
and no Gentile could pass beyond that barrier
without suffering death. In fact, there was a
sign on it which has been dug up by the archaeologists.
We have it today. You know what the sign says?
No foreigner may enter the barricade which surrounds
the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught
doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing
death. It was a very serious thing for a Gentile
to cross the barrier. That was the barrier. Now
he says here that Jesus has broken down the barrier.
So Paul is using that literal wall symbolically.
And he says what that wall represents is the
ceremonial mosaic law, the law of commandments
contained in ordinances. You see, the Jews were
different than the Gentiles in the way that they
dressed, in the things that they ate, in the
way that they worshipped. God intended for them
to be different and for them to be a witness
to the Gentiles. The Jews never got that far.
They were different, and they prided themselves
in the difference. And that egotism, that arrogance
that developed, created tremendous hostility
between the two groups. Now what the Apostle
Paul says here is that the Lord Jesus Christ
has broken down that fence of the middle wall,
abolishing it. abolishing in his flesh this enmity,
this hostility, so that in himself he might make
the two, Jew and Gentile, into one new man, establishing
peace. No longer hostility and anger and hatred,
but peace. And might reconcile them both in one
body to God through the cross, by it having put
to death, having slain the hostility. The enmity.
What is he saying here? He is saying that God
has done something brand new. That God has wiped
away the difference between Jew and Gentile by
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
And that now God is calling out Gentiles and
God is calling out Jews to be a part of a brand
new entity. A new thing. A new group. A new man.
The church. of Jesus Christ, so that there is
a unified church. Boy, that was hard for the
Jews. It was hard for them to accept that Jesus
had made peace between Jew and Gentile. Peter
struggled with that. You remember in Acts chapter
10, when he was told to go down to the household
of Cornelius, God had to underscore what he was
telling him to do by a vision. And in that vision,
he illustrated the fact that there is no longer
a clean and unclean as far as God is concerned.
And in obedience, Peter finally went down to
Cornelius' house. Cornelius was saved as a Gentile.
He did not have to become a Jew first. And it
absolutely amazed Peter and all the Jews who
were there, the Jewish Christians. Because they
were seeing for the first time a Gentile become
a part of the body of Christ without being a
proselyted Gentile. And it developed into quite
a hassle in the early church. In fact, there
was even a church council called in Acts chapter
15 to deal with the issue. There were those who
said, yes, Gentiles can be a part of the church,
they can be saved, but first they have to be
circumcised. They have to undergo the law first.
And then they can be saved. And that's false
teaching. Because now that law has been done
away with in ceremonial form. It's done away
with. Now Gentiles can become a part of the church
just like the Jews can become a part of the church
by simple faith in Jesus Christ. By trusting
Him. A unified church. It grieves me when I hear
people talk about their church being a black
church or a white church. Or when there are those
who say, ours is a Hebrew Christian congregation.
Listen, those kinds of distinctions don't belong
in the church anymore. At all. Period. You say,
but yes, isn't there something special yet about
the Jews? No. God still is going to bring about
His promises to the Jewish people in faithfulness.
But in this age, there is nothing particularly
special about a Jew over a Gentile. There are
some Christians who, when there is a Jew who
is saved or a Jewish preacher comes to town,
A Christian comes to town, they rush out to hear
him because he is a Jewish man who's been converted.
Listen, he's no different than a Gentile who's
been converted. There are no longer those kinds
of distinctions in the body of Christ. Let me
get into the practical considerations. We'll
come back to that in a moment. As a member of
the body of Christ, I must find my completeness
in my union with other believers. and with the
head of the body, Christ. That's where my completeness
is. All other relationships are secondary. I
have heard some of you express the fact that
you feel closer to other believers than you do
to your own parents. Why is that? Because of
what I've just said? Because our completeness
as believers is found in our relationship, our
union with other believers and with Jesus Christ,
not in earthly relationships that we have. We
are eternally joined as members of each other.
We're going to be in heaven together. That's
one good reason why we should learn to like each
other and get along down here. We've got a long
time to be together. We might as well get used
to it now. You know, back in chapter 1, the apostle
says an amazing thing at the end of the chapter.
He talks about the church which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills all in all. The
pleroma, the completeness, the fullness of Jesus
Christ. That's his body. You know what he's saying
here? He is saying that Jesus Christ as the last
Adam would be incomplete. without us. Just as
incomplete as we would be without him. We are
the fullness, the completeness of Jesus Christ
who fills all in all. This is an amazing statement
if you think about it. A redeemer without the
redeemed is no redeemer. A body without the head
or a head without the body doesn't have any existence.
So Jesus Christ as the last Adam has no completeness
without you. And you have no completeness without
him. You're one. A second practical consideration
is that as members of the body, we are a new
type of humanity. Before, we were either Gentile
or we were Jew. Now we are neither. Now we are...
We are God's new generation. We are his new race,
his new creation. All former differences and
distinctions are invalidated. They are done away
with, whatever they might have been. Were you
a communist? It makes no difference to me. You're
now my brother in Christ. Are you a capitalist?
So what? You're now a brother in Christ. Those
distinctions are meaningless. I think one of
the most outstanding illustrations of this was
in an event that took place in a church in El
Salvador several years ago in the largest Baptist
church in that country, in San Salvador, in that
city, the Miramonte Baptist Church. The pastor
of that church was an American. It's now been
nationalized, the church has, but at that time...
It was an American missionary. And Bruce was
able to lead to Jesus Christ, one of the leading
governmental officials at that time. He was right
wing. He was also able to lead to Jesus Christ,
one of the leading attorneys and college professors
in El Salvador at that time, who was an avowed
communist. And they were both members of the
same church. And there came a night when Bruce
and this government official together baptized
this former communist, symbolizing the fact that
in Jesus Christ, whatever distinctions, whatever
divisions existed before, were no longer. Now
they were together as saints in the body of Jesus
Christ. A third practical consideration of this
doctrinal truth is that as members of the body,
there is no place for prejudice or division in
the body, in whatever form it may take. There
is no place for racial discrimination. I know
of some churches where a black person is unwelcome,
and yet that church claims to be a Bible -teaching
fundamental church. I would say to you that that
church is in error, at least in that area. For
in Jesus Christ, there are no longer any racial
distinctions. There are no political distinctions
or divisions. Likewise, there should be none
that are personal. As members of the body, there
is no place for discrimination. There is no place
for prejudice or division in the body. In fact,
we are charged to preserve the unity of the Spirit.
Look over in chapter 4 of Ephesians. He exhorts
us to walk worthy of the calling. And he says
in verse 3, being diligent to preserve the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I am to allow
nothing to disrupt that unity. that God has ordained
in the body. I must see to it that nothing divides
me from another believer. Does he have a different
political persuasion than myself? Then that is
not to enter in to my relationship to him in
Jesus Christ. Is he of a different color or ethnic
origin than me? Then that has no place in my
relationship to him in Jesus Christ. Do I have
a personal grudge against another member of the
body? Then I need to get rid of that. Get out
of my life. It has no place in the body of Jesus
Christ. I am to preserve the unity of the Spirit
with the seal of peace upon it. Jesus Christ
died to make that peace a reality. How dare me?
that in some way I should try to work against
it, or allow to develop in my heart an attitude
which disrupts that peace. A fourth practical
consideration as a member of the body, I need
to work at developing a mutual care, concern,
and closeness with other members of the body.
I need to realize that I need to be involved
in serving and sharing within the body. I'm not
just a little thing out here doing its own thing.
I'm a part of a group. I'm a part of a body.
I'm a member of others as they are members of
me. And we're all members of Jesus Christ, our
head. And because of that intimate, personal
relationship, I need to be involved in caring
and being concerned about you. You know, I'm
really burdened. that this develop in our church
we're not doing the job we ought to be doing
it's happening some i thank god for where it's
happening there are some of you have expressed
it in wonderful ways but it's not happening like
it ought to be happening in our church this kind
of mutual care and concern involvement with one
another there are some of us who seem to have
the attitude that if we just come on sunday morning
and and do our thing that that's all that's necessary
it's not It's not. The plan of God is not that
we come to church on Sunday morning and then
never be around other believers the rest of the
week. God intends for us to be here together
when the doors are open so that we can fellowship
together, but he also intends for us to find
a small group somewhere we can plug in and where
we can be accountable. Where we can help others,
where we can be intimate and share our needs
and have others share their needs with us. I
don't know where that should happen for you,
but I know this, it should be happening somewhere.
And it can. There are places for it to happen.
You say, well, I'm not sure how all that works
in Grace Church. Then would you look up one of
our elders or one of our staff members, call
our office and say, hey, I need to find out about
this. We'll be glad to tell you. Glad to answer
your questions. As members of the body, we need
to work at developing that mutual closeness with
the other members of the body. It is not God's
will that we be an island out by ourselves. We're
a part of the continent. Finally, as a member
of the body of Christ, I serve in His place in
this world, calling men to be reconciled to God.
through faith in Jesus Christ. That's part of
our job as members of the body. Our head is in
heaven. And we are his extension into the world.
And we are here in his place. The apostle says
his ambassadors, calling men to be reconciled
to God, to be at peace with God. To stop fighting
God. To put away the hostility to receive Jesus
Christ. That's a practical aspect of this truth
that we're talking about. Are you involved in
doing that? There may be some of you here today
who've never made peace with God. And we talk
about being one and... and being in Jesus Christ,
and talk about the blood of Christ, forgiving
sins, but you don't really understand what that's
all about. You've never personally experienced
it. Well, today, as one member of the body, I
want to call you to be reconciled to God by placing
your faith in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.
He has paid for your sin at the cross. He has
died in your place. Will you receive him now
as your Savior? Will you become a part of this
body that we've been talking about? Will you
become one with us and with Jesus Christ? Let's
bow together. Father, we have only touched the
surface of a truth that is absolutely dynamic.
And it's hard for us to get a hold of it because
we tend to be individualistic and independent.
And we think of ourselves as personalities apart
from the personality of the church, the body.
I pray that you will change that in our thinking.
I pray, Father, that we as a group of people
here in Grace Church, Roosevelt, We'll begin
to understand what this unity is all about. And
Lord, if there are differences that now divide
us, if there are feelings that are creating divisions,
if there are prejudices that we hold, bring those
to the surface of our hearts and reveal the sin
that is involved that we might confess it. I
pray that you will cement us together. as members
of this body, and that you will develop within
us that caring, loving, warm, intimate spirit
that ought to be there. And may we endeavor to
keep and to guard that unity of the Spirit with
the seal of peace upon our church. Father, I
pray that the tie that binds us together The
Lord Jesus Christ will be blessed and glorified
in the way that we conduct ourselves as a body
of people. And we pray this in his name. Amen.