Ephesians 2:11-22
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— 12 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you
who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. 14 For he himself is our
peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the
dividing wall of hostility 15 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, 16 and
might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
killing the hostility. 17 And he came
and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who
were near. 18 For through him we both
have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So
then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself
being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole
structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the
Lord. 22 In him you also are being built
together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
The Cross: Our Peace
I suspect it
is difficult for us to appreciate how difficult it was for some of the early
Christians who grew up as faithful Jewish believers to embrace the idea that
God had welcomed the Gentiles into His kingdom and salvation.
-
A
lifetime of rituals and obligations. (Parable of the workers in the vineyard.)
-
A
change in status – “God’s chosen people.” (Chosen for what?)
-
A
certain amount of racism. (This is not new.)
-
A
new paradigm for how a person becomes right with God. (Actually not new, but
new to them.)
And, perhaps
this is difficult for us to appreciate because, by-and-large, we are Gentiles
and the ratio is much more Gentile than Jewish in the church today. (That was
not the case early on!)
-
Calls
for humility on our part.
-
“Remember
that you were at one time separated from Christ.” (Do you
remember this? I don’t, but it is an important part of the story of salvation.
And it’s an important part of what takes place when a person comes to faith
today.)
-
Alienated
from the people of God
-
Strangers
to God’s promises
-
No
hope and without God. (Do we believe these things?)
“But” – what
a beautiful word! It tells us that something has changed, all those terrible
things about separation, alienation, hopelessness, and the like are about to
come undone. “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 15 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, 16 and
might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
killing the hostility.”
-
Peace
is not found in commandments expressed in ordinances – you don’t get peace with
one another by being nice, ethical, or conformity. (Especially when these
things are forced.)
-
Peace
is found in Jesus’ blood
o
Reconciles
all who believe to God
o
Our
peace with one another flows from there – loved by God, forgiven in Christ,
guided by the Spirit into all truth as He delivers grace to us in the Word and
Sacraments.
§ Notice v. 19-20 - you are no
longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with
the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself
being the cornerstone
Peace begins
with being reconciled to God.
-
Why
did we need reconciliation with God?
-
That
sin also leads to brokenness in our relationships with one another – and our
reconciliation flows from the same stream and our reconciliation with God –
Jesus’ blood!
This is also
why it is so lamentable to see the lack of peace among the children of God. It
is easy to see the division within the earthly church – Lutherans,
Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and even the Catholics and Orthodox all
have their various alphabet soups of distinctions and divisions.
-
Apostles’
Creed – One holy, Christian, apostolic, church!
-
Problem
is at the foundational level – built upon the apostles and prophets – God’s
Word.
o
When
we don’t believe it, teach it, cling to it – there will be conflict
o
The
Word is where Christ is both revealed and delivered to us
§ Baptism – power is in the Word
§ Lord’s Supper – not the bread or
wine, it is in Jesus’ Word.
-
Call
to repentance to reorient to the Chief Cornerstone and the foundation He sets
upon himself.
o
Prophets
– Thus saith the Lord!
o
Apostles
– Jesus’ words proclaimed to us.
o
Both
recorded for us in Scripture – aka The Bible
But the
source of peace is there among all who have Jesus – the Son of God crucified to
cleanse us from sin with His blood. And whether we recognize it or not, that
peace permeates God’s Church.
We live in a
world that accentuates differences between people. We are a deeply divided
culture. But, in reality, there is much that is important that we have in
common.
-
Hopes
and dreams for good future
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Need
for connection with others
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Clean
air, good food, clean water
More
important than all of those, though, we all need a right relationship with our
Creator.
-
Cross
is where God makes peace with us.
-
Sins
are atoned for, yes, but we also see that God’s will toward us is not rooted in
our performance by in His love and His grace.
o
That
leaves us able to breathe a sigh of relief.
There is
real peace that invades the chaos and conflict of our lives – even the chaos
and conflict within the church – and it is found in Jesus’ blood shed on the
cross for you and me. Amen.
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