OUR FAMILY IN CHRIST
JESUS
Ephesians 2:11-22
WHAT WE USE TO BE
V:11. "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past
Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called
the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands."
A. It is good to
remember where God has brought you from.
1. Before Christ,
we were in the world blind to the grace of God.
2. We lived
according to the desires of the flesh.
B. Notice God
describes two sets of people (the Circumcised and the Uncircumcised.)
1. The Circumcised,
the Nation of Israel is God's first chosen people.
a. The Nation
of Israel
b. God
established an everlasting covenant with Abraham promising that
he would
be the father of many nations. Genesis 17:6-11
c. The sign
of this covenant was that every male child born to him and his
descendants would be circumcised on the eighth day after birth.
2. The Uncircumcised,
the Gentiles, is the rest of the world.
a. The Gentiles were never under this
covenant and were the uncircumcised.
b. All Gentile
believers are circumcised in the heart by their faith in Jesus
Christ.
c. The true
circumcision is the circumcision of Christ which cleanses
the sins
of the world.
C. Remembering the
past should humble us before our Lord and Savior.
1. Remembering
what God has done for us ought to give a spirit of
gratefulness.
2. Remembering
that God's Grace and Mercy continues to fall fresh on us ought
to cause us
to shout Halleluiah, Halleluiah.
D. The Israelites
received the circumcision by the promise
of God.
1. The Gentile,
that's us, received the circumcision by faith in the Son.
2. We were included
in the promise of God to Abraham.
a. Genesis
17:5 states that Abraham would be the Father of "many nations."
b. Israel
c. The
"many" includes all believers.
V:12. "That at that time ye were without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel
A. Before God drew us
to the Son, we were strangers to the promise.
1. The promise
covered us but we had no knowledge of it.
2. Without Christ,
we have no way to receive the promise of God.
3. Without Christ,
we have no hope of eternal life, which is the everlasting
covenant.
B. Without Christ, we
can know "about" God.
1. Knowing "about" God does not
establish a relationship with God.
2. We must except
the Son as our savior to establish a relationship with God.
3. It is the Son
who changes our position in the world to a position in the
Father.
C. Our hope is in
Jesus Christ.
1. "No
hope" is no Christ and no relationship with the Father.
2. The promise to
the Gentiles, that us, is made effective with our faith
in Jesus
Christ.
THE WORK OF JESUS
V:13. "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were
far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."
A. Only the blood of
Jesus has the power to save.
1. Sin separated
us from the Father.
2. The blood of
Jesus atoned for the sins of the world.
3. Our faith in
Jesus and His finished work on the cross gives us that relationship
with the
Father.
a. The word
"in" is from the Greek word "en" with means a fixed
position.
b. We are
fixed in Christ who is one with the Father.
B. We all had a
sinful past world. But now in Christ, we have a special
place in heaven.
V:14. "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and
hath broken down the middle
A. Faith in Jesus
brings us all together in one body, the body of Christ.
1. The Jews
believed in the promise God spoke to Abraham about making them a
special
people to the Father.
2. The Word
spoken was Christ and in Christ the promise was fulfilled.
B. Christ fulfilled
the promise which include both Jews and Gentiles.
1. In Christ, there
is no difference between Jews and Gentiles.
2. Any hostility
between us and the Nation of Israel resolves in Christ.
C. In Christ, there, is
peace for the whole world.
1. In Christ, we
are all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the true
and living
God.
2. If we love the
Father, then we love the Son because the Father and the Son
are one.
3. We have all
been made family in Jesus Christ, therefore we all ought to love
one another.
D. Any peace that we have
comes through Jesus Christ.
1. Christ is our
direct communication with the Father.
2. Christ did away
with the earthly priesthood for intercession with the Father.
3. Christ is now
the High Priest.
a. Christ has
the authority to make peace between us and the Father.
THE EFFECT OF HIS WORK ON US
V:15. "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even
the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of
twain one new man, so making peace."
A. The death of
Christ on the cross fulfilled all the requirements of the law.
1. Jesus said,
"I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it."
2. Animal
sacrifice under the law could not atone for the sins of man.
a. Man was
not able to keep all the commandments of the law.
b. If you
live by the law, you will die by the law.
c. If you
break one of the commandments, you are guilty of them all.
3. If being good
could save, we would not need Jesus.
4. If making an
offering could save, we would not need Jesus.
a. All of
our good is nothing more than a filthy rag before God.
5. Jesus is the
only unblemished sacrifice acceptable to the Father for the
atonement
of sin. Col
B. The old man in us
died with the death of Christ and became new in His
resurrection.
1. We are all one
in Christ.
2. There is peace
in Christ with the Father.
3. Since we are
all in Christ, we ought to have peace with each other.
HE BROUGHT PEACE TO US WITH THE FATHER
V:16. "And that he might reconcile both unto God in one
body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."
A. When Jesus was
dying on the cross, God was reconciling the world to Himself.
1. Reconcile=
apokatallaxee= to gather together under one head
2. The gathering
is the Church.
3. The head of
the Church is Christ
B. Jesus the Son of
God was placed in the body by the Holy Spirit to die on the
cross so that His
blood shed would atone for the sins of man.
C. Enmity is from the
Greek word "echthra" which means hateful.
1. The natural
man hates the commandments of God, thereby, he hates God's Son.
2.God resolved
all this hatred with His Love through the death of His Son.
3. God loves you
and you can't do anything to change it.
V:17. "And came and preached peace to you which were
afar off, and to them that were nigh."
A. Jesus will not
leave you ignorant, nor will He leave you alone.
1. He came down
from heaven to enlighten you about the love of the Father.
2. Jesus preached
the Good News about the salvation that was through faith
in Him.
3. He taught us
that peace with God the Father, was
through Him, God the Son.
B. Without faith in
Jesus. we can't get to the Father.
1. Jesus is the
way to the Father.
2. Jesus is the
truth about the Father.
3. Jesus is our
life in the Father.
C. He came because He
loved us.
1. He preached
the Gospel of salvation because He loved us.
2. He brought us to
the Father through His death on the cross because He loved us.
3. Because He
loves us first, we ought to love Him and everybody else.
OUR ACCESS TO THE FATHER
V:18. "For through him we both have access by one
Spirit unto the Father."
A. This is one of
many verses that gives us the existence of the God Head, the Holy
Trinity.
1. We see God
the Father.
2. We see God
the Son.
3. We see God
the Holy Spirit.
B. Notice the unity
of purpose in the God Head.
1. That unity
places us in one body, the body of Christ.
2. That unity
gives us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
3. That unity
gives us communication with the Father.
4. That unity gives
us our worship experience.
a. They that
worship the Lord, must worship in spirit and truth.
b. We worship
the Father
c. We worship
the Son (the truth).
d. We worship
the Holy Spirit.
C. Access to the
Father is eternal life around His throne.
V:19. "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of
God."
A. Because of what
Jesus accomplished on the cross you are not strangers
or foreigners,
but citizens.
1. Before Christ
took on the form of man, died on the Cross and ascended back
to heaven, the
Israelites thought they had exclusive
rights with God.
2. Jesus put
together one community in Himself.
a. To the
Father, we are all the same in Christ.
b. We have the
same savior.
c. We have the same inheritance because of
Christ.
d. We have the
same friend in Christ.
e. We have the
same father.
f. We all gain
salvation by faith in Christ Jesus.
B. We are saints.
1. We are all
separated from the world and dedicated to God.
a. We are
separated from sin
b. We have
been made holy before God through the death of the Son.
C. We are in the
household of God.
1. We belong to
the family of God.
2. We are
residents in Heaven
3. We are related
by the blood of Jesus.
4. We are all
kinfolk.
V:20. "And are built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone."
A. We have a solid
foundation.
1. We have the Word
God gave His prophets.
2. The prophet
gave us God's commands.
3. The prophets
promoted the righteousness of God.
4. The prophets
foretold the coming of the messiah.
B. We have the Words
God gave His apostles.
1. We have eye
witnesses to the teaching and the miracles of Jesus Christ.
2. We have eye
witnesses to His death resurrection and ascension into heaven.
3. We have the
personal witness of the apostles to the power of the Holy Spirit.
C. We have Jesus.
1. We have a
savior who is the cornerstone to all our beliefs.
2. We have Jesus
seated at the right hand of the Father making intercessions
for us.
V:21. "In whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord."
A. Each believer is
an important building block in God's Temple
1. Each believer
has an important role in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. We are all
combined together as one building.
3. Every believer
is given gifts and talents that are to be used to build up and
support one another.
B. "Together
groweth unto an holy temple."
1. We all are
growing in the Lord.
2. From the time
we accept Christ as our personal Savior, we should continue to
grow
from babes in
Christ to spiritual maturity in Christ.
a. The
objective of our growth is to be more like Christ in attitude and action.
b. We should
develop a heart of obedience, love, compassion and service.
C. Our bodies are the
temple of the Lord.
1. From the
Lord's temple comes praise and worship.
2. Because were
are the Lord's temple, we should study and meditate on His Word.
3. Because we are
the Lord's temple, we should act like children of the king.
V:22. "In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit."
A. The Holy Spirit
indwells every believer.
1. The Holy
Spirit is our teacher, comforter and helper.
2. The power of
the Holy Spirit is present where ever we are.
3. The Church of
the Lord Jesus Christ begins when we proclaim the Gospel.
B. The temple of the
Lord should have a powerful impact on the world around us.
1. All believers
have been called out of the world.
2. There are
others who have been predestined to be in the body of Christ but
have not yet
been called by God.
3. We are the light
that the predestined will be drawn to as God calls them out of
the world.
C. The world will
know we love God because we keep His commands and love the
brethren.
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