Sermon Tone Analysis

Review - Going back to verses 11 and 12

Ephesians 2:11–12 (NKJV)

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—

12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Ephesians 2:13 (NKJV)

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Then we come to verse 19 which starts with “Now, therefore” We already saw the “but now” in verse 13 with the distinguishing factor being that we are now in Christ and the transforming power being the blood of Christ.

So that all that follows in verses 13-22 is dependant on this one factor.

That we are in Christ.

Whether Jew or Gentile outside of Christ there can be no hope because he said that God made us alive together with Christ.

If we are not in Christ then we remain dead in trespasses.

However for those who are in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile we all have access the Father by one Spirit.

Now coming back to the Gentile condition He said that we once were Gentile (foreigners).

The words Gentile foreigner, heathen, nations all refer to the same thing, other than Israel.

So if we were once other than Israel what are we now?

No Longer Strangers and Foreigners

Strangers and foreigners referring to what we once were Gentiles and strangers from the covenants of promise.

Paul says we are no longer Gentiles.

But rather we are fellow citizens as opposed to aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.

So we are starting to see the mystery that Paul is revealing.

When we come to Christ by faith we are created a new creature in Christ.

What that means for us who were Gentiles is that we are now Israel.

So you say, are you saying that we must be Israel to be saved?

To which Paul would answer yes.

True Israel always has been and always will be God’s people so if salvation makes us God’s people yes we must be Israel to be saved.

Where did Peter get this language?

So coming back to our passage

Members of God’s household.

Not only has God made us his nation but he has adopted us into His family.

This means that we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

In God’s household.

Rather than enmity between us and God and between one another in Christ we have been reconciled with both and we have unity we have family.

the most used reference for Christians in the New Testament is bretheren.

Which is not just brothers as we read in Gal there is neither male nor female but we are all one in Christ.

But rather bretheren denotes family.

And the love that we are said to have for one another is Philadelphia which is not the State in the USA but is a special love for your family.

Only in the Bible is the word “philadelphia” use in relationships other than your biological family.

Jesus said,

Here the word love is the Greek word “agape” Which is unconditional love.

Perhaps the world would recognise us better as disciples of Christ is we spent less time fighting as brothers and sister and more time being kindly affectionate to one another in brother love and obeying the command of Christ to love one another unconditionally.

Christ has broken down the wall between the Gentiles and the Jews and united us together in Christ destoying the enmity between us and yet we have been building up walls of division ever since.

We have churches divided by race, divided by denomination, divided by class.

This is not what Christ set up and I suspect that when He returns He will have some things against us.

After his reference to God’s household Paul goes straight into the temple metaphor.

A Holy Temple, A Dwelling place for God

At the time of Paul writing this letter there was in Ephesus a magnificent temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, built for the Goddess Diana at the same time there stood in Jerusalem the Jewish Temple which at one time housed the shekinah glory and represented Jehovah dwelling among His people both they where both empty of the living God.

God has alway dwelt among His people.

this was pictured in the tabernacle in the wilderness in which was the shekinah glory of God.

It is also pictured in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire that when before the Israelites leading them.

Paul tells us here that God own people of both Jews and Gentiles, now are the temple, the dwelling place of God.

Having been built of the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

That is not on them as people but on their teachings which we now have in the books of the New Testament.

Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.

Here is a reference to Isa 28:16

The only true foundation of God’s people is Christ.

The cornerstone must be perfect, straight and square, because the whole building is lined up off that one stone and the integrity of the building depends on the trueness of the cornerstone.

So it is on Christ that the whole building is being fit together for a dwelling place of God.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but there is a special manifestation of the whole temple of God when we gather together.

Christ said where two or three gather in my name I am in the midst.