Live in Peace

Intro

Good morning Bethel Church, and good morning to our network of rural churches that are joining us live on YouTube. And if you are new here, I want to extend a special welcome to you. If you would, there are “i’m new” cards in the seat in front of you. If you would fill that out, we would love to get in touch with you and discuss how to get connected to our church family.

Today we will be continuing our study of Ephesians chapter 2. If you are reading out of the Bibles in front of you, our passage can be found on page 976-977.

Pray

Maybe you are like me and you stay connected to the news.

It doesn’t really matter what’s going on, I just like to know what’s going on. Well what is usually going on? Only good things right?

No. It’s almost always bad.

- War across the world

More division in politics

Cultural battles over issues of marriage, life, freedom, etc.

Division, disunity, name-calling, slander, death, and things like these.

It seems that no matter where we turn, there is chaos.

But let’s take it from out there to closer to home.

I’ve asked hundreds of people what their testimony is. How they came to know Jesus. And do you know what they almost always include? They talk about their life at home. They talk about their parents, about their siblings, about what it was like to grow up there. If it was a place of chaos, or of peace. And the effect that had on their lives.

TRANS: I’ve learned that when it comes to life,

Peace is one of our core longings.

We want the arguing to stop. We want to smile. We want holidays to be joyful and not tense. We grieve a friendship that has been broken. We want the waters to settle down. And when life is not peace-filled, this wears us out.

We long for peace.

So how do we get peace?

In our passage today, Paul will answer that question.

If you have your bibles, please open to Ephesians chapter 2:11. We will start there.

Ephesians 2:11–12 ESV

11 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.

Paul does something unique in this passage. He calls his audience to “remember” two times. Specifically, he calls them to:

Remember being separated from Christ

Why?

Part of the purpose of the letter to the Ephesians was to unify two groups of people: the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews had this idea that they were somehow special in God’s eyes apart from Christ. Although the Jews were God’s chosen people through the line of Abraham, now the question wasn’t “did you keep God’s Law?” but rather “Do you have faith in Christ?” On this new covenant, all people are on equal footing.

However, Paul wants his gentile audience to remember life before Jesus. Before the new covenant, the promise of salvation by faith in the Messiah (Jesus), the only means by which you could be a part of God’s family was by

- keeping the law

- Participating in sacrifices

etc

A common distinction in that time were those who were circumcised and those who were uncircumcised. Odd. But remember that for the Jews, circumcision was a sign of the covenant. That they would be a unique people among the nations.

But the gentiles didn’t have this status before God. They were totally cut off.

Paul is very clear as to what they didn’t have. Watch the list in verse 12:

Read

separated from Christ in the sense that they didn’t even know that a messiah would be coming, let alone that he had come.

Alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. This speaks to citizenship. If you are not a citizen to a nation or a people, then you do not have the benefits. Prior to salvation, the gentiles did not have belonging, membership, protection, or the privileges that come from citizenship with God.

Strangers to the covenants of promises. Notice the phrase “covenants of promise.” Only God makes promises he intends to keep. If you contrast the God of Israel with other pagan gods, you find that all others are, let’s say, “moody.” They might help you or they might not, they might keep their promise or they might not, they might love you or they might not. The covenants of promise speaks to the unchanging nature of God and his commitments he has made. The gentiles had no assurance from their pagan religions.

Having no hope meant no assurance of what would come in the future.

Read: One commentator talked about this lack of hope the pagans had:

Ephesians: Verse by Verse The Former State: Uncircumcised and Excluded (2:11–12)

The Greco-Roman “hope” of an afterlife involved crossing the River Styx, paying the boatman Charon with a coin one “hoped” relatives or friends would place in the dead person’s mouth when they died, and walking the Elysian fields for eternity. But there was virtually no certainty that this would come to pass. By contrast, 1 Peter 1:3 speaks of a “living hope,” a dynamic expectation that the future is guaranteed in Christ.

Lastly, “without God in the world.” the phrase “without God” is the same greek word from which the word “atheist” is derived. It’s interesting. How could pagans, who worshipped many gods, be called atheists? Paul is taking a jab at their worldview. Each of their ‘gods’ were really just aspects of creation or human behavior. They were not worshipping ‘gods’ but nature. They are in a sense atheists because they do not believe in the God above it all, who created it all.

Prior to salvation, this is our place as well. Separated, non-citizens, strangers to the promise, no hope and without God.

TRANS: Paul’s call to “Remember” is important because remembering helps us understand the chaos of our former life, and the peace that Paul talks about next.

Let’s read on:

Ephesians 2:13 ESV

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

Now you are brought near

“But now” there is a new reality, a new status before God. A summary of the list of 5 in the previous verse is being “far off” or far from God. A great chasm separated us from the blessings of God, but now this distance has been crossed because of Jesus. Notice the phrase “in Christ Jesus.” The gap between us and God was bridged by Jesus. It was not our efforts, it was not us going to God, it was Christ coming to us. To rescue us, to bring us near.

Because of the blood of Jesus, which is a symbol for his sacrificial death on the cross for your sins, offering the way of forgiveness of sins, you can be brought near to God.

TRANS: Paul has emphasized the work of Christ over and over in his letter thus far, but watch how he applies the gospel in the next verse.

Ephesians 2:14–16 ESV

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.

Peace comes from being united to Christ

Notice how Paul, before God, puts the Jews and the gentiles on equal footing.

The law that the Jews kept under the old covenant, now no longer is what makes you a citizen of God. This “one new man” in place of the two, is by faith, not by the law. In this sense, God has abolished the law. God has made peace between these two groups. Let’s talk about the dividing wall of hostility.

It is lost on us how the Jews and Gentiles interacted. This is, in part, because very little history comes to the imagination when we think of these two groups. So let’s put it in a modern context.

Imagine Paul was reading this letter to the people in Israel today. Like, today. Can you sense hatred between the Israelites and those in Gaza right now? Let that fill your imagination. Now put yourself in the shoes of the Jews of Paul’s original audience. Wait, Jesus came to bring peace between the Jews and the Gentiles? Those Gentiles? The ones who have occupied Israel? Who overthrew our leaders and put us under Roman rule? Jesus brings peace??

Remember, when Jesus was preaching and teaching, his audience would regularly reveal their expectation that the Messiah would come with a Sword. Well, in a sense, Jesus did. But the great enemy was not the Romans, it was satan and death itself. Where we have our encounters with evil, Jesus set his sights on the source of evil.

God longs for the peace of Christ to bring together hostile people, and hostile people to God.

There is a horizontal and vertical aspect to peace that Christ brings. Through Christ, we have peace with God and others.

This is a fulfillment of Isaiah 57:19

Isaiah 57:19 ESV

19 creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.

Peace brings healing.

One commentator said,

Ephesians: Verse by Verse Achieved by the Removal of the Dividing Wall (2:14–15A)

Biblical peace is more than a personal sense of tranquility and well-being. It carries the idea of harmony, first with God and then with those around us. It includes the idea of order and wholeness, of disparate areas of life and people groups coming together with a cessation of conflict and a sense of security

The New Testament picks up on the value of Shalom, or peace, from the Old Testament.

Ephesians (Peace with God and His People through Christ (2:14–18))

God is a God of peace (Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 1 Cor. 14:33; 2 Cor. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:23).

Christ is the Lord of peace who gives peace (2 Thess. 3:16).

The gospel is a gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15).

The mindset of the Spirit is life and peace (Rom. 8:6),

Peace is equivalent to salvation and describes relation to God (Rom. 5:1),

The kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17),

Peace is the goal for human relations (Rom. 14:19; Eph. 4:3; 2 Tim. 2:22).

Peace is the foundation for problem solving (1 Cor. 7:15; 14:33).

The fruit of the Spirit is peace (Gal. 5:17).

Peace guards our hearts (Phil. 4:7) and rules in them (Col. 3:15).

TRANS: The Cross brings peace. Paul makes it very clear that this offer is open to all people.

Ephesians 2:17–18 ESV

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.

All people have access to peace

Again, on the backs of Isaiah 57:19

Isaiah 57:19 ESV

19 creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.

It is not just that Jesus is our peace, it is that Jesus preached peace to all. The offer is open to anyone who will come. This “Gospel of Peace” meets a deep need. We have hostility with God, hostility with others, hostility with ourselves.

Dr. Snodgrass summarizes this well.

Ephesians Peace with God and His People through Christ (2:14–18)

Christ is our peace, makes peace, and proclaims peace. Paul seeks to connect Christ and peace as comprehensively as possible. He is the one who makes peace possible, who announces its availability, and in whom peace is enjoyed.

The call is open. Peace is available. Our core longing for peace is found in Christ, and all who seek it will find it in him. If you would like to receive the peace of Christ today, come talk to me after the service and let’s go on this journey together.

TRANS: What I want to do in the remaining time we have together is think through how we can apply this passage. Certainly there are implicit applications of receiving the gospel, which we have talked about. But I want to think about two others that, as I reflected on this passage, I want to think through with you.

Application

First,

Beware of false peace

Last Monday I went to the District conference with the EFCA, our association of churches, and we discussed identity, sexuality, and transgenderism.

During the sessions, we were challenged to think biblically and carefully about where this longing to change your gender comes from, and also the ideology associated with it.

It occured to me as I reflected on our passage today, that those who are a part of the so-called LGBTQ+ community long for peace. There is disunity between their inner self and their body. Also known as gender dysphoria. The question becomes, which takes priority? Psychology or the body? The world say psychology, and Christianity says you cannot separate the body from the mind. We are a whole, and our body ought to inform us about our identity.

Some might be thinking, yeah, the world has become very strange. What drives someone to transition? I want to suggest that from this core longing for peace.

When there is discontinuity between body and mind, there is tension. Tension that cannot be escaped. So, you’re left with a choice, try to change my thoughts, or get my body to conform to my thoughts. Modern technology promises that PEACE can be made with your mind if you transition: if your body matches what your mind says you are.

In other words: those with gender dysphoria are trying to change their outsides to achieve peace. They bought the lie that there is a source of peace other than God.

But wait, all of us do that. It just looks different.

People-pleasers try to achieve peace by saying whatever they need to say.

Addicts try to achieve peace through distracting or numbing.

Perfectionists try to maintain peace by never failing.

Controlling people try to achieve peace by squashing rebellion.

I could go on.

Those with gender dysphoria, like all other areas of life, cannot achieve peace apart from Christ. This is false peace.

This exercise is meant to do something, to lead us to compassion to those with different struggles then us. We all need the peace of Christ. We all need peace to be produced inside us. And that starts with heart issues.

When we live from true peace, we are able to make peace. Which leads us to our final point:

Become agents of peace

Years ago I was doing marriage counseling. The couple was in my office sharing that they fight all the time, and the triggers for their fights seemed random to the husband, and the wife didn’t know why she became so angry. One such fight came when the husband went on a hunting trip. It might have been overnight, or just most of the day, I don’t remember. But this caused his wife to be enraged.

The usual explanations were blamed, it’s been a long week and she’s tired, she needs help with the kids and he’s out hunting with the guys, etc.

But he feels like he needs a break, he does this every year as is tradition, and honestly he wanted to get away from the chaos of their strained marriage for a bit. Which also hurt her to hear.

I remember being in that room and listening to them. I’m also listening to the Spirit. See true peace comes from the inside out, but so does chaos, so does anger. So I’m listening to what false beliefs are way down in their souls that would cause them to have short fuses.

Then we stumbled upon it. I had walked with them for a while, and I knew her testimony, and I knew pain she had growing up and never feeling like she was enough. In that room, I put that into words for her, “you feel second.” She looked at me, wide eyed. I could sense that the Spirit was making connections in her past, and her present with her husband. I suggested that she had a wound of always finishing in second place. So if her husband goes hunting, that means hunting is more important than her. If her husband is out working late, work is more important than her. Etc. Instantly, tears flooded her eyes, and her husband embraced her. It all made sense to him now.

He leaned in and said, you are the most important to me.

I remember this sacred moment of Christ bringing peace to their marriage. They did the hard work of going to the heart issues underneath the visible issues.

This is what it looks like to be an agent of peace. It is not our peace that we bring, it is inviting Jesus into every area of chaos in our lives to create peace.

So where do you start? Here’s a principle from Paul that he writes in Romans 12:18

Romans 12:18 ESV

18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Within your control, attempt to make peace. There are situations where you cannot make peace, sure, but there are times when we *think* peace cannot be made so we don’t try. We forget the power of God. We forget that God is the God of peace. Remember who he is, and make peace.

Making peace often looks like understanding first, solving later. Especially as guys, we have a tendency to fix problems. But like this couple in my office, the husband *could not* fix the problem because he didn’t understand the problem.

Agents of peace look for the heart issues, and invite Jesus into those broken places to do repair.

LANDING

As we close, what is God saying to you? Where do you need the peace of God in your life and relationships? Seek Him, and he will give you peace.