Live Joined Together

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 977

TRANS: Pray

Opener

Intro

We have in recent years, unwittingly, been in a grand social experiment. It is as if a group of researchers asked the question in 2019, “how much can we put people through?” And away we go.

One of our unwitting social experiment was about who we are as humans. Are we social creatures? The resounding answer to that is, Yes. When we are isolated, when we are cut off from each other, we suffer. And I mean suffer.

There have been many articles, books, and discussions about the effects of prolonged isolation in the past few years. What researchers have found, interestingly enough, is exactly what Scripture talks about. And it is what Paul is going to emphasize in our passage today:

You were made to be in relationship with God and others.

This week I found an article on WebMD that talks about depression, anxiety, mental health, etc. Do you know what their proposed solutions are? Relationship. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/social-isolation-mental-health

Under the “Changes You Can Make” section of their article. They offer three solutions. Quote:

- “Find ways to participate in your community

- Choose the right living situation (i.e. don’t live alone if you can help it)

- Develop friendships at work”

We have a longing for relationship. It is how we were designed.

We have talked at length about our need to be in relationship with God. How the blood of Christ washes our sin and, by faith, restores us back into relationship with God the Father. This is the Gospel! It is the good news that we can be restored to our Creator.

Now I’m going to say something that may sound wrong at first. But I want you to hear my words carefully: It is not enough to be in relationship with God, you also need to be in relationship with other people that God made.

“Wait.” You might say, “That doesn’t sound right. This is about me and Jesus right? All I need is Him. All I need is God. It’s about a personal relationship with Jesus. It sounds like you are saying God isn’t enough! Like there are needs I have that God can’t meet?”

Before we jump into our passage in Ephesians. Let me take you back to the beginning. To Genesis.

In Genesis chapter 2, Adam is working in the garden. It is PERFECT. He is in unstained relationship with God. There is no brokenness, no death, no sin, no evil, no discord, no disobedience. Only trust, goodness, love, light, beauty, etc. Perfect.

Now what does God say about Adam in this perfect state?

Read this with me up on the screen:

Genesis 2:18 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Now isn’t that interesting. But, Adam wasn’t alone! He had GOD. Yet, it is God that describes this state of affairs as Adam being alone. This speaks to a deep human need, that is good, the need for kinship, for partnership, for helpmates. Usually this verse is talked about in the context of marriage, which is right. But the principle that humans desire to be in relationship with other humans is right there in the text.

This principle is clear from Scripture. We need God and others. This is our design.

When talking about how to counsel people suffering with depression and anxiety, Richard Baxter, a 17th century puritan pastor, said this:

Encourage people to “avoid all unnecessary solitude, and as much as possible, keep honest cheerful company. You need others and are not sufficient unto yourselves. God will use and honor others as extensions of his hands to deliver his blessings.” - Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life. p88.

God is the Source of blessings, of all our needs, but God uses others to deliver those blessings.

TRANS: Keep this in mind as we approach the text today. Because recognizing our need for others will bring enormous light to why Paul describes us, the church, the way he does.

Let’s read starting in Ephesians 2:19

Ephesians 2:19 ESV

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,

Notice the “so then.” Paul is bringing to a close the passage we began last week. Whereas gentiles were strangers and aliens to God, we are no longer because of what Jesus has done.

This is our first point from the text as we begin to build a theology of community.

A Theology of Community

Because of Jesus, you are now a citizen and a family member.

Let’s talk about both. Citizenship and family member.

“While citizenship evokes a rather impersonal, civic status, membership of God’s household is much more personal and familial.84 Both images are important for different reasons. While citizenship implies privilege, access, and legal status, household membership implies kinship, belonging, and intimacy. Believing Jews and gentiles are family.”

1 Constantine R. Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. D. A. Carson, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2023), 121.

Citizenship speaks to allegiance. To responsibility, as well as benefits. Those who are in Christ have all the security, promise, and future that is in the Kingdom of God. And those benefits bring with it the responsibility we have to prioritize the kingdom of God first in our lives.

But what I love, and what the commentator pointed out, is that Paul puts together citizen and family member together. We are both.

Family member is about belonging. Love. Honestly, fun. Enjoyment.

Anyone can be a part of God’s family.

And further, this citizenship and family spans the whole world. Max Anders makes this comment,

“Race or nationality make no difference. All are redeemed people through Christ’s cross.”

Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 114–115.

There have been times where I sort of “sense,” I think by the Spirit who unifies us all, that another person that I don’t know is also a Christian. There is a deep spiritual unity that comes from being in Christ. Deeper then blood, deeper then what earthly nation we belong too.

TRANS: And this new community is built upon what came before us. Let’s read on in verse 20:

Ephesians 2:20 ESV

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

Here we see the beginning of our theology of community. It is built on a foundation:

God’s community is built on the apostles and prophets.

Let’s take these one at a time.

First, the apostles.

The apostles were a specific group of eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus. There are no longer apostles given to the church, because that office was specifically for the time of building the church. Those who claim to be apostles now are, more than likely, using the word to try to gain spiritual authority that they don’t have. Apostles would have been people like Paul, who saw the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Peter, John, etc.

Next Paul lists Prophets. Now here we likely think about Old Testament prophets, but one commentator isn’t so sure. He says,

“Prophets” almost certainly refers not to Old Testament but to New Testament prophets. This is demonstrated both by the order (“apostles and prophets”) and by the reference in 3:4–5 to the mystery, which to other generations was not made known, but which now has been revealed to his “holy apostles and prophets.” - Klyne Snodgrass

“Prophet” is a spiritual gift of the New Testament church. This does not primarily refer to “telling of future events,” but rather to teaching.

Ephesians: Verse by Verse The Apostles the Foundation and Christ the Cornerstone (2:20)

The one thing apostles and prophets in the early church had in common was teaching, and Paul is probably saying that the kingdom truths of Christ and the creedal truths of the church erected the foundation of God’s new building.

The early creeds, the sayings of the church, the teachers in the local churches, these things were what the church was built on in reference to prophets.

It’s important to note here, as we can see, that it is not so much the people on which the church is built, but on their teachings.

>>>WE are all a part of this building. This is why we centralize the teaching of the Word as a part of the church gathering. This is what the church is built on.

But all of this is secondary to the cornerstone, Jesus.

The cornerstone of community is Jesus.

Contrary to cornerstones of today being more ceremonial pieces. Often with an inscription, verse, hand prints, something like this. This was not so in the first century:

“Cornerstones in ancient buildings were the primary load-bearing stones that determined the lines of the building. Such stones have been found in Palestine, one weighing as much as 570 tons.”

1 Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 138.

When we imagine Christ as the cornerstone, we must think about him as the immovable foundation. The massive and secure piece of the structure upon which the entire building rests.

But something else would have come to the Jewish reader’s minds when they read that Christ is the cornerstone.

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

Cornerstones provided safety and security in times of destruction. In other words, when all else fails, the cornerstone remains.

Now why is “community” built upon this cornerstone? The church has historically emphasized that Jesus is the anchor of our faith. His work on the cross and teachings are what started the church in the first place.

Common Bonds

Let’s talk about friendship.

Why are you friends with certain people?

You happened to grow up together and I guess you’re stuck with them (better/worse)

You have common interests and enjoy sharing those interests

You get something from them (consumer relationship)

None of these are bad. But there is something missing. Something deeper. Glue that bonds people together on a core level.

The reason Jesus is the cornerstone of community is because his life and teachings lead to Shared beliefs, shared values, shared direction.

We are a *people.* We hold the same worldview. We long to pursue the good, and we all similarly define the word “good” and “evil.” A value system. And we have a shared direction.

Remember our three aspects of a disciple: being joined with Christ in his beliefs, character, and mission. When we lock arms under that goal of becoming deeper disciples *together,* we actually form some of the deepest friendships and relationships that can exist.

TRANS: This “locking together” makes something beautiful.

You, being joined together, make up God’s temple.

But watch how Paul describes this community in verses 21 and 22

Ephesians 2:21–22 ESV

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 repetition with “in” underscores that all this union with God and other people takes place in Christ.11 Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 138.

The purpose of the physical temple in Jerusalem was to show that God had taken up residence with his people. The New Testament emphasizes the replacement of the Jerusalem temple with Christ and his followers.11 Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 139.

God’s presence no longer dwells in one specific location: the holy of Holies. God dwells among his people, the church. We make up the temple.

Application

Growth cannot happen in isolation, it happens in community.

We started our time together discussing isolation. So let’s also spend some time talking through how to move from isolation to community.

Dr. Henry Cloud, a Christian author and clinical psychologist, talks about the need for us to “bond” with others. This is because when we are in a state of isolation, we become literally sick.

Recent evidence in the field of cardiology has shown that the nature of a patent’s emotional ties drastically affects whether or not this patient will get heart disease. Experiments have shown that a patient’s blood chemistry changes when the patient has a bitter thought. Doctors are now including, in their treatment of heart patients, training in becoming more loving and trusting. A person’s ability to love and connect with others lays the foundation for both psychological and physical health.

This research illustrates that when we are in a loving relationship, a bonded relationship, we are alive and growing. When we are isolate, we are slowly dying. ­

Rather than isolation, we need to be in community. This is where health and growth happen.

There is a lot that can be said on this, but I’ll just bring three items to the table.

Move Toward Others

- It is wonderful when others recognize your needs and readily meet them.

- But often others are unable to see your needs as you see them.

- Therefore, it is necessary to take it upon yourself to move toward others.

Be Vulnerable

- It is possible to be around others could still be isolated.

- Isolation comes from an inability or unwillingness to be vulnerable.

- Vulnerability literally means “to open yourself up to criticism or attack.”

- When you can admit that you need support and help, and can reveal your hurt and isolation, a dynamic is set into motion that can literally transform your personality and life.

Challenge Distorted Thinking

- If you don’t, for example, challenge the belief that “all people will leave me,” you will never form an abiding attachment. And you will recreate the isolation of your past.

- Sometimes what destroys distorted thinking is through new relationships that are healthily bonded together. The new and transformed replaces the old and damaged.

Reject cliques. Rather, practice hospitality.

Now before I get the inevitable eye-rolls. The lecture about being cliquey. Let me acknowledge, it is good to have familiar relationships. It is good to protect deep relationships. It is good to walk through life with a few close friends.

Often this application comes across as if we are all in high school. Though some of you in this room are and might need THAT talk. But this isn’t that.

This is a warning, a warning that in an effort to protect the good, you put up walls to more good that can come.

People are like legos. We might have a few spaces on the top of our brick. But when we fill those lego spaces up, we feel as though our needs are met. We don’t need another best friend. We don’t even need another friend. We have our needs met.

Yet, as God’s temple, and bearing in mind that all people are welcomed into God’s family and citizenship, we ought to keep our ear open to receiving new people. This is a vision for our church as a whole, that new people would come and be received.

Now hear me, I’m not saying this isn’t happening. I’ve seen it happen in fact. Yet, it is human nature to fill our relational needs and then close ourselves off to the new. By accident, for sure. But it is the temptation of all churches to become closed.

So how do we practice hospitality? The face.

Ok this is out of no where. Let me explain.

In a recent book titled, “The Other Half of the Church.” A theologian and a brain scientist came together to write on how people grow spiritually. Their suggestion was NOT that growth came only from learning more information (although we do need that). They believe that growth happens in the context of relationships. Ok. We’ve talked about this. So what’s new about this book?

Picture this.

Imagine you are late to a state basketball game. You enter into the gymnasium to a packed house, but you know that you have a friend saving you a seat. He said “i’m halfway up the middle section.” Great, but there’s 300 people in that section. What are you trying to do? You are looking for your friend’s face.

In a sea of unfamiliar faces, you do not feel welcomed. It is when you see your friend waiving his arms and he smiles at you like “i’m right here.” Now you know where to go.

This is what we look for. When I enter a new room, where are my people? This is where the brain science comes in. Our need for relationships is driven by our brain. Our brain is asking the question “where are my people” faster then we realize. When we enter a room and no one acknowledges us, what do we feel? Rejected, lost, unwelcome, out of place.

Our brain is looking for someone to see us and then smile at us. This is what this brain scientist said about this, “God designed facial recognition circuitry into our brains and linked it to our joy center.”

We can become hospitable by expressing the joy of community through our face. By welcoming in others, this environment becomes a place of belonging. This is how we grow. We belong to a community. And this is how we help others grow, by helping them belong to community.

This is why events like feast of praise is going to be so good. Let us be a people that are joined together by Christ, and share with each other joy that comes from Him.

Pray

Closing Song

Announcements about Feast of Praise

Able-Bodied people stay after the service 11 to help set up chairs.

Park far away (if able) to leave room for guests and those who are limited in mobility.