Untitled Sermon (7)

Sunday School

1/14/23

The Household of God

Ephesians 2:11–22 (NASB95)

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—

remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

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

For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;

for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,

in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,

in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

One thing that frustrates me is what I like to call the “Quest for More”. As if what was given was not enough, didn't last, missed something, or refused to look up what it was that was given.

Even though we get upset with our kids or family members when it seems what we do is never enough. At the same time, we can understand that what I have to give no matter what has limitations.

The quest for more - It's the prevalent or universal and wide-spreading idea that being in Christ is not sufficient, that being “in Christ” does not give you all there is to get, and so you have to seek something else.

We hear people talking often of getting more of Christ, getting more of Jesus, getting more of the Holy Spirit, getting more power.

Well, such a thing implies that when you got saved, you didn't get all of Jesus that there is.  It's sort of like getting the right to it all but not getting any of it in their hearts, in their minds.

Ephesians 1:15–23 NASB95

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Paul is painting a picture of how the body of Christ was formed in the beginning. He is unveiling the mystery of the Church, and how it began with Jews and Gentiles who were hostile to each other. He begins by emphasizing the impossible-to-cross magnitude of the division, and then how God through Christ's work on the Cross and the work of the Spirit supernaturally bridged the centuries long unbridgeable spiritual chasm! He uses many pictures and phrases to essentially point out how such diverse groups were brought into one, the Church, His Body (Eph 1:22-23) -- OBSERVE - "but now," "brought near by the blood of Christ," "He is our peace" (peace = joining together that which was separated), "made both one," "broke down the barrier," "abolishing...enmity," "make (create) the two into one new man," "establishing peace (joining together)," "reconcile (make enemies into friends)," "both in one body (Eph 1:23)," "put to death the enmity (that which separated)," "preached peace (Gospel of peace - joining together that which was separate)...you...far away...those who were near," "one Spirit."  As you look at those words and phrases do you see the repeating pattern of supernaturally bringing Jews and Gentiles together (first to God then to each other), and in so doing describing how the church was "born," realizing of course that it was inaugurated by the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4)? Then in Ephesians 2:19-22 he summarizes the beautiful union/oneness/intimacy of the Body by brushing his canvas with 5 metaphors, 5 pictures of the unity of the Body - fellow citizens, God's household, whole building, holy temple, dwelling of God! And all God's children shout "Hallelujah! All praise to the Lord. Amen"

Fellow Citizens - (no longer strangers or aliens) verse 19 In the present context xenos speaks of that which is of a different quality or nature than something else, thus, a stranger to it. Sinners are strangers to the kingdom of God, having a totally depraved nature that makes them different, and different in a hostile sense. Gentiles who were once spiritually "homeless" and "country-less", without any share in or access to the Messianic promises in the Covenants, now are in Christ.

strangers, and such as proposed to reside for a short time in Athens, were permitted to reside in the city, and to pursue their business undisturbed, but they could perform no public duty; they had no voice in the public deliberations, and they had no part in the management of the state. They could only look on as spectators, without mingling in the scenes of state, or interfering in any way in the affairs of the government.

A resident foreigner. A stranger. The paroikos was "a licensed sojourner in a town whose protection and status were secured by the payment of a small tax" (MM, p. 496; cf. TDNT, 5:583). He had no intrinsic rights, however. Such had been the position of the Gentiles in relation to the kingdom of God before the coming of Christ. Metaphorically of a believer whose home is not this present evil world (2Pe 2:11) Paroikos is used of one who comes from another country or city and settles in another, but does not rank as a citizen. Before Christ came into their life the Gentiles were "sojourners" who were "dwelling nearby," (so to speak) but still were "far off." This previous alien existence is no longer their state, for they are now in Christ.

But is a strong term of contrast. worth pausing to ponder. It marks a 180 degree change in the lives of Gentiles who once were unbelieving, but now have believed in Christ. Never again will the Gentile believers be aliens, dogs, uncircumcision, outsiders and with no spiritual disadvantages compared to Jewish believers. All now meet at the same place -

Gods Household (family)- The household of God in this text is the same as the household of faith in Gal.6:10

Galatians 6:10 NASB95

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

those terms have been tied to the church.

A nearer relation to God and a higher privilege is denoted here. You are not guests or occasional visitors, but permanent dwellers in the house and members of the family.

"If believers have no distinctions before God, they should have no distinctions among themselves.

Having been built (2026) (epoikodomeo [word study] from epí = upon + oikodoméo = build) means to build upon or erect a superstructure. Paul changes the metaphor from a household (or family) to a spiritual temple as he explains the unifying character of the church.

The aorist tense speaks of a past completed action. However note in the next two verses "being fitted together" (Ep 2:21-note) and "being built together" (Ep 2:22-note) are both in the present tense indicating that although the foundation has been laid securely and irrevocably, God is still in the process of fitting and building believers into His holy Temple, His dwelling place. The passive voice indicates that God's Spirit is the One Who is active, His power being the force that enables the building of the household.

Illustration - There is a famous story from Sparta. A Spartan king boasted to a visiting monarch about the walls of Sparta. The visiting monarch looked around and could see no walls. He said to the Spartan king, "Where are these walls about which you boast so much?" His host pointed at his bodyguard of magnificent troops. "These," he said, "are the walls of Sparta, every man a brick." The point is clear. So long as a brick lies by itself it is useless; it becomes of use only when it is incorporated into a building. So it is with the individual Christian. To realize his destiny he must not remain alone, but must be built into the fabric of the Church.

Corner stone (204) (akrogoniaios from ákron = extreme + gonía = corner) refers to the stone that supports the main weight of a structure and figuratively is Christ Who unites Jews and Gentiles into one body and Who sustains whole structure of the church.

The corner stone of a building had to be strong enough to support what was built on it, and it had to be precisely laid, because every other part of the structure was oriented to it. The cornerstone thus functioned as the supporting stone, the stone that oriented all other stone, and the stone that unified of the entire building. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfills each of these roles in God’s building, the new man, the body of Christ, the Church.

Whole Building

Being fitted together (4883) (sunarmologeo from sun = together + harmologeo = join together from harmos = joint) means to be fitted or joined together with, literally used of the parts of the body or the stones of the building.

Note that both here (sunarmologeo) and in the next verse (sunoikodomeo) Paul selects compound verbs that begin with the preposition "sun -" (or "syn-") which is the Greek word for "with" that expresses intimate union. Wayne Barber illustrates the distinction of sun from the other Greek preposition for "with" (meta) explaining that…

sun means not only are we together with one another, but we are so mixed in that nobody can tell the difference one from the other. We can’t get apart from each other. Let me give you the illustration… making biscuits. Let’s just say you take all the ingredients and put them out on a piece of waxed paper. You put the flour down and the shortening or whatever else goes in them. You put it all on the piece of paper. Now all of those ingredients can still be separated, but at the same time they are with each other—meta. But take all of those ingredients and mix them together… Cut them out and put them on a pan. Put them in the oven, and bake them. After they have baked for a while they come out as biscuits. Once they are baked, that (tasty union of ingredients pictures the meaning of) sun. No one can separate those ingredients! (See full note)

Holy Temple

Is growing (837) (auxano [word study]) means to cause to become greater in extent, size, state or quality. The present tense pictures this as an ongoing process. The passive voice indicates the power producing the growth comes from an outside Source, in this case God. In one sense though the building is structurally complete, it continues to grow with the addition of individual stones.

The Church or Body of Christ will not be complete until every person who will believe in Him has done so. Every new believer is a new "living stone" in Christ’s building, His holy temple. Thus Paul says the temple is growing because believers are continually being added.

"A superficial view of the statistics on religious life in America would suggest that there is little change over the decades" (this, in spite of what he calls "constant denominational shifting") (PRRC Emerging Trends (May 1991)

We are building day by day, As the moments glide away, Our temple, which the world may not see; Every victory won by grace Will be sure to find its place In our building for eternity. —Fanny J. Crosby, “We are Building”

Dwelling of God

Dwelling of God - What a dramatic contrast this truth presents. Before receiving Christ, the Gentiles were “without God in the world.” Now they were being prepared as His dwelling place! The picture of God dwelling in His people reminds us of His three fold promise in the Old Testament

“I will be their God" "They shall be be My people" "I will dwell in their midst.”