Ephesians 2:11-22 - IN CHRIST...

The Epistles are very doctrinal books. Meaning they have very specific teachings about what Christians should believe and do. Its what sets God people apart from the world and imposters. Matthew 16:18 Jesus prophesied that He would build His Church. And He did! Jesus established His Church. Our job is to discover and be reminded of what the Church knows and does. You can identify His Church and know who are really His people. How? It’s not hard. You simply read your Bible and draw from it the doctrine directly word for word. And some say “Well you’re pretty narrow minded if you think ya’ll are the only ones going to Heaven”. I’m more narrow minded than that. I don’t even think all those that go to a building with Church of Christ on the sign are going. Because they don’t all know and they aren’t all obedient to doctrine God gives us as they should be.

We’re in a HIGHLY doctrinal section.

V.11

THEREFORE

Whats the conclusion? 2:8-10 — we’re saved by unearned favor when we hear trust and obey God’s word and spokesmen.

It’s not based on you, but on God! There is something to do to get it - obedience. But obedience doesn't mean you earn a thing. And you can’t say its a work, because this verse says you aren’t saved by that.

You’re not saved by doing what He tells us to do! Doing what He tells us to do with full trust in Him is Faith! Doing actions and going through the motions won’t get you saved. Only faith filled actions because that means you’re trusting in Him to do what He said He would do.

V.10 - we were created FOR good works. You can’t separate doing things that reflect Jesus in your life from faith. Christianity is meant to be SEEN and HEARD. We aren’t doing Christian things. We are to be Christians, you’ve got to be what you are. Doing Christianity means it’s not what you are.

Philippians 2:5 “Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” — when we adopt the mind of Christ, we do that which Christ did and set forth for us! We no longer think like we once thought, we change our thinking to how He wants us thinking.

God foreordained that the whole realm of our lives as Christians is motivated through Him, the mind of Christ. We’ve studied up to this point seeing that God predestined that He would have a special group of people that belong to Him, that anyone could be part of that group if they choose to, that God preplanned HOW He would save us and through WHO, and now we understand that God even predestined how you and I ought to live and be as Christians and the Church.

That means that there aren’t many paths to heaven. That means we can’t worship just anyway we want to. Or that we can pick and choose what we do and sit back and let others take care of. Paul will continue to emphasize that in chapter 3.

Based on all that...you also need to know this.

REMEMBER - you bring it to your own mind, no one else’s obligation, you dwell on this.

FORMERLY you were what?

A different nationality? God is saying I don’t want you to think of being American, Canadian, Mexican, Roman, Jewish or any other nationality — God is saying you need to think in terms of either being a Christian or not being a Christian!

The highest common denominator is whether you belong to Jesus or not! We will become more evangelistic when we learn to see people as either lost or saved, not by color or political or gender - lost or saved. You’re all one or the other.

Galatians 3:26-29

Faith is hear trust and obey, He says be baptized that’s part of essential faith to be saved.

You’re all ONE in Christ. That’s the evaluation we should have, are we ONE, are we brothers and sisters?

Jew, gentile, slave, free, male female — He’s saying that’s not the main discussion or evaluation you should be having compared to whether you’re Christian or not!

V.29 - If you belong to Jesus, you’re grafted into the eternal family of God.

We need to FIRST see people as souls saved or in danger - that’s the priority. We can see the rest for sure, but if you don’t view souls properly you won’t care enough to evangelize as we’re all told we should be doing!

V.12

REMEMBER - you bring it to your own mind, you dwell on this! (AGAIN)

Don’t forget who you were, that's the position that we actually deserve!

You had no covenant relationship to God or His people of the family of Abraham, you were WITHOUT Christ.

Same word “WITHOUT” is found in James

James 2:20 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”

James 2:20 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”

No Faith = No Christ.

If you’re of the nations you were part of no Godly promise!

NO HOPE - if you’re nationality or race or any other factor is the highest thing to you, you have no Hope.

Hopeless means helpless, we can’t see a way out and it’s only despair.

NO GOD...can you find a sadder verse in the Bible? It’d be tough to do. Alienated from promise, No hope, no Christ, no God....

V.13

BUT Christ reverses all of that!

Brought near - meaning a seat at the table, standing in the throne room in His presence. We’re talking comparability in the presence of God, just as Adam and Eve were before sinning.

IN CHRIST JESUS

Eph.1:3.

If all are in Christ, you can’t have a spiritual blessing outside of Him!

Eph.1:7.

Redemption, it means you’ve been bought back! As a baby you were Gods, but you grew up and sinned and left. You were alienated, you needed to be bought back.

In Christ = Redeemed

Eph.2:13.

Made NEAR. Fellowship, closeness, friends.

Col.1:14.

Redemption & Forgiveness of sins.

2 Cor.5:17.

NEW Creation. Same thing Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7, you must be born again! And how can I be? By getting IN Christ!

Rom.8:1.

NO Condemnation.

2 Timothy 2:10.

Whats in Christ? Salvation and eternal glory. If you can accept and grab a hold of that salvation only in Christ by faith, and it gets even sweeter beucause with it there is eternal glory!

1 Corinthians 15:58.

In Christ what you do is not meaningless!

But the opposite is to teach us that anything you can do in this world doesn’t matter one bit at all if you’re not in Christ! It’s foolishness and a waste of time and breathe.

Yes Christianity is about changing our lives, but it’s not about changing our lives BEFORE we become a Christian, it’s about getting IN Christ who creates us NEW! And we grow up right and godly from there!

Changing before being a Christian is good - but the criteria we’re focusing on that is the most important is getting in Christ Jesus! Because that changes EVERYTHING.

Once you’re in Christ you ought to see the world as saved or lost, as redeemed or slaves to sin, truly blessed or not at all.

3 verses. Super profound. Easily read past.

Paul is saying to both Jews and any other nationality - The Jewish heritage can be yours, you’re not enemies but brought into peace and harmony by the blood of Jesus! That’s how powerful He is, the blood of Christ is more than enough to break down any barrier between people and God.

V.14

This is relational peace between us and God, and us and our fellow man. You want peace? Become a Christian. Everything is fixed by becoming a Christian.

Two Christian people can be successfully worked together through anything. If there’s a disagreement, one or both isn’t being a Christian. Two Jesus people is actually just one. Nationality won’t come between us, opinions won’t, anything else won’t either.

Two or any number of Jesus people can reconcile ANYTHING.

The Wall - Mosaic Law

Jesus nullified the mosaic covenant and the new covenant is established that joins together anyone in Christ.

In the temple there was even a court for the gentiles with a Physical wall between Jew and Gentile and Paul says that Jesus has done away with all the physical and spiritual separation and has made anyone that is in Christ the same recipient of eternal life and status!

If Christ can remove thousands of years of law and separation, then any two or any number of Jesus people can reconcile ANYTHING.

Paul teaching this has his eyes enlightened. Ephesians 1:18 “so that you—the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” He wants that for you.

As a pharisee He didn’t see it or understand. But now he does and feels the gravity of this truth.

V.15

Doesnt mean Greek stopped being Greek, Jew stopped being Jew, etc.

It means that all are brought together in one unified body. There is no more “us and them” except for the in christ and out of Christ.

V.16

Ch.3:6

The Gospel changes all the things we were without, now we have them In Christ!

By his work on the cross we are one thing: Christians, fellow disciples. Reconciled to God with each other. There isn’t reconciliation to God alone, only as a group.

Funny enough both Jews and Romans worked together to kill Jesus. Now they’re called to work together to live for that same Jesus.

And we MUST by faith accept that there is no hostility in the body of Christ and not bring hostility to the Church.

Jesus purchased peace. It was the most expensive thing in all the existence of eternity...don’t throw it out or despise what Jesus did by not being at perfect peace with your brother or sister in Christ.

V.17-19

A “ceasefire”.

No longer strangers to God or each other. Same family.

V.20

The Cornerstone pulled together the other ones to make a strong foundation for a strong building.

The Church is perfectly built.

1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

You can’t lay an eternal Church on a Human foundation.

It is prophesied and it is perfect. It’s perfect by doing things God’s way! He doesn’t need your input in how to make it better. You think you know more than God? “Well the world does it this way and they get a lot of traction” - but God reminds us that’s the world, you’re set apart from that. You’re not in the world you’re in Christ.

V.21-22

We’re built for togetherness. Its highly important that we know that.

A privileged community that’s meant to enjoy the privileged out of this world fellowship.