From Outsiders to Insiders

📖 Week 3: Ephesians 2:11–22

🧭 Title:From Outsiders to Insiders

🪧 Subtitle:Embracing Our Identity as God’s Unified People

🔁 Hook Phrase: “I’m not just part of the pile—I’m part of the plan.”

🎯 Opening: Real-Life Struggle, Series Recap & Hook Phrase

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong?

Like you were at a gathering where everyone knew each other—but you were the unfamiliar face with no seat, no voice, no place? Maybe that feeling has followed you into friendships, church circles, or even family settings. That lingering ache of being “on the outside” is more than social—it’s spiritual. It’s part of the human condition.

Over the last two sermons in our journey through Ephesians, we’ve been asking a crucial question: “Who are we?”

In Week 1, we discovered that we are chosen and adopted—blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. God doesn’t just love us—He planned for us.

In Week 2, we saw that we are made alive—raised from death to life, saved by grace, created for good works. Through the resurrection, we now live with purpose and power.

But now in Week 3, Paul shifts from who we are personally to who we are communally. He reminds us that our new life isn’t meant to be lived alone. We’re not just saved from something—we’re saved into something.

And that’s where today’s message comes in.

👉 “I’m not just part of the pile—I’m part of the plan.”

That one truth changes everything. Because in Christ, we’re no longer strangers. We’re no longer disconnected. We’ve been brought near—not just to God, but to one another. In a culture full of division, disconnection, and dysfunction, this passage gives us a new identity: we are the temple of God. We are family.

🧩 Sermon Outline

🧱 Remember Who You Were: The Outsider (vv. 11–12)

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.

Outsiders by Nature: Born disconnected from covenant, cut off from belonging.

Three types of people in the Bible: Jews (the circumcision), Gentiles (the uncircumcision), and the Church (one new man).

The Jews were God’s chosen people to bring the Messiah, the Savior, into the world. And because of this God has his hand of protection and blessing on Israel.

Hopeless Without Christ: No access to God’s promises, presence, or peace.

The rest of the world was without the direct knowledge of God and therefore in ignorance, serviced many gods.

📷 Illustration:

I was privilege to grow up in a Christian home that trusted in God. Not everyone has that experience. Even some Christians are ignorant of the hope they have in Christ.

👉 “I’m not just part of the pile—I’m part of the plan.”

✅ Application:

👉 Never forget what Jesus saved you from—it fuels gratitude and compassion.

Write down three things you lacked before Christ, and thank Him today for bringing you near.

✝️ Remember Who you Are Now (vv. 13–18)

Ephesians 2:13–18 ESV

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

Peace through the Blood of Chirst: The hostility between God and man—and man and man—has been destroyed.

The dividing wall of hostility: The Law

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and it’s requirement for righteousness

Romans 8:3 ESV

3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

One New Humanity: Jesus didn’t make one side convert to the other—He created something altogether new.

There are still Jews and Gentiles.

We are born again by the precious seed of Abraham.

There are some that believe that the church has formed has formed a spiritual Israel taking the place of physical Israel because of their unbelief and assuming the promised God has made to Israel. But Paul presents a different argument in Romans 4.

Romans 4:7–10 ESV

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” 9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:16 ESV

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Romans 4:22–25 ESV

22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

📷 Illustration:

In the ancient temple in Jerusalem, there was a literal wall called the Soreg—a dividing barrier that separated Jews from Gentiles. It wasn’t just symbolic—it was serious. In fact, archaeologists have uncovered stone inscriptions from that wall that read:

“No foreigner may enter within the barrier… Anyone caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.”

That wall said: “You don’t belong here.”

It screamed: “Keep your distance.”

It declared: “This space is not for people like you.”

Now imagine being a Gentile believer in Ephesus, hearing Paul say in verse 14:

“He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”

That would have been staggering. Paul wasn’t being poetic—he was being literal and prophetic. He was declaring that Jesus didn’t just open a door—He tore down the whole wall. He didn’t leave a gate with a guard; He leveled the barrier with His own body.

But here’s where this gets personal: we still build those walls today.

Not with stone, but with suspicion.

Not with inscriptions, but with isolation.

We build them through racial tension, political tribalism, church hurt, pride, unforgiveness, or just being apothetic towards others.

👉 “I’m not just part of the pile—I’m part of the plan.”

✅ Application:

👉 Let the blood of Christ redefine your relationships. If He tore down walls, don’t build them back up.

Take one step this week to reconcile with someone different from you—initiate peace.

🏠 Built into God’s Family: Insider (vv. 19–22)

Ephesians 2:19–22 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, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 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.

A Place to Belong: God didn’t just save us—He adopted us. You’re not renting a room; you’re part of the family.

John 17:20–21 ESV

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Paul’s use of “one new man” reflects a spiritual race—not a blending, but a rebirth.

A Dwelling for God: The Church is not a building—it’s God’s habitation.

Temple imagery points to God’s presence not in a building but in the bond of believers.

We are the spiritual house offering spiritual sacrifices to God.

1 Peter 2:5 ESV

5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

📷 Illustration:

Imagine walking through a construction site. All around you are bricks—some stacked neatly, others scattered on the ground. On their own, each brick has potential, but not purpose. A single brick doesn’t make a home. A single stone doesn’t shelter a family. It’s not until each one is placed with intentionality, joined to the others, and secured with mortar that a structure takes shape.

That’s the imagery Paul uses in verses 20–22. He says we are being “built together”—not randomly assembled, but fitted, joined, and purposed.

You’re not just a person with faith—you’re a piece in a living temple.

You’re not just a believer—you’re a builder, because God is using you to build His house.

But here’s the challenge: too many of us are lying on the construction site, spiritually unattached. We attend, but we don’t belong. We spectate, but we don’t engage.

And here’s the hard truth—a brick by itself can’t carry weight, offer shelter, or fulfill its purpose. It only becomes meaningful when it’s joined with others.

God never designed you to be an independent spiritual consumer. He designed you to be a connected spiritual contributor.

And when we come together—joined in love, bonded by grace, and aligned under the Chief Cornerstone—we become the dwelling place of God.

👉 “I’m not just part of the pile—I’m part of the plan.”

So here’s the question: Are you just attending the site, or are you part of the structure?

In One Spirit by the Spirit

It is the Spirit that draws us to the Father.

Is the Spirit drawing you to the Father this morning?

Are you just a part of the pile or are you part of the plan?

It is the Spirit that builds us into the dwelling place of God.

✅ Application:

👉 You weren’t saved to stand alone. You were built to belong.

Commit to a spiritual community. Join a group. Serve faithfully. Invest relationally.

🚪 Conclusion & Next Steps – The Change Model

C = D × V × F > R

Dissatisfaction: Are you tired of surface relationships and isolation?

Vision: Imagine a church where every person knows they have a seat at the table.

First Step: Start with one: join a group, send the text, open your home.

Resistance: Fear, pride, past hurt—all walls Jesus already knocked down.

🎯 Next Steps:

Show up for community this week.

Look for someone still standing at the door—and invite them in.

Confess and lay down anything dividing you from others in Christ.

🙏 Gospel-Aligned Altar Call

If you feel like you’re on the outside—Jesus already made a way in.

You don’t have to stay behind the wall. You don’t have to wonder if you belong. The invitation has your name on it.

To the believer who’s been standing back—isolated, distant—it’s time to step toward the table.

Jesus didn’t just bring you close; He pulled out a chair.

👉 Don’t be just part of the pile, be part of the plan.

Come forward today. Your place at the table has already been set.

Some of you need to come and put your faith and trust in Jesus.

Some of you need to come and express your desire to be framed into the dwelling place of God.

This alter is a place of Love, forgiveness, acceptance, and belonging. Don’t be an outsider when God is inviting you to be an insider.

Song plays

If the message has spoken to you If God has moved your heart this morning, come and join me down front for prayer and worship. Let’s pray for our city this morning that any barriers that are keeping people from God would be removed. That our community would have full access to the gospel.

📺 YouTube / Streaming Synopsis:

“Ever felt like an outsider? In this compelling message from Ephesians 2:11–22, Pastor Bill Sizemore unpacks how Jesus brings us from alienation to belonging. Through the cross, we’re no longer strangers—we’re insiders. Part of a family. Sitting at the table. Discover what it means to live reconciled, united, and home.”