EPHESIANS 2:19-22

Last week we saw the Gentiles going from

Alienation From God to Reconciliation with God.

What we saw was an alienation that was spiritual.

The Gentiles were:

Christless

Stateless

Without a Covenant with God

Hopeless and

Godless.

This not only described the 1st Century Gentiles

It describes the world today.

“But God”

It was though the Death of Christ that the Gentile was reconciled to God.

It was though the Death of Christ that the ceremonial law was abolished.

It was though the Death of Christ that a new

man was created.

Today what our focus will be on What the Jew and the Gentile have now become.

Please turn in your Bibles to:

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.

The Reconciliation that took place between the Jews and the Gentiles was and is a great miracle:

First was our reconciliation with God.

Second was our reconciliation with each other.

Kent Hughes says:

“Upon believing, these outcasts moved to the very center of God’s purpose. Interlopers became insiders, aliens [became] heirs, the lowest class [became] first class.”

In our passage today, Paul describes further what this means by using three graphic illustrations:

GOD’S CITY OR KINGDOM (v. 19a)

GOD’S FAMILY (v. 19b)

GOD’S TEMPLE (vv. 20-22)

These three illustrations let us know how we are to live in this present world.

Let’s start with:

Notice with me the phrase in v. 19:

“… you are no longer strangers and aliens...”

Barclay says these people were always on the fringe.

The Alien did not have an easy life, they were always regarded with suspicion and dislike.

The Alien differ from the Stranger in that the Stranger was a resident alien, they had taken up residence, but had not become a naturalized citizen. They paid a tax for the privilege of existing in a land not their own.

Paul is telling the Gentiles they were no longer Strangers and Aliens, but Citizens.

One’s citizenship is an important part of their lives.

I found this humorous story:

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 6824 Dog’s Citizenship

In Dallas, the Delta Air Lines reservations office received a call from a troubled dog-owner. “Can I take my dog on the same plane with me?” the woman asked timidly. The agent assured her that she could. Then he asked, “Where do you plan to go?”

“Well,” came the worried reply, “I’m thinking about going to Mexico City. What I really want to know is this: if I take my dog with me and she has puppies while we’re down there, will they be American citizens.”

—Air Travel

In the 1st Century, citizenship was an even greater source of pride.

It was also helpful to be a Roman Citizen while traveling throughout the Empire.

Paul used his Roman Citizenship to avoid a beating in -19 when he was taken by the Romans and about to be interrogated by a whipping.

Our citizenship is in heaven among the saints.

We discussed that concept in our study of Philippians.

Listen to this story about citizenship:

While serving as a missionary in Laos, I discovered an illustration of the kingdom of God. Before the colonialists imposed national boundaries, the kings of Laos and Vietnam reached an agreement on taxation in the border areas. Those who ate short-grain rice, built their houses on stilts, and decorated them with Indian-style serpents were considered Laotians. On the other hand, those who ate long-grain rice, built their houses on the ground, and decorated them with Chinese-style dragons were considered Vietnamese. The exact location of a person's home was not what determined his or her nationality. Instead, each person belonged to the kingdom whose cultural values he or she exhibited. So it is with us: we live in the world, but as part of God's kingdom, we are to live according to his kingdom's standards and values.

John Hess-Yoder, Portland, Oregon. Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 3.

We are God’s citizens living in a fallen sinful world awaiting the return of Christ.

While we are waiting, we are told to “occupy” till He comes. Are you busy doing God’s work?

We have opportunities for you to “occupy.”

Now we will look at Gentiles as:

Being a citizen of the Kingdom is nice, but we have even more of a relationship with God by being a member of His family.

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God...”

First: We have direct access to God the Father.

This represents a far deeper intimacy than just being a citizen.

You may recall the iconic pictures of John F. Kennedy Jr. under the desk while his father was working in the Oval Office.

JFK Jr. had direct access to his father.

You and I have a similar access to God.

In what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, we are given access to the Father.

Matthew 6:9 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

The word Father in this verse is know as “Abba” - some have said it is the same thing as saying “Daddy.”

Second: We are to treat other believers as family members.

Pauls says in:

1 Timothy 5:1–2 ESV

1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

“Tr

They are family. We should treat them as such.

Kent Hughes shares this thought:

Preaching the Word: Ephesians—The Mystery of the Body of Christ God’s Family (v. 19b)

The horizontal relational implications of our being God’s family are beautiful. Family is the place where you can be yourself and be assured you are accepted. On Thanksgivings I forgo shaving, put on blue jeans and a flannel shirt, and after dinner lie on the floor and let the grandchildren crawl all over me. Usually I fall asleep. And if things get too hectic, I crawl under our baby grand and sleep where nothing can fall on me. And you know what? Nobody cares! No one says, “What’s Dad doing? Where’s his tie?” Why? Because we’re family, so I can be myself. The Church is the place of reconciliation and acceptance, where you can be your true, redeemed self.

This is Paul’s third illustration found in these few verses.

What was the purpose of this new temple Paul is speaking of?

The purpose for this new temple was the same as the purpose for the Old Testament temple.

It was to be a dwelling place of God.

There are three elements to God’s Temple we will look at this morning.

“… built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets...”

All buildings have a foundation.

All business have a foundation.

As a matter of fact:

All churches have a foundation.

I am not talking about the church building, I am talking about the church.

The real church is not a building, it is the people.

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 6824 Dog’s Citizenship

In Dallas, the Delta Air Lines reservations office received a call from a troubled dog-owner. “Can I take my dog on the same plane with me?” the woman asked timidly. The agent assured her that she could. Then he asked, “Where do you plan to go?”

“Well,” came the worried reply, “I’m thinking about going to Mexico City. What I really want to know is this: if I take my dog with me and she has puppies while we’re down there, will they be American citizens.”

—Air Travel

People who have accepted Christ as Savior are the church.

Paul is telling us the church’s foundation is the apostles and prophets.

There is some confusion as to what Paul is speaking of when he says prophets:

Old Testament prophets, or

Those in the 1st century who were preaching the Word.

Due to the placement of the words “apostles and prophets” I believe Paul is referring to those NT era prophets.

Their teaching and writing of Scripture is our foundation for the church today.

Barclay says:

The Message of Ephesians c. God’s Temple (Verses 20–22)

What they taught they expected the church to believe and preserve, what they commanded they expected the church to obey.

So, the foundation of the new temple was God’s Word — the New Testament Scriptures.

It is our foundation of truth we are to follow, read, study and obey.

The foundation is important, very important.

However, if the Cornerstone is not right, the foundation is not right.

Notice in our verses:

“… Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone ...”

This imagery of Christ as the cornerstone comes from the OT:

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.’

The cornerstone of the Jerusalem Cornerstone was 29 feet in length.

Kent Hughes says:

Preaching the Word: Ephesians—The Mystery of the Body of Christ God’s Temple (vv. 20-22)

The cornerstone decided the architectural unity and symmetry. The lay of the walls, the dimensions of the structure were a result of the chief cornerstone. All other stones had to be adjusted to it.

The Shape of the New Temple is determined by Jesus Christ.

He is the Stone of testing mentioned in .

He has reconciled us to Himself.

For a temple to be built, it must have block added to it.

We are those blocks.

“In him you also are being build together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Before Christ’s death, the Gentiles were excluded from the Temple in Jerusalem.

Now, following Christ’s death, Gentiles are part of the building blocks used in the construction of this new temple.

1 Peter 2:4–5 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 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.

What was the purpose of this new temple Paul is speaking of?

The purpose for this new temple was the same as the purpose for the Old Testament temple.

It was to be a dwelling place of God.

Again, please notice what Peter said in that last part of verse 5:

“… to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

We don’t have to do this by ourselves.

It is through Christ we are able to offer acceptable sacrifices to God.

We saw in verse 1 of this chapter that we were dead in our trespasses and sins:

“But God...”

Rich in mercy and grace saved us

We saw in verse 12 were were “alienated from God”

“But now...”

God reconciled us to Himself bringing us into fellowship and unity with the Jews as well as with God Himself.

Why would God do that?

What would bring God to reconcile us?

For what purpose?

Verse 22 says so that we might become a new person, built up together to God by Christ.

It would be wrong for us to destroy the unity God has brought together.

How is you unity with other believers?

Barclay says:

What acceptable sacrifice have you done or are you doing for God — through the strength of Christ?

EPHESIANS 2:19-22

WHAT THE NEW MAN IS NOW — AFTER RECONCILIATION

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

GOD’S CITY OR KINGDOM (v. 19a)

GOD’S FAMILY (v. 19b)

GOD’S TEMPLE (vv. 20-22)

FOUNDATION

CORNERSTONE

BUILDING BLOCKS

CONCLUSION