Sermon Tone Analysis

We Can All Eat

video

Greetings

Thanks (God, Dr. Hughes, my Queen)

Prayer

Recap

This book of Ephesians (known as one of the “prison epistles”), where our main text comes from, was written by Paul to the churches around Ephesus (a city in modern day Turkey) really to display the scope of God’s eternal plan for all humanity - Jews and Gentiles alike.

It’s a plan of redemption and salvation for all those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians is considered the “Rolls Royce of the epistles.”

William Hendriksen calls Ephesians “the divinest composition of man,” “the distilled essence of the Chrisitan religion.”

The letter opens in chapter one with a sequence of statements about God’s blessings, which are interspersed with a remarkable variety of expressions drawing attention to God’s wisdom, forethought and purpose.

The climax of God’s purpose, “when the times will have reached their fulfillment,” is to bring all things in the universe together under Christ ().

It is crucially important that Christians realize this, so in

Paul prays for their understanding.

Having explained God’s great goals for the church, Paul proceeds to show the steps toward their fulfillment.

The first, God has reconciled individuals to himself as an act of grace (2:1–10).

Last week this is where we began our study; the beginning of chapter 2.

We studied a section that ended the way it began - with us walking

Formerly, we walked in trespasses and sin in which the devil had trapped us

Now we (and I’m speaking of those in Christ) walk in good works which God has eternally planned for us to do.

Look at verse 10 again… “which God prepared before hand...”

this means everyone of us, God already had a plan on how to use us long before we were even born.

He didn’t see us at birth as think, “ok… ummmm....

I think I’ll use him as...”

He didn’t see you last year and say, “wow! she really screwed that up.

Let me try something different.”

NO! there was an intent to for you… me… us, who formerly walked in darkness, sin, and our trespasses, to now walk in His marvelous light!

He wants us to walk in good works.

The two key words in that entire pericope were/are

But God

by grace

So, while last week was about “New Life” in Christ, by grace, through faith.

This week is about our “New Family.”

This is the second step to fulfillment to God’s great plans for His church.

This week is about our “New Family.”

Turn to Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 11-22, as we continue our study through the book of Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:

There are three movements in this pericope:

Paul emphasizes that we have been saved, not only for our personal benefit, but also to bring praise and glory to God.

The climax of God’s purpose, “when the times will have reached their fulfillment,” is to bring all things in the universe together under Christ ().

Former barriers

It is crucially important that Christians realize this, so in

Paul prays for their understanding.

1.

Former barriers

Christ’s destruction of the barrier

Having explained God’s great goals for the church, Paul proceeds to show the steps toward their fulfillment.

The first, God has reconciled individuals to himself as an act of grace (2:1–10), is our focus for this evening.

the Spirit working to join believers together as one family

Initially, Paul reminds his audience of who they were, once.

The name “the uncircumcision” was a derogatory name for non-Jews — Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:11-12

Now Paul could’ve very easily said you were once outsiders with respect to the chosen people.

But I imagine Paul purposely chose to use the pejoratives to make another point.

First, the fact that Jews referred to Gentiles as “the uncircumcision” probably displayed how much weight they placed in their circumcision.

Particularly Jews around this time that had strayed so far from God.

They felt their membership meant they were special.

It was already one thing to say that

(Don’t we as Christians have that same problem?

We have eternal life because of God’s grace and mercy.

But you couldn’t tell it by the way we walk around with our heads and nose tilted to the sky, looking down on others, and judging non or new Christians… We act like we’re saved because we’re special, and forget we’re special because He saved us, by His grace alone!)

We just covered this last week!

Paul’s thinking, how foolish we all were!

Calling each other names, often times based on things that happened before we were born or when we were too young to make any choice.

Jews were born into their families, and were circumcised on the eighth day of life.

No one chose who’s families they were born into?

None of us certainly would make the choice on our own to be circumcised!

How foolish, then, to look down and make fun of someone because you “happened” to be born into the right family.

Sounds like us as Americans.

Build a wall!!! keep them out.

We shouldn’t let all those other people in here that come from those nasty s-hole countries.

They’re not like us! Like they had any say in what their DNA sequence would be.

Anyone here chose their parents and location before they were concieved?

I didn’t think so.

Moving on.

After dealing the idiocy of the name calling, paul does get to the serious nature of their alientation.

In , Paul lists the previous privileges of Jews

Here, Paul lists all the disadvantages of being a Gentile.

they were separated from Christ

I know what you’re thinking - weren’t they all Jews and Gentiles without Christ?

Here’s what you need to know.

Not only did Gentiles lack the knowledge of Christ.

They also had no relationship with Christ, nor any clue about the promises about the Messiah.

They were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel

Israel was a nation under God, a theocracy.

Because the Gentiles were alien to to this commonwealth, they were without the law, and thus without God.

They were strangers to the covenants of promise

think about all the covenants between God and His people: Abraham, isaac, jacob, Moses, and David.

God had bound Himself to the Israelites and ruled over them.

The Gentiles were excluded from this covenant and kingdom.

They had no hope and were without God

Even though God had planned and promised to include them one day, they didn’t know it.

So they had no hope.

They were without God

Even though God had always revealed Himself to all mankind in nature, Gentiles had suppressed the truth they knew in their hearts and turned to idolatry.

This was the state of the Gentile before Christ.

“they were cut off from the Messiah, from the theocracy and the covenants, from hope, and from God himself.

William Hendriksen summarized it as such: they were “Christless, stateless, friendless, hopeless, and Godless.”

If you’re listening right now, and haven’t accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, this is you.

You don’t have Jesus, you’re not a citizen of the chosen people, because of it, the covenants aren’t applicable to you.

Without His promises or His gift (Jesus), there is no hope.