We’re One in Christ

Who are you? Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my memory.

But that’s a good question isn’t it?

Young people leave home to “go find themselves.”

I’ve literally heard women divorce their husbands because they said they were “lost” in the relationship, and didn’t really know who they were.

And as far as the Body of Christ, who are we?

Well, that’s exactly what the Apostle Paul deals with in Ephesians 2:19-22.

Paul has repeated the word “one” to emphasize the unifying work of Christ: “made both one” (Eph. 2:14); “one new man” (Eph. 2:15); “one body” (Eph. 2:16); “one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18).

All spiritual distance and division have been overcome by Christ. In the closing verses of this chapter, Paul gives three pictures that illustrate who we are in Christ. He stresses the unity of believing Jews and Gentiles in the church. And by extension all of us in the Body of Christ today.

We have every flavor of denomination and subset of Christianity in the world today. And we are more divided than ever.

And some are even proud of that separation and division. We’re proud of our orthodoxy. Because we believe we’re the only ones who are right about everything. What hubris.

If I claim to understand and have a firm grasp on the exact meaning of every word and passage in the Bible, I’m extremely naive. And yet we judge other churches and individuals based on our limited human understanding.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are many things in God’s Word that are unmistakable and teach one undeniable truth. For instance.

The deity of God. The deity of Jesus Christ. The virgin birth of Christ. God as Creator. The substitutionary, atoning death of Jesus being the full payment for our sin, salvation by grace through faith, the security of the believer, etc.

Some things in God’s Word we’ll never fully understand until we get to heaven.

What Paul is teaching us here is that regardless of our background, if we’re trusting Christ for our salvation and in the Body of Christ, we are one with everyone else who is trusting Christ for their salvation. Let’s look:

Ephesians 2:19–22 NKJV

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

These verses will show us that:

We’re One Nation (19a)

One Family (19b)

One Temple (20-22)

Let’s take it one at a time.

We’re One Nation (19a)

Ephesians 2:19 NKJV

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Israel was God’s chosen nation, but they rejected their Redeemer and suffered the consequences.

The kingdom was taken from them and given to “a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matt. 21:43).

This “new nation” is the church, “a chosen generation … a holy nation, a peculiar people” (Ex. 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9).

In the Old Testament, the nations were reckoned by their descent from Shem, Ham, or Japheth (Gen. 10).

In the Book of Acts, we see these three families united in Christ.

In Acts 8, a descendant of Ham is saved, the Ethiopian treasurer; in Acts 9, a descendant of Shem, Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul the apostle; and in Acts 10, the descendants of Japheth, the Gentiles in the household of the Roman soldier, Cornelius.

Sin has divided mankind, but Christ unites by His Spirit. All believers, regardless of national background, belong to that “holy nation” with citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20–21).

We may not look alike. We may not talk alike. But we might as well get used to it. We’re all in the family. We’ll cover that in the next point. And we’ll be living together throughout all eternity.

God’s got no room for racists and bigots when it comes to the family of God. You never know. That race or nationality you’re prejudiced against… God might just put you living together in a heavenly duplex for all eternity. And have you share a bathroom on top of it all. (Well, maybe not. We’ll all have glorified bodies so we probably won’t have to use the bathroom.)

So… we’re one nation.

We’re One Family (19b)

Ephesians 2:19 NKJV

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Through faith in Christ, we enter into God’s family, and God becomes our Father.

This wonderful family of God is found in two places, “in heaven and earth” (Eph. 3:15).

Living believers are on earth; believers who have died are in heaven.

None of God’s children are “under the earth” (Phil. 2:10) or in any other place in the universe.

We are all brothers and sisters in the one family, no matter what racial, national, or physical distinctions we may possess.

We’re One Temple (20-22)

In the Book of Genesis, God “walked” with His people (Gen. 5:22, 24; 6:9); but in Exodus, He decided to “dwell” with His people (Ex. 25:8). God dwelt in the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34–38) until Israel’s sins caused “the glory to depart” (1 Sam. 4).

Then God dwelt in the temple (1 Kings 8:1–11); but, again Israel sinned and the glory departed (Ezek. 10:18–19).

God’s next dwelling place was the body of Christ (John 1:14), which men took and nailed to a cross.

Today, through His Spirit, God dwells in the church His people, the temple of God. God doesn’t dwell in man-made temples, including church buildings (Acts 7:48–50). He dwells in the hearts of those who have trusted Christ (1 Cor. 6:19–20), and in the church collectively (Eph. 2:20–22).

The foundation for the church was laid by the Apostles and New Testament prophets. Jesus Christ is the Foundation (1 Cor. 3:11) and the Chief Cornerstone (Ps. 118:22; Isa. 8:14).

The cornerstone binds the structure together; Jesus Christ has united Jews and Gentiles in the church. This reference to the temple would be meaningful to both the Jews and the Gentiles in the Ephesian church: the Jews would think of Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, and the Gentiles would think of the great temple of Diana.

As you look back over this chapter, you cannot help but praise God for what He, in His grace, has done for sinners.

Through Christ, He has raised us from the dead and seated us on the throne. He has reconciled us and set us into His temple. Neither spiritual death nor spiritual distance can defeat the grace of God!

But He has not only saved us individually, He has also made us a part of His church collectively. What a tremendous privilege it is to be a part of God’s eternal program!

This leads to two practical applications as we close this study.

First, have you personally experienced the grace of God? Are you spiritually dead? Are you distant from God?

Or have you trusted Christ and received that eternal life that only He can give? If you are not sure of your spiritual position, I urge you to turn to Christ by faith and trust Him.

Call on Christ—He will save you.

Second, if you are a true believer in Christ, are you helping others to trust Him? You have been raised from the dead—do you “walk in newness of life”? (Rom. 6:4) Do you share this Good News of eternal life with others? You are no longer at enmity with God, but are you spreading the Good News of “peace with God” with those who are still fighting Him?

Jesus Christ died to make reconciliation possible. You and I must live to make the message of reconciliation personal. God has “given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18).

We are His ambassadors of peace (2 Cor. 5:20). Our feet should be shod “with the preparation of the Gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matt. 5:9).

A missionary was preaching in the village market, and some of the people were laughing at him because he was not a very handsome man.

He took it for a time, and then he said to the crowd, “It is true that I do not have beautiful hair, for I am almost bald.

Nor do I have beautiful teeth, for they are really not mine; they were made by the dentist.

I do not have a beautiful face, nor can I afford to wear beautiful clothes.

But this I know: I have beautiful feet!” And he quoted the verse from Isaiah: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace” (Isa. 52:7).

Do you have beautiful feet?