The Great Divide

Good Morning i am so glad that you are able to join us this morning and welcome to another week of church here at the Bridge. It is hard to believe that July is on the way out. It is amazing to me. It is also amazing because so much has happened in a years time. Now i want to address an issue that some people may not want to hear about but i think it is important that we talk about issues of the world.

The issue that i want to address this morning is the issue of hate that has become such a strong part of our world in this last year. Now this is an important distinction that i need to make very clear right now. We each come from our own perspectives and points of view over that last year. Some of us have allowed our political or personal opinion to over take our lives and how we interact with others. Now, this is not to say that we can’t have our own opinions about some of the things that have happened in the last year, however this is to say that many of has alienated and hurt others with our opinions.

I don’t want to address the way that we are shifting as a society in how we deal with others in our lives. If you take two minutes today you log on to the internet and you see the constant attack and divide in the world that we live in right now. I find it interesting that for some that this has extended into personal interactions as well. We have moved as a society that feels like it is on constant edge of just causing pain and discord as lines have been drawn in families, amongst friends. We have come to a point that we are dangerously close to allowing hate to be a part of our lives. We have created divides and building walls that are destroying our relationships. It is this issues that as Christians we can look to the scriptures to gain a healthy understanding of how we are to live as followers of Christ and the dangers that we have created.

Ephesians 2:11–22 NIV

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Jews v. Gentiles

One of the amazing things that we can see is that there are some parallels that we can see between us and the people that Paul was ministering to. The first major thing i want to point out is from v. 11

Ephesians 2:11 NIV

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—

The first word two words is a reminder that Paul is sharing with his audience to remember what he is sharing. For that we have to look at his last statement.

Ephesians 2:8–10 NIV

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This is the opening statement that Paul is reminding them in his letter to remember first what we are created for and who we are to be as Christians. This is important because it reminds us of the work of God’s grace in our lives and that is always something good to be reminded of when we are dealing with other people in the world. There is another thing that this also teaches us.

Remember is a reference to the Past

This is important because it makes us realize that we are not the same when we come to faith in Christ. It is in him that we find new identity. This reminds us that we coming to faith is a position of change in our lives.

This is also important because at the time Paul was dealing with issues within the church problems of Jewish people and Gentile People treating each other differently because of who they were. There was a growing problem within the church that plagued the early church. The “circumcised” viewed the “uncircumcised” as different or lesser. The created divides and problems within the church.

In fact to give some perspective the term Gentile was a term only really used by the Israelite people to distinguish people who weren’t Jewish. This wouldn’t have been a term used by Greeks or Romans. In many ways it almost became a term of exclusion. This was also often seen within the context of physical circumcision which is meaningless unless the heart has been circumcised or in other terms committed to God.

Yet, despite these problems this is Paul’s reminder to his audience that those are things of the past and that they needed to no longer be defined by who they were but who they had become. This was all possible though because of the Cross.

Ephesians 2:13–14 NIV

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

The Cross destroys the divide

The truth of the matter is that these barriers that we create and sometimes try to enforce are obliterated by the cross. The Jewish people tried to look down on the Gentiles because they didn’t belong to the original chosen people. Yet, we know that because of the cross that the whole world now has the chance to be brought near because of the work of Jesus. It is in him that we are able to gain access.

To help put some persepective on the challenges at the time that Paul was dealing with these were not just spiritual, or philosophical ideas but actual physical limitations that were being enforced upon people.

In the temple there was the Temple proper and the Gentile court. Written on the wall that divided these two places was a statement when translated basically said this.

“No one of another nation to enter within the fence and enclosure around the temple. And whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his death.”

Pretty strong warning that would keep people from being able to fully worship God. Yet, the cross removes that barrier for us. We find that we all have equal footing before Jesus and that we all have equal access to him because of what he did and the blood that he shed. He removed these limitations from the Law.

Ephesians 2:15 NIV

15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,

Now many would read this verse as the removal of the law but it is not a statment that is against the removal of all the law or our understanding of the Law. It is a statement that is about the removal of the regulations that kept the church divided between Gentile and Jew. This is important because we must always remember that while we don’t have to follow the law in the same way Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law he came to fullfill the law.

There is aonther point though that we have to look at because of this passage and that is that Jesus is the bringer of Peace.

Jesus the Peacemaker

Ephesians 2:17–18 NIV

17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Now I was studying this particular part of the passage and one challenge came up in the commentaries that i thought was an interesting point to address.

Matthew 10:34 NIV

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Now this passage might seem like a direct contradiction to what Paul is saying that Jesus is the bringer of peace. Yet, we need to understand the context of the Matthew passage

Matthew 10:35–38 NIV

35 For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

The truth is that our western view of family is much different than that of the culture in Jesus time. We value independence and individuality. Often many of us our families are about only our immediate members and while we care about our extended family we don’t have as high of value on them as this culture. This makes the challenges of belief and the damage and it can cause within a Jewish home as a serious issue because it is a reminder that following Jesus can be difficult for many as it may require a complete change in how they interact with loved ones who may not believe the same way. This is not a way of peace but it is a way of conflict.

Yet, within the family of God this is where we find that Jesus came to bring peace.

Ephesians 2:18 NIV

18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

This passage invokes reminders of the Body of Christ and the fact that we may all be different and that we may all come from different places but at the end of the day we all come together from one spirit. Jesus tears downs the things that separate us and binds us together through the fellowship of the one spirit. That mean yes, i can have things in common with my black brother and sisters, my Asian brothers and sisters, my Baptist, Methodist, Nazarene brothers and sisters as long as we confess the one Spirit and his role in our lives. We can find that commonality.

God and the Great Reconciliation

It is important to note that sometimes we will not always agree on everything perfectly. We may have different views but we need to be careful in allowing those views and opinions to not damage our commonality in the Spirit. There are many things that are not necessary for salvation that we hold up as so important that don’t allow the grace of God to work in our lives and recognize that we are all joined together in fellowship because of our belief in Jesus.

I bring this all up because so much of our world is viewed in a lens i spoke of earlier as one of hate. We don’t want to value others in our lives. We push them away because we have a disagreement on issues. We degrade and destroy and look down on others like the Jews did with the Gentiles. We have to be careful because we can not slip into the dangers of becoming like the pharisees and seeing everyone else as falling woe fully short. We must give grace and we must seek to build bridges not build walls within our world to gain a better understanding and bring peace within the church.

This is the example that was set forth for us by God with his son on the cross and we can not ignore that. It reminds us the power of what we can do together as believers.

Ephesians 2:21 NIV

21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

We can do this we can show the world that we don’t treat people with contempt and hatred but we work together to see God’s Kingdom grow and to spread the peace of the Gospel to the world and the love that God has for us.

Let us pray.