Ephesians 2:19-22 - The Church
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Introduction
Introduction
So far in Ephesians, the Apostle Paul, carried along by the Holy Spirit of God, has…
…celebrated the blessings of redemption in Jesus Christ (1:3-14)…
…told the Ephesians how he thanked God for their faith in Jesus Christ and hoped to see it grow (1:15-23)…
…unpacked the grace of in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2:1-10)…
…and the, beginning with Ephesians 2:11, he started to expound on the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles as both groups were reconciled to God through the cross of Jesus Christ (2:11ff).
As Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:13-16…
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
In Christ, we are no longer Jews and Gentiles; we are Christians.
In Christ, we are no longer the circumcised and uncircumcised; we are the church.
And this is what Paul described in Ephesians 2:19-22.
[READING - Ephesians 2:19-22]
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
[PRAYER]
[ILLUS] I read this past week about a Turkish man who was reported missing. He didn’t return home after a night out with friends, and when the friends were questioned, they said they lost track of him when he wandered off into a forest. The man’s concerned family called the authorities and a search party was quickly formed to search the area of the forest where the man went missing.
One local man—a drunken construction worker—stumbled upon the search party and decided to join the search. He and the rest of the searches combed the woods for several hours when he someone shout, “Beyhan!” which was his name.
He then realized that he had joined his own search party was looking for himself!
After giving a statement to police, Beyhan was driven home to his confused but grateful family.
According to the article, a similar incident took place in Iceland in 2012.
An Asian tourist was reported missing but was found among her own search party after she failed to recognize the description of herself.
Those are humorous stories but not so humorous is the drunken confusion that has engulfed the church today.
Drunk on secular pragmatism, the church has forgotten the power of prayer.
Drunk on charismatic enthusiasm, the church has forgotten the chief marks of true Christianity are faith in Jesus and endurance therein.
Drunk on worldly ambition, the church has forgotten that her one mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ to the glory of God.
Drunk on casual Christianity, the church has forgotten the call of Christ to pursue holiness because He, our Lord, is holy.
Drunk on a glut of entertainment, the church has lost its appetite for the Word of God.
Like ol’ drunken Beyhan wandering through the woods looking for himself, the church today is out stumbling through the world looking for itself…
…but I wander if the church today would recognize the description of itself recorded in Ephesians 2:19-22.
[TS] Ephesians 2:19-22 doesn’t tell us everything about the church but it does tell us about the church’s congregation, Christ, construction.
Let’s look first at the church’s congregation.
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
#1: The Church’s Congregation (Eph. 2:19)
#1: The Church’s Congregation (Eph. 2:19)
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
[EXP] The congregation of the church is composed of only those who have believed on Jesus Christ for salvation.
We have admitted our sin against God.
We have acknowledged that we deserve to die for sinning against the Author of Life.
We have gratefully recognized that God sent His Son, Jesus, to die the death we deserved, the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
We rejoice that God raised Him from the dead, proof positive that Jesus defeated the curse of sin and death and that we now stand before God forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled in Him.
If we believe this, we are apart of the church!
No matter who we were, we have been reconciled to God through the cross!
No matter who we were, we have been reconciled to one another!
We are no longer strangers and aliens.
<NO LONGER STRANGERS AND ALIENS>
Christians are strangers and aliens in the world, but we are no longer strangers and aliens in relation to one another.
We are no longer unknown to one another and no longer alienated from one another.
We have been irrevocably brought together in Christ.
We are fellow citizens.
<FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS>
Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. In Philippians 3:20, Paul wrote…
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
Previously, Paul said that at one time Gentiles were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel (Eph. 2:12)—or as the CSB puts it, they were excluded from “the citizenship of Israel”—but now we are all citizens of that commonwealth, that kingdom in Jesus Christ.
This means that we are bound to the same King—King Jesus!
We are under the same law—the Law of Christ!
We share common privileges—the riches of God’s grace in Jesus Christ!
We have a common responsibility—to walk in a manner worthy of Christ!
But we aren’t just citizens of the same kingdom, we are members of the same family.
We are members of God’s household.
<GOD’S HOUSEHOLD>
To be apart of the same kingdom is one thing, but to be a part of the same household is more intimate.
In God’s house we are more than fellow citizens, we are brothers and sisters. And Jesus, our faithful older brother, is over the house. And the trademark of this family—our family is that we hold our confidence and hope in Him firm until the end. Hebrews 3:6 says…
6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
[ILLUS] When I was a little boy, about 8 or 9 I guess, some other little boys in the neighborhood wanted to fight me. (Can you believe that? As personable and friendly as I am?)
Anyway, they stood on the street and called me outside. After taunting me and trying to get me to come into the street, (which I refused to do because Mama didn’t raise no fool), my sister, Trisha, decided to let those boys in the street know who they were messing with—at least in her mind—she shouted at them, “My brother knows karate. He’s really good at it.”
Now, here’s the thing. I didn’t know karate. And because I didn’t know it, I wasn’t very good at it!
Eventually, the boys who wanted to fight went away, and Trisha and I went back inside to learn more karate from the G.I. Joe cartoon.
[APP] But Trisha’s confidence in her older brother was misplaced, but in the family of God, the confidence we have in our older brother, Jesus, is never misplaced.
We are not faithful, but our Brother is!
We are not holy, but our Brother is!
We are not perfect, but our Brother is!
All that we are not, our older Brother is!
Oh, what a wonder it is to have a King like Jesus as citizens in the Kingdom of God!
Oh, what a further wonder it is to have that King as our older Brother in the family of God!
[TS] That’s the church’s congregation—those brought together through Christ as citizens of the Kingdom and brothers and sisters in the household of God.
Now, let’s look at the church’s Christ…
#2: The Church’s Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20)
#2: The Church’s Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20)
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
[EXP] In this verse we want to notice the cornerstone and the foundation of which it was apart.
<JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CORNERSTONE>
The cornerstone was the key piece of the foundation. It set the building’s angle and became the standard from which all other lines for walls and arches were drawn.
If the cornerstone was right, the building would be right.
This was why the cornerstone was the building’s most important stone.
This was why the cornerstone was the building’s most trusted stone.
This was why the cornerstone was the building’s most precious stone.
This was why the cornerstone was the building’s most carefully chosen stone.
God said through His prophet Isaiah…
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
But not everyone would believe in this stone. Some would reject it. So Psalm 118:22 says…
22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.
Jesus referred to Himself as the fulfillment of those prophecies. After telling a parable about being rejected by the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus said to them in Matthew 21:42…
42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Of course they had read it; they just didn’t want to believe it.
Although He was rejected by the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus was chosen by God as the cornerstone of His temple, the church.
[APP] Many churches use a bent standard to determine what they believe and what they do. A misshapen cornerstone has made their structure deformed and unstable.
Instead of asking if what they believe and do lines up with what Jesus has said in His Word, they instead ask…
“What is popular right now? Let’s believe that! Let’s do that!”
“What will increase our brand? How can we get some click online? Let’s believe that! Let’s do that!”
“What do our people want to do? What would make them happy? Let’s believe that! Let’s do that!”
Instead of lining up with what’s trending, what’ll get us more likes, or even with what our own people want, our only question should be, “What lines up with Christ the cornerstone? Let’s believe what lines up with His Word! Let’s do what lines up with His Word!”
Let’s build upon Him as the foundation for everything we believe and do.
<FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS>
The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ—His perfect life, His sacrificial death, His triumphant resurrection from the dead, His ascension to the Father’s right hand, and His promised return. First Corinthians 3:11 says…
11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
But wait, if Jesus is the foundation, how can Paul say here in Ephesians 2:20 that the apostles and prophets are the foundation?
Well… because they are.
The early church had apostles and prophets and these served as the foundation for the church as they preached Jesus Christ perfect, crucified, resurrected, reigning, and returning.
It was their Gospel message—the good news of God’s grace in Jesus—that was, still is, and always will be the foundation of the church.
[ILLUS] The strength and durability of a building lies in the quality of its foundation. Homeowners with foundation problems have real problems, and sometimes they have to call in a foundation repair specialist.
He comes in, inspects the problem, and provides a solution.
For the church, Jesus is the foundation repair specialist.
He knows the problem—not enough Him! Not enough Jesus!
And He knows the solution—as He said in reference to Himself when Peter confessed Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God—He said, “And on this rock (or on this foundation), I will build my church.”
Everything we do must be built upon that confessed reality—Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
[TS] One final key aspect of the church as described here…
#3: The Church’s Construction (Eph. 2:21-22)
#3: The Church’s Construction (Eph. 2:21-22)
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
[EXP] Here we want to notice where the church is built, how it is built, and why it is built.
Notice that phrase at the beginning of v. 21, “in whom the whole building”.
<IN WHOM THE WHOLE BUILDING>
The church is being built in Jesus Christ.
It is being built by the work He did in His death and resurrection.
It is being through faith in Him.
It is being built for His glory.
Speaking of creation, Colossians 1:16 says of Jesus…
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
All things have been created through Him and for Him—that includes the church.
That’s where the church is built—in Jesus—but notice how the church is being built.
<BEING FITTED TOGETHER>
The church isn’t just being thrown together. It is being carefully constructed, carefully fitted together.
The word for ‘being fitted together’ means to render close-jointed together or to fitly frame together.
There’s an intricacy to this work, a care, a precision.
When the psalmist talked about God forming him in the womb of his mother, He said in Psalm 139:13-14…
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
That’s the kind of careful construction taking place in the church.
We are being knit together in Jesus.
[ILLUS] Every once and awhile, a certain little boy will get a new Lego set. It’ll probably be something related to the Avengers or Jurassic Park or Star Wars. He’ll carefully open the box, separate the packs of Legos, open the instructions and begin to build carefully. After a few hours, the project will be complete.
Each piece will be in its place, all the pieces fitted together just right so the final project is just right.
[APP] That’s what Jesus is doing with the church.
Every Christian is a saint fitted into the church at just the right place in just the right way, so that the church is designed just the way God wants it.
I do hope you realize that you are not just part of the church.
If you are in Christ, you are key piece, an integral part of the church.
But notice why the church is being built.
<IS GROWING INTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD>
The church is being built into a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The church is being built as a holy dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
When we think of church growth, we tend to think of bigger buildings, bigger budgets, and bigger um… well, more people!
But the kind of growth that Paul is talking about in these verses is growth in holiness.
If the church is being built to being a dwelling place of God in the Holy Spirit, it should be growing in holiness.
One of the results of knowing Holy Jesus through the Holy Spirit is that we grow in holiness.
[APP] Every individual Christian is a temple, a dwelling place of God in the Holy Spirit. Connecting this reality to a call for holiness, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20…
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
This glorifying God, this holiness for the church or the individual Christian is not a drudgery but a delight.
I know that some people say there’s a difference between joy and happiness but if joy doesn’t bring a smile to your face, is it really joy?
I don’t think true holiness feels like self-inflicted torture; I think it feels like happiness!
People who are growing in holiness are not growing in bitter discontent, mourning all that they are missing out on. No, they are growing in true joy, true happiness.
Not only is this holiness in the church and the individual Christian life a growth in happiness, it is also a growth in humility.
If the church is growing in holiness, it is becoming increasingly more humble before God and before one another.
That we would humbly put the interests of others ahead our own in the church is a sign that we are growing in holiness.
God interests first.
The interests of others second.
Our interests last.
That’s growth in humble holiness.
Wouldn’t you say that the church needs to grow in these things? Wouldn’t you say that you need to grow in these things?
Wouldn’t you say that the church and the individual Christians within it need to grow in happiness?
Wouldn’t you say that the church and the individual Christians within it need to grow in humility?
Well, this is why God is growing His church in holiness.
[TS] …
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, “I will build My church.” He will build how He desires and for His own purposes. It may not seem as if the church is always growing, but rest assured—it always is.
[ILLUS] When Solomon was building the temple, we are told in 1 Kings 6:7...
7 The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.
The construction was silent. It could’ve gone unnoticed; but the temple was still being built.
So it is with the church.
It may not seem like much is happening as the Holy Spirit continues to grow us as a people fitted together, a people growing into a holy temple in the Lord.
But consistently—and often silently—the Holy Spirit is working in us, changing us, forming us more and more into the church God designed.
And the church He designed—the church He describes here in His Word—is the only church we should want to be.