Visionaries pt3

So we started this series with the vision statement and last week we talked about authenticity. So it is fitting that this week we talk about family.

The old saying goes- you can choose your friends, but family you are stuck with. That is true in a biological family, but it is even more true in Christianity. Let’s be honest. We are going to be gathering with people in heaven who were hard to take on earth.

Despite the attempts by many in our day and time to narrow the parameters of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, the standard Jesus set has never changed. You trust Him, and you are a part of the family.

There are lot of passages in the NT that talk about this truth, but none more vivid than Ephesians 2. And that is where I want to camp today.

(Ephesians 2:11-22)

WE SEEK TO EMBRACE OUR ADOPTION INTO GOD'S FAMILY AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS AS FAMILY.

Let’s start with a reality that is hard for some people. When you trust Jesus as your Savior, you are in God’s family. Period.

A lot of people wrestle with this reality, because of their past or even present struggles. But Paul makes it clear in this passage, Jesus came to bring you near, not to push you away.

v11-12- no one could have been further away from Jesus in the eyes of many than the Gentiles- pagans by birth and by practice

Ephesians The Need for Reconciliation (2:11–12)

Gentile unbelievers, on the other hand, were two steps away from salvation: not only did they lack the blessings “in Christ” described in chapter 1, but they also stood outside of the context (Judaism) in which Christ had brought salvation. This passage teaches not that Gentiles should come to Christ by way of Judaism and circumcision, but that they had to be reconciled to Christ along with believing Jews.

v13- BUT- they are brought near BY Jesus. He seeks them out, not that they went looking for Him, but that He went looking for them.

When we find ourselves in the family of God, it is not by chance but by INTENTION! (discuss Livy’s adoption)- we intentionally made the decision to adopt)

And even more, Jesus made it happen- look at verse 14- who does the breaking down? Jesus does! by His Body He is the LITERAL embodiment of peace, in the same way He is the embodiment of love. The statement is intentional- Jesus literally makes peace thru Himself for us! (Gospel presentation here) (thru v 16)

Ephesians Jesus Himself Is Our Peace, Removing the Dividing Effect of the Law (2:14–15)

We might have expected to read of peace as an objective that Jesus accomplished, as in verse 15, thus making peace, or as the content of the gospel, as in verse 17, he preached peace. But here it is a description of Christ himself, somewhat similar to the familiar “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16). The next statement shows that this vivid concept that Jesus embodies peace is no mere rhetoric: unity between believing Jews and Gentiles was achieved in his flesh

English Standard Version (Chapter 2)

that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace

Jesus literally creates a new “race” - a 3rd race- neither Jew nor Gentile but Christian- in essence Paul was saying that Jesus ended the divide by bringing all together as one Body- thru His Body!

v17-18- he not only comes to forgive us, but to make peace between us and God and to give us ACCESS to God (talk about the child being able to go to the parent…what is that supposed to look like!- Livy and I having dinner)

Ephesians Jews and Gentiles Have Open Access to the Father (2:17–18)

The ultimate goal of reconciliation is access to God the Father. The term for access occurs also in 3:12, a prayer where Paul relates it to boldness, confidence and faith in Christ. In Romans 5:2 Paul also links access with faith, in association with justification and peace. To come openly to God is in strong contrast to the previous situation of the Gentiles, when they were far away.

And then here is the money verse- “members of the household of God” v19

Ephesians The Result of Reconciliation (2:19–22)

a family relationship with other believers (members of the household of God). Paul uses a play on words in which the word for foreigner (paroikoi) is contrasted with oikeioi, “household members.”

What are the benefits of being members of the household?

access to the Father

protection from the Father

seat at the Father’s table

promise of the Father’s inheritance

and what sustains your place in the House? Jesus- the cornerstone, the elder brother, the sacrificial lamb

He places us in the house and then uses us to build the House- literally being joined together as a place of worship and welcome to a lost and dying world.

And as a result of your adoption, you have the Spirit- so what does that mean? You have the calling and the ability to invite others to the table!

What if we engaged our neighbors- in the biblica sense- as potential members of the family?

Hoe did Jesus treat us?

loved us before we came

sought us out

offered us grace

invited us to come and see

What has to change for us to live life this way?