One in Christ

Understandin the peace in our moden world

It’s great to see everyone of you.

St Albans is a lovely city to live in. In general, people are very friendly.

If you’re not born in St Albans, I’m sure many are us moving to this city because we want to live in peace and harmony. It’s a social relational thing and it’s a positive thing.

We have many opportunity to interact with our neighbors. In Hong Kong, it’s different, most of us are living in apartments. We’re very close to other flats so nobody disturbs others. We’re at peace with neighbors because we don’t know each others. When I was in Hong Kong, I was at peace with my neighbors too because I’ve never knocked on neighbors door. We’re living at peace in the vertical village because we don’t know anybody too much.

Some Hong Kong people when they first arrived UK, they will ask me some questions regarding the British culture. They thought I’m very familiar with, but actually I’m not. One of the same questions different people repeatly asked me is:

Is it lawless to share gospel with people in UK?

Of course, it’s not true. The freedom of religion is protected in UK. but should repect some professional ethnics and have the wisdom to share our faith.

When I tried to know more why they have this kind of question, they said many British Christian friends they encountered in UK, including their colleague, neighbors, English class teacher, even a Church member (not Spicer Street Church), told them don’t share gospel with their people in UK.

It seems that sometimes in our society,

In order to have the peace, we nelgore the differences. We’re afraid to be different. Of course, some of the social divisions are difficult to be overcome.

Solving the hostility between Jew and Gentiles

In the Bible today, we’re seen there’s a division between Jew and Gentiles.

Israel was chosen to be God’s people, but to be his people they had to live his way not their way. His way was spelled out in the law and the covenant. A covenant remember is a formal agreement that’s a contract God made a covenant with this people: I will be your God and you will be my people.

The dividing wall

But the division between the Israel and the Gentiles was symbolized most clearly in the wall of hostility as he describles it there in verse 14 of chapter 2.

It’s a metaphoric description for people who seek to live by moral laws will always enter into hostility with the world around about them the lawless will call them killjoys and in turn they look down on the lawless as degenerates and scum. But there was also a wall in the temple referred to verse 14

it is the dividing wall of hostility. The temple was not an enclosed building like this building. it was a series of courtyards. big rectangular courtyards one inside the next inside the next and so you come in the courts to the very central court which is the Holy of Holies to which only one man could go once a year that was the high priest so as to represent people and ask for the forgiveness of sins on the day of atonement and each of the courts were an exclusion zone that people cannot come in as you entered each court the law became increaingly selective as to who may enter until you got to that final one

Where not even the priests could enter

not even the high priest could enter except that one day of the year.

now the outer courtyard was the court of the Gentiles the court of the nations for God’s house was to be a house of prayer for all nations.

But if the Gentile ever was tempted to walk into the next courtyard there was a big wall and at every opening of the wall

there was a big sign (according to a Jewish Historian Josephsus) the sign some written in Latin some written in Greek which read :

“No man 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 than his shoes.”

that is not what you say is all welcome that hangs outside most church buildings.

Indeed it’s so much part of our Christian understanding that we take for granted the phrase all welcome. We thought it could be a cliche to say welcome.

But it’s a dramatic difference from the temple of Israel. The big sign on the wall was not only saying not welcoming, but in fact it said death to the intruder. This represents the hostility between the Jew and the Gentiles.

between God’s people and his enemies

between those who are under the law and those who are outside of the law

between those who could approach God and those who are kept their distance from God.

On the other hand, what’s the situation of Gentiles said the scripture? verse 12:

They were

separated from Christ

excluded from citizenship in Israel

foreigners to the covenants of the promise

without hope

without God in the world

But even in the Old testament, God didn’t want to isolate the Gentiles. He wants the Jewish can be a witness to the world and bring the good news to the Gentiles.

In Isaiah 49:6 , it says

‘the covenant Lord says to His Servant, His Messiah, “I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

The purpose of God to selecting as his people is to be a blessing to the world and share the good news of the salvation in Messiah.

However, the Jew did not follow God’s will and became obsessively proud of their God-given, grace-given privileges and looked down on the Gentiles.

The identity of Christian Unity

Well enough of the divisions let’s see what God has done in Christ Jesus.

V13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

V17 He came and preached preace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

The imagery is that of a temple of being able to draw near to God but the temple is the imagery of fellowship and relationship with God. There was a wall between Jew and Gentiles. But now we have been brought near and that is how we’ve been brought near it is the blood of the Christ.

When you study the topic about blood in the bible, you will see the meaning of blood is related to death, violent death, sacrifical death.

The Isralite temple worshipper couldn’t come in to the presence of God without sacrifice, without bloodshed so it is by the sacrifice of Christ by his blood that we Gentiles can now draw near to the presence of God.

verse 14-16

For Christ himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Just the division is twofold

the peace is twofold

this is the peace different from the world

that is true peace making harmony between people by making harmony with God.

The basis of the peace between humans is the common peace that is made between God and humanity

but this happens by reconciling the two parties to the one God the Jew and the Gentile both reconciled to the one God in the same fashion.

How does he do it but by his sarifice for their sins.

He died for the sins of the Jews

he died for the sins of Gentiles because

he died for the sins of everybody

so everybody is reconciled to the one God in the same way through the cross of Jesus

and by his sacrifice he abolished all the law and all commandments and all the regulations that used to divide the Jew from the Gentile

so the dividing wall is pull down and destroyed

now the Gentile can come into the very temple of God

now the Gentile can come into the very holy of Holy’s and the Jew can come into the very holy of Holy’s as well.

Do you remember what happend when Jesus died?

The curtain of the tempe was ripped from top to bottom the curtain that kept us out of the Holy of Holies his death opened up to us the very presence of God.

so in one body his body the church,we both together have access to God.

Verse17

he came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

In the New testiment, Jesus is the evangist who preaced the gospel throughout the world as he preaches the gospel throughout the world today.

The apostles were preaching the gospel by the power of the Spirit of Christ.

Remenber the first words that Jesus the resurrected Christ said to his disciples in John’s gospel when they gathered in the upper room was PEACE be with you. After the bloody crucifixion and the terror of the last few days that they had endured.

Jesus words of peace carried a new meaning.

For now they could have peace with God and

with that peace they can start working and having peace with one another for we both come into the presence of God on the same basis and the same way as forgiving sinners whose Lord has died for them.

In church, some of us could be wealthy people, some of us could be less wealthy people,

some of us have many university degrees, some of us didn’t go to university,

many of us have English as their first language and some of us have all kinds of other languages as mother tongue.

some of us like liverpool and some of us like manchester united.

There’s all kinds of differences amongst us tall short.

but if you come in the name of Christ Jesus there is absolutely no difference between us.

We are beggers seeking forgiveness on the same basis. Mainly the gracious work of God in the sacrifice of his son for us.

now there can be no real distinction between us because we come in on this basis we are one in Christ Jesus.

We are one but different, we are different but one.

The only basis we can come into his body is through his sacrific for us and so in making reconciliation between us and God he opens reconciliaton between us as well.

Volvo Church?

I remember one Hong Kong famous speaker shared with me. Once he was invited by a Chruch in the united states to be thier keynote speaker in their Christian camp for a week. The Church will provide everything for him: the return airline ticket, the acoommodation and good speaker fee. It seems it’s a lovely invitation. Before making the decision, he tried to know more about the church. And he heard that the church got another nick name: it’s called Volvo church. Yes it’s a brand name of a car company. At first he thought maybe most of the people are working for the car company so people call them Volvo church. Then he contacted the church and asked. The people in that church said to him. Oh every family of our church are driving Volvo cars so this has been the identity of our church. After knowing this, the speaker was a bit angry and rejected the offer. You know what. If everyone is driving the same brand of car, the church will exclude the people who are not driving Volvo.

v18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

In the body of Christ Jesus, you and I whoever we are if we come as the forgiven sinners through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ have direct equal access to the heavenly Father.

Even the smallest, youngest, tiniest Christian amongst us has the same access.

Also, we’re one in Christ. God also gives us new identity, In Christ, we are no longer foreigner, no longer aliens.

Becoming Citizens in God

v19

‘Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.

Remember verse 12 said without God,

we were all refugees, stateless, homeless, foreigners and excluded from the living hope, we now we’re fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s family.

For those of us who have always had citizenship, we don’t value it very much.

But once you lost your citizenship, you can’t go back to your home country, it’s another story.

A couple of years ago, there were many people from Syria, from Afghanistan, from Iraq, moving to the Greece. Millions people were stucked in there and waiting for a visa going to other western countries.

At that time, my Hong Kong church organised a missionary trip to the Greece, visiting different families and serving them.

On of the serving stations we were participated, is a local church opening their Sunday service for the foreigners and setting up some English classes to help them prepare moving to other countries.

The local church liked our team because we were not only the voluntaers in the English classes but also willing to clear up the kitchen and toliet for them.

Most of them are non Christian. After leaving their countries, they’re opened up their hearts to know Christian faith without fear of facing any religious persecuation.

There was an impressive moment. When I talked with some Syrian in the church, one of their friends suddently came to them and anounced a good news: My visa to live in Germany was finally approaved after waiting for 3 years. I can still remember how joyful he was. He was telling this news to us with a very big smile. It could be a life changing moment for him to be accepted and have a permanent identity, no longer a homeless person.

Conclusion

Brothe and sisters, for Christ himself is our peace.

For us, we have the citizenship in God.

Even though you’re already Christian for many years , don’t take it for granted of our citizenship in Christ. Jesus Christ paid the price with his sacrifice so we can be saved from our transgression. It’s a peace that the world cannot give.

If you’re not yet a Christian, you can’t and don’t need to earn the citizenship in God. He has invited you to receive it. The only thing you need to react is to believe in Him and trust that He is your God willing to forgive you and accept you.

On the another hand, maybe we’re living in a relatively wealthy society, it seems many people are enjoying their holidays in every week and can have a good life without God. However, spirtually they still need to be reconciled with God. They still need to have a spirtual home in their heart. They still need Jesus. For Christ himself is our true peace. Don’t be ashemed of sharing the good news with your friends.

In God’s household, if we really believe we’re one in Christ, we should reconcile to each other because we’re forgiven and reconciled by God first. God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him. By grace we have been saved through faith. Paul didn’t ask Gentiles to be Jew, ask Jew to be Gentiles. We don’t need to be Jew to be the member of God’s family. We’re built on foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ himself as the chief cornerstone.

We’re one but differernt, we’re different but one.

For Christ himself is our peace, we’re no longer foreigers, homeless or Gentiles, but a family, a household in God.

God had called us to be a light to the world.

All nations can be the new community in Christ

Let’s us not be ashemed of the gospel and appreciated we’re one in Christ.

Let’s pray

Dear heavenly Father, we thank you that you creat us to be different, but we all can be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. We pray that you can give us wisdom, courage and opportunity to share your good news with others. And our church can be a blessing to the world, showing your glory with the presence of the Holy Spirt.

We pray this in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.