PENTECOST 8 – July 18, 2021 – Eph. 2:11-22
“CHRIST OUR PEACE”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Ephesians 2. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- When we read the Old Testament accounts, it can actually be depressing. It is a history of what the Apostle Paul refers to as “the commonwealth of Israel.” Of course, he is referring to something that the vast majority of the children of Israel rejected – the covenants of promise. They instead chose idolatry and immorality.
- Last week’s Old Testament Lesson, from the book of Ezekiel, contains an apt conclusion regarding the children of Israel:
“The Lord said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn.”
- Ezekiel, you recall, was a prophet to the people of Israel during their captivity in Babylon – when there was no longer any nation of Israel! And yet all of this, the loss of Solomon’s temple, the loss of the nation, the loss of Jerusalem – none of it changed the basic rebellion of the people of Israel. All of this is simply remarkable!
- All that God wanted for them was for them to keep the covenants of promise, to repent of their sin, to live in His forgiveness and love, whereby His image might be restored within them through their faith in Him. The vast majority refused this.
- Of course, those outside of Israel had little chance to participate in this renewing and saving love of God – especially when the rebellious and unbelieving children of Israel would not have any interest in sharing with others what they had already rejected.
- Those outside of Israel are also referred to by the Apostle Paul in our text, “the uncircumcision,” the Gentiles. That is us – we are the Gentiles. And he also refers to a “dividing wall of hostility” that exists between the “commonwealth of Israel” and those who are “afar off.” But the message of our text is that in Christ this hostility is destroyed, that “CHRIST IS OUR PEACE.” He makes peace for us with God, but also peace between us.
- Those willing to live in this covenant of promise and in this peace are greatly blessed. And this is God’s will for each of us. But first we take time to remember that:
I. By Nature We Also Are Strangers To God And Hostile To His People
Text: “Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh . . . were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise.”
Statement: What is the source of the hostility that Paul is referencing? It is the “law of commandments and ordinances.” Those laws made the people of Israel standoffish, arrogant, condescending, judgmental. This created hostility back toward the people of Israel, the sinful flesh also rejecting the grace of God and the Word of God, creating constant conflict. It it an utterly unresolvable conflict apart from God’s grace in Christ Jesus.
Application: And for those who do live in this new peace with God, there is also peace with one another – knowing that the law does not govern our relationships with one another but rather the gracious love and mercy of God. Hopefully, all within the church are true believers in Christ. If so, then there will be this peace even if there are disagreements. However, sinful nature often drives us back to a state of hostility with others. But that sorry state separates us not only from the “commonwealth of Israel” but also from God Himself. This is contrary to the mission of Christ, for:
II. Christ Came To Be Our Peace
A. He Has Taken Down The Law As The Means Of Man’s Righteousness And Man Achieving Peace With God
Text: “Now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, Who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances.”
B. He Has Now Reconciled Us To God – By His Blood, Killing The Hostility
Text: “He abolished the law of commandments and ordinances so that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”
C. In This Same Way He Has Made Peace Within His Church, Reconciling Us To One Another
Text: “So that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and that He might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. . . . He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
Statement: Sadly, this was exactly what the ancient children of Israel rejected – refusing God’s gracious reconciliation through His forgiveness and mercy, and instead perverting the commandments and ordinances into a pathway for self-righteousness. But it separated them from one another and from all other peoples. And it fooled no one. The nation became as corrupt and perverted as their neighbors – even though they kept up a facade of being “more righteous.”
Application: The same principles can erupt from our sinful nature as well, and we see it when people separate from the church. Their attitude is always the same – “the church is too evil for us,” or “the church is too lowly for us.” They think they are taking the high road when it fact they have crashed down into the ditch of “hostility” which Christ came to abolish. Sadly, this behavior likewise fools no one, except perhaps those who do not understand the principle of “CHRIST OUR PEACE.”
Transition: But regardless of the conflict Christ causes with worldly and unbelieving people:
III. Even Now Christ Has Made Us Citizens And Members Of God’s Household
A. Our Foundation Is Now The Prophets And Apostles, The Holy Scripture
Text: “You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.”
B. Of Course, Jesus Is The Cornerstone, The Most Important Part Of The Church
Text: “Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.”
C. So We Have Now Become Part Of God’s Temple – In Which He Dwells
Text: “In Him the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Statement: This is the beautiful new reality and creation of God in Christ Jesus, within the church. This is what we are privileged and blessed to be part of – if willing to receive reconciliation from God and an end to hostility based on law. If we are not willing, we are going back to being “afar off” and “alienated” from the covenants of promise.
Application: How it is that the children of Israel would have rejected this – at least for the most part, for the “nation of rebels whose descendants were impudent and stubborn,” is hard to fathom – until we look at our own sinful hearts, and our own willingness to exercise hostility and alienation. And this is cause for constant repentance and humility. And it is this relationship with Christ that brings us back near to God – for His blood cleanses us from all sin. And it is this gracious love of God that abolishes hostility and brings us “CHRIST OUR PEACE.”
Conclusion: What was written in the past, regarding the history of Israel, was written for our learning, both as a warning and as an encouragement to faith in Christ.
It may be depressing and discouraging to read about and meditate on, but our hope is not in our own performance but in what Christ has done for us. So our foundation, the prophets and apostles, the Holy Scripture, continues to direct our hearts and minds into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.
This alone brings us peace with God and the hope of peace with one another. God graciously grant it to us all, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.