“Members of God’s Household” Ephesians 2:11-22

If you watch war movies, like I enjoy doing, one of the story lines involved in almost every war movie is the camaraderie of the men in a unit of soldiers. In most of the movies, they come from divergent parts of the country, with different beliefs and religious practices. There is nothing that should unite these men, but we see as they go through training and war that a bond, a brotherhood, develops among the men. This bond lasts long after the last bullet has been fired, long after they have returned to their homes and to the lives they knew before thrown into the horrors of combat.

Among the church, there is a like bond of divergent people and ideas. People from all over the world every day of the year come to know Christ. Out of that diversity of people a new bond is found, a new family, a new sense of belonging and purpose.

And all of this is because God the Father is working in us and through us, saving us by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, and sending His Holy Spirit to live in us and among us. That’s what today’s passage speaks of so clearly.

Background

When Paul wrote Ephesians, he had in mind the message that all things become united in Christ. Toward that end, Paul has written how God is worthy of praise because He chose us for the praise and glory of Christ. He wrote that we are made alive in Christ and includes in 2:8-10 the declarative statement that all of this was brought about as a result of God’s wondrous grace. There is nothing in our relationship with God that we have done to make this relationship possible. The reason God chose us and saved us through His Son is, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (2:10).

We now come to this passage that speaks of how God makes us one in Christ. As he has written from the beginning of the letter through now, all that has happened has been as a result of God reaching out to us in love and mercy and grace. There is nothing we can hang our hat on and say, “This is what I have done.” All glory and praise goes to the Father.

Central Truth: God’s grace and mercy brings us near to Christ by one Spirit, making us members of God’s household.

God’s actions:

Bring us near to Christ (11-13)

Paul is writing to a predominantly Gentile congregation, and he wants them to remember what they were before coming to Christ.

It’s an interesting thing in our world that we naturally divide ourselves. There are Americans and non-Americans. There are Texans and non-Texans. We even divide ourselves according to towns, schools, sports teams, even which cola you prefer. We use this division to declare how much better we are than those who are not. The “us” is better than “them.”

Paul writes to the Gentiles to remember how they were at one time defined by the Jews. They were referred to as “uncircumcised,” that they 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” (v.12). Now, though, God’s grace has transformed them and all that separated them. “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (v.13).

I’ve not been to a lot of concerts in my life, and when I go, I usually don’t have the best of seats. Usually, the best way to see the artist on stage was to watch the large TV screen hanging over the stage. It’s like going to a Dallas Cowboys’ game. The best way to see the action is to not watch the game, but watch the screen hanging over the field.

Imagine what it must be like to be so close to the artist or the players that we didn’t have to rely on watching it on TV, even though we’re there at the live event. To see and hear the singer up close. Even better would be to be able to go back stage and talk with the singer, or go into the locker room with the players after the game. Imagine if, after the concert or game, the artist or a key player seeks us and engages us one-on-one, treating us as if we are best friends, genuinely glad to see us.

That’s what Paul is talking about here, only so much better. To refer to the analogy, the people to whom Paul is writing were unable to get a ticket to the event. They were not even in the stadium or the arena, not really in the same city. But God, by His grace and mercy, changed all that. Not only does God through Christ give us a ticket to the show, but He sits us on the stage and creates a close fellowship with Jesus. By extending His grace to us through Christ, we are brought near to Him through the blood of Christ.

But, as the infomercials like to say, if you think this is great, wait. There’s more.

Brings us near to God through the Spirit (14-18)

Paul takes his theme to the next level in the next paragraph of verses. He began by reminding the readers of the letter how far away from God they were, but how, by God’s grace, we were brought near to Christ. Now, Paul extends that joyous event by telling us the more of the promise.

At one time we were divided, at conflict with God and with others, but now, because we are brought near to Christ, we are given peace through Him. Paul writes that Jesus has made us “one, destroying the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility and abolishing the law with its commandments and regulations” (vs. 14b-15a). The reference to the barrier and walls reminds us of the Temple area in Jerusalem, how the courtyards were divided by walls and dividers. All people could enter the courtyard of the Gentiles, but only Jews were allowed past the wall that separated that courtyard from the inner courtyards.

The Aggies-Longhorns animosity has been well-known to almost all Texans, regardless of our school affiliation. There is a healthy dislike between the two teams. The highlight of each year was the Thanksgiving game between the two schools. Texas A&M, a school rich in traditions, would always build a bonfire in anticipate of the annual pep rally before the game.

Then one year, the bonfire collapsed, killing several and wounding many more. That which was to be a celebration turned into a tragedy. Immediately, the rivalry was forgotten. The two teams, the bands and the fans all joined together. The barriers were gone, the walls destroyed for this one time.

God, through Jesus, destroys the walls that otherwise divide us. The reason is that God’s plan is 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” (vs. 15b-16). God has a plan, which is to bring about a ministry of reconciliation and that this reconciliation comes about as God creates a new person (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21), created in His image and empowered by His Holy Spirit.

The result of Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation is that it gives us access to God through the Spirit. Through the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit, we are given access to God’s thoughts, God’s will and God’s direction. Through the indwelling Spirit, and by the blood of Jesus, we are given direct access to the Father through prayer. The writer of Hebrews tells us we can enter into God’s presence with confidence (cf. Hebrews 10:19-22). Paul wrote to the Romans that the Spirit helps us in our prayers, taking our words and making them clear to the Father (cf. Romans 8:26-27). All of this is to achieve God’s will for us to be reconciled to Him and to seek to reconcile the lost to Him as well.

Because of what God has done, we are brought near to Jesus through His blood, and we are given access to the Father through the Spirit because of Jesus’ ministry of peace and reconciliation.

But there’s more.

Brings us into God’s household (19-22)

As a result of all that God has done through Jesus and by His grace and mercy, Paul tells us that we are now members of God’s household.

At first glance, it implies that we are the children of God, which is true (cf. John 1:12-13; Romans 8:12-17; Galatians 3:26-4:7). But here, Paul is referring more to a building as opposed to those living within the house. He says God is building a house, a foundation built by the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone. Paul speaks that we are becoming a holy temple in Christ.

The purpose of this Temple is to be God’s permanent dwelling place through His Spirit. So, we are a people brought near to Christ through His blood, given access to God through His Spirit, and we are brought together to be the permanent dwelling place of God on earth.

What does this mean? It means, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people; but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Conclusion

What does it mean to be a “chosen people, a holy nation?” What does it mean to be near to Christ, to have access to God through the Spirit and to become the holy temple of God? It means that you and I have a purpose. God hasn’t done all this in order that we can rest on His laurels, to sit back and quietly enjoy all the blessings God has given us through His Son and Spirit.

No, God has called us to be His hands, His feet and His mouth in our world. Through us, God wants to minister, to reach out, to seek to bringing reconciliation and healing into our world.

Maybe we can’t change the world, but we can change our world. It begins when we let God truly and wholly change us by His Spirit.