2015.11.15 Ephesians 2: 11-22
The miracle of Reconciliation
Good morning everyone… It is wonderful to see you here
this morning… I have good news… His name is
Jesus…
Here at CC
Wiesbaden… We go through the Bible
verse by verse... We want to see the big picture! We want to know and
understand our Great God and Savior…
At to moment… We are studying the Letter
to the Ephesians…
Last week we looked at Jesus wonderful Illustration of Grace in the parable of the 2 Prodigal sons… If you did not hear it…
you can listen by going to the website or to The Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden Podcasts page on Facebook… To review the sermon from last week for a
minute…
We could summarize the sermon by understanding
that The
Lord is pleading with all of us… He
wants us to come to Him in repentance…. It does not matter whether we are Wild sin filled rebels…. People who
through sin and rebellion have destroyed our lives… Or whether we are very
religious… People who are working hard to obey the rules and be good boys and
girls… We all must come to the Lord
Jesus… We need to repent of our
pride and sin and rebellion… We need to
come home to our loving God who delights to show mercy… Come to Him to
receive the Grace and mercy that he offers… Today and every day… He is pleading
with us to forgive each other from our hearts… The lesson from last week and for today… Is for us forgive each other from our hearts…
If we refuse to do that… Maybe we do not
understand Grace… We will never earn
the Fathers love and forgiveness…. Jesus has already done that for us… As
we read in Ephesians 2: 8,9 … It is a gift… We
can and really we must… rest in the
finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ for us…. His death and resurrection
has forever purchased our redemption… To think that we can improve on that
finished work is totally wrong… The idea that I can do something for myself
today that will add to what Jesus has already done… is unbiblical and can only
produce in me pride and a judgmental attitude in my heart… Jesus paid it all…. That´s Good News...!
Well you may say… Then I will not do anything… I´m saved
and set for heaven…
Well… It is true that our works will not improve our
position in Christ… It doesn´t matter if we are talking about the Scribes and
Pharisees or… whether we are talking about our own tendencies to be religious and to love rules… They were
legalistic and strict and hard with each other… The law… The law… They judged
and condemned everyone who did not live up to their standards… The crazy thing is they left no room to for
the very Grace of God that saved them… If indeed they were saved at all…
They accepted grace for themselves but
had no grace for others…
The real problem is not in the law… Paul laid out the relationship between the law and grace wonderfully in
the letter to the Romans… The real problem was their hearts… The problem is
in our hearts… By the way the OT idea of
Law means This Book… The whole Bible as they knew it… The law and the
prophets referred to all of it… Not just the ten commandments or Leviticus… That´s
why Jesus pointed to the Hypocrites and said… do what they say… But don´t do what they do…. They were not serving
the Lord out of deeply forgiven and therefore thankful hearts… They were not
loving the Lord their God with all of their hearts and their neighbors as
themselves…. They were obeying the law
out of religious duty… As Pflicht… Not from their hearts… They were like
the older brother… They were like some of us… Just doing what we must… But inside critical and unthankful… Not
willing to forgive and show grace and mercy to our own family sometimes…
Serving the Lord out of religious duty… will not help us
to please God… It is hypocrisy…. That does not mean that we do nothing… That is
not the meaning here… It means that what
the Lord wants… Is that we love and
serve Him and each other from our hearts…. That we truly reflect the Lord
Jesus Christ in everything that we do… Because
He saved us to serve…. In Ephesians ch 2… v8,9… Paul just finished telling
us that We are saved by grace through Faith as the freely given gift of God…
But Let´s remember that he also told us God´s purpose in
it… That´s what we read in Eph 2:10… This Letter to the Ephesians
is rich in solid teaching about the Lord our God… It is also full of practical
advice… Paul is laying a solid foundation under our feet as he helps us to
understand… He shows God´s awesome plan
of redemption and forgiveness… He displays God´s grace and mercy to us so
that it will affect everything and every one around us… He is teaching us how to walk out our Christian life…. Let´s look again
at Eph 5..v1,2… Here Paul exhorts us to walk
in love…
Ephesians
5: 1,2 NLT Neues Leben
1
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear
children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He
loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
1 Folgt in allem Gottes Beispiel, denn ihr seid seine
geliebten Kinder.
2 Euer Leben soll von Liebe geprägt sein, wie auch
Christus uns geliebt hat, denn er hat sich selbst als Gabe und Opfer für unsere
Sünden gegeben. Und Gott hatte Gefallen an diesem Opfer, das wie ein
wohlriechender Duft zu ihm aufstieg.
Here is the point of the deep insights that Paul is
giving us in his teachings… v1 and 2… 1
Imitate God, therefore, in everything
you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love,
following the example of Christ. We learn to walk out our Christian life
with this solid truth under our feet…
As we pick up the text today in Ephesians chapter 2… Paul
is helping us to understand the unity of the body of Christ…
We saw in the first ten verses of Chapter 2 that The Lord
brings people into the church… His body through salvation… And then we begin in
verse 11 to see that as part of the church… we're one with each other… Now we
don't always act like it… But in fact… because of all that Jesus has done… We
are one… And that is the message of verses 11-22… Paul focuses here on the division
between Jews and the Gentiles… Turn with me to Eph. 2.. Let´s read them…
Beginning with v11…
Ephesians
2: 11-22 NKJV slt 2000
11
Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called
Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—
12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the
middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that
is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself
one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile
them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the
enmity.
17
And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were
near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows
into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2: 11-22 slt 2000
11 Darum gedenkt daran, daß ihr, die ihr einst Heiden im
Fleisch wart und Unbeschnittene genannt wurdet von der sogenannten
Beschneidung, die am Fleisch mit der Hand geschieht
12 — daß ihr in jener Zeit ohne Christus wart,
ausgeschlossen von der Bürgerschaft Israels und fremd den Bündnissen der
Verheißung; ihr hattet keine Hoffnung und wart ohne Gott in der Welt.
13 Jetzt aber, in Christus Jesus, seid ihr, die ihr einst
fern wart, nahe gebracht worden durch das Blut des Christus.
14 Denn Er ist unser Friede, der aus beiden eins gemacht
und die Scheidewand des Zaunes abgebrochen hat,
15 indem er in seinem Fleisch die Feindschaft, das Gesetz
der Gebote in Satzungen, hinwegtat, um die zwei in sich selbst zu einem neuen
Menschen zu schaffen und Frieden zu stiften,
16 und um die beiden in einem Leib mit Gott zu versöhnen
durch das Kreuz, nachdem er durch dasselbe die Feindschaft getötet hatte.
17 Und er kam und verkündigte Frieden euch, den Fernen,
und den Nahen;
18 denn durch ihn haben wir beide den Zutritt zu dem
Vater in einem Geist.
19 So seid ihr nun nicht mehr Fremdlinge ohne Bürgerrecht
und Gäste, sondern Mitbürger der Heiligen und Gottes Hausgenossen,
20 auferbaut auf der Grundlage der Apostel und Propheten,
während Jesus Christus selbst der Eckstein ist,
21 in dem der ganze Bau, zusammengefügt, wächst zu einem
heiligen Tempel im Herrn,
22 in dem auch ihr miterbaut werdet zu einer Wohnung
Gottes im Geist.
But God, who is so rich in mercy...On Friday night Paris
and indeed the world was plunged into the darkness of Radical Islamic
terrorism… Evil stood up and many died… And many more were shaken awake from
the deadly idea that everything is ok… The lie that mankind is basically good was
proven to be false… Once again the truth of the Word of God was illustrated for
the world to see…
Jeremiah 17: 9 NKJV slt 2000
9“The heart is deceitful above all things, And
desperately wicked; Who can know it?
9 Überaus trügerisch ist
das Herz und bösartig; wer kann es ergründen?
The desperate wickedness of humanity was on display in
Paris…. This verse was illustrated for the world to see… We saw Not only the
wickedness that hides in the heart of man…. But also the incredible way we are
able to deceive ourselves… These radicals are killing innocent people… and
thinking that they are doing “their god´s service”… There is only 1 answer for
this lost sin filled world…. His Name is Jesus…. He is the only hope for
mankind…
John 1: 4,5 NKJV slt 2000
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not comprehend it.
4 In ihm war das Leben,
und das Leben war das Licht der Menschen.
5 Und das Licht leuchtet
in der Finsternis, und die Finsternis hat es nicht begriffen.
My friends we are living in very difficult times… Godless
radicals are killing anyone who does not agree with them… No one is safe from
their hatred…They spread murder and darkness everywhere…. There is only one
chance for Humanity… The problem is deeply rooted… It is in the sin filled
hearts of men and women who will not repent and cry out to God for mercy… The
death and destruction is a symptom of the disease of sin… It has affected every
person who has ever lived…. At one time we were also filled with sin and were
children of darkness… look at verses 11 and 12…
Ephesians 2: 11,12 NKJV slt 2000
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the
flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in
the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world.
11 Darum gedenkt daran,
daß ihr, die ihr einst Heiden im Fleisch wart und Unbeschnittene genannt wurdet
von der sogenannten Beschneidung, die am Fleisch mit der Hand geschieht
12 — daß ihr in jener
Zeit ohne Christus wart, ausgeschlossen von der Bürgerschaft Israels und fremd
den Bündnissen der Verheißung; ihr hattet keine Hoffnung und wart ohne Gott in
der Welt.
v11,12… once Gentiles… without Christ… having no hope and
without God in the world…
We are reminded that we were also without Christ… We were
also blind to the truth…. We were also blinded by sin and selfishness… Hatred
and greed…
We were outside… Outside of the Family of God… Outside of
the covenant… Outside of the promise of redemption that the Lord gave the
Children of Israel… Hopeless and Godless… Outsiders with no chance to become
part of the children of God… Then we see the wonderful phrase…. For the second
time in this Chapter… Paul reminds us of the Good News…. God has intervened….
He has provided redemption and reconciliation for a lost and dying world… But
God… v13… But Now… look at v13…
Ephesians 2:13 NKJV slt 2000
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have
been brought near by the blood of Christ.
13 Jetzt aber, in
Christus Jesus, seid ihr, die ihr einst fern wart, nahe gebracht worden durch
das Blut des Christus.
v13… But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ…
But Now… He has brought us all near by the Blood of
Christ…These Gentiles knew that they were far outside of the Chosen people of
God…
Jews and Gentiles hated each other… They were totally
against everything that the other accepted… You could not imagine a bigger
separation and conflict than that…
As we think about the events in Paris… Islam is a demonic
lie…. It destroys… It is pure darkness…. But…
We must be careful not to hate the people who did these
horrible things… We need to be on our knees for the lost and hopeless people
who are willing to let themselves be filled up with such hatred… Hopeless…! no…
not hopeless at all… turn to Eph 2.. v4… But God…
Ephesians 2: 4,5 NLT Neues Leben
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5
that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he
raised Christ from the dead.
4 Doch Gott ist so
barmherzig und liebte uns so sehr,5 dass er uns, die wir durch unsere Sünden
tot waren, mit Christus neues Leben schenkte, als er ihn von den Toten
auferweckte. Nur durch die Gnade Gottes seid ihr gerettet worden!
It is just like what Jesus prayed on the cross… Father
forgive them…. They do not know what they do…
Now of Course… Our heavenly Father hates sin…. To be
sure…. But He loves sinners… and he so loved the World that He gave His only
begotten son… Forgiveness and mercy and reconciliation is possible even for the
worst of sinners… Even for people like us…. If only we will cry out to Him for
mercy and forgiveness…
We need to pray... We need to be the Salt and Light that
Jesus has called us to be in this dark and sin filled world... May The Lord
help us to live as Children of Light!
Paul is using the reality of the church as an example of
the Miracle of Reconciliation… He
has reconciled enemies…
One
in Christ
1
peace… v14… peace between Jews and Gentiles…. Peace with God… Peace with each other…
2
Reconciliation… v16 with mankind….
3
Access…v18
look at v 14…
v14…he
himself is our peace… He has made both one… God has broken down the middle wall
of separation… God has broken down the thing that separated
us, the middle wall of partition…
There was an impossible wall between them… A wall of sin
and rebellion… a wall of law that showed them their sin and it´s penalty… Now these
enemies have been miraculously united into one in Christ… What was that thing? look at verse 15,16…
v15a… The system of commandments and ordinances… All of the things that made up the
unclimbable wall have been done away with in Christ… and then…
v15b…
at the end have become one new man…. Thus making peace… The
wonderful result is peace between former mortal enemies… v15… peace… and look at v16…
v16… that
He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross… we
see the possible reconciliation of
everyone to God… there is one body through the Cross…. The Cross is that once for all sacrifice for sin… that is what
all of the ancient sacrifices pointed to.… It is a Miracle of God´s Grace… we have been reconciled into one body….
This is basic to an understanding of the church…. We're
one in Christ… We are all one in Him… We are all forgiven… We are all equal…
Because we are all in Christ… We are no longer separated from each other… We
are no longer separated from God…. We have all been reconciled to Him because
of the Lord Jesus.… We are now expected to love and serve each other…
What was the cause of this separation in the first
place…?
Sin… That one basic problem is expressed in the Old
Testament as well as the new… As I said earlier… Jeremiah said the "heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked." And Isaiah said "There
is no peace to the wicked… You see built into our sin filled wickedness… is
separation and the impossibility of peace… Where you have sin, you have selfishness
and discord… If I am always looking out for myself…. Making sure that I get
what I want…. I can never have harmony with others…
And the only way to have peace is when somebody dies…
When somebody dies there is no more conflict… That is why Jesus said that we
must deny ourselves…. That´s why Paul said… I die daily…
The only place where self really dies is at the foot of
the cross…
Galatians
2: 20,21 NKJV slt2000
20 I
have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives
in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of
God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
20 Ich bin mit Christus gekreuzigt; und nun lebe ich,
aber nicht mehr ich [selbst], sondern Christus lebt in mir. Was ich aber jetzt
im Fleisch lebe, das lebe ich im Glauben an den Sohn Gottes, der mich geliebt
und sich selbst für mich hingegeben hat.
21 Ich verwerfe die Gnade Gottes nicht; denn wenn durch
das Gesetz Gerechtigkeit [kommt], so ist Christus vergeblich gestorben.
In other words… I go to the cross with the Lord Jesus
Christ… There by faith… I am crucified with and in Christ… Then self dies and I
no longer live…. but Christ lives in me… When self dies… selfishness dies… and I
have peace with God…. Peace with my fellow man also becomes a possibility...
Now in terms of our position in Christ… We are at peace… As believers we are
one family… The Church… Unfortunately… We may not always act like it… Our pride
and selfishness can raise it´s ugly head and move us to put our wants and needs
ahead of others…
When
Jesus was crucified He removed the alienation that sin had
caused… He removed the barrier… That´s what we saw in Verse 14…" Himself
is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of
separation,
He broke it down...
The thing that separates men is their sin and selfishness…
The thing that separates us from God is our sin and selfishness… So when sin is
removed then we can be one with each other and one with God… The Theological
term is Reconciliation… The wall of
separation is destroyed… the biblical
word is the word reconciliation… In
Christ we have been reconciled to God… We have been forgiven… Because of Jesus we
are able to be reconciled to each other…. Even with our enemies… in Luke 6..v35,36…Jesus said that when we are kind to our
enemies that we are being like our Heavenly Father…
God´s plan to forgive the sins of all who repent and
believe the Gospel… Is founded on Christ's atoning death… For those of us who are in Christ…. We have
been brought us to a place of unity with each other… Your sins are paid for… My
sins are paid for... You've been crucified with Christ... I've been crucified
with Christ... The Holy Spirit lives in you… The Holy Spirit lives in me… We're
one in Christ… We form the living expression of the Lord Jesus in this world…
Now, as we look at our text for today… the main thought is that those who were
alienated from God and man… We have all been reconciled in Christ.…
Reconciled
in Christ…
1 we
are reconciled to each other… v13-15… And we are
2 we
are reconciled to God… v16-18
This is just Great
news… Our sins are forgiven… We have been reconciled to God…
We are called to be reconciled to each other… To forgive
each other from our hearts…
God doesn't just save us… He Transforms our lives… He adopts
us into His Family… He makes us one with Himself…
Go
back to Ephesians 2… v18-22… We have been reconciled to each other and to God... And
in being reconciled to God… we also
have access to the Father…
Ephesians
2: 18-22 NKJV
18
For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows
into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2: 18-22 slt 2000
18 denn durch ihn haben wir beide den Zutritt zu dem
Vater in einem Geist.
19 So seid ihr nun nicht mehr Fremdlinge ohne Bürgerrecht
und Gäste, sondern Mitbürger der Heiligen und Gottes Hausgenossen,
20 auferbaut auf der Grundlage der Apostel und Propheten,
während Jesus Christus selbst der Eckstein ist,
21 in dem der ganze Bau, zusammengefügt, wächst zu einem
heiligen Tempel im Herrn,
22 in dem auch ihr miterbaut werdet zu einer Wohnung
Gottes im Geist.
Because we are in Christ… We have access to the Father… Hebrews says "We come boldly into His
presence in time of need… Hebrews 4…v16…
As we look at this last few verses of this chapter… Verses 19-22… Paul gives us three word pictures to illustrate the
completeness of our redemption and reconciliation….
We aren't just guests in God's house, we're family…
Illustrations
of our complete redemption and reconciliation
1 We
are now citizens of Heaven… v19
2 We
are members of the Household of God…
3 We
are being built into a Holy Temple…
These are three great pictures… First we are now fellow
citizens… look at v 19… "Now
therefore or “since” we've been made
one in Christ…. And because we have
access and peace with God… we are no longer strangers…
As genuine believers… we're all fellow citizens… There
are no strangers in the family of God… We're all members of the kingdom…
Philippians
3:20 says our citizenship is in heaven…
Look at the The Second illustration… we are now members
of the household of God… we are not only
Think about this for a minute… if God can accept everyone of us into His own
family… Then we ought to accept each
other…
Now look
at the Third Illustration…. he says we're built together as a Holy temple… Paul goes from telling us
that we are in the kingdom… to being in
the family… to being parts of the Temple of God… And he says in v20… that Jesus
is the chief cornerstone…
What a beautiful unity we have in The Lord Jesus… In
theory… The Lord is not finished with us yet… Why is Paul telling us all of
this? So that the truth of God´s Word and the truth of our position in Christ…
Will affect the way we live and the way we treat each other… Paul will tell us
to walk worthy of our calling in Eph 4… v1…
Close
1
John 1: 1-10 NKJV
1 That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the
Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness,
and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was
manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that
you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the
Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that
your joy may be full.
Fellowship with Him and One Another
5
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God
is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship
with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if
we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make
Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1 John 1: 1-10
slt 2000
1 Was von Anfang war, was wir gehört haben, was wir mit
unseren Augen gesehen haben, was wir angeschaut und was unsere Hände betastet
haben vom Wort des Lebens
2 — und das Leben ist erschienen1, und wir haben gesehen
und bezeugen und verkündigen euch das ewige Leben, das bei dem Vater war und
uns erschienen ist —,
3 was wir gesehen und gehört haben, das verkündigen wir
euch, damit auch ihr Gemeinschaft mit uns habt; und unsere Gemeinschaft ist mit
dem Vater und mit seinem Sohn Jesus Christus.
4 Und dies schreiben wir euch, damit eure Freude
vollkommen sei.
Wandel im Licht und Sündenvergebung
5 Und das ist die Botschaft, die wir von ihm gehört haben
und euch verkündigen, daß Gott Licht ist und in ihm gar keine Finsternis ist.
6 Wenn wir sagen, daß wir Gemeinschaft mit ihm haben, und
doch in der Finsternis wandeln2, so lügen wir und tun nicht die Wahrheit;
7 wenn wir aber im Licht wandeln, wie er im Licht ist, so
haben wir Gemeinschaft miteinander, und das Blut Jesu Christi, seines Sohnes,
reinigt uns von aller Sünde.
8 Wenn wir sagen, daß wir keine Sünde haben, so verführen
wir uns selbst, und die Wahrheit ist nicht in uns.
9 Wenn wir aber unsere Sünden bekennen, so ist er treu
und gerecht, daß er uns die Sünden vergibt und uns reinigt von aller
Ungerechtigkeit.
10 Wenn wir sagen, daß wir nicht gesündigt haben, so
machen wir ihn zum Lügner, und sein Wort ist nicht in uns.
Let's pray.
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