[This year, the little Bible study group that meets around our kitchen table is working  through The Wiersbe Bible Study Series, “EPHESIANS: Gaining The Things That Money Can’t Buy,” by Warren Wiersbe, published by David C. Cook, 2008.

I pray this series of reflections will continue to be a blessing and encouragement that reaches far beyond our kitchen table.]

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KEY TAKEAWAYS from LESSON THREE (Ephesians 2:11-22)

 

DRAWN NEAR TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST (v 2:11-13): 

Without GOD, reconciliation (peace with Him and others) would be impossible.  On our own, it would never be our inclination.  We need to be reconciled to GOD first before we can be reconciled to one another.  Because of the blood of JESUS, we are brought near to GOD. 

Our Savior is unique because He is GOD’s Word made flesh – a fellow human being who always was and always will also be GOD, with us, among us, and then offered to GOD as the sinless sacrifice for us.  His work on our behalf fulfilled the law GOD instituted, fulfilled the prophesies given, and the promises made.  He is the embodiment of all that GOD is and stands as the bridge by Whom we can be reunited with GOD, enjoying a different relationship with Him and with everyone else around us.

Reconciliation was always GOD’s plan.  The system of atonement through animal sacrifice was never a permanent solution for the sin that separates us from holy GOD.  The cross where JESUS gave Himself as the once-and-done sacrifice for our sins shifted our focus to grace.  It is all about what He did for us because there was never anything we could do to make ourselves clean.

Once we were without hope, without GOD in this world (Ephesians 2:12).  What a miserable state.  Now in CHRIST, we stand accepted by GOD, chosen and brought near to Him.  “Once you were far away from GOD, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

Our Savior did for us what we could not do for ourselves.  Because of Him, we are no longer helplessly separated from GOD.  We are welcomed (encouraged) to come near (Ephesians 3:12), to enjoy the presence of Almighty GOD, to be intimately cared for and tenderly loved.  There is nothing more precious – or staggering!

PEACE THAT LEADS TO UNITY (v 2:14-18):

GOD punished His own Son for our sins.  The penalty has been paid.  The work of redemption is complete.  We now stand right in GOD’s sight because of what JESUS suffered on our behalf.  We now have a reconciled relationship with GOD – we are reunited with our Creator and Redeemer!  

But we are not yet free from the presence and impact of our sin nature.  Sin still interrupts our relationship with the LORD.  Confession of those sins and repentance from them remove the barrier that sin still creates, giving us a clean conscience and a clear path forward in harmony with GOD’s heart.  It is His kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

As Ann Voskamp once said, imagining our nearness to GOD, we should not let anything stand between, let nothing prevent His full, unhindered embrace!

The same is true in relationship with others – sin interferes, complicates, and damages ties between people.  Reconciliation is made possible through CHRIST.  We can live in the good of what He secured for us, and value the same for others.  The bond we share with fellow believers who declare He is precious becomes the common ground from which we can build healthy and thriving human connections.

As redeemed children of GOD, brought into His family, we are now indwelt with His Spirit and given new desires to reflect His heart.  This new heart is what alters our view of others and paves the way for us to make peace with fellow men. 

CHRIST is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).  He abolished the barrier the law created between Jews and Gentiles (formally putting an end to an old system, creating something new – a new covenant through the blood of CHRIST).  In the literal temple, the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles was removed.  Access to GOD was opened to all through JESUS.  When He declared “it is finished” on the cross, the veil barring entrance into the Holy of Holies, where the LORD’s presence dwelt above the mercy seat, was rent in two from the top to the bottom (John 19:30, Matthew 27:51).

Now, we should not be identified as Jewish believers or Gentile believers; we are all one group of simply “Christians” (CHRIST-followers).  “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female.  For you are all one in CHRIST JESUS” (Galatians 3:28).

Sadly, tension among people still exists, even between sincere believers.  Conflicts of interest arise when opinions, views, values, and goals differ.  Self-gratifying ambition barrels forward with no regard for how that campaign impacts anyone else. Without such consideration, other people get trampled.  It is very difficult to champion or protect one cause without disadvantaging another.  

We’re still sinners.  Pride is ugly and we can all be guilty of judgmental attitudes and wrangling for control.  We have lost the art of truly listening to others, genuinely considering their point of view.  In a world that is characterized more by division than unity (the age-old tactic of the enemy of our souls), we forget that even Scripture demonstrates the beauty of holding two things to be true at the same time, like truth and love.

We need to remember who the real enemy is – the one sowing seeds of division, “stirring the pot,” isolating so he can knock us down, creating havoc, hoping we will wound from our wounds.  We need to slow our knee-jerk reactions, take a deep breath, ask the LORD for His wisdom, and trust His guidance and His truth to lead us to peace, a place where differences can truly be reconciled.

We desperately need the only common ground that will unite us – saving faith in CHRIST!  By His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).  When we all fix our eyes on Him and follow in His steps, we are drawn together toward a common love and a common goal – to delight and reflect the heart of the Father.

Unity is very important to GOD.  Much like the earthly home He created, where Adam and Eve were cared for and there needs bountifully provided, He is building His church as an interdependent community (like the parts of the body described in 1 Corinthians 12).  Our local churches, as well as the universal Church, were designed by GOD as a place to belong, where we enjoy fellowship, teaching, encouragement, individual and corporate worship, support, provision, and protection, where we can learn, grow, and serve Him together.  With CHRIST as the Head of the Church, all of the above are now possible!

 

BUILT UP TOGETHER INTO GOD’S HOUSE (v 2:19-22):

Together as one body (Ephesians 2:16), all believers are members of GOD’s family (2:19).  “Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.  The cornerstone is CHRIST JESUS Himself” (Ephesians 2:20). 

As we will see more in our next lesson, it was always GOD’s plan to bring His chosen ones together (Ephesians 3:6-7, Romans 11:11).  As one of our friends pointed out, we are a living church (not a dead one)!  The temple was constructed with dead wood, but we are living stones, growing and active components of a spiritual house, with JESUS as our Chief Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4-5).  

Another friend mentioned the picture of GOD’s chosen people as an olive tree (in Romans 11) with original branches (the children of Israel) and new branches grafted in (Gentile believers) to receive strength and nutrients from the same root (foundation), benefitting from the same covenant promises of GOD.  As part of the same tree, all branches also bear the same fruit of GOD’s Spirit.

“We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple of the LORD… this dwelling place where GOD lives by His Spirit” (Ephesian 2:21-22).

Peter calls the church a “peculiar people, GOD’s own special possession” (1 Peter 2:9).  We are foreigners and strangers in this world, sojourners just traveling through.  This is not our home.  This is not our nation.  We will never feel truly comfortable here.  As we align with GOD and accurately reflect His heart, we will stand out from those who do not.  

In fact, what we treasure will be distasteful and downright offensive to unbelievers.  We will encounter opposition and persecution.  Many around us will mistrust what they do not understand.  In hopes of bolstering their own beliefs, they will attack the hope we hold.  Peter challenges us to be ready to explain what we know to be true, the reality of GOD we have experienced in our own lives, but to do so with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

Sometimes, it is wise to simply walk away when others provoke us.  (“It takes two to tango” – if we choose not to engage, tensions can be defused.)  One of our study friends mentioned Isaac, who stepped away from conflict with local herdsmen over wells he dug for himself.  Instead of defending what rightfully belonged to him, he chose to find location after location to simply dig another well.  He named the contested wells honestly, Esek (quarrel) and Sitnah (hostility), until he found open space for himself at Rehoboth (peace).  Once again, we see an echo from Peter, who pointed to the supreme example of CHRIST: “He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered.  He left His case in the hands GOD, who always judges fairly” (1 Peter 2:23).

We carry the LORD with us wherever we go.  His Spirit dwells within us.  We represent GOD to others and interject the fruits of His Spirit in any situation we enter.  One of those fruits is peace.  

Because He guides our minds and hearts, we long to bring reconciliation and peace where there is misunderstanding and conflict.  The more we appreciate the secure place in which we stand, the more we will be compelled (and equipped) to help others reach for the gift of redemption through CHRIST and experience the peace of reconciliation with GOD and others that is equally available to them.