August 5, 2001  •  Pastor Randy Smith

I was walking in San Francisco along the Golden Gate Bridge when I saw a man about to jump off. I tried to dissuade him from committing suicide and told him simply that God loved him. A tear came to his eye. I then asked him, "Are you a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu, or what?"

Sound familiar? People can appear unified and selfless, but the moment the carpet color is changed or the air conditioner doesn’t work, they’re looking for a new church. If that’s how the church feels about inanimate objects, you can imagine what they think about each other. Factions, bitterness and unmended relationships are unfortunately commonplace among Christ’s church. Frankly, it’s amazing to consider any disunity in the church when we have so much in common! Yet sadly, few seem to see it this way.

As we continue to prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Table this morning, I’d like to examine the 9th characteristic of a NT church… Unity. Our objective will be to contemplate how God can take diverse individuals from variegated backgrounds, genders, cultures, and ages and unite them peacefully into one spiritual body empowered to live at peace. We’ll shortly discover that any disunity in the church reveals a lack of faith in Christ’s work on the cross.

Let’s begin with our first point- The Problem of Enmity.

1. PROBLEM OF ENMITY

In the 21st century we tend to underestimate the hostility that existed been Jew and Gentile 2,000 years ago. William Barclay wrote: "The Jew had an immense contempt for the Gentile. The Gentiles, said the Jews, were created by God to be fuel for the fires of hell. God, they said, loves only Israel of all the nations that He made. It was not even lawful to render help to a Gentile mother in her hour of sorest need, for that would simply be to bring another Gentile into the world. If a Jewish boy married a Gentile girl or Jewish girl married a Gentile boy, the funeral of that boy or girl was carried out. Such marital contact with a Gentile was the equivalent of death." We all know from the accounts in the Scriptures that the Jews would not associate with a Gentile. They would expect Jewish regulations from a Gentile in order to become a convert to Jehovah. They would literally shake the dust off their feet upon their return to Israel if they were forced to pass through Gentile territory. The Gentile’s response to all this…the feeling’s mutual! There was no doubt; a deep-seated hatred existed between these two parties.

But was this enmity between the Jews and Gentiles God’s intent? Did God intend to only offer salvation to the Jews? Absolutely not! From the beginning, God purposed to call Abraham so that he would be a blessing to the nations. Israel was called, as a custodian of the truth, to be a light of God’s testimony to the rest of the world. But they failed. They twisted their privilege into personal favoritism. Instead of reaching out, they erected barriers and increased the discord that existed between themselves and the Gentiles.

But then came Jesus. He accomplished what Israel failed to accomplish. He established peace between the nations and salvation for the Gentiles. But how would He accomplish such a feat? The mere thought would have been baffling and repulsive to the Jewish mind.

Now there’s no doubt that salvation is from the Jews. Jesus said that in John 4. However, it is not in their nationalistic pride that salvation is found, but rather through the divine revelation they received from God. Even Paul said in Romans 9 that to Israel belongs the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service and the promises. There is no doubt that God blessed the nation Israel over and above all the nations of the land. For thousands of years, Israel knew the one and only living God through personal revelation, while the other nations were left to their depravity and folly with dumb and worthless idols.

But the times were changing. In writing to these Ephesian Gentiles Paul said, "And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (Eph. 3:4-6).

Let us begin with our text in Ephesians 2. Look at verse 11, "Therefore remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands." The apostle is asking the Gentiles to look back and remember when the so-called circumcision mocked them, and only accepted them based on a physical distinction. Paul wants them to remember the 5 ways they were cut off from God in the verse that follows. They were separate from Christ. They were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. They were strangers to the covenant of promise. They had no hope. And they were without God in the world. In other words, Gentiles, you were Christless, stateless, friendless, hopeless and Godless! What an awful predicament for the Gentiles! But that was then.

2. PRODUCT OF PEACE

Remarkably, jumping ahead to verse 19, we read that all their disadvantages had changed. The Gentiles had been grafted into the rich root of the olive tree, sharing the same blessings of salvation as the Jews. The removal of hatred between the parties was abolished.

Verse 19, "So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens." By God’s grace the Gentiles had been brought near with divine privileges and rights. There is only one track for salvation with God…one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father (Eph. 4:4-5). Far from being strangers, the Gentiles are now (vs. 19) fellow citizens. Their citizenship is in heaven. They participate in God’s Kingdom where there are no distinctions, aliens or second-class citizens. They are now (vs. 19) members of God’s Household. This is even more intimate! More than simply being in the kingdom, they are members of God’s family! In God’s family God equally accepts all as His children so we can (and should) accept each other in love as brothers and sisters without partiality or rank. The Gentiles are now (verse 21) God’s Holy Temple. Though the Ephesians once sought God in the pagan temple of Artemis and the Jews in Herod’s temple, both places were empty of the one and only living God. Now, God in the Spirit makes His earthly sanctuary in the church (verse 22) where He takes up permanent residence in His members. God is no longer tied to holy buildings, but holy people. Built upon the cornerstone of Jesus and the foundation of the New Testament apostles and prophets, the Gentiles are now living stones along side the Jews as members of God’s holy temple.

Remarkable! Nations at enmity for centuries, both incorporated as fellow citizens into God’s household and God’s Temple in complete harmony without distinction. Yet the question remains- but HOW?

3. PROCESS OF CHRIST

Let me take you to the final point, the process of Christ. Let’s back up to verse 13, "But now in Christ Jesus."

This reminds me of the "But God" earlier in 2:4. Look there with me. After realizing that man is: dead in his trespasses and sins (verse 1), deluded by the world and Satan (verse 2) and deserving of God’s wrath (verse 3), Paul turns this hopeless predicament into a joyous doxology. Verse 4, "BUT GOD…being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ" (Eph. 2:4-5)! Our separation from God was so serious, that it took the sacrifice of His beloved Son at Calvary to accomplish our redemption. When Christ died on that cross, the barrier wall between God and us was destroyed; the veil that separated us was torn from top to bottom. Jesus took our sins upon Himself and enabled us to be clothed with His righteousness. Notice the emphasis on the death of Christ in this chapter: verse 13- "blood of Christ;" verse 15- "By abolishing in His flesh;" verse 16- "and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross." Just as our alienation from God was mended by the death of Christ (mentioned at the beginning of the chapter), our alienation from each other is likewise mended by the death of Christ (mentioned at the end of the chapter). Verse 13, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."

Someone once said we are all brought to the same level at the foot of the cross. The cross pours contempt on our pride and screams to us that reconciliation with God was the work of Jesus. The cross screams to us that God justifies all his children with the same infinite love. The cross screams to us that we are all adopted into the same spiritual family in the same way with the same privileges. The cross screams to us that the sins of disunity such as discord, hatred, bitterness, strife, divisiveness, malice, jealousy, envy, disgust, indifference, unforgiveness, etc. have all been shattered by the cross and are therefore unacceptable amongst God’s redeemed. The cross teaches us to join Paul in his joyful chorus of boasting only in the cross (Gal. 6:14).

Look at verse 14, "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall." Jew and Gentile, once vicious enemies, now peacefully reconciled into one body. The dividing wall of hostility has been removed. Interestingly, three literal dividing walls all on the same level surrounded the temple in Israel: inside was the court of priests, in the middle was the court of Israel, on the outside was the court of women. Then descending 5 steps to a walled platform, going around that wall, came another wall 14 steps later. Beyond that dividing wall was the outer court of the Gentiles. On that 1.5-meter barricade were warning signs written in Greek and Latin, which forbid any foreigner to go in under a pain of death. We all know those temple walls were destroyed when the temple itself was demolished in A.D. 70. But at the time of Paul’s writing to the Ephesians, these physical walls were still standing. Yet Paul knew those walls were ultimately destroyed in A.D. 30 at Calvary when Christ destroyed all disunity and all dividing walls at the cross.

Because of the cross a new humanity has evolved. We now experience a race where no person who comes to Christ will be excluded, and no person who is included will be spiritually distinct from any other in essence. For the apostle himself said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). We experience a race vertically at peace with God and horizontally at peace with each other. For the wall that separated us from God and the wall that separated us from each other has been abolished at the cross.

Should we not be surprised when we hear of the horrific sins of disunity, divisiveness, partiality and favoritism? If Christ abolished those walls, who are we to assemble them all over again? And if unity, love, and peace are a characteristic of Christians in the church, should they be any less a characteristic of Christians in the home?

The story is told of a group of WWII soldiers who lost their buddy in battle. They carried his body to the only cemetery in the area which appeared to be Catholic. When the priest was told that the dead man was not Catholic he said, "I’m sorry, but he cannot be buried here." The disheartened and discouraged soldiers decided to do what they thought was the next best thing. During the night they buried their comrade just outside the cemetery fence. They returned the next morning to pay their last respects, but could not find a grave outside the fence. When they told the priest of their quandary, he said, "The first part of the night I stayed awake sorry for what I told you. And the second part of the night I spent moving the fence."

Praise God that the fence has been repositioned and the walls abolished to include in the church all those redeemed by the blood of Christ regardless of age, race and gender. God has purchased through the cross a new humanity united in Spirit for His glory. The walls are broken. Since we now enjoy peace with God vertically, may we also fulfill His will and enjoy peace with each other horizontally.