Ephesians 2:11-22 | Peace

Zach Cunningham continues a series on the book of Ephesians. 

Transcript

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And guys, I'm I my understanding is this, just to set us up where we're going this morning. Uh tonight. Uh my understanding is this that's a big rivalry game, like Nebraska and Iowa. They told me it's called Corn Mageddon. Is that a thing? Like it's two big corn states who are competing against each other. And so here's a question uh uh taking us up where we're going tonight. Uh tell the person sitting next to you what you think is the biggest rivalry in sports. Okay, ready go. What's the biggest rivalry in sports? Okay, I'm hearing I'm hearing dividing in the front row over here. I think um we're going to talk to her a lot of things. Lakers Celtics is gonna go far, I think. Okay, no, okay, no, okay, can you want them having to think about it? I need you to get in the head space. Um so obviously you've already thought about the biggest rivalries in sports, but now can you think about can you guys go back to high school? Did you guys have a rival like in high school? I want you to kind of think about like who was the guy or the gal that you had beef, like your arch nemesis, like they kept making fun of you at the lunch table, they stole your boyfriend again and again. Like, did you guys have like a rival? You're trying to share off that dimmer down, okay? I didn't have like an arch nemesis in school. I didn't have a twin brother, isn't it? Counts. I didn't have a nemesis in school, but my school did have a rival. I went to a small 1A school about an hour that way, Honey Grove, Texas, sweetest town in Texas, and we had a rival. The Honey Grove Warriors hated the Cooper Bulldogs, okay? It's just big rivalry. Okay, in fact, if you Google later, Honey Grove Cooper rivalry, the first link is gonna be Dave Campbell's top rivals in the state of Texas. Honey Grove and Cooper is on it. We hated those guys. It was always a heated matchup. Okay, one time we were playing them and we're leaving, we had beaten them, we're in the bus, and they threw a brick through our window of the bus. Like, guys, there was no love lost between Cooper and Honey Grove. In fact, when I had a son, my wife wanted to name my son Cooper. And I said, Babe, we cannot name him Cooper. I will hate my own son, and we can't do this. Okay, like I'm not gonna name my son after Cooper. Anyways, when I was in seventh grade, our football team got to play Cooper for the first time. And yes, a guy my size played football to one a school. Anyways, seventh grade football, does it count? Yes, it does. We had a game, it was our first time ever entering the battlefield of Honey Grow versus Cooper, and it was on their turf. Okay, so here's the deal. We're playing, and even though it was seventh grade, guys, the heat was high and the smack talk was high. You never heard more Yo Mama jokes in a football game. You've never smelt more axe body spray than this football game. Guys, punches were being thrown on the bottom of the pile. Well, anyways, heated game. Well, guys, here's the deal. During the game, my twin brother Cole thought he wanted to get in on the action. So, anyways, we're on defense, and Cole's on the bottom of the pile with the quarterback, and my brother uh puts his hand in the face mask of the quarterback and starts hitting him in the face, like poking his eyes out. Well, the guy gets up naturally and he wants to fight my brother, but the rest get in and stop it. Well, anyways, guys, they're ticked. I can't remember who wins the game. I think they do. Anyways, here's here's a couple of facts about this. Uh, my brother and I, though we played football, uh, are not quite the size to be picking fights during a football game. I actually found a picture of us playing football uh in high school. Go ahead, Holly. Okay, guys, here's the deal. Okay, a couple of things about this photo. Uh first of all, that's not seventh grade, that's ninth grade, okay? So just try to like rewind it a little bit. And uh again, shouldn't be picking fights on the football field. Can you guys figure out which one I am? Does anybody know? I'm number one. I don't know if that's doing it for you, okay? What for too much? Okay, anyways, we're not D1 size, okay? We don't look like Kyle Kenoki over here, okay, or Johnny, okay. We should not be picking fights on the field. Well, anyways, game ends. I think they win. Guys, here's what happens. Okay, seventh grade game ends, eighth grade starts. Well, anyways, so seventh grade, they get dressed. Their entire team marches over to our side of the field to fight my brother, okay? And on this field, this is unique at a football uh field, like in high school, there was actually a wall at the concession stand, like separating the two schools. Okay, so they come up, picture them, you can kind of see it here. I don't know if you guys, the concession stands on the top. Can y'all see that little line right there? So picture them, they're on the side. Their entire team, guys, walked over to fight my brother, and they're yelling, hey, where's number four at? We want to fight number four. Well, anyways, somebody takes the threat from the 12-year-old all the way to us, to my brother. And my brother, no joke, he takes off the number four jersey and he gives it to the biggest guy on our team that looked just like Kyle. He like hit puberty in fourth grade. And, anyways, so Shelby, his name's Shelby, it's a girl's name, but he was he was massive. He was joked. Anyway, so he puts on the number four jersey and picture him walking and all of us behind him, walking to the gate, to the fence. You know, we all smack nothing happened, okay, seventh grade. Anyways, try to picture hostility is high. The heat and temperature is high. I need you to get in that mindset because I need you to picture two groups of people that absolutely hate each other. Duke and North Carolina, Ohio State and Michigan, two enemies, two groups filled with so much hostility, so much hatred. Literally, a wall would have to stop them from fighting. You need to get into that mindset because the question on the table in Ephesians chapter 2 tonight is this What's it gonna take to bring to bring two parties that absolutely hate each other together? Like two parties diametrically opposed. How in the world can they possibly set apart their differences and come together? What's it gonna take? Well, tonight we're gonna be looking at a couple gaps, a couple walls, a couple distances between people that would seem insurmountable, two sides that seem very far away from each other, that you and I would think there's no possible way these two people could come together. What could possibly bring peace? That's the question on the table, and that's the question driving our text tonight. Okay, we're in Ephesians chapter two, we're gonna start in verse 11. Okay, it's gonna take us some time to get through this, but let's jump in. Before we do that, let me pray for us. We're in Ephesians 2, verse 11. God, thank you for this book. Thank you for the first 10 verses. So rich. Now, Lord, would you give us focus despite basketball games, class? Lord, we want to have an encounter with the living God through his word. Help us do it in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, verse 11, guys. It's gonna get good. This is what Paul says. So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcised by those called the circumcised, which is done in the flesh by human hands. At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh he made no effect of the law consisting of the commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. Verse 16. He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, by which he put the hostility to death. He came and he proclaimed the good news of peace to you who are far away, and peace to those who are near, for through him, Jesus, we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then, here it is, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building being put together, grown into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together for God's dwelling in the Spirit. Okay, that's a lot. Okay, you didn't need to catch all of that. Oh no, the longhorns lost, tragic. My bracket had Purdue. Okay, let's keep going. Hey, Tyson's in first place. Ellie has a second chance of winning it, okay? Okay, let's just zoom back in here, guys. This is our text for tonight. Guys, this is a good text. You didn't need to catch all of that. I read it quickly because I wanted you to catch the vibe of it. But now let's just think about where are we in the book of Ephesians? Last week, Owen preached Ephesians 2, 1 through 10. Guys, that is an incredible passage, and we heard an incredible message on it. That's a great gospel declaration, one of the purest 10 verses of the gospel of what Christianity is all about. Ephesians 2. We were dead, obeying our own desires, by nature, children of wrath, and then this massive, but God being rich in mercy has made us alive in Christ Jesus. He has seated us with Jesus. We're not saved by our works, we're saved by grace through faith. It's good news for us. We are his workmanship. Guys, if you're gonna memorize 10 verses in the Bible, you ought to memorize these ten verses in the Bible. It's Paul's story, it's my story. And if you're a Christian, that's your story. Ephesians 2, 1 through 10. And then right after that, Paul he wraps up this great text to transition to also a great text here, but he wants to further explain the implications of Jesus. And here the theme is not death to life, but separated to united. Okay, you can almost catch it here. There's a different theme in these verses, and we're gonna look at the uniting factor here. And look back at verse 11. Okay, in verse 11, Paul is gonna give us the only command in the first three chapters of Ephesians. There is no command outside of this verse in the entire first three chapters of Ephesians, because Paul doesn't want to give commands, he wants to point you to Christ, show you the gospel. Four, five, and six of Ephesians, command, command, command, command. There's only one command in the first three chapters, and it's right here. So then, here it is. Remember. Remember. That's a command on your life as a Christian. And this section is a reminder section. Paul is calling them to remember what Jesus has done and how it affects them, and specifically how it affects their relationship with people they once had beef with, but also their relationship with a God who at one time had beef with them. And so tonight, here's what I want to do: I want to show you a few different things that Paul wants them to remember. Okay, a few reminders for them, or better yet, for us, that if we don't remember, if you don't remember these things, we will live a shallow, frustrated life on earth instead of the abundant, flourishing life that Jesus has for us. Sound good? Okay, just three reminders quickly, it's straight from the text. Let's begin again. Go back to verse 11. Try to catch it. Okay, so then he's talking to Christians here. Remember that at one time, underline, at one time, you were Gentiles in the flesh. And then this is smack talk, called the uncircumcised by those who were circumcised, which is done in the flesh by human hands. You can see it. There's people calling names. Verse 12. At that time, okay, it's past tense, you were, and here it is, without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, foreigners to the covenant, without hope, without God in the world. Okay, here's the first reminder that Paul gives the people in Ephesians. Here it is remember who you once were. As a believer, Paul wants you to remember who you once were. Like these guys, you used to be way over there before you came over here. You used to be far from God before you came close. Remember who you once were. Okay, right here. He actually mentions right away the distance from God and these people, okay? The circumcision language, like I said, it's smack talk. Okay, the Jews and the Gentiles hated each other. Okay, Gentiles, that's just a word means non-Jews. So think like the Romans and the Greeks, and most of us in this room would be Gentiles. And the Jews would constantly remind the Gentiles that they were not part of God's family. Okay, circumcision was a symbol of that. And so here's the deal: whatever gap you think exists between Duke and North Carolina, Michigan and Ohio State, you need to move that further, and then you have the Jews and the Gentiles. There was a real hostility between them. So Paul, he's writing to these Gentiles and he says, guys, don't forget where you came from, don't forget how far away from God you were. And then he lists five things. Can you see it in verse 12? He says, You were without Christ, you were excluded from the citizenship of Israel, foreigners to the covenant, without hope, and without God. Okay, here are five words that describe their life and your life before Jesus: separated, alienated, strangers, no hope, and without God. That's who you were. Now you might read that and go, okay, Paul, chill. Like it almost feels like he's ripping into these guys. Like he's just calling them names. But you have to remember who he's writing to. He's writing this letter to the church in Ephesus. What do we know about the church in Ephesus? Well, we know, we're still in the book of Acts. We'll get there eventually at King's Church. We know in the book of Acts that the church in Ephesus was wild. Okay, long story short, Paul he goes there and he preaches the gospel, and half the city is doing magic, and the other half of the city is worshiping idols. Okay, the temple of Artemis is there, one of the wonders of the world, great wonders. So, okay, half the city is a bunch of wand-wielding wizards, like the Harry Potter trailer. Did y'all see that coming out? HBO? Okay, it's a big deal. Okay, half the city is doing magic, and the other half is worshiping some female deity of sex. Okay, that's what's happening in this city. And Paul, he literally rolls up on the city, he preaches Christ, and it says, all of those people bow the knee to Jesus, and it literally says they burned their magic books. The revival comes to Ephesus. And the point is this like he's writing to his people in Eph uh in Ephesus, these people were not close to God when Paul wrote into the scene. No, guys, they were not part of God's family. They had a messy, dirty past and a messy present. They had a past they were not proud of. And Paul, right here on the heels of this great gospel truth, he says, Hey, stop and remember who you once were. Now, zoom out. Pause here. Okay, I think we need to talk about the same idea today. Listen to me. There's value for the Christian to remember who you once were. Like there's value for us, there's value for me, there's value for you to think about what God has brought you from. Okay, sometimes we can come to Jesus and have our lives changed, and we feel like we should never look back. We shouldn't think about the past, our sins, our screw-ups. Like, don't go there. It'll make you feel guilty and dirty. It'll, you know, jack with your mental health. But Paul here tells these people do you want to move forward in freedom? Well, then look backwards to the prison that you used to be in. Look back at your life. And so if you're a Christian in here, I think it'd be great for the next minute. Why don't you just meditate and think about your life before Jesus? Right now, just thank you. Like the chains. Remember the darkness. Remember the addiction. Remember the pig sloth that you were eating. Remember the darkness of the shadow that you hid in, the prison that kept you. Remember the things that God has freed you from, the paths that you traveled, the mistakes that you made. Imagine what your life would be like tonight if you didn't know Jesus. Imagine your life. If you never met the person who shared the gospel with you, who invited you to salt. Like, don't erase that from your memory. Rehearse it. I oftentimes think about my life. I guys, before Christ, I lived a life that was thirsty for money and approval and pleasure. I wanted to make a difference. I was mad at my parents, I'm mad at my siblings. I wasn't open to anyone. I was secretly hiding an addiction to lust and approval. Like constantly. You remember that life, and then you look down today and you see this life that God has blessed you with. It creates not a heart of shame, but a heart of thankfulness. And that is why you ought to think about your life. This is what's true of our life. We used to be separated, alienated, strangers, and Paul, he's not afraid to remind them of that. And so for those of us in Jesus, look back at your past. But guys, we don't look back at our past from a place of defeat, but one of victory. Like we're reminded of our past, and it doesn't produce shame in us, but gratefulness and joy. We thank God that we are not who we once were. It's kind of like looking back at old pictures from middle school. You guys ever go back and look at your pictures? Like from middle school, and you just remember who you once were. And you know, I found some old photos today of some people you guys might know, our staff. Um, Holly, let's just I want to show you some pictures of people. Um, this is Drake. I don't know if you guys know this. Drake played college baseball. Uh, do the next one to Drake. Guys, this was Halloween. Uh Bird, is it Bird Box? What's that movie with uh that bird box? You know, that's who he was. Okay. Hey, keep going. We have more photos here. Do you guys know who that is? Tyson? Now show the next one to Tyson. It's amazing. Okay, can you see Tyson? I think it's like uh Hunger Games or something. I don't know what he's doing here. Okay, keep going, keep going. I think there's Carly. She was uh now she's eating a breakfast burrito. And then let's do our fearless director here. Here's Owen. And uh and then look, this is my favorite picture of Owen here running. Now here's the deal like you look at these photos, and part of you, you can look at your photos later, you ought to send it to your friends and go look for theirs. Part of you feels like cringe, like this was part of your life, but the but we also laugh. Why? Because we know that that's not the same person we are today. We look back and we know there's been a glow-up, there's been a transformation, like we're not who we used to be. Yeah, there's parts of it, but we can look back at that and laugh. Why? Because we know we've been changed. And likewise, as Christians, we look back at our past from a place of victory and we know that's not the same me today. And we have this feeling where we can actually laugh at our old sin from a place of victory and almost mock it. Guys, you need to remember where you came from. Okay, remember that God can take any story, any mess, and make it beautiful. And here's what I want to say before I move forward. You know, maybe you're in the room and you're like, dude, I'm I'm I'm not out of a mess. I'm currently living in a mess. Like, that's not my past, dude. Like, this is my present. Listen, if that's you, if you're living in sin and these words alienated, separated, without hope, like if that defines you, if there's anything I know about the God of the Bible, it's that nobody is too far gone. Okay, nobody is too broken or too messy that God can't transform you. Like, there's not an outfit that you can wear that's so dirty that will stop God from embracing you. Okay, that's the first point tonight. Don't forget your story, don't forget your hometown. If you forget how deep the sin once went back then, you'll forget how deep God's grace goes today. There's value in remembering the darkness because it makes you appreciate the light so much more. Okay, let's keep going because Paul says, Hey, remember the gap that existed between you and the Jews, Gentiles. There's this massive gap, but also there's another gap. Don't just forget the gap, don't just remember the gap that existed between Jew and Gentile, but also the gap that existed between you and God. That you were separated from him. That if you feel like there's a gap between you and your biggest enemy, that's a mile wide, trust me, the gap between you and God is from here to the moon. You're far from each other, but you're also far from God. But then comes verse 13. Can you see verse 13? It's good news right here in verse 13, okay? If I can play the part of the cringy old youth pastor, I'd say we love big butts in the Bible, and this is one of them, okay? Verse 13. But now, in Christ, verse 4 is one, and verse 13. But now, in Christ Jesus, guys, there's a lot of verses that capsulate the gospel in one verse, John 3 16, Romans 8 1. This is one of them. But now in Christ Jesus, you who are far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Can you see it here? The far off have been brought near, the enemies have become friends. Like something happened when Jesus came and shed his blood. The uncrossable gap has been crossed, the great chasm. Has been greatly destroyed. Jesus has bridged the gap. He's brought these two parties together. Question: How did he do it? Well, look at what it says. How did Jesus bring us together? He repeats the same word four times, verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, you who are far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our circle this word, peace. Who made both groups one, tore down the dividing wall of hostility in his flesh, he made no effect of the law, consisting of commands and expressing regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from two, resulting in, here it is again, peace. He did this so he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by which he put to death hostility. He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who are far away, and peace to those who were near. Four words, over and over again, peace. It says that Jesus preached peace, that he made peace, but verse 14 is key. He also is our peace. Can you see it there? He preached it, he brought it, but he also is peace. You know, there's a lot of great titles for Jesus in the Bible. The Good Shepherd, the Alpha and the Omega, the Son of God, the Son of Man, Emmanuel. We could go on and on, but the one that's highlighted here and on the cross is the one that sounds cute, but is honestly really powerful, and it's that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He's the Prince of Peace. Not just preaching it or bringing it, but he is peace. The second reminder that Paul gives these guys is this remember the Prince of Peace. Remember the Prince of Peace. And Owen just talked about this at church on Sunday not too long ago. What do we mean by peace here? Do you guys know a definition of the word peace? Well, think about the opposite of peace. Okay, what words would you say are opposite of peace? Well, you might say chaos or disorder. How about war, conflict, hostility? Well, Jesus here has brought the opposite. Wherever there's conflict, wherever there are enemies and hostility, he's come to put an end to that. And like Owen said a few weeks ago, there's two ways that Jesus brings peace. The first is this horizontal peace. Like he came and he brought horizontal peace between the Jew and the Gentile, the people of God. That's what's happening here. Remember, Jews and Gentiles hated each other, but the emphasis here is that Jesus made two groups into one. He brought unity to these people. Okay, look at the word one repeated over and over again here. It says he made us one, he created us one, and placed two, one body, one spirit. This is what happens when Jesus went to the cross. He brought peace to the enemies. That through Jesus, he has brought two parties into one. So here's what this means for us practically. If you're a Christian, you're sitting here and you've got conflict between another believer. Okay, think about that. I don't know, someone in your connection group. Your boyfriend, your girlfriend, okay, roommate. Like if there's conflict between you, you are not living in the freedom that Jesus has purchased for you. No, he wants reconciliation. He wants peace. And maybe the thing that God wants from you tonight is actually to forgive or to ask for forgiveness of people in this room. Why? Because he wants peace. He wants reconciliation. That's the first step here. Horizontal peace. But you have to understand, we'll keep going. There's something going on under the horizontal peace that's driving the peace. How did Jesus bring us peace with one another? Well, it's because ultimately he brought us peace between us and God. He brought vertical peace. Okay, you can see it right in the middle of verse 15. Look at 15 again. It says this that he might create in himself one new man in place of two, making peace. And then verse 16 is key. And he might reconcile us both, where? To God. In one body, how? Through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. Or in other words, the goal of Jesus was not primarily to bring them together, it was to bring them to God. That for the Jews and the Gentiles, his goal was not just to bring them together, but instead to bring them to God, thereby bringing them together, paying for their sins, bridging the gap, and always creates peace together. Think about these guys. Okay, think about the differences between the Jews and the Gentiles. Okay, the background would have been different. Sin struggles, skin color, nationality, everything that you can imagine. These guys had nothing in common except now they have a common savior and a common future. And because of that, they can have unity. This is what the gospel does. It unites people across boundaries. And it's the same today. Think about the people in this room. Look around. Okay, lots of different people in this room. Lots of different majors and hometowns, states, and people from different countries, likely people who are very different, who think different, who vote different, who enjoy different things. We got bachelor people, survivor people, we got people all over the map in this room. But the reason that we can have peace and harmony is because while we don't share many things in common, we do share at least one thing in common, and it's Jesus. And so my encouragement to you in the room tonight is this remember the Prince of Peace. Remember him. And also don't forget what he's done for you. Look at verse 14. Verse 14 says, He brought you near. Notice it doesn't say you came near. There's a difference here. Jesus went and got you, and he brought you near. That's the gospel. This is grace. You were dead. We were all on the same sinking Titanic, and we were saved not by Jack, but by Jesus. Okay, and now we can have peace together. And before we move on, there's just one more piece to this peace stuff I want to highlight. Question again. How did Jesus bring us peace together? Answer, he brought us to God. Well, how did he bring us to God? What did he do? What does it say? Because you see, the Prince of Peace sounds cute, but this was not a cute treaty between countries, and this wasn't an apology that brought us to God. No, listen, guys, the hostility between us and God was too heavy, too severe, and too deep for a simple I'm sorry to fix it. Like maybe you and your friends can get in a fight and you guys need to talk it out and apologize, and it covers the gap. But listen, not so between us and God. This is not cheap peace, it's costly peace. Because look at what Jesus did in verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, you who are far away have been brought near how? By the blood of Christ. Can you see it there? And look at verse 16. He did this so he might reconcile us both where to God in what one body through the cross. Can you see it? By which he put the hostility to death. Okay, you can see it here. It wasn't through compelling preaching that peace came, and it wasn't through sentimental apologies. No, peace came through blood, and peace came through the cross. Or in other words, the pathway to peace was actually war. That Jesus brought peace by waging war, waging war on your sin, waging war on the devil. And look what it says he did on the cross. It says, by which he put hostility to death. Can you see it there? Well, in other words, Jesus got hostile with hostility. He killed killing. He put death to death. That's what happened on the cross. In order to get us back to God, in order to usher in peace, Jesus had to take it head on. Peace came through war. Jesus waged war on our sin and took the wrath of God. Peace through war. Or unity through division. For the first time in history, the son and the father were at odds with one another. It says the son was cut off from the Father, that your unity came through the division of the Son and the Father. Victory came through defeat. Light came through darkness. Joy came through suffering. The crown came through the cross, and your peace came through war. Or in other words, if I had to summarize it, before Jesus could become the Prince of Peace, he first had to become the suffering servant. He had to die. He had to be the lamb. He had to be the substitute. It was like Jesus put on the number four jersey and he went to fight for us. But listen, he didn't just deliver a beating to our enemy, he took a beating for his friends. That's the gospel. It took more than an apology. It cost him his life, war and peace. It was through his death that we have life. This is the divine exchange that we love to sing about. Our peace came on the back of Jesus. And so really, there's only two types of people in this room and in this world. There are those who have peace with God, and there are those who don't. There are those in this room whose offenses have been paid for and covered by the blood of Jesus, or there are those who are still hostile with God. And let me tell you, if that's you, it is not too late to jump ship, to join the other side, to commit treason on the enemy, and to come to the land of the king. You can have peace with God. All you got to do is trust Jesus, bow the knee, and he will go fight your battles for you. And that's good news for us. Remember where you came from. Remember the Prince of Peace. But let's finish here. There's one more thing. Finally, he says this remember your new identity. That's the last reminder. Remember who you are. Remember your new identity. Look at verse 19. It's a great verse. Verse 19 says this. So then, okay, because of all this, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household. Here's what Paul says. Because of where you've been and what Jesus has done, you get a new identity, you get a new name, you get a new you. He's redefined who you are. Yeah, maybe you used to be separated, but now you are family. That's what he says here. The foreigner has found a home. The stranger has found a brother. The hopeless has found hope. You can see it here. He's contrasting verse 12, all of that stacked negative language, and now he's using word pictures to stack who we are now. Verse 19, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but here it is: you are citizens with the saints and members of God's household. First of all, he says you're a fellow citizen. Okay, that you and I, if we're in Christ, we are a citizen of heaven, a citizen of a new kingdom. You're not a sojourner anymore, you're not a vagabond, you are a citizen, which means that you and I have a king, and there's a kingdom, and you get all the privileges of being a citizen in the kingdom. You get protection, you get provision, you serve the king. And check it, our king is not some tyrant that nobody loves. No, our king is strong and gentle. He is lovely. When our king returns from battle, people don't lock themselves in their doors. They come out and they sing and chant his name. Our king has come back. That's the kind of king that we have. We're citizens of his kingdom, but we're not just citizens. It says we're citizens with the saints. Or in other words, you and I are members of the people of God, the holy ones. That's what the word saints means. That you and I are holy ones, that you've been washed clean, set apart, you've been given new clothes to wear. Like we've mentioned this before, but to be a saint is not a next level Christian. This is where the Catholics get it wrong. No, all of us in Christ are saints. Every Christian is a saint, made right with God. We're citizens, we're saints, but he doesn't stop there. He also says that we are members of the household of God, that we belong to his family, that we are part of his household. Brothers and sisters and sons and daughters, we belong to him. But then Paul does something weird. He's gonna keep using the household illustration and go a little wild with it and use different metaphors. It's kind of hard to understand. Look at verse 20. So we're members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus is the cornerstone. In him, the whole building being put together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together for God's dwelling in the Spirit. So, long story short, this is what he's saying. That all of us are in God's house, but also we are God's house. Can you see it here? That we're being built together into a temple, okay, which is Old Testament imagery for the place where God's presence dwelt. You see, the temple is the dwelling place of God. Okay, we see this in the Old Testament. The first temple was what? The Garden of Eden, the presence of God. And then we see the tabernacle, we see David's temple, and then Jesus' body in the real way was the purest and ultimate temple, God with man. But then you read this New Testament, and it says that the temple is no longer in a fixed spot in Jerusalem, in Denton, wherever. But no, the temple is spread out, that the presence of God is housed all over the world. And then we know from Revelation and the new earth, this temple theme finds its fulfillment. It says there's going to be no temple in the new earth. Why? Because the presence of God is gonna be so real, so palpable, it'll cover the earth like the water covers the sea. Listen, this is who we are in Christ, a temple of God built on the teachings of Jesus. Citizens, saints, together as a temple. Paul, he's stacking imagery to remind them of who they are in Christ. And I'll close with this. I'm thankful for Paul's word here to the church in Ephesus, because I think it's a great reminder for us. I hope it's encouraging to you. Because one of the problems with being humans, like in a world full of distraction and lies, is that so often we forget what's true. You know, it's said often that the gospel leaks. Like there's a leak. And what I mean by that is like we fill ourselves up. Every Sunday, every Thursday, you are filling yourself up with Jesus and what he's done for us, but there's a hole in the bucket. Like we're leaky people, we're forgetful people. And because of that, it's always good to remind yourself of truth and not to forget what God has done for you. Guys, remember where you came from. Don't forget chapter one of your story. Remember the old you. Think about him or her often, and even the shame that comes with it. Think about your past life because it's remembering the depths of our sin that the gospel and his grace comes real. But also don't forget the hostility, the peace, the cross, and your new identity in Christ. Think about it often. Hold tight to these words. You'll never feel more peace or at home. And to that end, let me pray for us. And we'll sing about the blood of Christ. Lord, I'm so grateful that we sit here transformed by the blood of Christ. God, thank you for the truth that in Christ, all of us who were far off doing our own things, sinning, chasing the things of the world, that you have come and brought us near by the blood of Christ. Thank you for the gospel. And so now, Lord, I ask for the people in this room, would you let these truths bear on our hearts in such a way that if there are people in our lives where there are not peace between us, especially believers who hold to these same truths, God, would you bring those people into our mind? And God, would you help us forgive them or ask for forgiveness? God, create peace in the people in these in this room. God, thank you for the peace that exists between us and God. We love you. Help us sing about it with passion and truth. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.