From Division To Peace In Christ ("Their Home" Day 5)

Bitterness. Hate. Hostility. The divide before Christ between the "circumcised" and the "uncircumcised" could not have been more volatile. Then, something miraculous happened: The Gospel came to both, and hostility turned to peace. In this episode, Matt and Rachael use the "From Their Home to Our Home" Bible study method to explore how we should walk, in light of a Gospel that destroys hate and hostility. 

Click Here for week three homework sheet

BEFORE this episode: Complete DAY FIVE homework (Ephesians 2:11-18)

AFTER this episode: Complete DAY SIX homework (Ephesians 2:19-22)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

While it is important to know that you have everything you need to engage with God's Word if you simply have a Bible and the indwelling Holy Spirit, a few additional resources could be helpful in providing you clearer understanding of the spiritual and cultural context of the book of Ephesians. Click the links below if you'd like to explore these additional tools:

Enduring Word free online commentary for Ephesians

The Bible Project overview video of the book of Ephesians

Transcript

Why Our Lives Feel Ineffective

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Do you ever feel like your life just isn't as productive or effective as it should be? As followers of Jesus, we want our short time on earth to have eternal impact, but often we feel like we're falling short. The good news is that Scripture gives us a promise, a life that's never ineffective or unproductive in knowing Jesus Christ. In 2 Peter 1, we're told to build on our faith, adding goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. As these qualities grow, they keep us fruitful and effective for God's kingdom. I'm Matt Morrow, and my wife Rachel and I have spent nearly 20 years teaching God's word and walking with people in every stage of faith. Our passion is to see lives permanently and radically transformed by Scripture applied. Adding to your faith is here to help you understand biblical truth, practice it daily, and grow to look more like Jesus. We're glad

Meet Matt And Rachel

SPEAKER_00 1:09

you're here. Let's walk this journey together.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

So we are working through this method. Um, I will remind you if this is something that that you really um have some questions about or want to dive a little deeper in. This is a method that we got from the Secret Church, which was done by David Platt. And so if you want more information on it, you can go to the

Bible Study Method And Resources

SPEAKER_02 1:49

uh Radical website and look for the Secret Church on how to study your Bible. And there are a lot of resources and more information about this method. But I hope by day five now it's becoming a little more comfortable to you as you are are using it more. I hope that those observations are are coming more quickly, and as you think about context, that that's coming more naturally to think about where you are.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

So I mean, I'm noticing that. I I I I think you know, we've talked about that too, Rachel, on the podcast, but also off that that the the more it's I guess it's like any other any other thing, but especially when you're led by the Holy Spirit, the more you practice it, the more you start to hear and recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit leading you through his word. And that's the whole point of this. The point is not to develop a skill by just sort of mastering different Bible study techniques. That's that's never the the point. The point is to use these methods, these techniques to unlock our our dependence on the Holy Spirit. Right? That's the whole idea, is to is to is to

Purpose Of The Method: Depend On The Spirit

SPEAKER_00 3:01

be is to experience that power firsthand.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Right. And so I would we would remind you that if you have not spent time on your own in Ephesians 2, we are in verses 11 through 18 today, then please, please, please go spend some time in the Word with the with you and the Holy Spirit and ask him to to show you these truths.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Don't spend time with us before you spend time with the Holy Spirit and the Word.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

It will be time well spent. So please, please go do that because that is the purpose of all of this. It's not to to get a method down so that you have, you know, have a good method. It's so that you can mine scripture to see what God wants to show you about himself and about your own heart.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

And in the process, just grow closer and deeper intimacy with him.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

And grow in him, right? So that you love him. That's you know, scripture is clear that our obedience, that our when we uh proclaim him, when we serve as ambassadors to of you know, for him, when we serve others, that all of that is driven by love. And you can't love someone you don't know.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

I'm gonna get to pray, right? Yes, I was going to do that. Everything you're saying, I now want to just take to the Lord and pray.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

So before we dive into Ephesians 2, verses 11 through 18, uh, Matt, please pray for us and ask the Lord to do what only He can do.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Absolutely. Lord, I just want to thank you so much

Invitation To Study Before Listening

SPEAKER_00 4:34

for what you are showing us in your word by helping us to understand your mind better, to understand your your heart, your purpose. But Lord, even more than that, thank you for drawing us nearer to you. God, I that's my prayer is that is that you will just just help us to know you better by going deeper in your word and learning to depend on your spirit to take us through the truth of your word. God, as we do that, I just I just want to praise and worship you for the God you are, for the for the just the awesome nature that you bring to us every day and make available to us every single day. God, thank you for making and keeping an appointment for us in your word. I pray that as we meet you there now, your spirit will lead us through it, and we will feel and see your power in a new way, even today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Amen.

Opening Prayer

SPEAKER_00 5:35

So we are uh back in Ephesians 2, verses 11 to 18. And I mentioned this yesterday at the end of the show, but uh there is a first word here that is one of the big, big Bible transition words, and that's the word therefore. And of course, we start by observing the text. I'm gonna read the whole text, but I'm just gonna give you a little bit of a clue. That's gonna be an important part of what we observe. It's also, you're also gonna hear some words repeated. You're gonna hear phrases that are repeated, you're gonna hear some patterns and things like that. These are the kinds of things we're listening for and looking for as we enter into that first step, which is to observe their home. So listen for that as

Reading Ephesians 2:11–18

SPEAKER_00 6:15

I read the text to us. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in the ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in the place of two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who are far off, and peace to those who are near, for through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. That's Ephesians two, eleven to

Observing The Text: Therefore And Repetition

SPEAKER_00 7:34

eighteen. So before we start trying to unpack meaning, before we start looking for timeless truths or for personal application, we just want to take it all in. And I mentioned that the one of the big transition words is therefore. Of course, we had a longtime pastor in Springfield at Second Baptist Church, John Marshall, who I don't know how many times said this, but I took it to heart, which is when you see the word therefore in the Bible, ask, what's it there for? Right? What's it there for? And it's always a big transition. So just I think it's important for us to remember where we came from in yesterday's text. In yesterday's text, which was verses one to ten, there were several really key elements of the gospel that were just on full display. That's this is where we were told we were dead. We were children of wrath, we were dead in our trespasses, and that God brought us to life because he is good, because he is gracious, and he loves us with a big, big love. And that's because of him and his nature and nothing that we've done, so that we can't boast, but we are saved by his goodness, and we're saved with purpose because there's workmanship, good works that he's prepared for us ahead of time. All of that leads us to therefore, which says, Because of all of that, here's what's next. So because of all of that, we come into today's text, and this is where he starts really breaking down what we what we hinted at yesterday, right, Rachel. What do you observe in this text?

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Well, the the first thing that I observed was that there is a therefore, right? So anytime there's a therefore, then you're like, why is is that there? So he's referring to what he has been saying. And so you're

You Were Far Off, Now Brought Near

SPEAKER_02 9:12

absolutely right. We want you have a there, a therefore requires you to go backwards. Always and say, what what it was he's saying that now he's basing this argument on, right? Or or this conclusion on, or or whatever it is he's going to. I also noted that he says, Therefore, remember. Right. So he's hearkening back to something they know.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Yeah, he's telling them something they already know.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

And so that was something that I noted as well is what what is it that they know that he's calling them to remember. And so I want to get my kind of get my hands around that. The other thing that I notice is that there's a pattern to these verses that is similar to the pattern that's in one through ten. So in one through ten, he says, You you were, you were dead, right? But God, and now you are alive in Christ to do good works that the father has created beforehand, right? So there's this kind of you were, something happened, now you are, and there's purpose in that. And these verses have a similar structure to them, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Did you notice that as well?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yes, I do. And that he was like these repeated phrases or words, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:28

So what you were, what you are now. So you were far away. You are, but now because Jesus has like Jesus has made peace between us and has made us one new man.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

Right. But so there's the but God, you know. Now you are no longer strangers, right? You're citizens. And so now he's kind of moving into which will be what we'll look at next time. But he's saying he's giving us like what we are now, and then

Hostility Versus Peace

SPEAKER_02 11:03

what the purpose of that is will come come tomorrow. But you're starting to see that that he's kind of setting up a similar structure that you were far away, but now Jesus is our peace, and so now you are one new man in Christ.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Yeah, and he and he uses this language several times, a couple of times at least, especially toward the end, where it talks about one man and two men, and the and the you know, that there were that there were two and now one. I mean, he's he again we talked yesterday about how in this culture, the very collective culture, so there really wasn't a lot of thought given to the individual versus the group. It's kind of it's just talking about the group here when it's doing this, but it's but he's saying there were there were two of us, there were the circumcised and the uncircumcised, and now there's one. Yes. So when he says man, that's what he's talking about.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Right. And so when he says remember, he's he's calling on on the Jews and the Gentiles to remember the situation we've been in, right? To remember that that you were the uncircumcised and you were called the uncircumcised by the circumcised.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

As as by the way, we should probably point this out. That's a pejorative. Right. Like that's not a description of a physical condition. That's what that's what people would say uh to basically call them filthy animals. Yes. Right. I mean, I I I for some reason this came to mind in 1 Samuel 17 when David is squaring off against Goliath. Remember what he says? Yeah, he says He says, For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? It's a pejorative. It is absolutely this is we used to

One New Humanity In Christ

SPEAKER_00 12:46

call you this while we were calling ourselves holier than thou because we were circumcised, right? Yeah, and that's how far apart we were.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Yes. And I I love that Paul one says he talks about how the circumcision was made in the flesh by hands, right? So he is noting that that there was there was a piece of that that it was like we kind of you know considered ourselves this, but then he's also saying, but there there is a real spiritual reality to that as well. It was not meaningless, right? It was not meaningless that that you were at that time separated from Christ.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Yeah, yeah. Right? At that time, and that was an indication of it. That was the marker, right? Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

That that was the marker of that, that you were separated from Christ, you were excluded from the covenant of God, you were not part of the Abrahamic covenant, and therefore you had absolutely no hope.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

So you're slipping into understanding, and that's okay. That's okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

But here's what he says. Like, I mean, that's just in observing, right? He's like, you have no hope. And so to kind of note some of those things of what he's what he's calling them to remember.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

Okay. So one of the things when I'm just sort of trying to to get an overview of the of the text is I just try to notice what's repeated. And some of these, some of these contrasts and these dynamics that Rachel's describing, they're repeated, right? They're repeated through the text. Another thing that I notice is that there are sp there are specific words that are repeated. The word peace is used four times in this text. The word hostility is repeated in this text. And and that's I don't think, I mean, I think one of the things that stands

Understanding Their World: Jew And Gentile

SPEAKER_00 14:29

out to me is if you if you repeat the word hostility a couple of times, uh if you use it at all, that's a I mean, that word describes what the what the divide was. It was not it was not just different cultures. It was hatred. Hostility means they hated each other.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

I mean they think of think of I mean think of the most wicked, vile hate that you can imagine in in our own culture, our own our own history, or whatever else. Think of the Ku Klux Klan in the South and or whatever it would be. Like there is wicked, vile hatred between these two people groups, and now there's peace.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

Yeah. I mean, I love the word changes, as you noted, right? It's like separated, alienated, strangers, no hope. You know, right, and then he moves into but now in Christ, right? So you see that but now, and then peace, right? Yeah, broken down the dividing wall, abolished the you know, the law of commandments, that he might create one new man, making peace, reconciliation, killing hostility.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

So so we we see all of this describing this great divide between Jews and Gentiles, this bitter, this bitter divide, two peoples now becoming one in Christ. The Godhead is right at the center of all this. You see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all three represented in this text. And then we move to understanding their home. And the the thing that stands out to me, we we touched on it, is that this hostility was real, it was bitter. They wanted nothing to do with each other, they hated each other, but through the gospel united in Christ, hostility is replaced by peace. I mean, that's that's a that's a powerful, a powerful meaning in this text.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

It is a powerful meaning in this test.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

What else do you pick up on there, Rachel?

SPEAKER_02 16:35

I think you see that too, that that he's you know, the like how he describes that, and now he's gonna go on to describe that as as we work through the passage. But I do think you have like to understand what it meant to them, you have you have to remember the separation.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yeah. Yeah, and that's that's really and and just to kind of take a step back and think about this method that we're using here. This is a good example of why this method is is useful in in the ancient texts of the Bible.

Only The Gospel Reconciles

SPEAKER_00 17:09

That if we it can't mean something to us that it didn't mean to the original audience. It it can't, I mean it can it can be applied differently, but that the we have to start with the foundation of knowing, well, what was what was the message and to that audience and how would it have been received by that audience? What is what is that first? And to do that, this understand their home, what does it mean is a really important part of the process.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

And so I do think you want to look, you have to remember, that's what Paul says, like remember that there was this great division, and then when he gets to, but now in Christ, you've been brought near and he tells them how. Yeah. Right? He says, You've been brought near by the blood of Christ, who made us peace. He tore down that wall of division because he abolished the law and commandments expressed in the ordinance in the ordinances, right? So Jesus, by his blood, has kind of satisfied that law, right? So that dividing wall of hostility is no longer there because in Christ, by his blood, that gap has been closed.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

It says he it says killing the hostility.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Like murdering the hostility.

SPEAKER_02 18:36

Murdered the hostility, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Because the commands of God were fulfilled.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

Right? So he he he murdered them, right? He he di he got he destroyed all of that hostility that that truly existed.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

That couldn't have been more real.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

And was absolutely insurmountable, hopelessly inset. Like it was a gone now.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

It was a real theological divide. And it is now gone because Christ has made them one in his own body.

The New Dividing Line: In Christ Or Under Wrath

SPEAKER_02 19:15

And there's a lot, like a lot to unpack there.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

But well, let's let's go there next because what what would happen next in the in the method is we would go from observing their home, what do you see, understanding their home, what does it mean in that time and place and context, to you know, bring it back home. How does it relate? This is where we start to really zero in on those timeless truths, the things that were just as true then as they are today and as they always will be. What are some of those that that stand out to you, Rachel?

SPEAKER_02 19:47

First, that salvation comes through the Lord, that Jesus brought us near, Jesus gives us peace, like Jesus tore down the hostility and the divisions, right? That all of that is through the Lord. But then secondly, Jews and Gentiles uh share in the same body and they share the same spirit. That there there is no distinction in Christ.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

Which which is just this incredible, beautiful picture because he's all about redeeming and restoring.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

And and all of these divisions, all of this hate, all of this hostility is a is a wicked product of the fall. And when he restores us and redeems us, there's no place for any of that anymore. It's just there's just no home for it. And it doesn't mean we don't still have our flesh, it doesn't mean we don't still fail and sin and and repent and all those things, but it does mean that in this new paradigm, there's just no place for any of that anymore.

SPEAKER_02 20:57

Not in the body of Christ.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

Not in the body of Christ anymore. And and that's radical. I mean, I wrote down, I wrote down that Christ and his gospel destroy hate and hostility as a timeless truth. I wrote down that there is perfect unity in Christ. And I wrote down that only the gospel does this. And I mean, to me, that's that's kind of the one of the really big takeaways is that we can talk about how great and remarkable and miraculous this this work of the gospel is, but I think we also have to note that that only the gospel does this. Nothing else does this. One of my favorite movies is Woodlawn. You remember you remember that movie? And I don't know if you've seen it or not. If you haven't seen Woodlawn, look it up. It's a gr it's a really good high school football movie, but it's about the period of time in the early 70s when uh s high schools in in Birmingham, Alabama were being integrated, and that was a there was a time of great hostility. Great racial hostility. And and revival broke out among this school, among this team, and those

Personal Application: Guard Unity

SPEAKER_00 22:08

divisions went away. Only the gospel does that. Football doesn't do that. School doesn't do that. Bussing doesn't do that. The gospel does that. And that's that's that beautiful picture. And it's and it's what's being described here in Ephesians 2. It is what's being described here.

SPEAKER_02 22:28

And I the one of the truths that that I wrote down out of this is that new dividing lines are now being drawn. The dividing line is no longer between Jew and Gentile. The dividing line is now between dead and alive. Yeah. Right? It's between in Christ and under wrath.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

And you're only one of those two categories. That you are either in Christ or you are under wrath. If you go back to what we were reading before, or you're dead or alive, right? That you were dead or or in Christ, you are made alive. But but this passage is saying there's there's no other dividing line.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Right. That's it. That's that's what's left.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

And it's the only thing that matters.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

The Jew and Gentile dividing line has been destroyed by Christ. It's been killed. We have one body and we share in one spirit, we share in one inheritance, and we are together. The only dividing line now that remains is are you in Christ or are you under wrath?

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Yeah. So as you as you take those timeless truths, which is what we call bring it back home, how does it relate? The the most essential part comes next, but you can't rush it. You can't get ahead of it. You have to do these other steps first in order for it to mean anything. But the essential part is how do you apply it at home? What do I do? How do I respond to these truths in a way that changes me more into the image of Christ and less into my less as my old self? And so do you have I've got I've got a few here, but let me I'd love to hear from you, Rachel. What do you have by way of application here?

SPEAKER_02 24:18

The f uh there were probably two tracks, I guess, in application that that I took out of this. One was just to really meditate on the unity of the believers and to really ask myself, is the only dividing line that I see in Christ or under wrath?

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Or do I have other categories?

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Or or do I create other categories and other inside the body of Christ? And to just really kind of think through and and pray through that Yeah, I mean I'm not sure. Am I as devoted to the unity of the body of Christ as Paul is as he writes about it?

SPEAKER_00 25:06

And and what's and that's a that's a tough question to ask

Reject Counterfeit Peace

SPEAKER_00 25:10

ourselves because obviously we want that, we want to be that, but if we don't ask, and this is this is sort of the the nut of the matter when it comes to to application, if we don't ask ourselves a question that hurts a little bit and that really twists us some, we're probably not actually applying truth, really. I mean, so that question to me is one you you know, you're basically like, I, you know, I don't I know I don't want to. I know I don't do it on purpose if I do. I'm not trying to do it, but I'm but I might have some bad muscle memory in my spirit on this, you know?

SPEAKER_02 25:46

And I could think of some examples of like, well, what about this? Or, you know, that's really like I don't, I don't think like sometimes I'm like, I don't think, especially if you think about kind of denominational differences or different interpretations from my right about that, you know? And I will tell you, I I had kind of an argument with the Holy Spirit because some of those I was like, well, you know, like I don't You don't win those arguments. I don't know about that. But what the Lord kept saying is, is that division greater than Jew to Gentile?

SPEAKER_00 26:18

Yeah. And the answer is no.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

No, right? Like if I can reconcile Jew and Gentile, can I reconcile sprinkling your babies or not? Or can I reconcile you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Can I reconcile these these not not insignificant, but not dividing items in even denominational differences, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:39

And I'm not saying that I understand you know, the but but let's not categorize it. But I do think that we are really prone sometimes to to look at some of those kind of issues like tongues or baptism or trying to kind of think, right? Or uh but there are just a lot of those kind of differences that we kind of pull out and argue about that are not that are not more significant than the difference between Jew and Gentile.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

And if he killed that hostility, let's not let's not introduce something,

Prayer And Intercession For The Lost

SPEAKER_00 27:17

something like that, right? So so I wrote down a couple two or three applications here of my own as well, and and I I wrote that I I need to consciously reject man-made hate and hostility and lean into the gospel instead. And and the good news for this is if you want to if you want to apply that lesson, you will have ample opportunity. Right? There's plenty of man-made hate and hostility, and we and we need to reject that and lean into the gospel instead, because the gospel kills it. The gospel murders that hostility. And so let's lean into that. The second that I had is is that I need to seek unity in Christ, which is the only place it can be found. And and another way of sort of describing that, that I've kind of I just kind of started jotting down these thoughts, is that I should not put my hope in other promises of peace, because there are lots of things in our world that promise peace, but I shouldn't put my hope in those things. Instead, I should absolutely desire peace, but I should also know where peace is found. And peace is found in the gospel and nowhere else. That's where it's found. Right. And that that will that will or should at least affect how I engage with other people. Right?

SPEAKER_02 28:36

Yeah. And that was the second, I think, track of my application. Okay. Was in verse 12 when it says, having no hope and without God in the world. And uh an outgrowth of seeing unity in the in the true body of Christ, right? Those who are are truly in Christ, built on his foundation, in the spirit, and then compassion and urgency for those who are outside of the c

Memorization Focus And Key Verses

SPEAKER_02 29:08

like that are outside of the covenant of Christ, that are outside of his blood, and and they are without hope and without God.

SPEAKER_00 29:19

And those timeless truths and those applications that you're describing have to inform your prayers, which is the next the next piece of this is how do we move from reading to prayer? So, what from what we have seen today should we praise the Lord for or should we take before him in need? What do you what do you have here, Rachel?

SPEAKER_02 29:37

I had two prayers that I wrote out today, and they were very short. So the first one was Lord, help me love your people. And the second was was Lord, give me a heart to share you with those who have no hope in this world.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

I I wrote praise the God of peace. Just praise him, worship him, and ask him to reconcile those who are far from him today. Just just and to your point, give me a heart for that. I want to pray for the salvation of these people, of the of those people who are in the fiercest rebellion against him, is to just pray for that. Pray for peace with that that only comes through the gospel. And as we move from reading to prayer, we also want to move from reading to meditation and memorization. So of these of these, I don't know, seven verses or so, is there a subset or a section that you would really key in on to keep and kind of

Closing Prayer And Next Passage Preview

SPEAKER_00 30:42

continue to come back to over the next few days?

SPEAKER_02 30:44

I think uh that having no hope and without God in the world was the phrase that that I camped on.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's I mean, if you want to have a heart for the lost, reminding ourselves of that is a pretty good way to keep our heart there, right? I I put Ephesians 2, 14, which is for he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. To me, that just sort of sums it up, captures the whole thing. So, Rachel, any other parting thoughts or or encouragement you'd like to offer to those who are walking alongside us in this day five of this of this method that we're using today. We have one one day left.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Yeah. Love your brothers and sisters, right? In Christ, we are one body. And and because of Christ, we none of us deserve to be here. And so just love. Like love your brothers and sisters in Christ, and then out of out of that love for Christ and and the love for his body, the church, then we can be light to the world.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Would you pray that for us and for those who are walking alongside us in this text?

SPEAKER_02 32:00

I would be delighted to. That in your body you have broken down the hostility, you have brought sinners unto yourself, that you have saved us by grace. It is not our work, and that in you you have created one man who shares one body, who shares one spirit, who serves one God and is under one head. And so, Father, we just we praise you for the beauty of that, that the believers around the world are united together in Christ from every tongue and every tribe and every nation, that we have more in common with believers in Africa and in the far ends of the earth than we have with our neighbors who are without hope and without God. And so, Father, we pray that you'll help that reality to set in with us, that we share one spirit with all of your people. And Father, I pray that that out of that, that you will remind us that in Christ you have done so much for us, that you have saved us, that you have given us peace, that you have torn down every other division that matters. But then, Father, there also is a world that is perishing, that they are without God in the world, and because of that, they are without hope. And so, Father, I pray that you will break our hearts and that you will prompt us to be part of sharing this gospel of peace with the world because it is for everyone. And we praise you for the beauty of your plan and the beauty of your purpose. And so, Father, it is in that that we um just ask you to accomplish these things in Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Amen. We are looking forward to being with you tomorrow. We send you right back into the Lord's word. It's been great walking alongside you with this today. Um, but tomorrow we'll be in Ephesians 2, 19 through 22, and that'll be the final day of this method that we're using this week of from their home to our home. So uh so please go ahead. God bless you as you go into his word, and we'll come right back here to walk alongside you tomorrow.