WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:02.000 Well, good morning. 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:08.000 Church, this morning we will be in Ephesians chapter 2. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:10.960 Ephesians chapter 2. 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:22.719 And today we will be looking at verses 11 through 22, which is an explanation of how the Gentiles have been brought near to God. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:32.880 If you look back in chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, the Apostle Paul shares three things. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.200 One, we were all lost, all of us. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:43.920 Two, in Christ we have been saved by grace through faith. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:50.240 And three, he says at the very end, we all have a new purpose now. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:55.119 To walk in the good works that God prepared for us. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.399 And this applies to anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus. 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:14.400 This new covenant revelation of salvation may not be striking to us Gentiles living in the 21st century, but for the Jew during this time, it was very confusing. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:20.319 If you were a Jew attending the church in Ephesus around A.D. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:32.400 62, and you're reading what Paul wrote in verses 1 through 10, you would be obligated to say, how did the Gentiles get access? 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:34.319 What changed? 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:35.680 What occurred? 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:38.400 And what does this mean for Israel? 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:43.120 And so people, generally speaking, they don't like change. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:46.959 Change is a threat to that which is familiar. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:51.680 Change can make us fear the unknown or make us feel like we've lost control. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:59.120 That's exactly how the Jews were feeling as God was unraveling this revelation. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:05.040 So Paul answers these questions in our passage today. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:08.960 And he must, because it's a valid question. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:15.280 Paul is going to explain the theology of God's expansion plan. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:17.520 What changed? 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:22.319 That God now draws all people from all nations to himself. 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:25.840 What about the Jew and the Gentile barrier? 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:32.479 What about the laws in the Old Testament separating Jew from the rest of the world? 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:34.879 How and when did this happen? 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:39.199 Paul answers these questions in our passage today. 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:44.400 And he begins by first talking to the Gentiles in the room. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:54.479 He starts by reminding them of their condition and status before the incarnation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:58.960 And so he says in verses 11 through 12. 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:28.400 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 one 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. 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:36.800 So Paul looks at the Gentiles and he says, Remember four things, starting with the first. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:50.719 So if you remember clear back in Genesis 17, God chose Abraham and made a covenant with him. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:58.479 And this promise was this that through Abraham's lineage all nations would be blessed. 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:09.520 And God instituted a physical practice that would remind them of this spiritual promise, aka circumcision. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:15.039 And God didn't choose circumcision, by the way, to be funny. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:19.839 It was a very intentional sign in practice. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:28.720 The very act of circumcision is a reminder that life comes from God, not a sexual reproductive organ. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:33.600 And it's also a reminder that the flesh is disposable. 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.480 The flesh counts for nothing. 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:42.240 And so the act of circumcision was this constant reminder of these realities. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:05:03.600 Circumcision was not a means of salvation, nor was it a symbol of pride, but rather a practice that would constantly remind the Jewish people that God has made us a promise, He will preserve our descendants, and our flesh will not make these things happen, but God's word will. 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:11.920 So both the sign and the practice of circumcision was for Abraham and his descendants. 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:17.759 Therefore, all of the other nations in the world were excluded. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:21.279 God didn't show up to them and make a promise. 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:30.319 So Israel used the phrase uncircumcised to refer to everyone else who wasn't Jewish. 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:35.600 Everyone else was uncircumcised, aka promised less. 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:44.399 And just a funny side note, Paul throws a jab here and he says, by the way, circumcision is made by human hands. 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:54.560 In other words, he's saying, Hey Gentiles, you were excluded from a physical act done by human mortals. 00:05:54.879 --> 00:06:03.680 Paul is hinting that you are not saved by having foreskin or the lack thereof on a sexual organ. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:08.560 Okay, you are saved by the work of God in your heart. 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:18.720 And so the second thing that Paul wants them to remember is look at the text, is that historically they were separated from Christ. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:25.600 So before the coming of Jesus, Gentiles were separated from the promise of a Redeemer. 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:32.319 That revelation, that prophecy, that hope, it lied with Israel. 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:40.879 Gentiles were uninformed, they were unaware, they lacked the hope of a Savior who is the source of salvation. 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:53.199 They were too busy being led astray by false gods, drifting to and fro by every pagan idea, chasing after superstitions and human imaginations. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.639 They were separated from Christ. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:09.920 The third thing he wants them to remember, look at the text, is that they were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and the strangers to the covenants of promise. 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:15.360 And so this refers to their exclusion from the Jewish community. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:18.720 Israel had the oracles of God. 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:21.759 They had the prophets raised up by God. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.160 They had miracles performed to them by God on their behalf. 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:31.120 Israel had the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy of Holies, the Temple. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:40.720 They had an entire structured government system in detail given to them by God through the Mosaic and the Theocratic laws. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.800 Meanwhile, the Gentiles didn't have any of that. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:53.120 They're outside the camp, talking to trees and bowing down to rocks, doing whatever they thought was right in their own eyes. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.000 They were excluded from all of this. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:01.040 They were strangers to the things of God, having nothing in common with Israel. 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:05.439 And so, physically speaking, they were alienated. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:12.399 And spiritually speaking, they were strangers to any promise made by their creator. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:24.399 The fourth thing Paul wants them to remember, look at the text, is they had no hope because they were without God in the world. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:29.199 This is the saddest description of all. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:58.480 Without God, no future hope, nothing to look forward to in this life or the next, no access to God, no relationship at all with Him, walking around in darkness like a blind man, pursuing whatever makes you feel good, guided by your own feelings and thoughts or culture, eating, drinking, trying to make the best of life before you die and you cease to exist. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:01.919 We forget, church. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:11.519 Before Christ came, salvation, the revelation of God, the hope of eternal life, all of these things was with Abraham and his descendants. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:15.679 God started his salvation plan with them. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:22.799 Everyone else, except for a few proselytes, lacked spiritual insight. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.320 They were hopeless and godless. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:32.000 And if you think to yourself, well, why did God do it this way? 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:34.480 Why not start with everyone? 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.720 Why would God wait long? 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:40.480 Right off the bat, he could have shared this with everyone. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:46.159 Listen, none of us deserve salvation to begin with. 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:46.879 Okay? 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:58.159 We have no right to question God on how he has decided to implement a salvation that we don't even deserve. 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:00.480 So what changed? 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:02.000 What changed? 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:05.519 God chose Israel to be a holy nation. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:07.919 He revealed himself to them. 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:14.879 And the Gentiles, except for a few, you know, your Jethres and your Rahabs, are all lost. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:22.720 What occurred that Gentiles, non-Jewish people, now have access to the salvation of God. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:23.919 Here's what happened. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.440 Look at verse 13. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:36.720 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:40.720 What changed is Jesus Christ. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:44.799 He did what Israel didn't do. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:52.000 If you didn't know, Israel was supposed to be sharing this message of salvation with all nations. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:58.639 They were supposed to, as Isaiah tells us, be a light unto the Gentiles. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:06.159 They were supposed to take this hope that they had and share it with the rest of the world, but they failed. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:07.600 Look at the Old Testament. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:08.799 They failed to do that. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:13.120 They became entitled, stingy, prideful. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:18.240 And even worse, they didn't model salvation very well. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:23.440 They misrepresented Yahweh in so many different ways. 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:27.840 Both parties, by the way, are at fault here. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:34.159 Israel failed to share the salvation they had in a future Redeemer. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:37.919 They failed to influence the Gentiles with God's truth. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:44.159 And the Gentiles were constantly tempting Israel to serve their false gods. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:48.639 The Gentiles were negatively influencing Israel. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:52.000 This was a recipe for disaster. 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:54.720 Kind of like evangelistic dating, right? 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:55.600 Which never works. 00:11:55.679 --> 00:12:07.039 It's Israel failed to share the salvation revealed to them and was instead influenced by the ungodly practices of the Gentiles. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:13.279 Therefore, laws were established in the Old Testament to protect Israel. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:16.879 Deuteronomy 7.3 says this. 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:38.720 Joshua 23:7 says, You must not associate with these nations that remain among you. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:50.000 So the separation in the Old Testament, it was not a mean meant to be a form of like racial or ethnic supremacy, not at all. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:13:02.080 But rather a means of preserving Israel's identity in preventing them from falling into the evil practices of the surrounding nations. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:06.720 Therefore, you could imagine hostility was created. 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:16.399 The Jews in their weakness didn't view the Gentiles as lost people that needed to be reached, but they viewed them as a threat to our nation. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:20.480 And they weren't interested in sharing the revelation they had. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:31.279 And the Gentiles, they didn't view the Jewish people as carriers of the truth, but as people who could join them in serving their false gods. 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:34.799 This created a brewing hostility. 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:40.879 So here's what we have: you have the Jewish nation hoarding salvation. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:48.879 They think they're better than everyone else because God gave them his word and his promises, even though they didn't obey half of it. 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:56.399 And then you have totally lost Gentiles who are walking around in darkness, who can't get to God. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:02.799 They're worshiping devils, intentionally tempting Israel with their immorality. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:09.039 But in the fullness of time, Jesus came. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:45.200 He was able to bring those who were sacrificing their children to Molech, those who were having orgies in the name of Baal, those who were bowing down to images made of sticks and stones. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:50.080 He was able to bring them close to the true and the living God. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:52.879 But a question remains. 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:53.840 How? 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:56.240 How could he do that? 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:08.799 How could Jesus bring a filthy, wretched, sin-loving rebel into direct access in right standing with an infinitely holy God? 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:11.600 Look at the verse. 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:19.919 This is how he did it. 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:27.200 He did it by shedding his blood as a legal payment for the price of sin. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:34.159 Jesus Christ bore the wrath of God that burned against our sin. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:43.919 On the cross, Jesus satisfied God's justice that demanded punishment for our sin. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:48.000 And his precious blood was spilt. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:58.720 Not for Israel only, but for all his people that he has predestined in all of time among all nations. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:05.279 The blood of Jesus Christ was so sufficient that it covered, covers the pen. 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:21.200 Here's what this means when the blood of Christ is applied to your sinful account, it totally satisfied all of God's anger towards your sin. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:32.240 It's so sufficient that once it's applied, God can never execute his eternal judgment towards you anymore. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:34.240 Fully satisfied. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:39.120 It's been totally cleansed by Christ's blood. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:46.559 Not only that, but for the for the sinner, it washes away the guilt and the shame. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:49.200 It gives us a clean conscience. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:54.960 It removes those barriers that constantly keep us away from God. 00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:04.480 To put simply, the blood of Christ removes every single barrier between us and God. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:11.119 It deals with God's wrath, it deals with the horrible sin that we've committed. 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:17.680 It deals with our conscience, and it gives us a right standing with God. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:32.799 Legally, the blood of Christ, it doesn't just wash away the bad things, but it actually makes us holy, blameless, pure, and righteous in the eyes of God. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:38.640 Jesus brought the Gentiles near through his blood. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:48.079 Through his blood, Gentiles who cling to Christ now can now stand before God with merit that is not their own. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:55.680 Church, I think it's safe to say that most of us in this room are Gentiles. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:59.200 I I don't know, but I would assume most of us are Gentiles. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.640 And we take this often for granted. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:10.480 That we are living in a day and age reaping the benefits of Christ's bloodshed. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.279 We wouldn't be here right now. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:19.920 We wouldn't be worshiping God in spirit and in truth if Christ didn't bring us near. 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:22.559 Do you appreciate that? 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:34.480 And Paul expounds on this reality further, talking about the peace that it has brought us on a relational level. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:40.880 His blood didn't just bring peace between us and God, but it brought relational peace. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:44.160 Look at what he says in verses 14 through 16. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:19:18.960 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 place of the two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:26.960 So not only did Jesus bring us near to God, but he is our peace, says Paul. 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:28.960 What is he referring to? 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:38.000 It refers to the Jew in Gentile hostility, the laws that kept Gentiles from influencing Jews. 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:45.680 There was this big wall between the Jews and the Gentiles, and there was a barrier still between Israel and God. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:53.359 Even though he was with them and he dwelt among them, their sin was a huge barrier between them and God. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:20:14.160 They literally had a veil around 60 feet high and 30 feet wide that required 300 priests to manipulate it, just to move it a little bit due to its immense weight, because it shielded them from the manifest presence of God. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:19.359 But this wall of hostility has been broken. 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:24.799 And the laws that kept Gentiles at an arm's length has been abolished. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:30.559 The laws that kept Gentiles out are now gone. 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:35.920 Now, don't misinterpret this verse. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:39.759 The law of God has not been abolished. 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:40.400 Okay? 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:47.920 It's been fulfilled in Christ and God's moral law still exists and operates and does what God needs it to do. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:56.400 But the laws in the Old Testament pertaining to the separation of Jew and Gentile, those are done away with. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:58.240 They no longer apply. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.640 Context is vital here. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:04.720 And Israel's barrier with God has been removed. 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:06.319 The veil is torn. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:09.599 Therefore, look at the next part of the verse. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:15.519 Jesus Christ has created one new man in place of the two. 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:21.519 In the Old Testament, no doubt, there was Jew and there was Gentile. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.960 There was circumcised and uncircumcised. 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:47.599 But in the fullness of time, God Himself came in our likeness in human flesh, and he carried a cross up to Calvary, willingly giving his life up, and placed on him was the sin of both the Jews and the Gentiles. 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:58.000 He paid for the crimes committed by Israel, but he also paid for the crimes of Gentile Jimmy, who lives in Mount Vernon. 00:21:58.559 --> 00:21:59.759 And what he created. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.240 Was one new man through one way. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:15.200 Jesus Christ broke down the wall, he demolished it, and he took the Jew and the Gentile and said, No more hostility. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:18.240 Through me, you are one new man. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:23.680 No longer do we have to say, Hey, you want to be saved? 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:25.440 Go to Jerusalem. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:26.799 Get a plane ticket. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:43.680 Go to Jerusalem, join the Jews, go through their conversion process so that you might be admitted into Israel's community and then go through the ceremonial laws that you may be able, maybe, to then draw near to God. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.160 Instead, no. 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:59.839 In the new covenant, we say, through the finished work of Christ, any man may draw near to God anywhere and at any time through faith in Jesus, God is yours. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:02.640 Do you want to know God? 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:08.160 Do you want to experience your creator and be reconciled to him? 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:12.160 Do you want to belong to the eternal family of God? 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:15.920 Then go to Him through Christ. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:25.279 Stop trying to go to God through religious exercises as if dead motions will get you near. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:32.960 Stop treating your body with harshness as if kind of like self-atonement will get you closer. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:37.839 You can go to God directly through Jesus Christ. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:43.440 He is alive, he reigns right now, he is at the right hand of the Father. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:45.119 He is in your midst. 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.480 You can talk to the mediator. 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:50.400 Go to God through Christ. 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:52.240 That's the good news. 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:55.279 That's the scandal of the gospel. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:12.079 That you can be approved by God and know him, not by good works, not by effort, not by some emotional experience, not through some human priest or being born of some ethnicity, but through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:15.279 This church is the one new man. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:25.680 Not male or female, not slave or free, not black or white, but those who live by faith in the Son of God. 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:29.759 Christ has dismantled this barrier. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:38.720 We need reminded of this church, don't we? 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:45.920 Because some of you in this very room are in a backslidden condition. 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:48.319 You've messed up greatly. 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:54.960 You've been neglecting God for months, relapsing in old sinful patterns. 00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.400 Sin is blinding you right now, and you don't know how to get back, you can't navigate it. 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:04.720 Friend, the solution is right here. 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:11.200 The solution is the same solution that converted you. 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:15.200 Come to God afresh through Christ. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:17.359 Come and confess. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:21.119 Remember the all-sufficient blood. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:27.519 And maybe there are some in this room who may not know God at all. 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:31.759 You're utterly lost, trying to find your identity in this world. 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:34.160 You're searching, but nothing satisfies. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:37.359 You're walking around in darkness. 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:42.400 Friend, you can know God right here, right now. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:45.519 God is closer than you think. 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:48.160 God is not asking for your money. 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:52.720 He's not up in heaven saying, you need to prove yourself to me first. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:53.359 No. 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:57.119 God has made a way through Jesus Christ. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:09.440 When you think about coming to God, all you can see is this monument of sin between you and God, this heaping pile of sin. 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:13.599 And it keeps you so far from God. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:15.440 And it is. 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:30.559 But one drop of Christ's blood removes this mountain of sin and it quickens you directly to the presence and the throne of God, fully accepted. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:37.279 Will you not come to Him and be cleansed from all your sinful crimes? 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:44.799 Will you not come to know and experience the true and living God through faith in Jesus Christ? 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:55.039 Salvation, it's at hand, it's right before you by clinging to the cross and saying in your heart, God, I believe in your Son. 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:59.519 I believe in who he is and what he's done on my behalf. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:02.000 This is what Christ offers. 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:08.400 This is why Jesus, if we look at his ministry in the Gospels, did what he did. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:10.160 Look at verse 17. 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:18.240 And he came and preached peace to those who were far off and peace to those who were near. 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:24.960 This is why Jesus preached to both the Pharisee and the tax collector. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:31.200 This is why Jesus preached to Nicodemus in Jerusalem and to the woman in Samaria. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:39.359 This is why Jesus commissioned Peter to preach to the Jews, and why he commissioned Paul to preach to the Gentiles. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:49.359 This is why the church today sends missionaries down the street and missionaries to unreached areas all around the world. 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:57.359 This is why we tell all men everywhere, repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:57.680 --> 00:28:04.720 Because salvation is at hand to anyone at any time through faith in the Blessed Redeemer. 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:10.000 People who walk by the church every day need to hear this good news. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:20.160 People who are in lost tribes, in the jungle, who are barbaric, they don't even know what a church is, need to hear this good news. 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:29.680 Jesus knew who he was and what he was going to do, which is why he preached to those who are far away and to those who were near. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.000 For salvation is now offered to all people everywhere. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:42.640 Church, we're living in the age of grace, an age where people can know God through saving faith in Jesus Christ. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:48.720 So what are all the benefits of Jesus breaking down this wall? 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:53.440 What are the results of such a beautiful new covenant? 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:58.400 Well, Paul explains them in verses 18 through 22. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:04.559 He says, For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:28.480 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:36.640 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:45.680 So the first benefit that Paul mentions is that we all now have access in one spirit to the Father. 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.359 That's pretty cool. 00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:51.839 Now the Jews had a very difficult time with this one. 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:53.839 They had a lot of pride. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:30:00.079 They created the system that made them the spiritually elite, right? 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:03.759 They're the knowers of God, they're the interpreters of truth. 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:07.519 And it kept everyone else at an arm's length. 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:09.519 You can't draw near to God. 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:11.200 You don't even know how. 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:15.039 We're the carriers of the truth, we're the experts. 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:17.680 God handed us his word. 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:20.319 We have a history with God. 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:24.079 So if you want to draw near to God, come and talk to us. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:25.599 We'll tell you how. 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:32.079 Well, Jesus in the new covenant obliterates this entitlement. 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:36.880 We all now have the same means to access God. 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:41.599 It's all through one Christ and one spirit. 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:44.880 This is the priesthood of every believer. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:56.480 This is why we're not the high church, this is why we're not Catholic, because we believe that Jesus Christ gave every single Christian and believer direct access to the true and living God. 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:02.640 It's through the same Holy Spirit which signifies this unity that we have. 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:10.240 I don't need to go to Rick and say, hey Rick, will you go to God and tell him my requests? 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:10.880 No. 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:16.160 Rick and I have the same Holy Spirit, and I can go to God myself. 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:19.519 We have equal privilege and access. 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:29.359 What Paul is implying here is that God's manifest presence will now dwell in every believer. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:41.039 The blood of Christ had so much cleansing power in our lives that God's Holy Spirit can now literally indwell us. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:47.920 Therefore, every true Christian has direct access to God. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:52.480 We can worship God together through the same means. 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:59.440 No more physical temple, no more human priest, but in spirit and in truth we worship God. 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:02.720 This is the first and great benefit that Paul mentions. 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:17.759 The second great reality that Paul expounds on is declaring that we Gentiles are no longer strangers or aliens, but we are citizens, saints, and members of God's household. 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:28.160 Gentiles who believe in Jesus can now be called three things citizens, saints, and members of God's household. 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:44.559 Gentiles through the cross can now be literally, legally a citizen of God's kingdom, a set-apart holy one, that's what saint means, and a member who belongs to the eternal family of God. 00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:51.359 You're no longer an uncircumcised, godless, hopeless pagan. 00:32:51.839 --> 00:33:02.720 You are no longer a lost, filthy Gentile, but you are an ambassador of heaven, a holy one, a beloved child of God. 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:26.799 If you are a Christian in the room today and you're struggling with the resounding voices in your head that you're a loser, you're an outcast, you're a black sheep, you're a mess up, you're an unlovable wretch, and you're believing that, you need to deal with that because it's simply not true. 00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:30.240 That's not New Testament language. 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:39.039 This verse boldly declares if you are in Christ, you are no longer an orphan, but a blameless child of God. 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:44.799 You might raise your hand and say, Yeah, Jimmy, but I messed up, I just keep messing up. 00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:46.559 Yesterday I messed up. 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:48.319 I willfully sinned. 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:50.559 I knew it was wrong and I did it. 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:56.799 I made a lot of mistakes recently, and I have crazy, weird thoughts in my head. 00:33:57.039 --> 00:34:08.639 Well, thank God that your salvation isn't based on your performance or your thought life, but it's based on the finished work of Christ. 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:16.000 And so the world and the devil and even your own mind will attempt to define you. 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:18.559 But none of those things matter. 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:30.639 The only thing that truly matters and is completely real is who God says you are: a citizen, a saint, a child of heaven. 00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:35.280 Lastly, Paul explains the new structure in place. 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:42.079 If we are all carriers of the same spirit, what's the new structure look like? 00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:44.079 Like, will it be like Jerusalem? 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:47.280 Do we need to appoint an earthly king? 00:34:47.519 --> 00:34:49.199 Do we need to build a temple? 00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:54.079 Construct a dwelling place for God's manifest presence to dwell? 00:34:54.480 --> 00:35:02.480 If Jews and Gentiles are together now, having the same means and access to God, what's the new structure look like? 00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:04.559 And so Paul explains this. 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:12.159 He says, both Jew and Gentile are brought together in God's new program called the church. 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:15.039 The foundation has already been constructed. 00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:16.480 Look at the verse. 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:20.400 The apostles and the prophets laid the foundation. 00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:23.679 Christ is the main part of that building. 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:33.360 It's the cornerstone in which we are all now being joined together into this beautiful temple of the Lord. 00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:39.280 It means this that believers now are the temple of the Lord. 00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:51.280 Individually, the Spirit indwells us, but Paul here is referring to the church, the gathered body of Christ, the gathered saints is the temple of the Lord. 00:35:51.599 --> 00:36:11.760 So in the Old Testament, there was a physical temple, a physical place where God's manifest presence dwelt, a physical city in which God's people dwelled, but in the new covenant laid by the apostles and the prophets, we are the temple of the Lord. 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:14.000 God's presence dwells in us. 00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:22.480 In the church, the gathered body is the structure in which God is building his kingdom here on earth. 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:26.079 And we are all different members of this body. 00:36:26.239 --> 00:36:29.760 We see that in Corinthians, right, 12 and 13. 00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:39.280 But we serve the same Lord, we have the same spirit, but we all have a different part to play in this new structure. 00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:43.119 And we'll talk about that more in Ephesians 4 when we get there. 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:46.559 But it joins us all together. 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:49.840 A hand can't operate without an arm. 00:36:50.239 --> 00:36:53.039 A foot doesn't work if there's no leg. 00:36:53.280 --> 00:36:53.599 Right? 00:36:53.760 --> 00:37:02.480 There is unity in this diversity, which grows us all together into a beautiful temple, a beautiful home. 00:37:02.719 --> 00:37:05.199 This is what verse 22 is getting after. 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:12.639 In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:16.639 Friends, this is why church is so important. 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:33.760 This is why we emphasize intentionality, meaningful membership, why we take the liturgy so seriously with reverence, why we uh always promote church attendance consistently, that it should be a high priority in your life. 00:37:34.239 --> 00:37:38.719 Because we truly believe that church isn't just an event. 00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:42.239 Church isn't some therapeutic session each week. 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:49.360 It's not a business to run, it's not a pep rally, it's a dwelling place for God. 00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:55.440 It is the family of God gathering together to worship Jesus Christ. 00:37:55.760 --> 00:38:01.039 We gather not to come and pat ourselves on the back and feel good about ourselves. 00:38:01.280 --> 00:38:10.079 We gather to be built up week after week as we grow and grow and grow all the way to heaven together. 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:13.920 This is why we reject the trending model. 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:19.440 The church should be modified primarily for unbelievers. 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:28.000 By definition, here in this verse, the church is a group of mutually committed believers. 00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:32.079 It's made up of those who carry the Holy Spirit. 00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:35.440 Of course, we want to reach unbelievers. 00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:43.679 Of course, they can come and attend, and we want to evangelize them and love them and share the basics of the gospel with them. 00:38:43.920 --> 00:38:48.960 Of course, we should be doing outreach and participating in personal evangelism. 00:38:49.199 --> 00:39:01.760 But what makes a church a church by definition is that it's made up of believers who have the Spirit and are united together through the same means of salvation. 00:39:02.239 --> 00:39:12.880 So, according to this verse, the dwelling place for God on earth is when mutually committed believers are gathering the church. 00:39:13.920 --> 00:39:15.679 How awesome is this? 00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:27.760 I mean, friends, we're not merely a nonprofit, some social club, or just a place that, you know, this would be a good place to raise our kids. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:30.719 No, it's so much more than that. 00:39:31.599 --> 00:39:40.480 The gathered saints are the house of God, the family of God, and we will be together forever in heaven. 00:39:40.800 --> 00:39:42.320 Do you realize that? 00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:47.920 When Christ returns, we're not told that he's coming to get you, singular. 00:39:48.079 --> 00:39:50.239 We are told that he's coming to get what? 00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:55.679 His church corporate, in which hopefully you are a part of. 00:39:56.239 --> 00:40:00.320 We get to be a part of this amazing thing called the church. 00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:09.360 And Christ has instituted it, he is the head of it, and he has given us so much information on how it should function and operate. 00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:16.400 This is the great last benefit that Christ died for and said, hey, come and be a part of. 00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:19.360 So proclamation church. 00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:21.599 What does this passage mean for us? 00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:24.719 I just want to summarize and highlight a few things. 00:40:24.960 --> 00:40:25.840 Gentiles. 00:40:26.079 --> 00:40:31.599 First and foremost, we need to remember our history as Gentiles. 00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:37.199 Just like the Jews, we can take for granted the age that we are living in. 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:43.679 If Christ did not bring the Gentiles near through his blood, we would still be lost. 00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:53.840 Bowing down to stones, making useless sacrifices to false gods, being led astray by the paganism of our ancestors. 00:40:54.639 --> 00:40:55.920 But here we are. 00:40:56.320 --> 00:40:59.920 We know our creator because of Jesus. 00:41:00.639 --> 00:41:01.679 Appreciate that. 00:41:02.079 --> 00:41:03.760 But don't take that for granted. 00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:12.079 Give God thanks every single day for this blessed reality for Christ has brought us near. 00:41:12.480 --> 00:41:34.320 Also, if you're in a spiritual funk and you're a Christian, but you've just sins clouded your judgment, you're condemning yourself, you're convinced of the lie, that God has permanently cast you away, you're too far gone, and you're downcast and you're wrestling with sin and you're spinning your spiritual wheels. 00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:36.320 Friend, listen to me. 00:41:36.880 --> 00:41:44.480 Do you believe in the depth of your heart, in the person and in the work of Jesus Christ? 00:41:45.920 --> 00:41:46.559 Do you? 00:41:48.239 --> 00:41:57.280 If you answered yes, be reminded that God's wrath against you has been fully satisfied. 00:41:57.599 --> 00:41:59.199 So stop thinking that way. 00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:09.679 Be reminded that you are holy, you are blameless, and you are a saint, and you have direct access to God through Christ. 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:12.000 Who convinced you otherwise? 00:42:12.800 --> 00:42:13.840 This is good news. 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:15.199 This is the gospel. 00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:27.599 Stop believing the enemy or the voices in your head and rise out of your spiritual slumber and put your feet back on the steady ground of Christ. 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:29.440 Christ has brought you near. 00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:46.559 Secondly, realize that we have peace now with other believers around the world, different cultures, some with different styles of worship. 00:42:47.039 --> 00:42:58.559 If you have God's spirit and a brother across the country who speaks a different language than you, who looks different than you, has the spirit of well, guess what? 00:42:58.960 --> 00:43:02.159