No Longer Strangers and Aliens
First B Jackson
2015-02-04

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Gonna be in the Bible from Genesis all the way to Revelation, so it's gonna be really good. Hebrews four twelve says, for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword and able to judge the thoughts intentions of the heart. And I think that this is really powerful just knowing that God's word is alive and active today and he has something for us to learn from him today. Not just an old text that we're studying but this word is alive and active and so I'm gonna let the word speak today. We're gonna have lots of scriptures and I hope you're ready.

Today's passage is Ephesians two eleven through 22. So if you guys want to turn there in your bibles. So chapter two the last half 11 through 22. I'm gonna be breaking it into three sections just to kinda make it easier to go through. The first two verses, eleven and twelve, we're gonna talk about circumcision.

Yay. And God's covenant with Israel. The second part chapter or verses 13 through 18, we're gonna talk about the new covenant. And and then the third section, we're gonna talk be talking about God's God's household. So, let's read verses eleven and twelve.

Therefore, remember that you, formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by the so called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands, remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. So what we're really gonna focus on in these two verses are what was that covenant of promise for Israel and what is circumcision. So we're gonna turn back, and it'd be probably good if you put a marker in Ephesians because we're gonna come back to it a lot. But if you can turn to Genesis 15, this is when we first started learning about covenant. So in Genesis 15, Abram's asking God, who's gonna be my heir?

Because he doesn't have a son. And in verse five, it says, and he took him outside. So God takes Abram outside and says, now look toward the heavens and count the stars if you're able to count them. And he said to him, so shall your descendants be. Verse six, then he believed in the Lord and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

And that's a really important verse because that showed that, Abram's faith. So working on down, God's promising Abram descendants. He's promising him land and in verse seven, no, let's see. In verse eight, he says, oh Lord God, how will I know that I will possess this land? And God said to him, bring me a three year old heifer and three year old female goat and a three year old ram and a turtledove and a young pigeon.

And he brought all these to him and cut them in two and laid them half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds. And then we'll skip down to verse 17. And it says, it came about when the sun had set that it was very dark and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between the pieces. On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. So God promises descendants, Abram believes and he has faith in God and then God begins to establish his covenant with Abram.

Okay. So we're gonna skip over to chapter 17 and I'm kinda starting around verse six. God says, I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you and kings will come forth from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all of the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God.

So God's promising descendants, he's promising land. And then Abram's part of the covenant. He says, God said further to Abraham, Abram, I guess he's Abraham now. Now as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout the generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you.

Every male among you shall be circumcised, and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. And then the rest of the chapter he goes on describing when and how and all that, kind of stuff. But what I wanted to mostly point out is God is establishing this covenant with Abraham. He said, I'm gonna be your God, you'll be my people. So he's saying, these are God's people.

The circumcision was the sign of the covenant. Remember in verse in chapter 15 verse six, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as eousness. So Abraham's faith came first and then the covenant and then the sign of the covenant. He promised descendants which I think is interesting because of where circumcision is. It's at the place of where the seed would come from and the men who were circumcised would have that constant reminder, of the people that they were people of God and that their seed, the descendants would come from their seed and eventually Christ would come from their seed, the savior.

So why did God do this? Why did God select a specific people? What was Israel's purpose in being God's people? In Deuteronomy fourteen two, he says, for you are a holy people to the Lord your God and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. So he chose them for his own special purpose.

In Genesis twelve two and three, he says, and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis twenty two eighteen. God said to Abraham, in your seed, all of the nations shall be blessed. There's more. Isaiah forty nine three.

And he said to me, you are my servant Israel in whom I will show my glory. Isaiah forty nine six. He says, is it it's is it it is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also make you a light of the nations so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth. So we're seeing that their purpose was to be set apart and holy for God to show his glory to be a light to the nations.

Jeremiah thirteen eleven, for the for as a waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the household of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, That they might be for me a people for renown, for praise, and for glory, but they did not listen. So we'll get more into that later, but that was their purpose to be the light to to the nations. So this is what the covenants of promise that's talked about in verse 11 is talking about. I just find it really neat that it's always been about faith. And that first verse about how Abraham believed God and has reckoned to him as righteousness.

And if you think about that, this was five hundred plus years before the law. This is way before Moses. It was about faith from the beginning, believing and trusting in God and then the sign of the covenant. The law was intended to be for instruction. That was to show us God's standard and for us to know that we don't measure up, that we can't do it on our own, and that one day we'll need a savior.

I got to thinking about the special people and we kind of see in all of those verses, but you know some people may be thinking, what about the other people? What about the Gentiles that weren't part of God's people? And those verses do show that God has chose Israel to be a light and a blessing to others. He wanted others to see his power and to see him through the Israelites. Warren Rearsby said in the book on page 67, God called the Jews beginning with Abraham that through them he might reveal himself as the one true God.

With the Jews, he deposited his word and through the Jews, he gave the world the savior. Israel was to be a light to the gentiles that they might too be saved. But sad to say, Israel became like the gentiles and the light burned dimly. I also wanted to point out that anyone was welcome in the family of God even in the old testament. Few examples of this are Ruth.

I'm sure a lot of you have read Ruth but if you haven't, it's a beautiful story of redemption and love. Ruth was a Moabite woman and she married an Israelite who had moved to her country. When he died, her mother-in-law was going back to her people. And Ruth one sixteen says, but Ruth said, do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you. For where you go, I will go and where you lodge, I will lodge.

Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. So by faith, she joined the family of God. Rahab is another woman. Rahab was a prostitute and her story is in Joshua. She lived in Jericho and Jericho was a city that God had promised to his people and they were gonna go in and conquer it.

And so they sent some spies in at the beginning and Rahab helped those spies And it's possible that she knew of the works that God had done for his people and she ended up taking their side. In Joshua six, it says, however, Rahab the harlot in her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared. And she has lived in the midst midst of Israel to this day. So by faith, again, she chose to become part of God's family. The last example is in Exodus, and this is we talked about this before when, Moses was trying to get his people out of Pharaoh's hand and God sent 10 plagues.

And, finally after the tenth plague, all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians died. And so pharaoh said, okay, go. You can leave now. And Exodus chapter twelve thirty seven through 38 says, now the sons of Israel journeyed from Ramesses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot aside from children. And then it says, and a mixed multitude also went up with them.

And I just find that really interesting that there were some Egyptians or people that weren't part of the family of God that said, we're going with you guys because we just saw what your God did. And that was all on faith that they just joined that group. And of course, they were probably circumcised at that point, because we saw in Genesis 15 or 17 how even foreigners that were staying with them were circumcised. And then also, I wanted to share in Revelation. I I feel like sometimes people can say that Christianity is very exclusive and because we say we have the truth.

But in Revelation five nine it shows us in heaven and believers in heaven worshiping Jesus. And it says, worthy are you to take the book and break its seal. So they're singing to Christ. For you were slain and you purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And I can't think of a more inclusive religion than that, that includes people from every tribe, tongue and nation and people.

Okay. So we're gonna move on to the next part. So that was verses eleven and twelve. And now we're gonna talk about the new covenant. So that was the covenant that Israel has, and now we're talking about the new covenant, Ephesians two thirteen through 18.

And this is talking to Gentiles at this point. But now in Christ Jesus, you who you who formerly were far off having been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in the ordinances. That in himself, he might make the two into one man, thus establishing peace. It might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross. By it, having put put to death the enmity.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to you who were near. For through him, we both have our access in one spirit to the father. Okay. So at the beginning it says, now now but now in Christ, you who were formerly far off had been brought near by the blood of Christ. So it was the blood of Christ, his sacrifice on the cross that made the difference.

In the old testament, the spirit of God was in the temple. It was in the holy of holies and there was a very thick veil that covered his presence or that closed off his presence from from man. The only person who could go in was the priest once a year to offer the sacrifice. And when Christ's life, when he was on the cross, when his life ended and he breathed his last breath, the Bible tells us that that veil was torn into two pieces from the top to the bottom. That's found in Mark fifteen thirty eight.

And it says, and the veil of the temple was torn into from top to bottom. So that's the literal veil that was there. And it was really thick. It was like six inches thick. It was torn from top to bottom.

In Hebrews ten nineteen, it says, therefore brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the veil that is his flesh. So we're learning that the veil is his flesh. And since we have a great high priest over the house of God which is Jesus, Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. The old covenant, the covenant of promise for Israel began with faith and God set up the covenant and he walked between the pieces of the animal's flesh. The new covenant begins with faith and we enter into the presence of God and we walk between the pieces of Christ flesh into covenant with him.

There is no longer separation between God and man. That's what the word enmity means in verse 16. It says, through the cross by it having put to death the enmity, there's no longer separation between God and man. We have access to God through Christ. There's no longer separation between Jews and Gentiles and that's what the new covenant is about.

And Paul really goes to a great great effort to make this clear. You know, I've heard people say that, oh, there's two covenants. There's one for the Jews, there's one for the Christians. But if we read starting in verse 15. Let's see.

Oh, no. Sorry. 14. It says, he made both groups into one. Verse 15, near the end of the verse, it says, he made the two into one new man.

In 16, it says, he reconciled them both in one body to God. And then in verse 18, it says, through him we both have access in one spirit to the father. There's only one covenant. We are all part of the family of God. Remember in the first chapter of Ephesians, God chose us before the foundation of the world.

In love, he predestined us to adoption, so we are adopted into the Jewish family. We are one family now, and this was according to the kind intention of his will. And so this is all in Ephesians but this wasn't just Paul's idea. We remember when Jesus was talking in John ten fifteen through 16. He said, I'm the good shepherd and I know my own and my own know me Even as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep.

And he says, I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they shall hear my voice and they shall become one flock with one shepherd. So we're all one flock now. I got a chance to hang out with Christine the other day and we were talking about this and it's always really exciting. And she thought of a beautiful illustration so I thought that I would share and it's just the story of King David.

And in the Old Testament, he was anointed to be king at a very young age at the time when Saul was king. And Saul had a son, Jonathan, who Saul would have liked to see be the next king. But David and Jonathan became very close friends and it said that they made a covenant with each other and there's covenant again because of their great love for each other. And it says, Jonathan loved David as his own life, and this story is found in first Samuel. In first Samuel twenty fifteen, Jonathan says to David, you shall not cut off your loving kindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.

So David promised to be kind to Jonathan's house forever and they made a covenant together. And Saul and Jonathan died in battle. And in second Samuel nine, David said, is there any is there yet anyone left in the house of Saul that I may show kindness to him for Jonathan's sake? And the servant of the house of Saul said, yes, there is a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet. His name was miss Mephibosheth.

David called for Mephibosheth and he said to him, do not fear. I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan and will restore you restore to you all of the land of your grandfather Saul, and you shall eat at my table regularly. And Mephibosheth prostrated himself and he said, what is your servant that you should regard a dead dog like me? And in verse 11, it says, so Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. And that's us.

We were Gentiles. We were formerly far off, But now God has invited us to eat at his table as sons and daughters. We're adopted in and we're one of his family. We're not just over here. I think Christine said, you wouldn't adopt a baby and then just say, well my birth children are gonna eat at this table and you're gonna eat over here.

We're joined in and we're become one with, we're part of his family. And the other part, is there's a lot of scriptures that I don't have time to go into everything, but we do not have to become Jews to become Christians. Jews and Gentiles are saved the same way through faith in Jesus. And now what is our sign that we belong to God? It is remember in first chapter one, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, and that's how we know that we belong to God.

It's through the Holy Spirit. In verse 14, I wanted to just camp here for just a second. I love how it says, for he himself is our peace. And that right there is where we differ from every other religion. Our peace is not found by doing good works or following a list of rules or spending time meditating.

It's found in a person. He himself is our peace. He is the source of peace, and he's the only true peace. In mere Christianity, CS Lewis said, God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself because it's not there. There's no such thing.

So it's still it's all about the heart. It's been about faith from the beginning. One thing I wanted to point out is why are Jews not necessarily, not all of them, but why for the most part are they not following Jesus? What happened? Romans nine thirty through 33 says, what shall we say then that Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained righteousness even the righteousness which is by faith.

But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. Just as it was written, behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

And he who believes in me will not be disappointed. This stone is Jesus and they have stumbled over him. And the stone part is gonna be important in the next, section. I wanted to read Romans two twenty eight and twenty nine. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly and circumcision is that which is of the heart by the spirit, not by the letter.

And his praises from not from men, but from God. Again, it's about started with faith. John Piper said that when Jesus came, he was a litmus test for ethnic Israel to see who the true Israel was. He said if they cleaved to Christ, they were the true Israel. If they denied the son, they were also denying the father.

And that would be like the pharisees and the ones who had the righteous acts, but their heart wasn't there. John five twenty three, anyone who does not honor the son is certainly not honoring the father who sent sent him. So if they didn't honor Jesus, he was from the father, and they weren't honoring God. Okay. So let's move on to the last set of verses, 19 through 22, and hopefully this will all tie together.

Okay. So then and this is talking about God's household. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. And in in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together in a dwelling of God and the spirit. Anyone who would believe by faith in Jesus is all part of God's family now.

I really loved I I was wondering what does that mean to be part of God's household? And Warren Weirsby on page 73, he kind of breaks down the presence of God throughout time and where God was when he walked with, where his presence was among men. He says in Genesis, God walked with the people. So he walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, But when they sinned, his presence left the garden. In Exodus, he dwelled with the people in a tabernacle.

They were moving around and so they had a tent that they would set up and he lived in the tabernacle. And again, Israel sinned and his glory departs. And on page 73, he has all the scripture references. Then God dwelt in the temple. So when Solomon built the permanent temple, they had the holy of holies set up where God's present dwelt.

Israel sinned and God's glory departed. Next, God sent his son where he dwelt in his body while he walked the earth and we nailed him to a cross. So now his spirit dwells in the church. We are the temple of God. It's not in buildings but it's now in the hearts of those who've trusted Christ.

First Peter two, I ended up in first Peter a lot. So if you wanna go there, there's a lot of really good things. First Peter two verse four, and coming to him as to a living stone rejected by men but choice and precious in the sight of God. You also as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Verse nine, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession.

That was what Israel was. Now you may proclaim the excellences excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God. And you had not received mercy, but now you had have received mercy. So that living stone is Jesus and we are living stones too built into God's household.

We are a chosen race. He chose us before the foundation of the world. We once were not a people, but now we are a people. Do you remember Israel's purpose from the beginning was to be salvation to the nations? Now we are brought into that family with that same purpose to be a light to the nations.

At the end of Ephesians chapter one, we talked about how we are his body and we are the fullness of him. So that's what it's talking about. The spiritual household of God being built on stones and it said it was built on the apostles and the prophets. So we're built up on a Jewish foundation. We're welcomed in to those promises and to that family and now we are God's body.

Jesus's body on earth. We are his household here and we're to be a light to the nations. We're to be a city on a hill. Weirsby said, when the church is least like the world, it does the most for the world. And I thought that was really profound because we are called to be set apart and we're called to be a light to show his glory to the nations.

We can't become like them like the Israelites did. They became like the Gentiles who they lived among. We can't let sin get in our way. When we sin, it does separate us from God. We don't want his glory to depart from us as believers or as the church.

We don't want our light to go out. We want our purpose to be fulfilled, to bring him glory, and bring others to him. In Revelation twenty one three, I just like to kind of follow it up with where God in heaven, behold the tabernacle of God is among men and he shall dwell among them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be among them. So it's about him. It's about having faith in him.

It's about the relationship with him. In heaven, we're gonna be with him and that's what it's about. His presence will will be dwelling with him and his glory will never depart. So that's it.