EPHESIANS 2:11-222006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ephesians 2:11-22

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. We pick it up here in verse 11, and Paul says, "...therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, made in the flesh by hands..."

that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Here, Paul begins and he starts out with the word, therefore. If you've been around for a little bit, you know that whenever we see the word, therefore, we want to find out what it's there for. Because it's tying into something that Paul had previously stated. And so I'll remind you once again about last week, what we talked about.

How we once were this way without God. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. And Paul paints this bleak picture, this black background of how we were without God in our lives. But then in verse 4 of chapter 2, he says, but God and introduces Christ.

the subject of God, into our lives and shares with us what took place, what happened then whenever God came into our lives and how he raised us up with Christ and ascended us and seated us in the heavenly places with Christ.

How we looked at in verse 10, we are his workmanship, we're his work of art, we're created in Christ Jesus to do good works. And so building upon all of that, the Apostle Paul, looking at that picture, says, therefore, remember, remember. Now, the key and the basis for understanding this whole portion that we'll be looking at this morning, as well as we move on to chapter 3 next week, but the key and the need for us to understand this is this.

that Israel is God's chosen people. Israel is who God chose to reveal himself to the world. It started back with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 and then reconfirmed with God in Genesis chapter 15 as well as Genesis chapter 17.

God also reconfirmed it with Abraham's son Isaac and then with Isaac's son Jacob. And so over and over again, God has been sharing with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the forefathers of the nation of Israel, that Israel was to be his special people. The rest of the world would be blessed through their descendants, through the nation of Israel. And so Israel was his chosen people. He chose them to teach the world about him.

That they would be the representation of God to the world. He delivered the law through them, the sacrifices, the way for people to be close to God. It all centered around his relationship there with the children of Israel.

Now he starts out in saying, remember that you once were Gentiles in the flesh. And a Gentile is anyone who is not of Israel. Anyone who is not Jewish or an Israelite is a Gentile. Someone who does not practice Judaism, which is the religion practiced by the Israelites. And so Judaism, it's what we know and look at as the Old Testament.

In order for a Gentile to draw close to God, to partake in the sacrifices and the temple experience and worshiping God there in the court, all of that, in order for that to take place,

A Gentile would have to become Jewish. They would have to convert to Judaism, and that's called a proselyte, someone who is converted to Judaism. And so if you wanted to be close to God, there was one way. If you wanted to have a relationship with God, there was one way, and that was through the temple, through the tabernacle, through keeping the law, the covenant that God had given to the children of Israel. You had to become proselyte.

You had to convert to Judaism, become circumcised, keep the law, and do all of those things according to the relationship that God had with man at that time. If you wanted to be close to God, that was the requirement. That was the only way. And so once Paul says you were Gentiles in the flesh, you were called uncircumcision because you were outside of that covenant, outside of that relationship. They were called the circumcision because that was the sign of

of them being a separate people, a distinct people for God. Now, Paul makes the point that it was outwardly, it was in the flesh by hands. You were Gentiles in the flesh, they were circumcised in the flesh. That was the outward thing. And we know that now...

through the work of Jesus Christ. It's not about the outward thing. It's not so important whether the outward thing is in accordance with all the circumcision and the laws and everything that Christ came before. It's not about the nationality, whether you come from Jewish descent or not. In Romans chapter 2, Paul says, "...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 of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God. That's Romans 2, verses 28 and 29.

And so Paul tells us, and he makes it very clear that, yes, that's how it once was. In order to worship God, you would have to convert to Judaism. But now in Christ, it's not about the outward appearance and fulfilling the sacrifices and doing all of those outward things that God commanded there in the Old Testament, but the fulfillment of those things is Jesus Christ.

And so now, one is not a Jew who is one outwardly, but one who is one inwardly, who has allowed God to change their heart, who has been born again. Outwardly, the Jewish people, they had it going on. Everything was in order, but inwardly something was missing. They had a need for a Savior, even though they were very religious.

Now Paul starts out with the word therefore, and then he tells us to remember. And so he's pointing us back to this time where we were outside of a relationship with God.

where we were Gentiles in the flesh, and that we had no covenant with God, no relationship with God. It's talking about before we were saved, and he wants us to remember. He's painting another picture, drawing another contrast here for us to look at and to examine. It's black and white, the opposites of how it once was and how it is now. Last week he gave us the details. He told us we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we walked in the course of this world.

But this week, he just paints the picture but asks us to fill in the blanks. He says, remember. Remember what it was like for you when you were outside of a relationship with God. Remember what it was like. Essentially, remember what it was like before you were saved. Remember what it was like.

Remember what it was like before God was involved in your life. Now, this is not saying, you know, hey, remember the parties that you were involved in or remember all the crazy things that you did or the good times you had. Remember how it was when you were by yourself. Remember how it was, Paul is saying, when you were alone. Remember how it was within. Not what was going on in the outward.

But remember, take some time and let's just do that for a second. Let's be obedient to the Apostle Paul here. Let's just take some time. Can you remember what it was like before God was in your life? Do you remember what it was like? The emptiness, the hopelessness, the despair, the void that would be within. That need that would continually drive you, the thirst, the absence of God. Do you remember?

Those weeks or months or days leading up to a salvation experience for you, where you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and God came into your life and did a radical work. Paul says, remember. You paint the picture this week. You paint and remember what it was like. The dark, bleak, black picture that was there. The emptiness that was within.

We all had it. Because without God, life is empty. It's futile. It's vain. It's worthless. It's a dark picture. But Paul says, remember that. Remember that. And then he goes on here in these first two verses, and he points out four things for us about life without Christ. The first thing, we find it here in verse 12. He says, at that time, you were without Christ.

And you were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Aliens, which means you were estranged or completely separated from the commonwealth of Israel or the citizenship of Israel or the rights of a citizen of Israel. You were completely separate, had no part in the rights of a citizen of the nation of Israel. Now, the rights of a citizen of Israel were religious rights. They

They had the right to come into the courtyard of the temple or the tabernacle. They had the right to come and offer their sacrifices to the Lord and worship the Lord. They had the right to keep the law and to do the things that the law had commanded. They had a right as children of Israel. That was their privileged position that they were able to partake in all of the things that God had prescribed. But Paul says, remember, as a Gentile,

Back in those times, you were completely estranged from those rights. Separated, you had no rights in that sense. You couldn't just come and worship the Lord at the tabernacle. You couldn't enter into the courtyard. You were a Gentile. You were separate. That's why they had the walls of separation.

There at the temple, they would have the court of the Gentiles, and you could come there. Then they had the court of the women, and the women could go there, but they had to be Jewish women. And then there was the court of the temple, where only Jewish men could go. And so prior to this, prior to this work of Christ, if you were a Gentile, you could only go so far. You were cut off. You were separate.

Unless you converted to Judaism and became a proselyte. Unless you kept the law and entered into the covenant that God had with the nation of Israel. Paul says, remember at that time. Now, for us, it doesn't mean much that we can't go into the temple. But it does speak to us about not being able. We had no right to come close to God, to be near to God, to worship God. Do you remember?

That time when it wasn't even possible for you to worship God because there was no relationship. Do you remember? Maybe you've had this experience. Maybe you haven't. But sitting while the rest of the people or many of the people are worshiping and singing to the Lord. And you're sitting there and looking at people and watching them sing and trying to figure out why they're singing and what they're singing. And this doesn't make sense. It's just weird.

Do you remember what it was like before Christ, without Christ, when you didn't have that right, that privilege of being able to worship God? The second thing he tells us about life without Christ is that we were strangers from the covenants of promise. So we were aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, but also we were strangers from the covenants of promise. Now, the covenants of promise are the covenants that God gave to the nation of Israel before

Throughout the ages. Starting with Abraham and then again to his son Isaac and Jacob. Then through Moses with the law. Then the covenants.

The covenants that he made with the nation of Israel. Genesis chapter 17 verse 7. God is speaking to Abraham and he says, I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and your descendants after you. Notice it's very specific. God has made a covenant with them that he will be

Their God to Abraham and his descendants. It's very specific. They were the people of the covenants of promise. The covenants that God made were with his children, the children of Israel. And so God's original promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 was that of blessing. His descendants would be a blessing to the rest of the world. But the covenant itself was with Abraham and his descendants.

and to his son Isaac and Jacob and so on and so forth. And so Israel was God's chosen people, and they had the promise of blessing and that they would be a blessing to everyone else. Now again, going back, as a Gentile, we had no part of that. You were a stranger. You had no knowledge of the promise of God. And you had no share in the blessing of taking part in the covenants of promise. Moving along, the third thing here in verse 12 that he says we had without Christ...

Is that we had no hope. No hope. Look at verse 12. He says, having no hope and without God in the world. We had no hope outside of Christ, before Christ, without Christ. There is no hope. Now, hope is a common word in the scriptures. There is so much that we have hope for and hope in as believers. Just a couple quick samples. We saw one a couple weeks ago in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 18. It says,

Where Paul's prayer for the Ephesians would be that they would know what is the hope of his calling. And we talked about his calling being eternity. His calling being spending the rest of everlasting with him. That you may know the hope of that. That's something that we have hope in. Now again, hope is not something like we include it with an element of uncertainty. But hope used biblically...

It's a certain hope. It's an expectation, a confidence that you have and will receive what is hoped for. 1 Timothy 1.1, Paul says that the Lord Jesus Christ is our hope. And in Titus 3.7, Paul talks about the hope of eternal life. There's so much for us to hope for. We hope in Christ, in eternal life, in the calling that he's given to us, and so much more. We have hope.

Not with uncertainty, but with confident expectation. Now, as a Gentile, we have no hope of salvation. No hope of eternal life. No hope of Jesus Christ. We had no hope prior to God being in our lives. Oh, sure, we hoped for things like, you know, the stocks that we purchased would do well or that we would get a good job or get a promotion. But not the spiritual thing. Not the things of eternal value. The things that really matter. Now, Jews...

Throughout their history, they would always have hope because they were a part of the covenants of promise. And God always promised the Messiah. The anointed one would come and deliver them and set up his kingdom. And God was going to do a great work through their Messiah. And so even through the most difficult times of their history, they waited expectantly. They had hope. But as a Gentile, having no part in

Of the things of the children of Israel. We had no hope. And for us, outside of Christ, today, we have no hope. So Paul says, you were aliens. You were strangers. You had no hope. And then fourthly, here in verse 12, he says, you are without God in this world. Or in the world. Since we were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, we were without God. God was not a part of our lives.

And that was not by his doing, but it was by our own. Now, as you look again at the pictures of Jew and Gentile, the Gentile...

was without God because in order for them to come close to God, they would need to convert to Judaism. And so if they chose not to, then God would not be a part of their lives. They would not include him. They wouldn't go to worship him. They wouldn't be involved in the sacrifices and offerings and the feasts of the Lord. They wouldn't be involved in those things because they were Gentiles. They had chosen not to follow those things of the law. And the same is true with us. When we were outside of Christ, before Christ was in our life,

We chose, it's not by his doing, but it's by our choice. We chose to not include God in our lives, to not allow him to be a part of our lives. We might have been religious. We might have gone to church occasionally, but we never actually allowed him to be a part of our life, to be our Lord and Savior. We didn't think about him. We didn't know his love. We didn't receive his strength and blessing. Outside of Christ, we were without God. And so here's this bleak, dark picture.

Do you remember what it was like? Do you remember the state of your heart? The struggles? The pains? Do you remember what it was like? Paul says, therefore, remember. He wants you to take a minute and remember what it was like without God in your life.

Why is this so important? Why does he want us to remember? Well, so that we can understand and appreciate what we have now in Christ. Because in verse 13, he says, but now in Christ Jesus. And so verses 11 and 12 give us these four things as a contrast to now in Christ Jesus. Before, without Christ. Now, in Christ, here is what we have.

And he'll give us four more things that we'll be able to see and look at how our life has been impacted and what we have in Christ Jesus. In verse 13, he says, But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. And so we see the great contrast before without Christ. But now in Christ Jesus, it's very different. And it's very different because of what Jesus did and who he is.

When he comes into our life, it changes dramatically. And so Paul will go on now in the rest of this portion to point out four things about our new life in Christ. The first thing is that we are brought near by the blood. The second thing is that he, Jesus, is our peace. The third thing is that we have access to the Father. And the fourth thing is that we are a dwelling place of God.

So we'll look at these in a moment. But in all these things, Paul is speaking with dual meanings. He's talking about our relationship with God, but he's also talking about our relationship with the Jews. Again, as you can picture the context there, Jews and Gentiles living side by side, but were always at odds with one another. Always at enmity. Enmity. One of those. There was always struggles between them. The Jews hated the Gentiles.

And the Jews were God's covenant people. They were supposed to share the love of God with them, but they mistook their privilege and their rightful place and used the privilege and the honor that God had given them to be unique. Instead of something to shine the light of Christ, they used it really to bring division between them and everybody else. But there was this enmity. There was this problem that existed between the Jews and the Gentiles.

And so Paul will be referring to that, but at the same time he's referring to what Christ did in uniting us with God.

He talks about the unity that takes place between us and the Jews, the Gentiles and Jews in Christ, but also the Gentiles and God in Christ Jesus. I'll be focusing mostly on our relationship with God because we'll be looking more in depth in chapter 3 about what God has done in uniting us together with the Jewish people. And so that's what really chapter 3 focuses in on.

But the first thing that we see about our new life in Christ, now in Christ Jesus, is that we are brought near by the blood. Now, we used to be far off. We just looked at that a few moments ago. The first thing we saw was that we were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. We were completely set apart. We had no rights as a citizen. But Paul says now in Christ Jesus, that was without Christ, but in Christ, you are brought near by the blood of Christ.

Before we were distant from God, had no right to come close to God, to worship him, to offer sacrifices. But now we are brought near. We have been brought near. We've been taken in to the courts of the tabernacle. Now, if you can picture the tabernacle, this will be something I'll be alluding to a couple of times. So here's what the tabernacle looked like. There in the wilderness, in the middle of the camp of the children of Israel, they would have this tabernacle set up.

And on the outermost extreme, there would be a fence, a division that created a big courtyard. This courtyard would be enclosed on all sides, except for on the east side, there would be an entrance. And so there was only one way to get into this courtyard. And then within this courtyard would be the actual tabernacle. The tabernacle would be divided into two compartments. The first, the larger of the two rooms within the tabernacle is called the holy place.

This is where the table of showbread would be. This is where the lampstand would be that you often read about, the menorah. This is where the priests would go on a daily basis to minister to the Lord. And only the priests could go into this holy place. But the second room, the second part of the tabernacle was the most holy place. And this most holy place is where the Ark of the Covenant was. And it was where God's presence dwelt.

And here, nobody could enter in except for the high priest. And the high priest could only enter into this particular room, the most holy place, one day a year. It was on the Day of Atonement and it was prescribed by God. But if he went in any other time, then he would be killed because the presence of the Lord dwelt there. If any other priest went in, he would die because the presence of the Lord dwelt there. So you see,

The divisions. We had the most holy place. Only the high priest could go there once a year. Outside of that was the holy place. Now, any priest could go into the holy place and they were able to serve there. Outside of that was the courtyard. This is where the general public, the children of Israel could come. As a Gentile, you couldn't come here. But as a Jew...

You could come to this courtyard. As a Gentile, you would have to stay on the outside of the court of the tabernacle. And so, Paul says, you used to be aliens. You used to have to stay on the outside of the court of the tabernacle. But in Christ Jesus, the picture he's saying is, he's taking you through the gates of the tabernacle that you're able to be near now. You're able to be within the courtyard. You're able to come and worship God, to participate in the sacrifices and offerings. You're able now to

To be part of the covenant and part of the relationship with God. To be near to God. It's a picture of us going into the courtyard of the tabernacle. Notice it's by the blood of Christ. It's not possible to be near to God any other way. Jesus said in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. It's only through Jesus Christ.

That we are able to enter into this courtyard and enter in to the worship of God. Our good works, trying really hard, being genuine, being devout, all those things, none of that matters. The only thing that matters is the blood of Christ. And so the question for us is, have we received Christ?

That blood that was shed for us on the cross. Have we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior? Because if we have not, we're on the outside. We're not able to worship God. We have no relationship with God. We're still afar off. But having received the blood of Christ, received what he did for us on the cross,

Paul says, now in Christ Jesus, you've been brought near. You've been given the same privileged position and that you're able to worship God and to serve the Lord and to have a relationship with him. You're able to be near to God, which is something that was unheard of for a Gentile prior to Jesus Christ.

The second thing we see, it's found in verses 14 through 17. Let's read it together. He says,

and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And he came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. The second thing we see about our new life in Christ Jesus is that he is our peace. Now you can see from this portion Paul's emphasis on the unity that is created in Christ Jesus between the Jew and the Gentile.

That now in Christ Jesus, he's abolished this middle wall, this enmity, these problems that once existed. He's gotten rid of that so that Jew and Gentile would be able to exist together without problem. Now, that doesn't mean that we won't still have problems, but in Christ Jesus.

We have no problem with the Jews. We have no problem with the nation of Israel. In fact, we support them and we love them because God has made the both one. He's united us in Christ. In Galatians 3.28, Paul says, And so God has done this wonderful work through Jesus Christ.

And putting us all on the same field, all on the same level, we're one in Christ, needing Jesus Christ,

And he'll continue to elaborate what that means as we go on. But there's no longer the division like there used to be. The distinction between Jew and Gentile in God's program, in God's plan, in God's relationship with mankind. Now, prior to that, again, the Jews and the Gentiles would always be at odds with each other. They hated each other. The Jews would say that the Gentiles were only created to keep the fires in hell burning. Now, of course, that was not true. That's not the case.

but demonstrates their heart and their hatred for one another. But through Christ, he's abolished this enmity, this division, these problems, and he's made the both one. He's brought peace there between the Jew and the Gentile. Now remember, how did we used to be? We used to be strangers, set apart, different, having no part in the covenants. But now he has brought unity and he's brought peace.

Through his work there on the cross. He's abolished the enmity that existed. Now, it's not just peace between Jew and Gentile that Paul is talking about here, but also peace with God. Look at verse 17. And he came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. So, to those who were near, speaking of those who...

are the Jewish people and those who were already near and already able to come into the courtyard, but also to those who are far off, those who are not able to come and not able to worship God. Both Jew and Gentile needed peace with God. And so Jesus Christ, he came and he abolished the enmity, not just between Jew and Gentile, but between God and man. And he made us both one that we're able now to have peace with God.

Romans chapter 8 verse 7 tells us that the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. And so we have the picture here, the understanding that outside of Christ, we are enemies of God, not because of him, but because of us. Because our carnal mind is at odds with God, because we are not subject to the law of God, nor can we be.

So now we have peace in Jesus Christ. Now again, inside the tabernacle were two rooms, the holy place and the most holy place. The most holy place was where God's presence dwelt.

But because of man's sinful condition, because of man's enmity with God, there was a veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place. And I say a veil, and you think of like a wedding dress, right? Just kind of a light covering. No, the veil of the temple is said to be 18 inches thick.

At that time, when it was when Jesus was crucified. And so we're not talking about a light thing, but but they wanted to make sure you're not getting through here. You're not coming through. It's it's sealed. It's closed off. It's something that is not to be crossed through. The veil separated these two rooms and only the high priest was allowed into this place one day a year.

If another priest went in, if he went in on a different day, whatever the case, he would die because of the presence of God. Because there is enmity between man and God. Because our minds are enemies of God. But God has made peace. It says, Paul says here that he has abolished the middle wall, the separation wall.

Again, not just between Jew and Gentile, but the veil that separated the most holy place from the holy place has been abolished. When Jesus Christ died, Mark 15, 38, that veil within the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. God took it and he ripped it in half and he said, there's no more enmity. Jesus Christ received all the punishment, all of the judgment that we deserved. And so now we have peace with God.

Romans 5.1, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now there's peace with God. That way into the holiest of all, it used to be sealed off because of our hearts and our minds being at odds, being enemies of God. But now in Christ Jesus, that has been abolished, that middle wall of separation. Now we have perfect peace with God. We can rest. We don't have to have a fearful expectation of judgment anymore.

but a confident expectation of salvation and eternity with him in Jesus Christ through what God has done. Verse 18, we find the third thing. He says, For through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father. The third thing, of course, is access to the Father. This is something that we have in our new life with Christ. Now Jew and Gentile are united, we're one, and that we need Jesus.

Jesus Christ in our life. And without Christ, we have no peace. We're not able to be near to God, to worship God. Without Jesus Christ, we do not have access to the Father.

Now, nobody had access to the Father before Jesus Christ because of sin, because of the enmity. Man's sinfulness barred the way to God. But now, in Christ Jesus, because of Christ's blood bringing us near and bringing us peace or giving us peace, the veil has been torn, and so now we have access. We're able to pass through that veil now.

Into the holiest of all. Into the most holy place. Into the presence of God. We have access to God, much like we talked about in the book of Galatians. The intimacy that God desires with us. This incredible privilege of having an audience with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We have access to the Father. Not that we have to perform all these rituals and things and be very formal. No, but He wants and desires intimate relationship with us, to be close with us. And so He sent His Son to

To pay for our sin, to take care of everything that we could enter into the courtyard, that we could be brought near, that we could enter into the most holy place and have peace with him so that the veil is torn. And now we're able to enter directly into his presence. We're able to experience the presence of God. Now, again, Paul says in verse 11, therefore, remember, do you remember what it was like not knowing God?

Do you remember what it was like when you were not able to experience the presence of God? Now, a scarier question is, do you remember what it was like to experience the presence of God? I say that's a scarier question because if you can remember what it was like to experience it, then are you experiencing it right now? See, God opened the way, not just for us to kind of, oh, that's cool. He opened the way. Now we can experience the presence of God.

But he opened up the way so that we would dwell there, that we would stay there in the presence of God, that we would maintain a close, intimate, personal relationship with God. He opened the way that we would be able to have fellowship and closeness never before imagined, never before possible. For 4,000 years before Christ came, nobody had access to that most holy place. But now we have the privileged honor by faith of receiving what Jesus has done for us

and experiencing the presence of God. Incredible what God has done for us. We're able to enter into the most holy place. We saw this so clearly in Galatians when we saw him as our father and us being able to call him Abba Father. We have all the rights and privileges that come that we're able to go into his presence at any time as his child. Cry out to him, to sit on his lap, whatever the case may be. But to have that closeness with the Lord. We used to have no hope.

So Paul shared with us there in the beginning. But now, because we have access to the Father, we have hope. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 19 through 23. You don't have to turn there. Just making reference to it briefly. But powerful portion. One of my favorites. Paul says, well, the author of Hebrews says, Brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest, the most holy place that we've been talking about, by the blood of Jesus...

By a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil. That's what we've been talking about, the veil that is his flesh. And having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Then, in verse 23 of Hebrews 10, let us hold fast the confession of our hope.

The confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful. Our hope is this intimacy, this relationship with God, this certain expectation that we will spend the rest of eternity with Him. That He will be faithful to finish the work that He began in us. That's our hope.

Before we had no hope, no hope of a Savior, no hope of eternity with God, but now we have access to the Father and therefore we have hope. So the author of Hebrews says, let's go in, enter into the presence, let's dwell with God and hold fast to that hope and fight for it on a daily basis to grasp on to our relationship with God. Then finally the fourth thing we find in verses 19 through 22.

He says,

The fourth thing that we find in this last portion, verses 19 through 22, is that now in Christ we are a dwelling place of God. Now, I understand that some of this may be very complicated to understand,

For you. It might be a little bit hard to grasp many of these things as I'm pulling from the Old Testament and the picture of the tabernacle. That's why I encourage you, spend some time, read through the Bible in a year with us. Because you learn these things. Because there's so much here that God is speaking to us. There's so much that we can learn from this portion.

But we're limited on time and so I'll keep on moving. But the dwelling place of God. Before we were strangers, we were foreigners, but not so anymore. In Christ now we're members of God's house. We're not aliens anymore. We're not estranged and separated, but now we're a part of the family of God. We're sons of God by our faith in Jesus Christ.

And so Paul says, again, in contrast to how we were before, aliens and strangers, no hope and without God, now, in Christ, not only do we get to be brought near to God, not only do we get to have peace with God, not only do we get to experience God's presence, but we also are being built together as a building or a dwelling place of God. So even beyond God,

Our wildest dreams, or the Jews' wildest dreams, is the access, the rights, the privilege that we have in Christ Jesus. He compares us to being part of God's family, shares with us that picture, that illustration, that we could understand that we're children of God. But then he goes on to say, to give us another illustration, and that of a building, the building of the temple.

Not only can we come into the courtyard and the holy place and even the most holy place, but in Christ we become the most holy place. We become the dwelling place of God. Before we were without God, but now we have God within in Christ Jesus because of the work of Jesus Christ.

The building that we're being built into is built on the foundation, Paul says, of the prophets and apostles. Now, the prophets, they speak to us of the prophets of the Old Testament. And they're an essential part of the foundation as Christians. An essential part of what we know as Christianity. What we know as a relationship with God. But also the apostles. They go hand in hand. The Old and New Testament. The New Testament doesn't...

Cancel out the old, so to speak. It completes the old. It's the completion of God's plan from the beginning, his plan of redemption. And so the prophets, along with the apostles, the New Testament, Peter, James, John, all the authors of the books of the New Testament, they go hand in hand, the completion of God's plan of salvation, of redemption for us. Their doctrine, their ministry, their

An essential part of God's plan. But the cornerstone, the most important piece of this foundation, we have the prophets, we have the apostles, we have the Old and New Testament, but the most important piece of this foundation for the temple that we're being built into is Jesus Christ. He's the chief cornerstone. The most important stone of the foundation. It would be the one that set everything in order. Carried the weight.

Often the cornerstone would be the stone that was laid beforehand on the foundation. It would be the starting point and everything else would work there from that stone, the cornerstone of the foundation. And so Jesus Christ is that. And so he says, we are being built, the whole building being joined together. Again, Jews and Gentiles. He's talking about the unity that's been created now in Christ Jesus. Everyone in Christ, every single one of us as believers.

We're being joined together to make a dwelling place of God. We're becoming the body of Christ is another way that we'll look at in Ephesians chapter 4. Another way that we are united together and we come together and God inhabits us. In verse 22, he says, is it verse 22? No, verse 21. Grows into a holy temple in the Lord. The temple. See, God has chosen to make us his dwelling place.

Before he dwelt in the tabernacle. But because of the work of Jesus Christ. He's building us together as the church. As the body of Christ. He's building us to his temple. So at one time we were completely apart. We didn't even have the right to enter into the courtyard of the temple or the tabernacle. But now because of what Christ has done. We are the building blocks of his temple.

You see the contrast that Paul is painting here? The picture? How it used to be and now the wonderful privileged position that we have because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. We're being built together. You and I together, Jews and Gentiles, no distinction between nationality. No distinction between male and female. We're being built together into the temple, the dwelling place of God. 1 Peter 2 says,

Peter says in verse 4, Peter says essentially the same thing that Paul is saying here. We're the living stones. We come to Jesus Christ.

He's the precious cornerstone. And he does an incredible work of art. We become his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, to become part of his dwelling place, to become a part of the body of Christ, to become a part of who he is and what he wants to do. This relationship that God has given to us in the person of Jesus Christ is phenomenal. We could talk all day. We could talk for weeks and still have barely scratched the surface.

In the ages to come, remember verse 7, he's going to show his grace through his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. I always find it interesting. In 1 Peter chapter 1, it talks about the prophets who prophesied of the Christ, the one who is to come, and what that would entail and how that would impact God's relationship with man. And Peter says there in chapter 1 that they searched it out intently.

wanting to know what manner of time that this would take place, that the Christ would come and that God would do this thing and what that would mean. They searched it out intently. They couldn't quite grasp it, but they were studying hard. They were praying. They were seeking God, trying to find out what does this mean, God? And they were excited about the work of the Messiah that was to come. Then Jesus came. And here we are in the year 2006. We can remember the contrast of how it used to be.

We look at what Paul tells us about our relationship now. And sometimes I wonder, do I have a better grasp than the prophets on this work in Christ Jesus? Because they prophesied about it, but they couldn't understand it. They didn't know. And they couldn't figure out. They couldn't quite grasp it. Yet the reality for me is that it's happened. Christ has done the work.

And here I am living in the reality of what they longed for and searched out, but couldn't quite understand. And I wonder, do I understand what I have in Christ Jesus? Do I understand what God has done in sending his son to save me? Do I understand what it means that I have been brought near? Do I understand what it means that I have peace with God? Do I understand what it means that I have access to the Father? And do I understand what it means that I...

and being built together with the rest of the body of Christ into a dwelling place of God. It's going to take me a while to get a grasp on it, the rest of eternity. But the reality is, it's here, it's now. We have perfect relationship with God because of what Jesus Christ has done with us. He's taken two groups, the Jews and the Gentiles, who were at odds, at enmity with one another,

And he's made them one, one man, one building that he would be able to inhabit them. He did this in Christ Jesus through his blood and his work on the cross. We've been brought near. He's our peace. We have access to the Father. And now we are a dwelling place of God. Again, where is this leading to? Ephesians 4.1. Therefore, I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. We cannot do that, ladies and gentlemen. We can't walk the Christian walk.

We can't live the Christian life until we learn this, until we take advantage of this, until we come into the courts and learn to worship God and to serve the Lord, until we come to the holy place and learn what it means to have peace with God, until we enter through the veil into the most holy place and experience the presence of God, and until we learn what it means that we are being built together to become a dwelling place of God. We cannot live the Christian life

until we learn what it means to have relationship with God, until we learn what Jesus Christ has done for us, until we experience his presence and his peace, that closeness with him. That is why the Apostle Paul is sharing all of this with us. Just like the author of Hebrews shared in Hebrews 10, 19 through 23. Therefore, we have boldness now. We can enter into the holiest. So let's draw near. That's the focus.

That's the focus. Let's draw near. As I shared at the beginning of Ephesians, all of the practical and outward things that we are to do as Christians must be and can only be the overflow, the outflow of the reality of a relationship with God. And it's when I experience the presence of God that I'm able to accomplish and to walk worthy of the calling which I have been called with or which I've received. So important.

And I know some of these things, like I said, they may be difficult to understand. I would encourage you to meditate on them. Read through this a couple times this week. Do some cross-references. Look it up. Find out about the tabernacle. Find out what does it mean? What has God done for you?

As you remember what it used to be like without God. And then you look forward to this exhortation in chapter 4, verse 1, to walk worthy. And we can look at that call, that exhortation, walk worthy of the calling. How am I supposed to walk worthy? How am I supposed to live a holy life? And we look forward and say, man, that's so difficult. That's impossible. But Paul says, look at where you used to be and what God has done.

then understanding that God can take something so wrong, something so dark without hope, and he can completely change it around. Then you know that as you look forward and those things where you're to walk worthy, and they seem impossible, but you know by experience that God can take the most bleakest of circumstances and situation and make it completely turned around.

In the person of Jesus Christ. But it all centers around Jesus Christ. And so I want to encourage you this week. Learn what this means. That you have access to the Father. Even if you don't fully understand it. Spend some time in prayer and say, Hey, Jerry says, Lord, Jerry says, we have access to the Father. I don't know what that means. Jerry says we can experience your presence. God, I don't know what that means.

Forget what Jerry says. The Bible says. Why am I talking about Jerry? The Bible says you can experience God's presence and you can have a relationship with God. Ask the Lord to reveal himself to you. Ask the Lord to make this portion, this passage, a reality to you. That you would learn what it means. And then, only then, will you be able to walk the way that Jesus has called you to walk. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,

Lord, we remember what it was like. We remember our lives without you. Lord, we were desperate. We were hopeless. And we needed you. And so, Lord, we thank you for the work that you've done in us. We thank you for the work that you did in sending your son, that you might take that hopeless situation and turn it around so completely, where at one time we had no part of you, but now, in Christ Jesus, you desire to dwell within us.

and to be that close with us. It's amazing, God. We can't understand it, but Lord, we ask that you would help us to. Help us, Lord, to search out your word, to understand what you've done for us, because it's in that that we'll be able to walk with you. And it's from the overflow of that that we'll be able to reach the world around us with your love, with the message that you came and died for us. So, Lord, fill us with your spirit. Help us to walk with you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.