Lesson 5 – Ephesians Chapter 2:11-22

A recap of verses 1-10:

Paul reminded us that we were all lost at one time, we were part of the world system and we belonged to satan. Then Jesus made us alive! God did this for us out of His love, grace, and mercy. This gave us our heavenly position with Him.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”

We are indeed God’s Workmanship created in Christ, we are His Masterpiece. We are also created unto “good works.” Besides being predestined to salvation, the works we do are also predestined. Don’t miss the opportunity to work for the Lord.

Eph. 2:11-12
“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.”

Therefore… meaning reflect on everything Paul has taught us up to this point. Then we are to remember from where we came, who we used to be (BC) before Christ. We were dead and lost in sin. Paul continues to remind us of our past. We didn’t have any grace or hope, our future was very bleak even though we may have thought we were doing okay.

Who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands…

In Paul’s day, the Jews referred to Gentiles as, “uncircumcised heathens.” In reality, the Jews weren’t any better. They were proud of their heritage and they thought they had it all together, but they were only clean on the outside. Yes, they were ceremonially clean, but on the inside, they were nothing but filthy rags, no better than the Gentiles, who they had such disdain for.

Matt. 23:27
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.” (NLT)

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…

As Gentiles, pagans, or heathens, we had no hope or purpose because God wasn’t a part of our lives. The Jews were God’s people and the gospel was offered up to them first.

Amos 3:2a
“You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth;”

Rom. 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

In a way, we can say the Gentiles got the left-overs.

Matt. 15:27
“And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’”

I can tell you this, that there’s nothing crummy about God’s grace and mercy.

Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel…

As a whole, Gentiles were excluded from the things of God, they were alienated. They were Strangers from the covenants of promise… before Jesus came. The Jews were the people of God’s promise, but the Gentiles were cut off from God.

What was that promise?

Gen. 12:2-3
“And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Israel was called to be the means through which the knowledge of God would be spread to the whole world, but it came to be that Israel never fulfilled their calling.

Having no hope and without God in the world…

Reading the last part of verse 12 is just depressing, being without hope and without God. Back in chapter 1 we talked about hope… verse 18, “the confident hope He has given to those He called.” What Paul is doing for us is reminding us of our past condition. A life without Christ is indeed a life without hope. The Gentiles were alienated from the only true and living God. They had a god, in fact they had many gods. Most of them were pantheists, believing that their god was in everything.

Acts 17:22-23a
“So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: ‘Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’” (NLT)

These people had no real hope, they thought when death came it ended all existence, or that death released their spirit to wander aimlessly in some other world for eternity. Again, very depressing.

Eph. 2:13
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Here’s another “Big but” for us! But now in Christ Jesus…

Jesus changes everything!

Bam! We have our hope back! There’s a huge contrast between verse 11 and verse 13, praise the Lord!

Paul reels us back in from being depressed. We were saying, “Yes Paul, I was bad, I was rotten. Why did God even waste His time on me, just let me drift off into the sunset.” And Paul says, “No, no, it’s in the blood, there’s power in the blood.” Amen and hallelujah!

As we covered in chapter 1:7, it’s all about the blood, and not just any blood, but Jesus’ blood. Christ has intervened for sinners everywhere.

Rom. 3:25
“Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,”

Remember, Jesus appeased God through His sacrifice on the cross!

Heb. 10:10
“By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

The implications of this are enormous. It means that we must come to Christ in faith to be saved. Jesus is the way, there is no other way. His sacrifice is “once for all.” The cleansing value of the blood of Christ immediately washes away the penalty of sin and ultimately washes away even its presence… and yes, even to the Gentiles.

I Cor. 6:17
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

This is exactly where we want to be, one spirit with God. The blood of Christ makes it all possible.

Eph. 2:14
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,”

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.” (NLT)

Or, we can just say, “Jesus is our peace.”

You’ve probably seen the bumper sticker, “NO JESUS, NO PEACE… KNOW JESUS, AND KNOW PEACE.”

From the Gatestone Institute:

“Peace is not possible in the Middle East because values and goals other than peace are more important to Middle Easterners. Most important to Middle Easterners are loyalty to kin, clan, and cult, and the honor which is won by such loyalty. These are the cultural imperatives, the primary values, held and celebrated. When conflict arises and conflict-parties form based on loyal allegiance, the conflict is regarded as appropriate and proper.”

What’s the answer for the Middle-East? Jesus! The good news is, probably in the last 10 years, more Muslims have come to faith in Christ than in the last 15 centuries of Islam.

Just like there was a great chasm between God and man, there was a great divide between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus is the answer! Just as sin is the cause of all conflict and division, sin is also the enemy of all peace and harmony.

For He Himself is our peace. It is through the blood of Christ that there is no longer a separation between God and man. And now, this same blood brings peace with Jews and Gentiles.

John MacArthur, “Peace comes only when self dies, and the only place self truly dies is at the foot of Calvary.”

Who has made both one… the word “both” is referring to Jews and Gentiles.

A redeemed Gentile shares a spiritual heritage with the Jew.

Rom. 4:11
“Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous – even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith.” (NLT)

As we learned earlier, we are saved by grace through faith. Each believer can claim Abraham as their “spiritual father.” Orthodox Jews who have not placed their faith in Jesus yet probably don’t like that very much.

And has broken down the middle wall of separation…

The wall of separation was very real, and not just in the minds of the Jews and Gentiles. In the temple area there was the Court of the Gentiles. Between that court and the Court of the Israelites was a sign that read:

“No Gentile may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.”

That’s some serious stuff. If it did happen that a Jew brought a Gentile into the restricted part of the temple, that could mean death for both of them. Ironically, the Jews were called by God to bring the Gentiles to God.

Also, besides the physical wall between Jew and Gentile, there is the spiritual wall that existed. Jesus is the One who can tear down any wall.

Why do some people put up walls in their life? There can be many reasons. One could be to manage what happens next, a kind of defense mechanism. Also, a person who has been deeply hurt in some way has a tendency to put up walls.

When life hurts us, it’s easy to put up walls, we do it to protect ourselves. But self-protection keeps the emphasis on us, on self, when the real answer is found in Christ.

Col. 1:21-22
“This includes you who were once far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.”

Jesus is the great reconciler whether it’s between religions, races, genders, and yes, He can reconcile anyone to Himself.

Eph. 2:15-16
“Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.”

“He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.” (NLT)

The greatest barrier between Jews and Gentiles was the ceremonial law. The feasts, sacrifices, offerings, purifications and everything else that went along those lines. The Gentiles had none of that.

Jesus changed all that when He brought all of the laws together by saying, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (Jn. 13:34)

In His flesh… is the work of Jesus on the cross.

Reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross… Paul talks about the body of Christ at the end of chapter 1. All who repent and give their life to Christ are in the body of Christ… for the Jew first and also the Gentile (Rom. 1:16). Now Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ, there’s no need for any walls of separation, physically or spiritually.

Eph. 2:17-18
“And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

From The Message – “Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through Him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.”

The Father sees us and treats us the same way He treats His Son, with love!

There’s no need for any kind of feud like the “Hatfield’s & McCoy’s.”

Some say that throughout the first century the total number of Jews in the Christian movement probably never exceeded 1,000, and by the end of the century the Christian church was largely Gentile. I’m not sure how true that is, but it doesn’t matter. The fact is, that all who come to Christ are in the family of God. Have you ever noticed that when you meet a fellow Christian, there seems to be an instant comradery, there’s a kinship that happens?

Eph. 2:19
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,”

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” (NLT)

In the household of God, believers are not strangers or foreigners, but we are foreigners living in a world that is not our home yet.

I Peter 1:17
“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” (NLT)

Eph. 2:20
“Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.”

The apostles and the prophets… weren’t themselves the foundation, but we can say they laid the foundation, because Jesus will always be “the” foundation… the Cornerstone.

II Cor. 3:10-11
“Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ.” (NLT)

The cornerstone was the first large stone placed at the corner of a building; the builders would line up the rest of the structure to the chief cornerstone.

I Peter 2:6-8
“Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense… They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.”

Peter goes on to tell us…

I Peter 2:9-10
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

God hasn’t left to chance who will be part of this unique body of people, a group who will serve Him. Remember, you were predestined, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.

Eph. 2:21
“In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,”

In whom… The body or the church is united in Christ, one family, one temple. In our relationship with the Chief Cornerstone, we should fit together as a family, tightly and rightly, all to God’s glory. Jesus is the Unifier; He is the reason the Church came to be. He alone united men to God, He brought God to man through His Person.

The Lord Jesus is not only the unifying power through the Spirit of God in the Church, but He is also the separator. He separates His own from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Consequently, He is both the great ultimate Unifier and the great ultimate Divider.

There can’t be any fence sitting when it comes to Christianity. Pastor Gino Geraci used to use the phrase “mug-wump,” meaning having your mug over one side of the fence and your wump hanging over the other side. You’re either on one side or the other, and God demands that we make a choice.

The body of Christ is God’s holy Church, and it is separated from the world because it is united with Christ.

Being fitted together… this pictures the process in Roman construction where laborers (usually slaves) would turn huge rocks around until they fit each other perfectly. For example, columns appeared to be one piece, but were actually separate cylinders of stone resting on each other. In the Church there are numerous body parts, and each one has a gift and a place within the Church.

Rom. 12:4-5
“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”

Grows into a holy temple in the Lord…

Each believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I Cor. 6:19
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

In a similar way, as stones fitting perfectly together, God fits believers together into the holy temple He is building for Himself. How does God do this? By fitting one stone at a time, refining each one of His children… it’s called the sanctification process.

John 15:2b
“And every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

Isa. 48:10
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”

Pruning and testing can be hard at times, but the end result can be more fruit, and this brings glory to God. As disciples of Christ, we must stay firmly connected to Him to remain spiritually productive for His kingdom.

Heb. 4:12-13
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.”

In the end, all the fruit we have produced in our lifetime will be inspected… so keep on producing.

Eph. 2:22
“In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

In whom… this continues to describe Christ the Unifier. Being built together… this is the hard part on this side of eternity. Sometimes we don’t like being put together with other Christians. Why don’t we like it? Sin is to blame.

We just talked about God’s pruning process, and when it comes to God pruning us, we’re all at different levels of maturity. That can sometimes bring about certain challenges for us within the church.

What can help us with this? One word, Love.

I John 3:18-19
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.”

John is a little like James in that, if you call yourself a Christian, you should act like one. John says don’t just talk about love, show it. James said show me your faith through your actions. Both can have “love” as the driving force. It’s always going to take love if a church is to be healthy and well-functioning.

This is all made possible through the working of the Holy Spirit.

For a dwelling place of God in the Spirit… we are being fitted together as living stones for a holy dwelling in which God can abide forever. Using the word dwelling place carries the idea of a permanent home.

John MacArthur, “Through the blood, the suffering flesh, the cross, and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, aliens become citizens, strangers become family, idolaters become the temple of the true God, hopeless inherit the promises of God, those without Christ become one in Christ, those far off are brought near, and the godless are reconciled to God. Therein is the reconciliation of men to God and of men to men.”

We have to ask ourselves, what kind of dwelling place are we for the Holy Spirit? Is He welcome in the house of our heart. Are there some places within us we don’t want Him to dwell, some rooms of our house we don’t want Him to go in? Is the Holy Spirit telling you that there are some things in your life that need to go? My advice is, listen to what He’s telling you right now.

Eph. 4:30
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

We’ll cover this more when we get to chapter 4.

I’ll close with this…

In the Old Testament, God’s glory was in the temple or the tabernacle, which represented His very presence with His people. Now, in the Church Age, God dwells in His new temple… in each one of us! The Holy Spirit comes into each person who gives their life to Christ. And now, there is no longer any separation between Jew and Gentile, we are one in Christ, and together we are His Church.