Great men and women have come and gone, and our history books are filled with reminders of what they did when they were here.
For example, today many are still talking about:
• Winston Churchill
• Napoleon
• Margaret Thatcher
• Lady Diana
• Abraham Lincoln
• And many more….
These great men and women have come and gone, yet we are still talking about the impact they made on the world in which they once lived.
But all of these combined can not come close to accomplishing what the Lord Jesus accomplished while He was on earth. He is well remembered.
• Today, more books are written about Him than anyone else.
• Hospitals all over the world exist in honor of his love for mankind.
• Orphanage homes all over the world exist in honor of his love for children.
• There are thousands of missionaries that have left their homes and live in all kinds of difficult situations, spreading the good news of the gospel around the world about Him.
• There are thousands and thousands of church buildings scattered around the world to remind folks of His great love for them.
The Lord does not want us to forget what He did for us.
In this passage of scripture, Paul wants to remind the Ephesians of what the Lord has done for them.
Let me show you some things we need to consider about this wonderful Savior that we love and serve. Let’s look first at-
I. OUR PAST
Look at verses 11-12, we read, “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye 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:”
Notice, he is addressing the Gentiles.
WHY WAS HE ADDRESSING THE GENTILES?
God had chosen the Jews to be the missionaries to the world. That is, through the Jewish race He was going to reach the world with the gospel.
But the Jews failed miserably in their effort at doing this.
Instead of living a godly evangelistic life, they became proud and super-spiritual and failed to reach the lost world.
They classified everyone who was not a Jew as “the Uncircumcision.”
Look at verse 11, “…Who are called the Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision…”
Instead of leading Gentiles to the Lord, they threw up barricades in front of the Gentiles to keep them from coming to know the Lord.
Look at verse 12, we were aliens, “…Having no hope, and without God in the world.” That simply means we Gentiles were not God’s people.
That was OUR PAST, but look now at the present -
II. OUR POSITION
Look at verse 13, we read, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were FAR OFF are made NIGH by the blood of Christ.”
Look at the words, “Far off”. This refers to our past when we were aliens, far off from God.
But notice the words, “But now…” This means things have now changed. We now are IN CHRIST.
You can not get any closer to God than this.
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
In the Old Testament, as we previously stated, we were dependent upon the Jews to tell us about the God of their salvation.
BUT NOW, CHRIST HAS COME TO BRING US INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD.
HOW DOES HE DO THAT?
The scriptures are clear and unmistakable in declaring that it is by the “Blood of Christ.”
In the Old Testament, the Jews would go to the temple with their sacrifices and offer them up as a sacrifice for their sins.
The blood of animals has never saved anyone, but the blood was symbolic of the perfect lamb of God that would come one day and shed his blood for the sins of mankind.
NOW THAT DAY HAS COME!
• Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21, we read, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
• Look at 1 Peter 1:18-19, we read, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
Paul wanted these Ephesians to know how much God loved them.
Look at John 15:13, we read, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Today we are no longer aliens, far away from God, WE NOW HAVE THE POSITION OF BEING “In Christ”.
We have looked at OUR PAST and now OUR POSITION in Christ.
But Paul wanted to remind these Ephesians of something else-
III. OUR PEACE
Look at verse 14-15, we read, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.”
Notice, the Bible says, “For he is our peace…”
HOW CAN HE BE OUR PEACE?
When Christ died, he died for our sins, not His.
We were “far off” from God. Our sins separated us from God’s presence and we were at enmity with God. But when the Lord shed His precious blood for us, we were no longer the ENEMIES OF GOD but became the “CHILDREN OF GOD.”
It is because of what the Lord did for us on Calvary that HE BECAME OUR PEACE! If it were not for Him, we still would be lost.
Because of Him, two things have transpired.
(1) ALL MEN NOW APPROACH GOD IN THE SAME WAY
Look at verse 14, we read, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”
The Jews do not have any advantage over Gentiles because of Him. NONE!
• They have to approach God the same way we Gentiles do, through the blood of Christ. Notice, the scripture says in verse 14, speaking of the Jews and the Gentiles, they are now “both one.”
• But this means not only nationally, but also individually. That is, it does not matter what position a person has in society, they all have to come through the blood of Christ.
Illus: There is a song that tells how we approach God, and the words of that song state, “Some through great sorrow, but all through the blood.”
What the Lord Jesus did for us makes all men equal, we all come the same way.
(2) CHRIST’S COMING BREAKS DOWN ALL BARRIERS
Look at verse 14, we read, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”
This alludes to the temple where the Jews worked.
The temple was surrounded by a series of courts. Each court had a high wall separating it from the other courts.
• As you approached, you came to the outer court which was the court of the Gentiles. This is where the buying and selling of animals took place. (Mark 11:15)
• Then there was the Court of Women. A Jewish woman was limited to this court unless she had come to make a sacrifice.
• The next court was the Court of the Israelites. This is where the whole congregation assembled on feast days and where sacrifices were handed over to the priest.
• The Court of the Priest was next. This area was considered to be sacred and only the Priest could enter.
• In the midst of the temple, we have the Holy of Holys. This is where the presence of God dwelt. Only the high priest could enter this court, and only once a year at the great Passover Feast.
Partition after partition separated the various people. There were warnings placed in the Gentile courts saying that if any Gentile walked into any other court he was to be put to death.
But the Lord’s coming made all men equal.
Look at Matthew 27:51 “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.”
The death of Christ not only made us all EQUAL AS WE APPROACH GOD FOR SALVATION, but His death also made us equal as we enter HIS PRESENCE!
• Look at Acts 10:28, we read, “And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”
• Romans 10:12-13, we read, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
We were at enmity with God, but now because of Christ, we are at PEACE WITH GOD. He is truly OUR PEACE.
But notice, one more thing before we close. Let’s look at-
IV. OUR PARTNERSHIP
Look at verses 16-18, we read, “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
Look at the word “reconcile”. Because of Christ, we have been changed from ENEMIES to FRIENDS.
The thing that separated mankind from God was sin. But the Lord, on the cross, took care of that sin problem and the Bible says in verse 16, “…Having slain the enmity thereby.” We now have access to God the Father.
Conclusion:
I want to remind you that Paul, in this passage of Scripture, wanted to make sure that the Ephesian Christians thought about what the Lord Jesus had done for them.
How often do you stop and meditate on what this wonderful Savior has done for you?
I. OUR PAST
II. OUR POSITION
III. OUR PEACE
IV. OUR PARTNERSHIP
Note: You can hear Dr Odell Belger preach some of these sermons on Youtube. Type Youtube and the word Lykesland
