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Book: Ephesians
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Ephesians 2:13
Intro. Your past hopeless state. Gentiles in the flesh; called
uncircumcised; without Christ; aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel; strangers from the covenants of promise; without hope;
without God in the world.
I. "But now in Christ Jesus"
A. O what a difference Jesus makes.
1. Remember the statement of the blind man to the
Pharisee's when they said to him, "Give God the
praise; we know that this man is a sinner. He said,
"Whether He is a sinner or not, I do not know, but
this I know, whereas I was blind, now I can see."
2. People may say what they want about Jesus but this I
know, whereas I was once an Gentile in the flesh,
alienated from God, without Christ and without hope,
I am now walking in fellowship with Jesus in the
Spirit.
B. Again I would point out the phrase, "In Christ Jesus" This is
just another spiritual blessing that we have in Christ Jesus
in heavenly places.
1. All that God has done for us, He has done through
Christ Jesus, all that He has given to us comes to us
in Christ Jesus.
II. What we have in Christ Jesus.
A. You who were once far off have been made nigh by the blood of
Christ.
1. In the previous chapter Paul tells us that we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
sins.
ROM 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus:
ROM 3:25 Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in
his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of
sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
ROM 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.
ROM 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him.
ROM 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved
by his life.
1PE 1:18 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;
1PE 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot:
2. You were once far from God, but now you have been
brought close to God through Jesus.
a. Paul was called by God to go to the Gentiles
to open their eyes and to turn them from
darkness to light, from the power of Satan
unto God.
b. Paul writing to the Colossians said,
COL 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son:
COL 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the
forgiveness of sins:
c. Here we see Paul fulfilling his commission.
B. He is our peace who has made both Jew and Gentile one.
LUK 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and [in] the shadow of
death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
LUK 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
men.
1. When the gospel was first taken the Gentiles when Peter
went to the house of Cornelius, we read,
ACS 10:34 Then Peter opened [his] mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive
that God is no respecter of persons:
ACS 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted with him.
ACS 10:36 The word which [God] sent unto the children of Israel, preaching
peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
2. Paul writes to the Colossians about His making peace
through the blood of His cross.
3. To the Romans Paul wrote,
ROM 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
C. "He has broken down the middle wall of partition between us."
1. We were once outside the commonwealth of Israel.
Outside the walls. Outside of the covenants of
blessing.
2. Jesus broke down that wall that once separated us. Now
in Christ,
GAL 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus.
COL 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond [nor] free: but Christ
[is] all, and in all.
D. Jesus abolished the enmity that once separated the Jew and the
Gentile.
1. If there is still enmity there it is because a person
has rejected the work of Jesus.
2. As a Christian, there is never any reason for us to
have feelings of animosity or prejudice against the
Jew, because he is a Jew.
3. If you are anti-semitic you are not allowing the work
of the Lord to be accomplished in your life. He
abolished those feelings.
4. He broke down those walls.
5. Jesus has abolished the ethnic, social and gender
barriers that for so long have divided men into warring
camps.
6. It is sad that we are so quick to build up walls of
separation that Jesus sought to abolish.
a. In the Corinthian church they were saying "I am
of Cephas." Others were saying, "I am of
Appolos." Still others were saying, "I am of
Paul."
b. Paul rebuked them for the manifestation of
carnality in seeking to build such walls around
themselves.
c. Today we do the same thing when we say, I am
Catholic, or I am a Presbyterian, or Baptist,
or Methodist.
I have built up a wall by which I intend to
keep you out.
E. He has abolished the law of commandments that were contained in
the ordinances.
1. He abolished them by fulfilling their righteous
demands.
2. The commandment said, "The soul that sinneth it shall
die."
3. Thus the law of the commandments had condemned all of
us to death for all had sinned.
4. Through His substitutionary death for me, He abolished
the law of commandment that demanded my death.
5. Writing to the Colossians Paul explained it like this;
COL 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us,
which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it
to his cross;
COL 2:15 [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of
them openly, triumphing over them in it.
6. To the Romans he said,
ROM 10:4 For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one
that believeth.
7. To those in the synagog in Antioch of Pisidia he
explains,
ACS 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men [and] brethren, that through
this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
ACS 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from
which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
8. John tells us that the law came by Moses, but grace and
truth by Jesus Christ.
F. He has made from the two, one new man, so making peace.
1. The two being the Jew and the Gentile, from those two
He has created one new entity.
2. I am not a Jew, I am not a Gentile, I am a Christian.
3. The former divisions are gone, and I am a new creature
in Christ Jesus.
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