Ephesians 2:11-22

Ephesians 2:11-22

True Peace

1. The only true peace in life is found in Christ, so we must be reconciled to Jesus and to others (Vv. 11-18)

1. Before being reconciled to Christ, the Ephesian Gentile Christians were separated from God, separated from Christ, excluded from God’s Kingdom, had no promise of Messiah, were ruled by the world, and had no hope. The Jews were God’s covenant people who He gave His moral law to His people to demonstrate the standard of His holy, righteous, and just nature, and to follow them to seek to live righteously in order to be in close fellowship with Him. His ceremonial law provided guidelines for His people to follow which would sanctify them from the pagan world around them, help them to not be influenced by their flesh and drift away from Him, and to demonstrate a visible difference in their lives which would show God to the world. But instead, the Jews had become prideful, hypocritical, conceited, and hateful towards all non-Jews. God’s moral law exists as a barrier between sinful humanity and reconciliation and fellowship with Him. But the Jews had used God’s moral and ceremonial laws to construct barriers between themselves and the Gentiles in an attempt to cut them off from God. But now in Christ those who were far off have been brought near to God and brought together with the Jews. Jesus fulfilled God’s moral law, satisfying its demands through His perfect sinless life, and He nullified God’s ceremonial law by becoming the once for all atoning sacrifice for sin. In doing so, Christ alone tears down every wall between humanity and God, and He abolishes the walls of division which exist between people. He didn’t accomplish this by making Gentiles into Jews, or Jews into Gentiles, but making all who are in Him new creations, a new race, a new people, and giving us new access to God through His message of peace to all who trust in Him. Jesus doesn’t just make peace; He is our peace. Only He can reconcile each of us to God, and only He can destroy the hostility between people and reconcile us with each other. Humanity can’t achieve true peace in our own efforts. We can’t achieve peace with God because we can’t be righteousness enough to earn fellowship with Him, and we can’t achieve true peace among ourselves in our own efforts because we continually build walls of hostility between each other, even when we’re trying to tear them down. True peace in life is found only in Christ. (Vv. 12-18; Gen. 12:1-3; 15:7-21; 17:1-21; 26:2-5; 28:13-15; Exod. 24:1-8; 2 Sam. 7:12-16; Isa. 9:6; 29:13; 42:6-10; 49:1-6; 57:19; Micah 5:1-5; Matt. 15:7-9; Luke 2:10-14; John 14:6, 27; 27:50-51; Rom. 1:18-23; 2:25-29; 3:19-26; 5:1; 8:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:17, 21; Gal. 3:10-14, 28-29; 5:6; 6:15; Col. 2:13-14; 3:11, 15; Heb. 10:14-18) 

2. The only true peace in life is found in Christ, so we must be being built together in Him (Vv. 19-22)

1. Now Paul uses the pictures of a nation, a family, and a building to describe the purpose of our vertically and horizontally reconciled lives and the difference reconciliation must make in how we live our lives. As citizens of a country we share a common heritage, language, loyalty, goals, rights, and responsibilities to each other which unite us as a people. Apart from Christ we’re refugees settling in temporary nations, but in Christ we’re united in citizenship in God’s Kingdom, the only Kingdom which will never falter or fail, and will stand forever. Citizenship in no other nation can possibly match God’s Kingdom because true peace, purpose, and hope is only found in Christ. Therefore as citizens of His Kingdom we must be effective ambassadors of our home nation, and good citizens of the earthly nation which we temporarily call home. Our reconciliation in Christ also brings us into and unites us together intimately in God’s family. We’ve been adopted as sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters with Christ, and coheirs of all that’s His. We should be the most comfortable and at peace among family. It’s where we can be ourselves, be accepted, and loved, but it’s also place of greater dependency and responsibility to one another. The local church is the most intimate unit of God’s family. It must be the place where we feel comfort, peace, love, and acceptance, and where we can share the burdens of life which weigh us down. Finally Paul describes our reconciled lives in Christ as the temple of God which He’s building as His new dwelling place in the world. This new temple is built on the foundation of God’s Word with Christ as the Chief Cornerstone. God is building His earthly dwelling place out of living stones which He is fitting on the foundation of His Word and aligning to the Cornerstone in Christ. This living and growing structure is the ultimate picture of the church, and the ultimate source of peace for lives in our fallen world. Each building block is a living stone which is being uniquely crafted and fitted together in their purpose for His purpose. Without one of the stones the building is incomplete, not as radiant, and not as structurally or functionally sound. God has chosen the church to be the means by which Christ functions in the world, and the means through which we function individually to grow in Him, His peace, purpose, hope, and satisfaction. (Vv. 19-22; Ps. 118:22; Isa. 8:14-16; 28:16; Matt. 16:18; 21:42-43; John 20:20-21; Acts 18:9-11; Rom. 5:2-5; 8:14-17; 1 Cor. 3:11-17; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; 6:16; Gal. 3:296-27; Eph. 3:20-21;Phil. 3:20-21; Heb. 10:19-25; 1 Pet. 2:4-12)