Blueprint for the Church
Blueprint for the Church • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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God’s Plan A
God’s Plan A
The Outsiders
“The Uncircumcision”
The Separatists
The Insiders
“Brought near”
Christ
How?
The Outsiders Brought inside
Broken wall of hostility is gone.
“By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances…”
Made Outsiders Insiders
Method: v. 17 Preaching!
Preached to the outsiders and to the insiders
v. 16: One New Man!
Fellow citizen with the saints, members of the household of God,
BUILT on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being the cornerstone,
v. 21: Whole structure being joined together, grows into a hly temple in the Lord..
v. 22: In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Do not Tresspass:
Do not Trespass: und the wall separating Jews and Gentiles in the temple: “They read, in effect, not ‘Trespassers will be prosecuted’ but ‘Trespassers will be executed.’”
verse 14: “He…has made both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.”
verse 16: “That he…might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end.”
Hostility against God
Hostility between Jew and Gentile
Alienation from God and Israel
Cross reconciled Jew and Gentiles between each other and God.
You are no longer aliens but full members with Israel—a New Humanity.
Introduction:
How the gospel impacts the individual
How the gospel impacts the Church
Child=Plural
Children=Plural, influence of brethren?
vv.11-13: Alienation
“Alienated Humanity”
verse 11: How the Jews labelled “The Others”
Insider Language
verse 12: Reality of “The Others”
Gentile “Disabilities” (Stott)
Far Off
William Hendrickson
Christless (aliens to the Messiah)
Stateless (alian to God’s nation)
Commonwealth=Theocracy
Politics=Commonwealth… Father in Law: Only had to know the PINK countries.
Friendless (aliens to the covenants)
“of the promise”
Hopeless and godless (alien to the hope and to God)
godless=atheist
Apartheit:
Apart=hood
A part=hood, based on Old English “Had”=State of condition
versus “neighborhood”
Neigh=”High” Bur= “dwelling”
Condition is totally “apart”
vv.13-17: Unification
“But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once were far away have been brought near!”
Near= “in” “hand”
2 countries with a new name
2 churches come together to form a new name.
How? Through the blood of Christ
v. 14: He himself is our peace, destroyed the dividing Wall of hostility
Hostility between these two groups, Jew and Gentile, Jesus created a path to peace.
Two groups into ONE
Destroyed the dividing wall of hostility…
What was the result of his death? v.15:
Reason #1: He Fulfilled the Law
“by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.”
Ceremonial Law:
Can’t refer to people as the “uncircumcised” anymore, because that’s OT Catagories.
Moral Law:
He fulfilled it so we wouldn’t have to.
Civil Law:
He fulfilled it so we wouldn’t have to build a theocracy anymore.
The Law no longer differentiates.
Reason #2: Reconcilation
Jesus came (his purpose!) was to create IN HIMSELF a NEW humanity out of the two, this making peace.
v.16: Means of reconciliation is through the cross, “he put to death their (spiritual) hostility.”
The cross destroyed spiritual status?
By Jesus dying, he killed spiritual distinctions between humanity and God Himself.
Armitage Robinson: “Christ in his death was slain but the slain was a slayer too.”
First Century: Jew, Gentile
Today: Jew, Gentile, and the Church
Post-Resurrection Jesus:
v. 17: He came and preached who were far (Gentiles) and he preached to those who were near (Jews): BOTH PEACE!
v.18: rare Trinitarian focus: Acces to the Father by ONE Spirit.
They are no longer Christless!
Part 3: v. 19–22: Mobilization
Citizenship:
Martin Lloyd-Jones: “We no longer live on a passport, but…we really have our birth certificates,… we really do belong.”
Verse 19a: Stateless (alien to God’s nation) to Citizenship
Commonwealth=Theocracy
Fellow Statesman
Make us alive together
Raised together
Seated together
Family:
Verse 19b: Friendless (aliens to the covenant) to Family
“of the promise”
Temple:
Verse 20: Hopeless and godless (alien to the hope and to God) to built on a foundation with Christ as the chief Cornerstone
Purpose of the Temple:
“To be a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
To be housed! We are the house.
Tail of Two Temples:
Jerusalem
Ephesians
Tail of Three Temples
Jerusalem=Temple Mosque
Areas of Repentance
Denominations don’t REALLY exist in the Body of Christ.
Areas of Comfort:
Jesus IS your peace:
“The biblical concept of peace has to do with wholeness, particularly with reference to personal relationships. Peace describes an order established by the God of peace (1 Cor. 14:33; cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; Phil. 4:9). Christ himself is the mediator of that peace (Rom. 5:1; Col. 1:20). He gives peace to believers (2 Thess. 3:16); indeed, he himself is that peace.”
