Why is the church so divided if God calls us into unity? Have we raised dividing walls of hostility where they shouldn't exist? Is there any room for theological diversity? I stray slightly from the text in Ephesians to answer these questions.

All three members of the Trinity were involved in the creation of humanity. All three work in the re-creation of God’s people as well. The result is a unity that God calls us to maintain.

How do believers walk worthy of our calling? How do we balance the scale between our position in Christ and our daily walk? For starters, we must be humble, gentle, and patient as we bear with one another.

We can divide the book of Ephesians into two major sections—soteriology and practical exhortations. In this episode, I transition to the latter by expounding upon the first part Ephesians 4:1-6. How do believers walk worthy of our calling?

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14–21)According to the power at workI have a confession to make. I really don’t know how a car works. I understand some of the basic principles of an engine. I can fumble my way through minor auto repairs with the help of YouTube. I can change a tire or jumpstart a battery, but I don’t understand everything that’s going on under the hood. Even so, I can still jump into my car, turn it on, and drive it to my destination.Many of us are the same way about our spiritual lives. From the time of our conversions, we jump in and get going. We join others for worship, we pray, we avoid sin, and we commit ourselves to doing good works. We may even begin to study doctrine and work through the finer points of Christian theology. But that doesn’t mean we necessarily understand the full extent of what’s going on within us. We drive the car, but we don’t know how the engine works.There are three verses in the Bible that I wrestled with for a long time. I didn’t know what to do with them.The first is John 14:12 where Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do” (Jn 14:12). Lord, are you telling me that I have the ability to not only do what you have done but also do even greater works than you have done? What does the average Christian do with such an overwhelming statement?The second verse is Acts 1:8. Again, Jesus is speaking, and he says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Ac 1:8). At times, I can barely muster up the courage to speak about Christ in personal, intimate conversations, yet we have the power to publish the gospel across the entire earth. In fact, Jesus uses the word, dynamis, or power, from which we get the word, dynamite. We have an explosive force within us because of the Spirit working in us.The third and final verse is found here in Ephesians 3. Look at verse 20: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work—” (Eph 3:20). Stop right there. If it weren’t for the last two words, then I would have no trouble at all this verse. Of course, God can do far more than we ask or think. Of course, he has tremendous power. But notice those last two words: “Within us.” Paul says, “According to the power at work within us.”Many of you are probably thinking, What power? I don’t know whether I have this power. Am I doing greater works than Christ? Am I an effective witness to those around me as Jesus implied I should be? Do I feel the power of God at work within me? Remember my analogy. Most of the adult population gets into a car every day, turns it on, and drives to work. Most of them are like me. They don’t know how the engine works. They don’t marvel at the modern mechanics at play under the hood. They just drive. The thing is, you don’t have to know how an engine works to drive a car.Having said that, Paul does want us to know not how an engine works, but how a Christian works. You may remember that this prayer in Ephesians 3 is not Paul’s first prayer in this letter. He prayed at the end of Ephesians 1. First, he prayed that we (that is, believers) might know our power. Here, he prays that we might use it. Of course, we’ll be far more effective in using our power if we understand how that power works, where it comes from, and so so.I believe a pastor’s role can be summed up with these two things. Elders, especially teaching elders, have a responsibility to (1) tell believers who they are in Christ and (2) urge them to live accordingly. We’ll examine this subject further when we reach Ephesians 4, but briefly stated, the role of a pastor is to bring the church to a place where they are functioning as Christians with maximum power.Read Paul’s prayer again. It serves a double purpose. While it is a prayer to God, it is also a plea to believers. He is urging the Gentiles in Asia Minor as well as us that we should respond to God’s sovereign provision. God is the provider. He is the one and the only one who can activate that power within us, but we are called to faithfully use that power, which all begins with the inner person.I bow my knees before the FatherPaul says:For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being. (Ephesians 3:14–16)For what reason? I believe Paul is referring back to everything he has said up to this point in the letter. God chose us in Christ. He made us holy and blameless. Through his Son, he provided redemption and forgiveness. He caused us to believe in him and sealed us with his Spirit. He grants us wisdom and revelation. Though we were dead in sin, he made us alive with Christ. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. We were alienated, having no hope and without God in the world, but now we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.For this reason, Paul bows his knees and prays to God. But notice that he doesn’t approach God with grandiose titles. Rather, he simply calls him, “Father.” After all that God has done to sovereignly save us, sinners, Paul’s first reaction isn’t to call him, Lord or Master. No, he calls him, Father. That’s not to say, of course, that Paul wasn’t expressing reverence for God. I’m just pointing out that salvation brings us into intimacy with God. As Paul says in Romans 8, “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ’Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Ro 8:15–16).It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been in the middle of a prayer, and I just stop. Suddenly, I find myself marveling at what I’m doing. I’m speaking to the Creator of the universe. Better yet, he’s listening to me. He cares about what I’m saying, what I’m going through, or what I’m struggling with at the moment. Furthermore, he’s not listening to me as a distant king on a throne who feels obligated to hear what his subjects have to say. He’s listening to me as a Father would his son. It’s incredible.To be clear, Paul is not prescribing a required posture of prayer here. The Bible doesn’t command us to pray on our knees. It doesn’t tell us that we have to close our eyes or bow our heads. But I do think a person’s posture can speak to the nature of his prayer. For instance, when Jesus was in tremendous agony before his crucifixion, we’re told that he fell on his face and prayed (Mt 26:39). It was as though he threw himself to the ground, perhaps signifying just how desperate he felt.As for bowing on our knees, if nothing else, that position represents an attitude of submission. While Paul was speaking to his Heavenly Father, he was also in the presence of divine authority. Psalm 95 says:For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! (Psalm 95:3–6)Beyond reverence, bowing the knee in prayer can also express intense emotion. In Ezra 9, we read of Ezra falling to his knees because he felt so heartbroken over the sinful actions of Israel. We’re told that Daniel kneeled three times a day, no doubt realizing that he could soon face consequences for breaking the king’s law which forbade praying to anyone but him. Here in Ephesians, perhaps Paul’s posture tells us something about the earnestness in which he prayed this prayer.What does Paul mean when he refers to God as the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named? (Eph 3:15). We should be careful about our interpretation of this verse or else we might make God the Father of those he does not claim as his children. There are two distinct fathers in this world. The first is God and the second is the devil. Look at John 8 where Jesus tells the unbelieving Jews:“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” (John 8:42–44)John makes a similar distinction in his first epistle. He says:No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:9–10)When Paul speaks of God as the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, he is referring to all of the saints whether they are in heaven or on earth. He is not referring to every person who has ever lived. Liberal theologians teach universal fatherhood of God, but it isn’t true. That would undermine the unique and special relationship that God’s redeemed people have with him. We are born into his family. We are adopted into his family. According to John 1, God gives us the right to become his children. In other words, we don’t begin as God’s children. By his grace, he makes us his children.According to the riches of his gloryLet’s look at the specifics of Paul’s prayer. It’s a prayer that builds upon itself. One part leads to the next and the next. It progresses as it goes.First, let me comment on prayer in general. We should never underestimate the power of prayer. Jesus told two parables about prayer that have always stood out to me. In Luke 11, he tells of a man who knocks on his neighbor’s door late at night to ask for bread. Of course, it’s late at night, so the neighbor refuses to get out of bed to help him. But the guy knocks again and again. He’s relentless. He simply will not leave until his neighbor answers the door. In the end, the neighbor gets up and gives him bread.In Luke 18, Jesus tells of a poor widow who seeks the help of a wicked judge. The judge doesn’t care anything about her plight. He’s not a just man. But the woman won’t leave him alone. She petitions and petitions until he finally says, “Okay. Enough is enough. I’ll help you.”The Bible teaches us to pray relentlessly. We are to pound on the door of heaven until God gives us an answer. He may not give us the answer we want, but we should return to his throne of grace until he gives us something. You and I are in constant combat. We are fighting Satan, a corrupt society, and even our own divided self. The truth is, we’re even fighting God. If you don’t like the sound of that, let me rephrase it: We are struggling with God. In Genesis 32, Jacob literally wrestled with God. In this constant warfare, we need to pray without ceasing.Is prayer effective? Let me share with you a story about Martin Luther’s good friend and assistant in the ministry. In the year 1540, Luther’s friend was dying. The physicians gave him a very short time to live. When Luther found out about it, he wrote a letter to his friend that most of us would never think to write. In the letter, he said:I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church. … The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God.What audacity. Right? I’m not sure that I would call it, audacity. It may stretch us out of our comfort zones, but I would call it, boldness, and boldness is a good thing. By the way, Luther’s friend survived. He lived six more years, dying about two months after Luther.We need confident, bold prayer lives. If you believe what Paul has said about you in the first two chapters of Ephesians, then your prayers should reflect that. Pray like a child of God, an heir of God. Pray like you believe God is listening and cares about your struggles. Pray as though you believe God will answer because he does. He answers according to the riches of his glory (Eph 3:16).I believe that I made this point before, but let make it again. We’re not told that God gives out of his riches, but that he gives according to his riches. Do you hear the difference? If Warren Buffet gives out of his riches, he may give only a dollar. Technically, that dollar comes out of the billions of dollars that Warren Buffet has. But if he gives according to his riches, he gives—how much? He gives billions. He gives an amount that is comparable to all that he has, his entire net worth. God gives according to his riches, not out of his riches. He gives it all. He gives abundantly.Strengthened with powerSpeaking of Warren Buffet, I think it was his son who once gave an interview claiming that he didn’t know his family was rich while he was a child. They lived in a modest home, drove average cars, and did nothing to suggest that his father was incredibly wealthy. Sadly, Christians tend to live like that from day to day. We have access to the riches of God’s glory, but we live as though we’re spiritually impoverished. Our prayers are a good example of that. I know that we’re just trying to be humble, but we pray as though there is little chance that God will answer. No, pray with boldness. Live as though you are a child of God.Here’s the first step: Strength with power through God’s Spirit in the inner man. Paul prays that God may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being (Eph 3:16). Isn’t that interesting? The Christian walk doesn’t begin with external things. Going to worship with the church does not make one a Christian. Praying to God does not make one a Christian. Avoiding sin and keeping commandments does not make one a Christian. Christianity begins on the inside.How many times have you felt that your faith was lacking? Maybe you felt down about yourself as a Christian disciple and thought, I’m a lousy Christian. That’s normal. The question is, where did you go from there? Did you think to yourself that maybe you should give more money to help those in need? Did you think that maybe you should volunteer more of your time to help others or maybe spend more time reading your Bible? These are good things. They are excellent things. But I would encourage you to stop. Before you act, dig a little deeper. It may be that your inner person needs the help.Paul was very concerned about the physical well being of the churches. He worked tirelessly to raise money for the church in Jerusalem because they didn’t have food and basic necessities. Even so, he tells the Corinthians, “Do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2Co 4:16). The inner self needs to be a priority for us. While we should be sacrificially serving others, how long can we continue those efforts if our own inner man is wasting away, losing strength?So how do we strengthen the inner man? We can’t. Only God can reach and heal the inner person. Only God’s Spirit can give us that deep, internal strength we need. Only he can energize and empower us from within. Do you remember those verses I read in the beginning? What do they all have in common? It is the Spirit that gives power. The Spirit grants us the ability to do great works. It is the Spirit who makes us able to be effective witnesses for Christ.Of course, that begs another question: If the Spirit must strengthen the inner man, then what are we to do? First, we pray. Isn’t that what Paul is doing here? He’s praying that we might have strength in the inner being. Second, we indulge ourselves with every morsel of spiritual food we can get. Like physical growth, spiritual growth needs nourishment. Peter said, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1Pe 2:2). What is spiritual milk? Based on the previous chapter in 1 Peter, he’s likely talking about the living and abiding word of God (1Pe 1:23).Listen to J.B. Phillips’ paraphrase of what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:We are handicapped on all sides, but we are never frustrated; we are puzzled, but never in despair. We are persecuted, but we never have to stand it alone: we may be knocked down but we are never knocked out! Every day we experience something of the death of the Lord Jesus, so that we may also know the power of the life of Jesus in these bodies of ours. Yes, we who are living are always being exposed to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be plainly seen in our mortal lives. We are always facing death, but this means that you know more and more of life. (2 Corinthians 4:8–12 PHILLIPS)Then, he says, “This is the reason why we never collapse. The outward man does indeed suffer wear and tear, but every day the inward man receives fresh strength” (2Co 4:16 PHILLIPS). In other words, the health of the inner man is more important than the health of the physical man. If we are neglect either of them, we’re prone to neglect the inner man. We have it backward. The inner man can support the outer man, but it won’t work the other way around.Christ may dwell in your heartsWhat happens when the inner person is strengthened by the Spirit? Paul says:Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17–19)He says that strengthening in the inner being Christ will dwell in our hearts. It seems backward. Doesn’t it? Doesn’t Christ need to dwell in us before we can be strengthened from within? Of course, but Paul chooses his words carefully here. There is a difference between living in a house and making that house your home. Dwell comes from a word that means to settle down. Christ is in your heart, but a little sanctification is needed before he’ll feel at home.Let’s use this heart-house analogy to think through the practical implications. Imagine that you own a home that is full of decorations and stuff you’ve collected over the years. One day, Jesus calls you up on the phone and says, “Hey, I’m coming over tonight.” So you go to work cleaning the place from top to bottom. Jesus is the most important guest you’ll ever have, so you want the house to be immaculate. That’s great, but a clean house by itself does not make a fitting home for Christ. Let me show you.Listen to this brief story Jesus told in Luke 11. He said:“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24–26)What does that mean? Jesus described the person whose moral reform is shallow. He attempts to clean the house, but he does little more than create the appearance of a clean house. He doesn’t create a welcome environment for Christ. He merely makes the place more pleasant for the devils.The devils love a clean house. They thoroughly enjoy people who attempt to tidy up their lives but do very little to make real, substantial changes. It’s like the church member who hides his beer in the back of the fridge when his pastor comes over for a visit. The beer is still there, not that there’s anything inherently wrong with beer, but he gives the impression that he’s not a beer drinker.If we are to create a fitting home for Christ in our hearts, then we must do more than a light dusting and a quick sweep of the floor. What good is a clean house if our computer history is full of pornographic material? Who cares if your collection of DVDs is straight and alphabetized if many of the films romanticize sin and ungodliness? Do you see what I’m getting at? By all appearances, we may look like good Christians, but the real question is, what’s in our heart?Going back to 1 Peter 2, let me read the entirety of what Peter says:So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1–3)Before we dig into the Bible to better understand Christ and his will, to nourish our born-again souls, we need to remove all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. What about our lust for prestige, materialism, and some of the other subtle sins? The heart is where we hide our sins, so that must be the place we fight our most aggressive battle against wickedness.Rooted and grounded in loveNotice what comes next. Our inner being is strengthened by the Spirit, Christ dwells in our hearts through faith, and then we become rooted and grounded in love (Eph 3:17). We find ourselves on a strong foundation of selfless love. In other words, we become increasingly like our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the epitome of sacrifice and kindness. More than feeling obligated to love, we suddenly want to love. We want to serve. We want to do good works for the benefit of others.From this love, then, comes divine comprehension of the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (Eph 3:18–19). Keep in mind that Paul is writing to born-again believers. They already believe that Christ is Lord and Savior. They already believe themselves to be sinners in need of God’s grace, yet Paul prays that might be able to grasp the fullness of Christ’s love. Is it possible for a believer to remain ignorant about the extent of God’s love? Absolutely.When the famous jazz musician Louis Armstrong was asked to explain jazz, he said, “Man, if I’ve got to explain it, you ain’t got it.” What’s true about jazz is true about love. God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit when we are born again, but that doesn’t mean we fully comprehend it. It certainly doesn’t mean that we’ve learned to love accordingly. We grow into a mature awareness of God and what he has done.Comprehension of love comes from being continually immersed in the things of God. Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jer 15:16). Notice that it wasn’t until after Jeremiah consumed God’s words that they became a joy and delight to his heart. The same is true for us.Ultimately, we can’t explain the depth of God’s love. It is a love that surpasses knowledge, according to Paul (Eph 3:19). It can’t be studied or articulated. It has to be experienced. Once it is, then you may be filled with all the fullness of God, a concept which Paul alludes to several times throughout this letter. What does it mean? It’s total dominance. If you’re filled with rage, then you are dominated by it. If you are filled with God, then—what? You are dominated by God. There’s nothing left of the old man. You are not only a new creation in Christ, but you are a mature creation in Christ. You love him. You serve him. You seek his will in all things. Your life is entirely reformed into one resembling Jesus Christ.Far more than all that we ask or thinkFinally, we come to the grand conclusion of this passage:Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20, 21)When the Spirit has empowered us, Christ has indwelt us, love has mastered us, and God has filled us with his fullness, then he is able within us to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. When those conditions are met, then God’s working through us becomes unlimited. Apparently, we can’t even imagine what he’s capable of doing. We can’t even think to ask for what he’s able to do.We sell ourselves short. Don’t we? We think that we’re being humble, but God called us for a purpose. He put us into the positions we find ourselves. He recreated us for a reason, and he has provided everything that is necessary for us do even greater works than Jesus. We are made capable of carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth. We need to stop playing the part of a bump on a log. The God who is able to do far more than we ask or think is working within us. He’s working through us.Why? For his glory, of course. He deserves it now and forever. So don’t get the impression that God’s grace in these matters is about us. No, it’s about him. It’s always about him.In closing, I want to encourage us to put away our fears, to put away our excuses. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as passive nobodies who merely fill a seat on Sunday morning. If you are in Christ, you are a child of God. Everything Paul has said in these first three chapters of Ephesians is about you. You were chosen before the foundation of the world. You are made alive with Christ. You have the power of God working within you, assuming you follow Paul’s simple formula for spiritual growth and maturity. Get on the email list at jeremysarber.substack.com

This is season 1, episode 10 of Sunday Manuscripts.For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:1–13)To the Saints Who Are In EphesusEverything that Paul has said up to this point in his letter has served to encourage and strengthen the Gentile believers in Ephesus. It may be more accurate for me to say, the Gentile believers in Ephesus and beyond. Chances are, Paul intended for this letter to reach churches all over Asia Minor.Interestingly enough, the earliest manuscripts of the Bible omit Ephesus from Ephesians 1:1, Paul’s greeting to the church. But without the word Ephesus, the sentence doesn’t quite make sense. So how do we explain its absence in the earlier manuscripts?Most likely, Paul meant for this letter to be a circular letter. He mentions Tychicus at the end. Tychicus probably first carried it to Ephesus before moving throughout Asia Minor. In the original letter, Paul probably wrote, “To the saints who are in [fill in the blank]” (Eph 1:1). He intentionally left it blank so that Tychicus could insert the name of whatever church he was visiting at the time.Colossae was another church in Asia Minor to whom Paul also wrote a letter. At the end of his letter to the Colossians, notice what he says: “When this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea” (Col 4:16). What letter from Laodicea? Laodicea was another church in Asia Minor, but we don’t have a letter addressed to them.Or do we? It’s certainly possible that Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is the letter from Laodicea. Moving counterclockwise from Ephesus, the next stop would be Colossae followed by Laodicea. If the Ephesian letter was moving clockwise, then it would arrive in Laodicea from Colossae, making it the letter from Laodicea.That’s a probable theory anyhow. My point is, Paul was likely writing to Gentile believers all over Asia Minor. His words were not specific to the circumstances in Ephesus. He is teaching universal truths for all Gentile believers.For This Reason—As Paul moves into Ephesians 3, he thinks that he’s finished discussing God’s unity of the Jews and Gentiles in the church. He thinks that he has said all that needs to be said in Ephesians 2. But then he interrupts himself with a few more thoughts.Notice the incomplete sentence in the first verse: “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—” em dash (Eph 3:1). What does the em dash tell us? It represents an interruption. The sentence isn’t complete because Paul stops short to tell us something else.What was he going to say? For this reason—what? Glance down at verse 14: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father” (Eph 1:14). He was starting to pray for the Gentiles. In Ephesian 3:14–21, he prays for their strength, faith, maturity, and knowledge. He wants everything they’ve learned about their salvation and God’s inclusion of them in the church to lead to spiritual strength and maturity.It occurs to him, however, that he has more to say about the salvation of the Gentiles. Before launching into his prayer, he stops himself to address further what he calls the mystery of Christ (Eph 3:4). We could place the entire passage, verses 2–13, within parenthesis.Of course, that’s not to say that this passage is anything less than important. The early days of the church represent a pivotal moment in redemptive history. There is no longer any distinction between Jews and Gentiles. Look at verse 6: “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6).Perhaps we should pay even closer attention to this passage since Paul knew that it was important enough to interrupt his prayer to say it. Repetition never hurts.A Prisoner of Christ JesusPaul begins by relating his personal experience. He says:Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ. (Ephesians 3:2–4)We simply can’t underestimate the value of Paul’s ministry in the early days of the church. He wrote thirteen of twenty-seven books in the New Testament. He was directly or indirectly instrumental in planting many of the churches. He is the dominant evangelistic figure throughout the book of Acts. More than any other apostle he articulated the mysteries of the gospel and Christ’s kingdom.Where would the church be today without God’s work through the apostle Paul? It’s hard to imagine.But Paul isn’t boasting here. He’s not bragging about what God has revealed to him. In fact, he calls himself a prisoner of Christ Jesus (Eph 3:1). That’s the humble testimony of a man who cares more about God’s people than himself. Though a few envious pastors faulted him for landing in jail, he was a prisoner only because he was faithful to do what God called him to do.He had been a prisoner for more than four years. His trials all began when a few Jews falsely accused him of taking a Gentile into forbidden parts of the temple. It wasn’t true, but the Sanhedrin backed the claim. Given the political climate in Israel, the Roman authorities felt compelled to arrest Paul and detain him indefinitely. Eventually, he was taken to Rome where a soldier guarded him within private quarters.Notice, however, Paul doesn’t consider himself a prisoner of the Jews or even the Romans. Rather, he was a prisoner of Christ. What does that mean? His Lord bought him with a price. Jesus paid for him. He was subject to Christ’s will. Furthermore, he recognized God’s sovereignty whose plan apparently included his imprisonment.It’s easy to accept God’s will when everything is going smoothly. But God doesn’t necessarily call us into stress-free lives without struggles and hardships. In fact, he uses trials to refine and sanctify us. He uses them to discipline us.Earlier this week, I discovered an old hymn written by none other than John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace”. I had never heard it before. Maybe it was my mood at the time, but the lyrics overwhelmed me. How often have you prayed for something and it seemed that God gave you the exact opposite?Listen to these words:I asked the Lord that I might grow In faith and love and ev’ry grace, Might more of His salvation know, And seek more earnestly His face.‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray, And He, I trust, has answered prayer, But it has been in such a way As almost drove me to despair.I hoped that in some favored hour At once He’d answer my request And, by His love’s constraining pow’r, Subdue my sins and give me rest.Instead of this, He made me feel The hidden evils of my heart And let the angry pow’rs of hell Assault my soul in ev’ry part.Yea, more with His own hand He seemed Intent to aggravate my woe, Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, Humbled my heart and laid me low.“Lord, why is this,” I trembling cried; “Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death?” “’Tis in this way,” the Lord replied, “I answer prayer for grace and faith.”“These inward trials I employ From self and pride to set thee free And break thy schemes of earthly joy That thou may’st find thy all in Me.” (“I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow” by John Newton)The prisoner of Christ doesn’t wallow in self-pity. He tries his best to see things with a divine perspective. Like Horatio Spafford, he says, “Whatever my lot, God has taught me to say, It is well with my soul.” He trusts in the sovereign plan of God. He believes Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.“Paul was a prisoner of Christ. Concerning his unfortunate circumstances, he told the Philippians:I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12–14)Don’t run from your trials. Don’t ignore them. Try to see them as God sees them. What’s he doing? What’s his purpose? What is he trying to tell you? How do your struggles help you? How might they advance the gospel?The Stewardship of God’s GracePaul may have been a prisoner for Christ, but he was also an apostle. He asserts his authority and credibility here. He assumes that his readers already know that God gave him the all-important task of ministering to the Gentiles. He says, “The stewardship of God’s grace was given to me for you” (Eph 3:2).By stewardship, he means that he is a responsible party. A steward is someone who is entrusted to manage a household, business, people, or things.Paul didn’t choose to become an apostle. He told Timothy, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (1Ti 1:12–13). That is why he says here that he is a steward of God’s grace.He tells the Corinthians that his ministry was the result of God’s will and compulsion. He says:For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. (1 Corinthians 9:16–17)You may not be an apostle or even a preacher, but God has certainly called you into his service. He gives every believer spiritual gifts, talents, wisdom, and opportunities to be his witnesses and to do good works. Peter tells us:As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4:10–11)Don’t waste your gifts, and don’t waste opportunities because you’re uncertain about your gifts.I don’t know whether I have any gifts. Of course, you do. You’re a member of the body of Christ. I don’t know what gifts I have. You don’t need to know. We are all empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills (1Co 12:11). God will give you what you need when he knows you need it.The fact is, you may not have one specific gift. Throughout your life, God could give you a limitless combination of gifts. The question is not, what gifts do you have? The question is, are you taking advantage of every opportunity to serve God, share the gospel, and help one another? As Charles Spurgeon said, “If there be degrees in glory, they will not be distributed according to our talents, but according to our faithfulness in using them.”As for Paul, both his gifts and opportunities were somewhat unique. Of course, he lived in a unique time in history. As I said before, it was a pivotal moment when God’s grace was extending beyond the borders of Israel. Paul, in particular, was on the front lines. Though he revealed many of God’s mysteries to the church, there was one that stands out above the rest.The Mystery of ChristWe’re all familiar with Paul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus. We read about it in Acts 9, but it’s not until Acts 26 that we get the full story. As Paul is speaking to King Agrippa, he tells Agrippa what happened, and he says:“I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ’Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’“And I said, ’Who are you, Lord?’“And the Lord said, ’I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:12–18)Paul’s calling was unusual. When Jesus first sent his apostles to preach, he told them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 10:5–6). Paul, on the other hand, was not to go to Israel. He was not to preach the gospel to the Jews. He was to open the eyes of the Gentiles. He was to turn the Gentiles from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God.Notice what he says here:When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:4–6)Why does he refer to the inclusion of the Gentiles a mystery? It’s because their inclusion was a part of God’s plan which was veiled for many generations. Paul says, “The mystery of Christ was not made known to the sons of men in other generations.” It was prophesied. In the beginning, God told Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Ge 12:3).Even so, no one understood the full meaning of those prophecies. Old Testament saints could not comprehend the future church. They could not conceive of a united body formed with both Jews and Gentiles. How could people from every nation, culture, race, and background possibly come together in harmony? It’s unthinkable.If you’re still sure how such a thing could be possible, then I encourage you to read Ephesians 1 and 2 again. It’s possible because God makes it happen. It’s possible because God sovereignly chose his people for salvation. It’s possible because God changes us from the inside out. It’s possible because we are joined together not by superficial commonalities, but by Jesus Christ and his power.The Gentiles Are Fellow HeirsIt’s difficult for us to grasp just how revolutionary this truth was to people in the first century. We’ve talked about the tremendous divide between the Jews and Gentiles, so I won’t rehash it. But I will offer a metaphor that might help us.Let me read a brief story from Luke 17, then I’ll explain:On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11–19)How many times do we read of Jesus healing lepers? What’s the significance of leprosy in the Bible? When Jesus gives sight to a blind man, we readily understand the implication. But what about leprosy?Leprosy is a dreadful, disgusting disease. People in the ancient world also believed it to be highly contagious and seemingly incurable, so lepers were banished to isolation. They could have no contact with anyone including their families. If a leper appeared to be healed, he was required to go to the priests for examination and a lengthy purification process.The spiritual significance of leprosy is that it represents sin. We see that implied by the story which I’ve just read. Jesus supernaturally cleanses these men of a disease that left them alienated and dying. In the end, he tells the Samaritan leper, “Your faith has made you well.” Sinners are justified by faith.More to the point, no self-respecting Jew would go anywhere near a leper. Jewish tradition required that lepers shout to anyone approaching them: “I’m a leper! I’m unclean! Keep your distance.” Jesus, on the other hand, doesn’t avoid them. He seems to intentionally find them. He heals them. He removes that filthy thing which separated them from the rest of society. He restores them.To the first-century Jew, the idea of including Gentiles into one body with the Jews was the spiritual equivalent of inviting lepers into the fold. Gentiles were to remain separate and alienated. There could be no equality. There could be no harmony. They were tainted by their disobedience to the law and their ungodly worship of false idols. They were spiritual lepers.Even so, Paul says, “The Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6). How can that be? It is because Christ has the power to cleanse lepers. Never mind the past. Gentiles are justified by the Lord and the same faith as the Jews. Every believer is bound together by Christ and his gospel.According To the Gift of God’s GracePaul continues:Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:7–9)Paul reiterates himself to stress—what? It would seem that he wants to make it abundantly clear that God gave him a special position in the church with special revelation only because it was God’s sovereign purpose to do so. In other words, Paul was nothing special apart from the grace of God.It wasn’t Paul’s education, natural abilities, experiences, personality, influence, or anything else that qualified him to be a minister of Christ. He did not deserve personal commendation. He did not want accolades. Why? God chose him. God called him. God made him a minister. God worked through him. God used him despite him.It would concern me if a man considered entering the ministry because he felt himself to be a gifted speaker. In most cases, men have to be dragged into the ministry. Truly qualified men don’t usually feel qualified. Think of Moses who spent two chapters in Exodus arguing with God over whether he was the right man for the job. In a manner of speaking, I had a very similar argument with the burning bush years ago.Of course, even a God-ordained minister can lose his sense of dependence upon God’s grace. He may come to rely on his own abilities and talents. He may become motivated by prestige, reputation, success, or personal ambition. It’s a dangerous place to find ourselves.Perhaps that is why God so often afflicts his ministers. He gives them physical, mental, or spiritual burdens to humble them, to remind them of their need for God’s strength and grace. Paul called it, “a thorn in the flesh to keep me from becoming conceited” (2Co 12:7). Ministers simply can’t be effective in the service of Christ without humility.We Have BoldnessPaul’s role as a foundational piece of the church was to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery (Eph 3:8–9). He says:So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10, 11)Do you want to see the wisdom of God on display? Look at the New Testament church. Look how God has brought together people who otherwise have no reason to be together. He has changed the individuals. He has united them in love and peace. It’s so extraordinary that God turns to the angels, the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, and says, “Look at the church. See my wisdom. They represent my eternal purpose in Christ.”What then is the primary function of the church? In short, we are here to glorify God. The church is not an end in itself but a means to an end. The real end is God’s glory. Everything God has done from before the foundation of the world until now has been to express his glory.So what is our takeaway from this passage? “In whom,” Paul says, “we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory” (Eph 3:12, 13).Through faith, we have direct and personal access to those unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph 3:8). Go back and read Ephesians 1 again. Do you realize who you are? Do you realize what you have in Christ? You’re not a Gentile. You’re not a Jew. You’re a child of God. You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph 2:19). As such, everything that belongs to Christ belongs to you.In the end, Paul reminds us that we don’t have a good reason to lose heart. I know that’s easier said than done, but think about the man who is saying this to us. This request doesn’t come from a megachurch pastor who lives comfortably off of the royalties of his bestselling books. No, the man who wrote these words was left for dead. He was beaten and imprisoned for his faith.You and I are probably too comfortable for our own good. I’m not suggesting that we look for trouble or seek martyrdom, but let’s be honest with ourselves. I’m not sure that I can begin to understand what Christians have suffered in the past or in other parts of the world. The worst persecution I’ve ever faced has been a few scathing emails. The worst of my suffering has been an occasional migraine.Let me give you something to think about. It’s not a matter of whether you suffer in this life; more importantly, it’s how to respond to suffering. Not only can trials refine you and increase your faith, but a godly response to them can be a benefit to others. Paul’s suffering strengthened believers. It caused the conversion of others. His example of boldness in the face of adversity changed them. Your boldness can do the same.More articles and notesAre some preachers too educated?My approach to building simple websitesPreparing to address the ‘eternal justification’ doctrine Get on the email list at jeremysarber.substack.com

This is season 1, episode 9 of Sunday Manuscripts.Today, we reach the end of Ephesians 2 as we look once again at Ephesians 2:19–22.So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19–22)The Mystery of ChristFirst of all, let me remind you where we are in this letter. Paul is explaining what he will later refer to as the mystery of Christ (Eph 3:4). In Ephesians 3, he says, “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6).Despite the protest of some Jewish Christians, the Gentiles were equal members with them in the church. Though the Gentiles were once alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, God brought them near by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:12–13). “So then,” Paul says, “they are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19).You can probably imagine the tension it created. I still remember the challenges that I faced in the aftermath of my conversion. Suddenly, my world revolved around Christ. I wanted to talk about him. I wanted to study the Bible. But the same wasn’t true for most of my friends. I still wanted to go out drinking with them, but my conscience began protesting, “Don’t do it.”I knew that I belonged with the saints in the church, but it was a difficult transition. In my church, there were hardly any people my age. Plus, I still had worldly interests that were not shared by others. I felt as though I was forcing myself into someone else’s family. It was uncomfortable at first.Look around this room. How much do we really have in common with one another? Danae and I don’t have any kids, but some of you do. I like watching baseball while some of you are thinking, Baseball? Is that still around? I could listen to the music of Bob Dylan all day long, but you might consider that torture. Maybe you enjoy running or fishing, but I would much rather sit on the patio with a good book.Some of us grew up churched. We’ve sat on pews listening to Bible stories as long as we can remember. Some of us, however, were approaching midlife before we learned that a man named Jesus died on a Roman cross. Our backgrounds and experiences are radically different.Just imagine what the church would be if we came from different countries and wildly divergent cultures. Unity would feel like a pipe dream. Even the drawing power of God can’t reconcile some people. Right?Wrong. The early church is proof that even groups who were once hostile to one another can come together in Christian unity. It may take time and maturity, but we shouldn’t underestimate the manifold wisdom of God nor the working of his power (Eph 3:10; 7).Christ Gave Himself Up For the ChurchBefore we dig into the text, I feel that I should dispel a few common myths about the church.1) We do not attend church; we are the church.The Bible never refers to the church as a place, building, or location. For example, there’s a verse in Acts that says, “The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem” (Ac 11:22). I have never known a building to have ears.When the Bible talks about the church, it speaks of believers who are born of God and united by the gospel of Jesus Christ.2) The church does not exist to serve our felt needs.People tend to shop for churches as though they’re buying a new car. I want one with air conditioning, comfortable seats, and a quality sound system. If the church doesn’t satisfy their every desire, then they move on to the next and maybe the next.A few years ago, I spoke to a gentleman who raved about a new church he had joined. After a little research, I discovered that his church does not believe in the deity of Christ. When I brought this critical issue to his attention, he said, “Oh, but I feel so good after every service.”I begged him to examine himself. I feel pretty good after eating dessert, but I wouldn’t sacrifice meat and vegetables for it. You can’t live on dessert alone, and shallow feelings, no matter how positive, aren’t worth sacrificing the truth.3) We marry the church; we don’t date it.In his book, Stop Dating the Church, Joshua Harris describes the uncommitted Christian in three ways.First, he’s me-centered, always looking for he can get out of church. He has no interest in serving others. Rather, he expects the church to serve him.Second, he’s independent, never wanting to get too involved with other people. He keeps his distance. Perhaps he tries his best to slip in and out without anyone noticing. He certainly doesn’t want to be a part of the church outside of corporate gatherings.Third, he’s critical. He approaches the church as a consumer. If they don’t have what he wants and exactly what he wants, then he goes elsewhere. He’s always right; everyone else is always wrong.Jumping ahead in Ephesians, Paul makes it clear that we cannot be half-hearted, uncommitted members of the church. In Ephesians 5, he says:Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25–27)Christ did not give a piece of himself for the church; he gave all of himself. He served the church by sacrificing for the church. His interest in her was not shallow or fleeting. He cared enough to pursue her holiness. In other words, his priority was the church’s welfare which he proved by dying for her. Of course, God has called us to follow his example.When you are dating someone, there is very little commitment involved. Boyfriends and girlfriends come and go. Those relationships can often be self-serving until they evolve into something more. Marriage, on the other hand, is a firm commitment. God commands us to love one another until death does us part. There isn’t room for selfishness or constant criticism.The same is true in the church. Selfless commitment is required because God designed the church so that its members should come together as (1) citizens of the same country, (2) members of the same family, and (3) bricks of the same building. You’ll notice that Paul uses all three metaphors in this passage.Fellow Citizens With the SaintsHe says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints” (Eph 2:19).“Congratulations,” he says. “God has awarded you citizenship in his kingdom. All of its rights and privileges now belong to you. You were a citizen of the kingdom here on earth, and the devil was your king, but not anymore. Your citizenship is in heaven, and Christ is your King.”Listen to the solemn warning which Paul gave the Philippians concerning false teachers. Notice the contrast he makes:Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:17–20)Do you see the difference? Citizens of the earthly kingdom worship themselves. They set their minds on earthly things. The implication is that citizens of God’s kingdom worship the true King and set their minds on heavenly things.More to the point, we are citizens of the heavenly kingdom together. Remember that Paul is building a case for the practical exhortations he’ll give in Ephesians 4 where he says, “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:1, 3). He goes on to describe how we are working together, always moving toward maturity and unity.As fellow citizens of this kingdom, we depend on each other. We are working together to achieve the same end.Earlier this year—maybe it was last year—I read a book called The Poverty of Nations where the authors explained how an impoverished nation could theoretically improve their circumstances. Personally, what I found most interesting was their description of the free market system. Using the example of a pencil, they described how many different industries and people are involved in creating a single pencil. It is surprising.Millions of people are involved in producing pencils. Even after someone has figured out to use the various elements to create a pencil, others have to supply those elements. The graphite comes from Sri Lanka. The wood comes from Oregon. There’s also lacquer, carbon, brass, nickel, and rubber needed. People have to extract, produce, manufacture, deliver, sell—a lot goes into these convenient writing utensils that we never think twice about.We’ll get into the practical aspects of working together as we move into Ephesians 4. For now, just make a mental note of Paul’s first metaphor here and think about its implication. We are citizens of the same kingdom. Better yet, we are citizens of an eternal kingdom. We are saints together forever.Members of the Household of GodFurthermore, we are members of one family. Paul says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19).Quickly, Paul’s metaphors become intimate. In case the thought of being citizens of the same country doesn’t convey genuine unity, he describes the church as a family. Specifically, we are the family of God living in his household. Of course, the sense of belonging is much stronger within a family than a nation.Hebrews 2 says:For it was fitting that Jesus, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. (Hebrews 2:10–11)Perhaps my favorite passage along these lines is found in Romans 8. Paul says:For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:14–17)Paul’s use of the word adoption—the word is huiothesia in the original Greek—is interesting. More times than not, the Bible speaks of our entry into God’s family as a birth. For instance, John 3: “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:3). First Peter 3: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1Pe 1:23).But a total of five times in the New Testament, Paul, and only Paul uses the word huiothesia (adoption). Romans 8:15: “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons.” Romans 8:23: “We wait eagerly for adoption as sons.” Romans 9:4: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption. Galatians 4:5: “God sent forth his Son so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4, 5). Then, Ephesians 1:5: “God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.”Believe or not, I’ve known people to be troubled by the Bible’s mixed metaphors in this area. Are we born into God’s family or adopted? Generally, those who are bothered by these seemingly contradictory analogies prefer to think of us as being born, not adopted. They think that birth implies a stronger relationship.The fact is, it’s both. Do you remember my golden rule for Bible study? If the Bible says it, then we should believe it.You may be surprised to learn that adoption implied a stronger relationship than birth in the ancient Roman world. The Romans thought of the birth of a child as getting what you get whether you like it or not. According to Roman law, you could disown your natural child. After all, it’s not your fault that he came out as he did.Adoption, on the other hand, was your choice. You could have no justification for disowning a child whom you willingly chose, knowing what you were getting. In William Ramsey’s commentary on Galatians, he says:The Roman-Syrian Law-Book … lays down the principle that a man can never put away an adopted son, and that he cannot put away a real son without good ground. It is remarkable that the adopted son should have a stronger position than the son by birth, yet it was so.Of course, the opposite was true in Jewish culture. Ramsey writes, “Among the Jews, adoption had no importance, and hardly any existence. The perpetuity of the family, when a man died childless, was secured in another way. … Only sons by blood were esteemed in the Hebrew view.”These metaphors do not contradict each other. Rather, the authors of the Bible use them to convey the fullness of our relationship to God. We are born in that we enter into a new life within the family of God. We are adopted in that God legally, positionally claims us as his children. John actually brings these metaphors together when he says:To all who did receive Christ, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12–13)We are born, yet we are also subjects of a legal process if you will.The point is, we are God’s children in every way possible and nothing can ever change that. There is no chance of God ever disowning us. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (Jn 6:37). Paul says, “We are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Ro 8:17–17).A Dwelling Place For GodPaul uses one more metaphor here in Ephesians 2. He says:You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19–22)In other words, we are bricks in God’s temple. Peter describes believers as living stones built up as a spiritual house (1Pe 2:5).Let’s not confuse this analogy by thinking of the church as a physical location. As I said before, the church is not a building. The people who make up the church, however, are like bricks in a building. God places us together to create a dwelling place for his Spirit. But the church is the people.In fact, Paul speaks of individual members of the church as temples of God. He tells the Corinthians, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1Co 6:19–20). So let’s not carry the temple metaphor further than Paul intended.Notice the layers of this temple. First, we have the foundation along with its cornerstone. Second, we have the building of the temple. Third, we have the purpose of the temple. If you prefer, Paul describes the foundation, the formation, and the function of God’s temple.1) The church’s foundation is the apostles, prophets, and Jesus Christ.What does Paul mean by that? I assume that you understand the significance of a foundation. If not, I’ll let Jesus explain it. At the end of his sermon on the mount, he said:“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24–27)It makes perfect sense. Doesn’t it? Since the entire structure rests on the foundation, a solid foundation gives stability to a building. A poor foundation, of course, makes the structure unstable.More importantly, compare how Jesus described a solid foundation with what Paul says. Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Mt 7:24). Paul says, “You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2:19–20).What is the church’s foundation? In short, it is God’s Word. The prophets, the apostles, and Jesus himself, the Word incarnate, all delivered the truth of God in one form or another. They spoke it. They wrote it. Jesus, in particular, revealed it through his person.Let me read a paragraph from our church’s official confession of faith. The very first paragraph states:The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in diversified manners to reveal Himself, and to declare His will unto His church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which makes the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people being now completed. (1689 Baptist Confession)Notice what Paul says in the next chapter as explains the mystery of Christ. Verse 4–5:When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (Ephesians 3:4, 5)You may ask, “How do we make the leap from the prophets and apostles to the written Word of God or the Bible?” Jesus didn’t describe the foundation of the church as men such as the apostles. Rather, he referred to his words or teachings. I believe Paul is implying the same here in Ephesians 2.It’s not that God has built his church on the prophets and apostles as though they hold pope-like positions. But they were his chosen means to deliver the truth. Consequently, the words and teachings which they leave behind become the foundation of the church. As the Baptist Confession says, God’s former ways of revealing his truth have passed, making the written Scriptures necessary.Of course, let’s not overlook the most important piece of the foundation: Christ himself. Without the right cornerstone, the foundation will not be straight and the entire structure will be unstable.Everything in the church hinges on Jesus Christ. Our lives, our salvation, our confessions, our faith, the truth—Jesus is the cornerstone of it all. Through Isaiah, God prophesied, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation” (Isa 28:16).Notice that God did more than lay a foundation; he is the foundation. Furthermore, he is a proven cornerstone. He passes the tests required to use himself as a cornerstone. In ancient times, a builder would carefully examine stone after stone until he found the perfect rock to serve as the cornerstone. Again, without the right stone, the entire foundation will be unstable.If Jesus and his truth are the foundation of the church, then what does that imply? What are we to assume if God is uniting us not on our personal preferences or cultural commonalities, but on the truth of his Word? It means that truth matters. The church cannot be a social club where anything goes. Right?The question is, where do we draw the hard lines? Paul tells the Romans, “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Ro 16:17). The Bible offers many other similar warnings.Though I had every intention of tackling this subject today, I’ll save it for later. We do need to talk about it. There is so much confusion and so many false ideas within contemporary Christianity that we need to know how to discern these matters. When Paul says, “Maintain the unity of the Spirit,” to whom does that apply? (Eph 4:3). Clearly, we’re not to seek unity with everyone.We’ll talk about it soon enough.2) God builds the church to function together.Paul says, “The whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:21).I won’t take the time to read it now, but I encourage you to look at 1 Kings 6 where the construction of Solomon’s temple is described. The builders went through painstaking efforts to find, quarry, shape, and carry stones from one location to the site of the temple. They didn’t want to do the noisy, messy work in the place of the temple, so they carefully made the pieces before later fitting them together.God is doing the same with his church. He is shaping and fitting the pieces together. He is carefully and intentionally joining together each and every component.In the end, we will become a perfect structure. What did Paul say in Ephesians 5? “Christ might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:27). But we’re not there yet. Peter said that we are still being built (1Pe 2:5).3) God builds the church to be his dwelling place.Paul says, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:22). He’s not talking about one of those small chambers used by the heathens to hold their dead idols. Paul is describing a living temple for a living God.Can we take just a moment to appreciate the weight of this statement? We are the temple of the Almighty. He lives within us. The God who created and sustains the entire universe dwells within us.How does that shape the way in which you think? Better yet, how does that transform the way in which you live?When writing to the Corinthians, Paul applied the reality of being God’s temple this way:The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:13–20)While Paul focuses on the sin of sexual immorality since it was most relevant to the Corinthians, we could think about that lesson as it relates to every aspect of life. You are one spirit with God. In turn, your behavior consequently affects the temple of God. You will either desecrate or consecrate the temple. You will either dishonor or honor God with everything you do.At the same time, our actions will negatively or positively impact the church collectively. We are bricks of the same temple, members of the same family, and citizens of the same kingdom. We can either support and build up or destroy and tear down one another.Most importantly, we are united by the Spirit. Let our prayer be the same as Moses who said, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Ex 33:15).Thanks for listening.For those of you subscribed to both the podcast and the email I send each week, I’ll include some links at the bottom of the email. Whenever I post something on the website—material that’s not in the podcast, that is—I’ll include links to those posts in my weekly emails.If you don’t get my emails—maybe you subscribed to the podcast another way—you can always sign up at SundayManuscripts.com.Bonus articles and notesComing soon: Justification, heaven, and Mark’s Gospel100 days to offload Get on the email list at jeremysarber.substack.com

This is season 1, episode 8 of Sunday Manuscripts.So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19–22)The Prince of Peace Brought a SwordI’ve read that a public speaker should always make his most important points at the very beginning or the very end of his speech. Within the first few minutes, the audience is attentive and focused. After a while, though, everyone begins to drift in and out, reflecting on what they’ve heard or simply becoming distracted. When they sense the speech is drawing to a close, they seem to regain focus.I assume the same is true of sermons. With that in mind, I’ll give you my two main points right away.1) Jesus Christ did not come to bring peace to the earth.During his earthly ministry, he told his disciples, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). Jesus was and is the dividing line that separates all of humanity.2) Jesus Christ came to bring peace to the earth.On the eve of his crucifixion, he told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). He also said, “In me you may have peace” (Jn 16:33). Isaiah described him as the embodiment of peace, calling him, the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). At his birth, the angels praised God because peace had come to the earth. See Luke 2:14.If you’re still paying attention—how many minutes has it been?—then you may sense a contradiction here. How is it possible that Christ simultaneously brought peace to the earth while also dividing mankind with a sword?Let’s start with what I believe is the first and most important rule of Bible study. If the Bible says it, then we should believe it. If the Bible says that Christ did not come to bring peace, then we should believe it. If the Bible also says that Christ did come to bring peace, then we should believe that as well. Either these seemingly contradictory truths fit together, or perhaps we’re not capable of understanding them. Regardless, it’s not a mistake in Scripture.Unity of the FaithYou may wonder what this subject has to do with our passage in Ephesians. Maybe you’ve noticed that Paul is going to great lengths to teach Gentile believers how they became members of the body of Christ.He spends the entirety of Ephesians 2 showing that God is the one who brought them into the church. Never mind the former division between the Jews and Gentiles. Christ has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:14). Paul says that he has reconciled us both to God in one body through the cross (Eph 2:16).In Ephesians 3, he calls this reconciliation, the mystery of Christ (Eph 3:4). He says, “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6). In other words, the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation was a hidden truth for a long time. It was always God’s plan, but the mystery wasn’t fully revealed until Jesus Christ officially broke down the wall of hostility.Then as we move into Ephesians 4, Paul says this:I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1–6)Later, he says that the church should be working together to attain unity of the faith and more mature knowledge of the Son of God (Eph 4:13). We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped (Eph 4:15–16).In this letter, unity appears to be the thrust of Paul’s message. A vital though often neglected aspect of our salvation is that Christ has joined together people from all walks of life as one body.Were you once a Jew? Not anymore. Were you once a Gentile? It doesn’t matter. Christ has made us both one (Eph 2:14). We are his workmanship (Eph 2:10). He has created in himself one new man in place of the two (Eph 2:15).It stands to reason that unity should be a hallmark characteristic of the Christian church.On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the very first act of the Spirit was to bring everyone together by supernaturally allowing them to speak and understand one another, though their languages were different. One of the last commandments that Christ gave his disciples before his crucifixion was, “Love one another” (Jn 13:34). In Ephesians 6, Paul refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ as the gospel of peace (Eph 6:15).In the book of Revelation, John gives us a glimpse into heaven. As everyone is standing around the throne, they are singing praises to the Lamb, saying:“You were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9–10).If our hope is eternal life, then maybe we should consider with whom we’ll spend that life. Occasionally, I’ll hear a person say that he trusts in Christ for salvation but wants nothing to do with the church. I believe in Jesus, but I don’t like organized religion. He’s going to be severely disappointed when he arrives in heaven to find that he’ll spend eternity with the very people he avoided while on the earth.To Unite All Things In HimHave you ever considered why God has saved us? Most of us would answer, “He saved us to go to heaven.” Perhaps we’d say, “He saved us for his glory.” While those answers are correct, they’re not complete either.Having spent a fair amount of time studying this question, let me offer three possible answers.1) God saves us to know him and his Son.In John 17, Jesus prayed:“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:1–3)According to Jesus himself, the very essence of eternal life is to know God and to know him.2) God saves us to become like Christ.In Romans 8, Paul says:We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. (Romans 8:28–29)I suspect that Paul chose his words carefully and intentionally. You might think that he should have said, “God predestined us to be saved or go to heaven.” After all, the word predestined refers to our appointed destination. Apparently, though, there is something more important than our location such as our identity. God has predestined us to become like his Son.3) God saves us to be members of Christ’s body.What does Paul say here?So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God … being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19; 21, 22)Notice the distinct metaphors which Paul uses. First, we are fellow citizens of one kingdom. Second, we are family members, members of God’s family. Third, we are pieces of a temple—bricks if you will—meant to house God himself. We are equal with one another. We are dependent upon one another. Furthermore, our unity is the grand design of God’s plan of redemption.God chose us in him before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). In him we have redemption through his blood (Eph 1:7). He has given us all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him (Eph 1:8–10).When we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ (Eph 2:5). He re-created us in Christ Jesus. We were separated from Christ, but Jesus reconciled us both to God in one body through the cross (Eph 2:12, 16). So then we are no longer strangers and aliens, but we are fellow citizens with the saints (Eph 2:19).Are you still with me?Baptized Into One BodyMy point is, God saves us not only to know Christ and become like him but also to be joined together in his body. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says:For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12–13)Biblical Christianity doesn’t exist in isolation, and it never thrives when fractured. Along these lines, Charles Spurgeon once said:Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in. He attaches far more importance to godly intercourse than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation.I pray that you can see the vital significance of Christian unity. We live in a hostile, divisive world, but the church should stand apart as a beacon of peace. If anyone can achieve unity, it should be disciples of Jesus. In fact, Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35).Even the secular world around us craves peace. How many songs have they written about the subject? Do you remember that song from the Eighties, “We Are the World”? Everyone from Michael Jackson to Bob Dylan came together to sing these words: “Let’s realize that a change can only come when we stand together as one.”“But wait a minute,” you say. “You’re not suggesting that everyone join hands and sing ‘Kumbaya,’ are you?” I wish we would, but no, that’s not what I’m saying. “Kumbaya” is a song calling on God to come by here—that’s what kum bay ya means—and help us.Even God desires all people to be saved, but we know that the Bible doesn’t teach universalism (1Ti 2:4). Not every person will be saved. Not every person is willing to join hands, not under God-given conditions anyhow.Before I talk about those conditions, there’s an overarching principle that we should keep in mind. According to Ephesians 1, redemption’s grand conclusion is the unity of all things. Again, Paul says, “According to his purpose, which God set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:9–10).Complete and perfect unity is where human history is headed which is a process that has begun already. According to Ephesians 2, God is rescuing people from every tribe, language, and nation from this fallen, broken world. No matter where they started, God joins them together in a single structure, a single family. Praise God.In turn, Paul implores us to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3). He says:Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15–16)So the principle to remember is this: We are striving for unity because unity is the master plan of God. Why does Paul refer to the gospel as the gospel of peace? (Eph. 6:15). It is because the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ reconciling sinners to both God and one another.I Have Not Come To Bring PeaceIf that’s true, then why did Jesus claim that he had not come to bring peace? If his ultimate goal is to unite all things in him, then why did he bring a sword? What did he mean by that?For just a moment, go with me to Matthew 10.In this chapter, Jesus is preparing his apostles to go from town to town, preaching, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 10:7). The moment Israel had long awaited has come. The King is here. He’s ready to build his kingdom, and he’s looking for citizens to fill it.Notice how he describes the message in verses 11–13:“And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.” (Matthew 10:11–13)Christ’s disciples were to offer the people peace. Once again, the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ making peace between God and sinners. But he also offers a warning. Not everyone will accept that message of peace.You can imagine how excited the apostles were to finally tell people about the kingdom. But Jesus didn’t want them rushing off with false expectations. In their minds, they may have assumed that everyone wants to hear good news. Don’t we?You might think so, but that’s not always the case. Paul tells us why in Romans 8. He says, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God” (Ro 8:7). The fact is, some will not receive you or listen to your words (Mt 10:14). In those cases, Jesus says, “Shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.”We can’t make someone believe. God alone possesses the power to change hearts.As if rejection weren’t enough, it can get even worse. Jesus tells the apostles:“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.” (Matthew 10:16–19)Look at verse 21: “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (Mt 10:21–22). Even family members will persecute family members because of their belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ.It is on the heel of these warnings that Jesus says:“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” (Matthew 10:34–36)The timeline of redemption is moving the world ever closer to the unity of all things, but we’re not there yet.People Loved the DarknessPaul tells Timothy, “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2Ti 3:1, 2, 4). We still contend against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12).Put another way, divisions will remain so long as sin remains. Strife and conflicts will continue until Christ returns to destroy every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign, in heaven, that is, until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1Co 15:24–26).That is what Jesus meant when he said, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). The peace he brings is limited in nature. Those who are worthy experience peace in their souls. Outwardly, however, the world will remain as fractured as ever, if not more so.Plus, believers are prone to encounter the worst of the hostility. Glance up at verse 25. I’m still in Matthew 10.Jesus says, “It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,” speaking of himself, “how much more will they malign those of his household” (Mt 10:25). The masses crucified Jesus. We really shouldn’t expect any better treatment.Why would anyone hate us? Assuming we follow the Bible’s prescriptions, Christians are the most peaceful people on earth. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus taught, “for they shall be called sons of God” (Mt 5:9).The world hates us because they hate God. In John 15, Jesus tells his disciples:“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18–19)God’s people have a convicting presence because we reflect the light of Christ, exposing people’s sin. When talking to Nicodemus, Jesus explained the problem this way:“The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19, 20)I suppose that if we claimed to be Christians but threw away our moral compass, embracing sins as acceptable, then perhaps the world would love us as their own. But the genuine Christian can’t do that. We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates. As a result, the world hates us.Believers and unbelievers live on two radically different planes. In Ephesians 2, Paul says that unbelievers are marching to the drum of Satan. They are children of wrath moving toward utter destruction. Believers, on the other hand, are made alive together with Christ (Eph 2:5). We are raised up with him and seated in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6).In short, the sword of Christ divides believers from unbelievers. Eventually, God’s people will enjoy perfect peace and harmony. When Christ comes again, every last division will be permanently removed. But for now, the world remains broken in the midst of a spiritual battle between good and evil, truth and lies, and righteousness and unrighteousness.The Believer’s Relationship To the UnbelieverAcknowledging this separation, however, is only half of the equation. More importantly, we need to know its pragmatic implications. If Christ and his gospel are dividing the world into these two groups, then what is the relationship between them? Specifically, what is the believer’s relationship to the unbeliever?For the sake of time—the experts also tell me that I have only thirty minutes before your attention span turns to pudding—I’ll give you five simple points to consider.1) Believers must accept our separation from unbelievers.What do I mean by that? The first part of it is, of course, acknowledging the difference between us. That difference is expressed here in Ephesians 2. Again, Paul says:You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1–3)“But,” he says, “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:4, 5). We did walk like everyone else—past tense—but now we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10).We now believe differently. We act differently. Our affections and perceptions have changed. We are altogether new creatures from the inside out. As a result, there is friction between the born-again believer and the unbeliever who remains dead in his sins.By accepting this fundamental separation, I mean that we should acknowledge it and live accordingly.But how? I’ll let Paul explain it: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2Co 6:14).There is cause for concern if you feel totally comfortable in fellowship with an unbeliever. Maybe you won’t notice a problem at first, but as time passes and your faith grows stronger, you’ll begin to notice that tension. If nothing else, you’ll find yourself drifting from the same people you once called friends. That’s normal. That’s to be expected.By the way, the same is true even among family members. In Matthew 10, Jesus said that family will turn against family.There was another occasion when Jesus’s unbelieving brothers were standing outside, waiting to talk to him. When someone told him that they were out there, he replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” (Mt 12:48). Then, he pointed to his disciples and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Mt 12:49–50).Jesus, of course, wasn’t advocating total separation from unbelievers, family or otherwise. He wasn’t suggesting that we stop treating family as family. But the fact is, the relationship between believers and unbelievers is inherently limited. Our views, minds, priorities, likes, dislikes, senses of right and wrong—everything about us is different on a fundamental level.Do you understand what I mean?Having said that, my second point is equally important.2) Believers are not supposed to make the hostility worse.Jesus taught, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:44, 45). In the same sermon, he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Mt 5:9, 11).The Bible does not teach us to fight back. God doesn’t call us to add fuel to the fire. To the contrary, Peter tells persecuted believers:If when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:20–23)Yes, the separation exists between God’s people and the children of wrath, but we are not supposed to make matters worse by trampling the mission field. Remember that the end game is unity, not separation. While the gospel may divide us now, we’re not trying to be divisive. Apart from sacrificing the truth, we should do everything we can to promote peace.According to Jesus, God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Mt 5:45). We deny God’s example for us if we fail to treat everyone with anything less than love and mercy.Think of the Westboro Baptists who travel the country to protest funerals. Are they promoting the gospel of peace? Are they following the example of Christ who did not threaten or revile others? No, they spew hatred and elevate the hostility. Worse yet, they do it in the name of God.Of course, the Westboro Baptists are an extreme example. Let’s talk about you and me. We don’t have to hold up signs that say, “Thank God for dead soldiers,” to fuel the fire. All we need are a few scathing Facebook posts or a spiteful tone in conversation to encourage a rejection of our faith.Before I get ahead of myself—3) Believers are commanded to make disciples.Again, the end of salvation is unity. In the meantime, God commands us to treat this world as a mission field where we attempt to unify as many as possible around the gospel of Jesus Christ.“Go therefore,” Jesus said, “and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). In John 4, he tells his apostles, “Lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest” (Jn 4:35). Even the despised Samaritans—they were in Samaria at the time—were part of the mission field. Don’t trample the mission field. Harvest it. Plant seeds. Water the budding crop. Pray that God will give growth.Do you think the Westboro Baptists are making disciples? No, they’re not. In fact, they’ve driven away some of their own members, turning them away from Christianity altogether.What about us? I beg you to examine yourself. What example are you setting? How are you representing Christ and his church online and offline? What tone do you use? What words do you say?Consider Paul’s example. He said, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1Co 9:22). Time and time again, we may instantly turn people away with our presentation of the gospel, assuming that’s what’s supposed to happen. Not necessarily.Paul preached the gospel to unbelieving Jews in Ephesus for two months before they told him to leave. Paul understood his purpose. His goal wasn’t to force the gospel down someone’s throat. Evangelism is not a drive-by shooting. He understood that God called him to make disciples. Yes, we are to be bold, but we are also to be patient, loving, and gracious. We are to be understanding.Don’t trample the mission field.4) Believers are commanded to love unbelievers.I’ve covered this point already, but let me add that loving someone is not the same as fellowship. Loving someone doesn’t mean that you have to be close to them or spend a lot of time with them. Even so, I can’t stress the importance of love enough.Just remember that truth, spiritual gifts, faith, even good works—none of it means anything without love. Paul says:If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1–3)So what is this all-important love?Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4–8)In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is not describing a love that is exclusive to husbands and wives. It is not a love shared between only believers. Love is love, and the Bible teaches us to love even our enemies.5) Believers are commanded to pray for unbelievers.To be clear, our love for unbelievers should not be superficial. We are not to pretend to love, but we are to actually love from the depth of our hearts.For example, listen to the angst in Paul’s voice when he says, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Ro 10:1). Earlier, he said, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Ro 9:3).Even Jesus stood outside of the city of Jerusalem, a city he intended to judge for their rejection of him, and he wept. He didn’t weep for himself. He wept for them, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Lk 19:42).It makes me cringe when I hear Christians talk about unbelievers as though God’s coming judgment of them is a thing to be celebrated. God himself said, “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone” (Eze 18:32). His judgment may be righteous and necessary, but it’s never desirable.The hearts of believers should be filled with an unquenchable passion to see people saved, united with us by God’s grace. Even when they reject the truth and we are forced to shake the dust from our feet, we shouldn’t walk away with a satisfied grin, thinking, That’s their problem. Praise God for the doctrine of election. No, Jesus wept for them. Paul prayed for them.Paul tells Timothy:I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1–4)Our love and concern for others should run so deep that we are in constant prayer for them. Think about that. We should be on our knees pleading to God on their behalf.But what are we prone to do instead? We separate ourselves completely. We publicly revile them even though the Bible says, “God judges those outside” (1Co 5:13). In our pitiful attempts to evangelize, we say, “Here are the facts. If you won’t accept them right here and now, then I’m out of here.” Praying for them rarely crosses our minds if ever.Strive For UnityAs I said in the beginning, Jesus did not come to bring peace. That’s an unfortunate reality. Please remember, though, he is the Prince of Peace. His ultimate purpose is to unite all things in him. Consequently, our purpose is to strive for unity, not greater division.Weigh your heart. Examine yourself. Did peace motivate your last status update on Facebook? Was your last attempt at evangelism shaped by a desire for unity? Is your behavior or tone one of patience and kindness?If not, I encourage you to read Ephesians 1 and 2 over and over again until you remember who you were before you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him (Eph 1:13). Remind yourself daily that you, too, were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked (Eph 2:1).I also said in the beginning that Jesus came to bring peace. Specially, he brought peace to his elect people. He brought peace to those who are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints (Eph 2:19). So why, then, are even believers divided? The church has more cracks and fractures than we can count.We’ll save that question for next week. Get on the email list at jeremysarber.substack.com

This is season 1, episode 7 of Sunday Manuscripts.Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:11–22)Everything Is BrokenIn the late Eighties, one of my favorite songwriters released a track that sums up the state of the world in which we live. The song goes like this:Broken lines, broken strings, Broken threads, broken springs, Broken idols, broken heads, People sleeping in broken beds Ain’t no use jiving Ain’t no use joking Everything is brokenBroken bottles, broken plates, Broken switches, broken gates, Broken dishes, broken parts, Streets are filled with broken hearts Broken words never meant to be spoken, Everything is brokenWhile Bob Dylan may not possess the sophisticated prose of William Shakespeare, he does know how to make his point. The world is broken. If you need proof of that, just watch the evening news for about five minutes, and you’ll have more than enough.How did we get here? Fractured relationships and endless conflict between people are not what God created in the beginning. He designed a world where both people and animals lived in perfect harmony. Better yet, they were at peace with God. There was no separation, animosity, or division of any kind.So what happened?Did you ever make a volcano in school for science class? You’d begin by forming your volcano out of clay where you’d hide a container of vinegar inside of it. Then, when you were ready for it to erupt, you’d pour in some baking soda. The combination of vinegar and baking soda would cause, well, not so much an explosion as a slow ooze.Sin is the world’s baking soda. When Adam disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, he disrupted every semblance of peace. Adam and Eve ran away to hide from God. For the first time ever, there was a separation between the Creator and his creation.Sadly, the consequences didn’t end there. From that day forward, God said there would be a perpetual conflict between men and women. Even the earth would turn against us. God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Ge 3:17). On the same day that Adam sinned, the first animal was slaughtered. By the very next generation, men began killing men. It was Adam and Eve’s son who committed the first murder.The world has been broken ever since.We are divided by geographic borders and nationalities. We are further divided into regions and by subcultures. There is often hostility between political affiliations, social classes, races, and genders. Even families are torn apart by one meaningless distinction or another.But Now“But now,” Paul says (Eph 2:13). Something has changed. Things aren’t what they used to be. Namely, the Gentiles are no longer separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Eph 2:12).Let me back up because the historical context of this passage is important.I doubt that we can underestimate the divide between the Jews and the Gentiles prior to the first century. There was a wide and deep gulf between them. They viewed each other with utter contempt. They shared a long history of disdain for one another, reaching back to the very beginning.The Gentiles, in particular, were completely separated from God. Paul said, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Ro 1:25). They were blatant idolaters. As a result, God gave them up to dishonorable passions (Ro 1:26). They abandoned God, so God abandoned them.As for the Jews, they knew God because God gave them special revelation through his law and the prophets. Even so, they, too, were under sin (Ro 3:9). They were alienated from God as well. Paul reminded the Romans, “Whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Ro 3:19).In short, everyone, both Jews and Gentiles, was guilty before God.The Jews, however, did have an advantage over the Gentiles. Paul said, “What advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God” (Ro 3:1–2). God gave them his logion—his words, his utterances. Their advantage was knowing the truth about God and salvation.Despite Israel’s many failures throughout the Old Testament, they did serve God. They were God’s chosen people while the Gentiles remained not only without God but also alienated from Israel.Put yourself in their shoes. You can probably imagine just how challenging it was to unite these two groups together. To the dismay of many Jews, God’s plan of redemption always included the Gentiles.Do you remember how Jonah reacted when God told him to go to the Gentile city of Nineveh to preach? He ran in the opposite direction. Do you remember how he reacted once he did preach in Nineveh and the people repented? He threw a temper-tantrum because God didn’t destroy them for their former wickedness. Jonah seems to represent what was once the prevailing attitude among the Jews.The Gentiles, of course, didn’t feel any better about Israel. As soon as God dropped his hedge of protection around them, one Gentile nation or another was ready and willing to conquer them.Suffice it to say, a certain amount of tension was created when the Jews and Gentiles finally came together in the church. Both groups carried in some cultural baggage, so the animosity continued, though to a lesser degree than before.Christ Is All and In AllAccording to Paul, however, there’s no place for a division in the Christian church. While I don’t get the impression that the Ephesians were actually divided, I have little doubt that division was possible, maybe even probable.Regardless, Paul wants the Gentiles to understand their rightful place in the church. He also wants them to avoid any temptation to cause schisms in the body of Christ. As he told the Colossians:There is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised … but Christ is all, and in all.Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:11–15)Let’s not forget what it is we believe as Christians. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of reconciliation. First and foremost, we are reconciled to God. Second, we are reconciled to God’s people. There is only one faith and one body.Brought Near By the Blood of ChristHaving reminded Gentile believers of their separation from both God and his people, he says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph 1:13).Notice the contrast Paul makes here: far off versus brought near. In Acts 2, Peter used similar language. He said, “For the promise is for you and for your children, that is, the Jews, and for all who are far off, the Gentiles, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Ac 2:39).Because the Jews had a covenant relationship with God, they spoke of themselves as being near God. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were far off because they didn’t have the same relationship. Plus, they were physically distant from God’s presence in the temple.But that’s past tense. Anyone who is in Christ Jesus, Jew or Gentile, is brought near by the blood of Christ. Just as sin leads to division, holiness leads to harmony. Because Christ was perfectly holy, he could make atonement for our sin through his death. And because he has made atonement, the penalty of sin is washed away. The separation is removed.Keep in mind that even the Jews were never as close to God as we are under the new covenant. Yes, they possessed the truth of God, his blessings, his special care, and even his presence in the temple. But under the new covenant, we are the temple of God. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you? (1Co 6:19). So even the Jews were brought near—nearer, at least.More to the point, there’s no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile. Whether they liked it or not, Paul told the Corinthians, “He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1Co 6:17). Of course, if one becomes joined to the Lord, then he becomes joined to everyone else who is joined to the Lord. There is not one but two reconciliations taking place.To illustrate this point, consider what happened in Genesis 11. When the people sinfully attempted to construct the infamous Tower of Babel, what was the consequence? The Lord confused the language of all the earth (Ge 11:9). So the penalty for their sin was disunity.Compare that event with what happened on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2, the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Each one was hearing them speak in his own language (Ac 2:4; 6). It was an exact reversal of what sin caused in Genesis 11. Sin creates division while God restores unity not only with him but also with one another.He Himself Is Our PeacePaul continues:For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (Ephesians 2:14–17)Notice the emphatic position of Christ. For he himself is our peace. Jesus alone is our peace. He must be because we could not create peace for ourselves. We’re the ones who created sin and division. By nature, we are selfish creatures which is inherently divisive. James rhetorically asked:What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:1–3)Selfishness.If there is to be peace between us, then we must die to self. And where does self go to die? It dies on the cross of Christ. In Galatians 2, Paul confessed:I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)Without the cross, there is no dying to self. Without dying to self, there is no peace between us.A week or two ago, I was listening to a sermon on this passage by John MacArthur. He told the story of a battle that was taking place between the Germans and the Americans during World War II. As you would expect, the fighting was brutal. I’m sure that the hatred between the two sides was incredible, to say the least. But the battle came to a surprising halt when a three-year-old child wandered into the middle of the field.That’s a beautiful picture of what happened when the Prince of Peace came into this world. Isaiah prophesied, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6).Jesus stepped right into the thick of the battle, and he created peace. Within the church, we can see it. Though we may struggle at times, male and female, black and white, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, Republican and Democrat—we all live together in unity. Whatever divided us in the past no longer matters.The Dividing Wall of HostilityPaul says, “Christ has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph 2:14). I believe he’s alluding to the physical separation between Jews and Gentiles in the Jerusalem temple.Gentile proselytes had a special court in the temple and were not allowed to go any further. In fact, there was a sign that read, “No Gentile may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.”Even a Jew could die if he were caught bringing a Gentile further than permitted. Paul was once accused of that. Some Jews grabbed him and shouted, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place” (Ac 21:28).It never happened, but they claimed it did.Imagine how that felt. Imagine what it was like to be treated as inferior even though you desired to be near the same God as everyone else. It wasn’t that long ago in this country that an entire race of people was not permitted to drink from the same water fountains or use the same restrooms as everyone else. Today, we call it, injustice.The division in the temple vividly represented the hate and hostility between the Jews and Gentiles. But God meant the Court of the Gentiles to be something else altogether. It certainly wasn’t a permanent separation between them.Listen to this prophecy given through Isaiah in Isaiah 5:Let me sing for my belovedmy love song concerning his vineyard:My beloved had a vineyardon a very fertile hill.He dug it and cleared it of stones,and planted it with choice vines;he built a watchtower in the midst of it,and hewed out a wine vat in it;and he looked for it to yield grapes,but it yielded wild grapes.And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalemand men of Judah,judge between me and my vineyard.What more was there to do for my vineyard,that I have not done in it?When I looked for it to yield grapes,why did it yield wild grapes?And now I will tell youwhat I will do to my vineyard.I will remove its hedge,and it shall be devoured;I will break down its wall,and it shall be trampled down.I will make it a waste;it shall not be pruned or hoed,and briers and thorns shall grow up;I will also command the cloudsthat they rain no rain upon it.For the vineyard of the Lord of hostsis the house of Israel,and the men of Judahare his pleasant planting;and he looked for justice,but behold, bloodshed;for righteousness,but behold, an outcry! (Isaiah 5:1–7)While God did plant his vineyard in Jerusalem, so to speak, he discovered that it was not growing good fruit. Rather, it produced wild sour grapes. So what did he do with it? He broke down the walls around it.What did Jesus accuse the Jews of doing to his Father’s house, the temple? He said, “You have made it a den of robbers” (Mk 11:17). The Court of the Gentiles was to be a place where even Gentiles could draw closer to God, but the Jews had turned it into a marketplace.In the end, Christ destroyed the dividing wall. Specifically, he removed the obstacles that stood in the Gentiles’ way. Paul says that he abolished the law of commandments expressed in ordinances (Eph 2:15). By fulfilling the ceremonial law, Christ effectively broke down the superficial barriers that separated the Gentiles from the Jews.One New ManHe continues:That he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (Ephesians 2:15–17)Jesus has created one new man or one kainos. By kainos or new, Paul doesn’t mean a newly manufactured thing. For instance, you may purchase something that is brand new. It’s still in the original box and shrink wrap. But Paul is talking about something that has never existed before. Everything about it is new. It is unique and remarkable.In other words, Christ has not merely converted Jews and Gentiles into Christians. No, he has created Christians. The former identities cease to exist. That is why Paul could say to the Romans, “There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him” (Ro 10:12).I read another story from World War II where a soldier needed to bury the body of a fellow soldier who had died in battle. He found a nearby Catholic church and asked the priest for permission to use a plot in their cemetery. But the soldier wasn’t Catholic, so the priest refused.The soldier decided to bury his friend just outside of the cemetery’s fence. Once he did, he left and returned to his unit. The next chance he got, he walked back to visit the grave of his friend, but he couldn’t find it. It had seemingly disappeared.As it turned out, the priest had felt guilty for denying the soldier. So by the time the soldier returned, he had torn down the fence, moved the line just past his friend’s grave, and rebuilt it.In a much deeper, more profound sense, that’s exactly what Christ has done. He moved the fence that once separated two distinct groups, making them one. On the cross, he brought all of God’s people together not only to himself but also to one body together. The alienation was nullified. The hostility was turned to peace.Peace To YouDylan says, “Everything is broken.” Paul concurs, but he also adds a solution. The solution is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says, “Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” (Eph 2:17). In short, Christ has preached peace to everyone.Preached is translated from the same Greek word from which we get evangelize. Put another way, Christ evangelized peace. Do you remember what the angels shouted at his birth? “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Lk 2:14). Jesus not only proclaims peace, but he also brings peace. He accomplishes it. He procures it. He secures it.Jesus is the very embodiment of peace. Once again, he is our only source of true peace—that is, peace with God and peace with fellow believers of every background and culture. On the night before his arrest, Jesus told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). He also said, “In me you may have peace” (Jn 16:33).For through him we both Jews and Gentiles have access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph 2:18). The entire Trinity is involved in what is more than a judicial experience; it’s a personal, intimate one.The Spirit, in particular, serves as the King’s—I can’t remember what the position is called. He’s the one who grants us access to the King. He summons us into the King’s chamber. According to Romans 8, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Ro 8:16). The book of Hebrews says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace” (Heb 4:16).This word access in verse 18 is a word that is used only three times in the New Testament. In each case, Paul is referring to the believer’s access to God the Father. For instance, in Ephesians 3, he writes, “This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him” (Eph 3:11–12).No Longer Strangers and AliensIn the end, Paul uses three metaphors to characterize the unity of Christ’s body. He says:So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19–22)We are (1) fellow citizens of one kingdom, (2) God’s household or members of one family, and (3) a holy temple or one dwelling place for God.Let’s save these last few verses of Ephesians 2 for next time. There’s considerably more in this passage than I’m prepared to expound on today. We’ll start again at verse 19 next week, and I’ll make every effort to bring it all together.I want to thank you all again for your contributions to the podcast. We are about thirty-seven percent of the way to our goal. If you’d like to give toward the second season of Sunday Manuscripts, you can do on my website, JeremySarber.com. Thank you. Get on the email list at jeremysarber.substack.com

The apostle Paul is a systematic writer. His first point flows into his second point, his second point flows into his third, and so on. His epistles have a linear progression from beginning to end. We won’t fully understand his third point until we’ve studied his second and first. He lays a foundation, then builds upon it.Ephesians 2:11, 12, the focus of today’s study, is another brick in the foundation of this letter. Paul has several practical lessons for us, but it’s imperative that he frames those lessons with a combination of theology and history. In today’s passage, his emphasis will be history more than theology.Some of us would prefer to skip the fundamental theology and contextual history of the Bible. We want its practical teachings. We want to know how Scripture applies to us. The Life Application Study Bible is a bestseller for a reason. The thing is, though, we can’t understand the Bible’s practical teachings until we first comprehend the history and doctrines underpinning its practical exhortations.In the case of Ephesians, we have to be patient with Paul. We have to give him time to explain how salvation works. Then, we have to let him address the long-standing tension between the Jews and Gentiles whom God later joined together in the church. Once we learn these things, then we can better grasp the lessons to follow on humility, peace, subjection, and the various topics in the latter half of Paul’s letter.I provide this brief introduction because we have reached a place in Ephesians that may seem irrelevant to you, but it’s not. Its direct relevance may come only later, but the following passage is a vital brick in the foundation of the practical lessons to come.I recommend an open Bible, pen, and paper. If nothing else, listen closely because what you’ll hear is one more piece of Paul’s unfolding sermon.Let’s go now to Ephesians 2:11, 12.[I’m sorry, but this sermon’s transcript isn’t available.]I’ll return next week with the next installment in our study of Ephesians.Meanwhile, I’m still accepting donations for the second season of the podcast. As of now, you have graciously contributed about thirty percent of the total goal, and I am grateful.To be clear, you are not paying me to produce Sunday Manuscripts. You are helping me upgrade my recording equipment so, first of all, the audio will sound better. Second, you’ll save me a lot of time when I begin recording the second season.You can make a donation through my website at JeremySarber.com. You’ll see the donate link on the homepage as well as a progress bar.Thanks again. Have a great week. Get on the email list at jeremysarber.substack.com