OVERVIEW
By Doug Smith
Scripture Lesson Text – Ephesians 2:11-22
Paul wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus, to give them an in-depth understanding of salvation. There was a need for the reconciliation of Gentiles and Jews, who were at odds in the days of Paul. Gentiles were in a place being strangers/ aliens, having no hope, and being without God. Yet through Christ, they have been “brought near”. The dividing wall has been taken down with the law of commandments abolished, to make one new family, creating reconciliation and ending hostility.
Preaching Christ crucified, means we preach Jesus full of love, sacrifice, and giving love. The work of Jesus on the cross is the common denominator of salvation for Gentiles and Jews. The source of contention between these groups was that the Gentiles did not keep the law. But..! Jesus fulfilled the law, bore the penalty, and are reconciled through His work on the cross.
The Gentiles, who are now in Christ Jesus, are no longer far off. They are ‘made near’ to the things of God and the blood of Christ accomplishes this by the sacrifice of the death of Jesus Christ. The Jews and Gentiles are saved by the same gospel, and they walk with God and have access to Him. This “household of God” is built upon “the foundation of the apostles and prophets” with Christ Jesus himself as “the cornerstone”.
SCRIPTURE LESSON TEXT
By Charlene Armstrong Brown
RELATED SCRIPTURES – John 10:14-18; Romans 5:1-11; Galatians 3:26-29
We see in John 10, Jesus revealed as the Good Shepherd, the one who lays down His life for His sheep. Jesus uses the metaphor of a shepherd and His sheep to show the relationship He has with those who choose to follow Him. Jesus reveals His intimate knowledge of His followers and because of it, He is willing to commit the ultimate sacrificial act as the Good Shepherd by laying down His life for them. Here we see the harmonious unity of oneness between one Shepherd and one flock.
The verses in Romans 5 place emphasis on the fact that through our faith in Jesus we believers are justified. We have peace with God by way of the shed blood of Jesus, for we have been reconciled back to God because of Jesus’ sacrifice. We also see the transformative power of suffering and the hope that comes through Jesus. We are able to experience the boundless, redemptive and forgiving love of God. God’s love towards believers is matchless and limitless as we see it demonstrated through the offering of beloved son, Jesus.
The Apostle Paul emphasizes the idea of unity in Galatians 3. He states only through faith in Jesus all believers, both Jews and Gentiles, become children of God. We are united in Christ as we rise above differences such as social status, gender and ethnicity. Paul placed much emphasis on the unity and equality of all believers in Christ, highlighting that these distinctions no longer hold any significance in relation to faith. His defense of the gospel makes it clear his belief that salvation can only be attained by faith in Christ.
PRACTICAL POINTS
By Raufu Spagnoletta
(1)…Without Christ, we are spiritual strangers to God.
(5)…Believers in Christ are included in the holy communion of saints and in the family of God.
Remember when we were without Christ and without God in the world!?! We were lost in sin, and we had no hope. We had no access to God, not in the family of God, and we were not a dwelling place for God. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ ” (NKJV Ephesians 2:13). In Christ, we move from a state of being far from God to being embraced and received into the family of God.
Believers in Christ are members of God’s family – the church. The church comprises people of all ethnic groups, who recognize the lordship of Christ and submit to Him. The church is the body of Christ, the full expression of Christ in the world, and Christ is the head (Ephesians 1:23). God intends for us, His church, to be a holy temple for the Lord. This is the place where God lives by His Spirit, and a community in which His glory can be seen.
