All One In Christ

We will look at this text under three headings—Call to Remember, Cause to Rejoice In, Creation to Reflect Upon. CALL TO REMEMBER [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. Eph 2:11-12] Here is the call of God to the believers, especially the Gentile believers, calling them to remember what they once were. These verses make for dreadful reading. [1] They were without Jesus: It is sad to be without homes, without health, and without family and friends. But to be without Jesus is the worst situation. – Without Jesus, there is no light in our life. Jesus said: I am the Light of the world. – Without Jesus we are without peace. Jesus said: My peace I give to you . . .  – Without Jesus, we are without direction. Jesus said: I am the Way . . . Without Him, like we read in Ecclesiastes: Vanity vanity, all is  vanity and chasing after wind. – Without Jesus, we are without life. He said: I have come that they may have life and that they may have it abundantly. – Without Jesus, there is no lasting joy. Jesus said in His high-priestly prayer: that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.  – Without Jesus, we will not have eternal life. Jesus said: I am the way the truth and the LIFE. Acts 4:12. There is salvation in no one else. [2] They were aliens and strangers to the commonwealth of Israel: They were outside of God’s people. Paul is trying to remind them what they were before they became Christians. They had no part of the blessings that Israel had. [3] They had no hope and were without God in the world: Can anything be worse? The only true God was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of creation. There is no other God in the world. These gentiles were godless and destitute. Romans 1 states clearly that men are without excuse because what can be known about God is plain to them. Though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God. Claiming to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory ot the immortal God for other created things.  We need to keep in mind what Paul is saying. We need to REMEMBER what the Lord Jesus has done for us. He came to us in the darkness of our sin. He has put a new song on our lips—even praise to our God. ||||| CAUSE TO REJOICE IN [But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Eph 2:13] Now our hearts are lifted, after hearing in the previous verses about the dreadful situation we were in. I once was a stranger to grace and to God. But now we are His children.  Eph 2:4-6: But 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—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The PERSON who has brought us near: It is Christ Jesus. He alone can bring us near to God. He brings us to the presence of God and prepares us to dwell with the thrice-holy God. The curtain separated people from the glory of God. When Jesus died, the curtain was torn from top to bottom. The way of access was made. The PRODUCT that brought us near: This is the blood of Jesus. No one was brought near to God by the birth of Jesus or the life of Jesus. If you simply try to imitate Jesus, you will be lost. It is not the miracles, it is not His perfection. It is not His deity. If Jesus had been born and lived as He did. And if we understood who He was. Even that would not bring us to God. He had to DIE. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” This reconciliation has happened because of His death. John in Revelation writes to the seven churches . . .  to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sin by His blood. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin. Is that not a great cause for rejoicing?  ||||| CREATION TO REFLECT UPON [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. Eph 2:14-16] ‘Reconcile us both’ means that Jesus brought both Jews and Gentiles together. The blood of Jesus cleanses the Jewish believer and the believing Gentile alike, and unites us in Him. As Gal 3: 28-29 says: There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . slave or free . . .  male or female. . . . we are one in Christ Jesus . . . we are all Abraham’s offspring. No longer Irishman, or Maori, or Kiwi. In Christ we have oneness. Because the Lord Jesus died for His people and united them together in Himself.  The hymn puts it beautifully: The Church’s one foundation /   Is Jesus Christ her Lord; / She is His new creation /   . . .  Elect from every nation, /   Yet one o’er all the earth, / Her charter of salvation, /  One Lord, one faith, one birth. This is what Paul is seeking to establish. We are not second-class citizens to the Jews. And the Jews are not secondclass citizens to anyone else. In Rev 7, we read about the great multitude that no one can number . . . from every nation . . . from all tribes, and peoples and languages  . . . clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Imagine what it will be like, when we as new creatures, with our redeemed bodies join this large large group. We will be united together in Christ and will be forever and ever with the Lord.  ||||| Is the Lord Jesus your Saviour? Is He your Lord? Do you have this hope? Have you realised your sinfulness and your state without Christ and without hope. Have you gone by faith and fallen at the foot of the cross and embraced Jesus by faith. Are you a born-again believer? Are you a new creation in Christ. Has the blood of Jesus God’s Son cleansed you from all sin?