A New and Vastly Superior Unity

A New and Vastly Superior Unity—Ephesians 2:11-22

This evening, we’re gonna talk about how Jesus brings people together in a new and vastly superior way. And, you know, it seems like that idea of people coming together is incredibly popular in our society. This may be a little outdated, but I’m reminded of that movie “Miss Congeniality” about that FBI agent played by Sandra Bullock going undercover in the Miss USA pageant. And there’s this one scene where the contestants are asked, “What’s the most important thing our society needs?” And each of the other contestants, one after another, comically says, “World peace,” and the crowd cheers every time. Everyone wants world peace. Everyone wants people to just get along with each other and live in harmony together. But to be honest, I’m not sure we’re making any progress in our quest for world peace. Let’s not forget that two of the deadliest wars in history, World War I and World War II, took place within the past 100 years. World War II alone took the lives of between 65 and 80 million people. It seems like the more advanced and more educated civilization becomes, the better we become at killing people. 

But I also believe that that desire we have for world peace and harmony is our hearts for a reason. I believe it’s there because God put it there. Something within us instinctively knows that conflict just isn’t right. But what we need to understand is that only God can actually bring about that kind of peace. And as I mentioned, our text this evening shows us how Jesus brings people together in a new and vastly superior way. So please turn to Ephesians 2. If you’re using the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 811. This passage describes how God brings two groups of people together who were once deeply divided. These groups are the Jews and the Gentile—or people who are not Jews. Let’s read what it says, Ephesians 2:11-22:

“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.”

So make sure you understand what’s going on here. What this world repeatedly fails to do—bring people together to live in harmony with one another—Jesus has done and is doing through the gospel, through his death and resurrection. And this passage lays out for us two aspects of Jesus bringing people together. Two aspects of Jesus bringing people together. Number one, the end of division. And number two, the beginning of a new community. 

The End of Division

So first, the end of division. Look at verses 11-12: “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.”

That’s all describing the Gentiles, anyone who’s not a Jew—most of the world. They were spiritual outcasts. That’s how the Jews viewed them. Because, remember how in the Old Testament, the Jews were God’s chosen people. God made a covenant with Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, and told him that his descendants would have a unique place in God’s plan for the world. And God’s intention was that the Jewish people would serve as a model society for the whole world to follow. That was his design, that the Jews would be a beacon of hope to the Gentiles, so that the Gentiles also could know the one true God. And that’s why God made the Jews so unique, giving them various laws that would separate them from the rest of the nations. Have you ever wondered why the Old Testament has so many laws about what the Jews could eat and the kind of clothing they could wear and who they could marry and the different ceremonies they had to perform and all kinds of other laws? It’s because God wanted them to be distinct from other nations. And his desire was that by being distinct, the Jews would actually be in a position to be a blessing to the Gentiles and lead them to the one true God. 

But…the Jews didn’t do that. Instead of reaching out to the Gentiles, the Jews despised them and condemned them. It’s recorded how, when a Jew had to travel to a foreign nation for business and then return to Israel, he would actually shake the dust off his sandals so that he wouldn’t contaminate the Holy Land with Gentile dust. If a young Jewish man or woman was disobedient and married a Gentile, their family would have a funeral service in order to symbolize how their child had, for all practical purposes, died. Jews wouldn’t even enter Gentile homes or allow Gentiles to enter theirs. Quite the opposite from what God actually intended. In modern terms, we would call them racists. And you can imagine how, considering the Jewish attitude toward the Gentiles, the Gentiles weren’t all that fond of Jews either. It went both ways. 

And, you know, there might not be this level of radical division between Jews and Gentiles here in our part of the world, but there are obviously still things that divide us. You can see it even as early as middle and high school, where different cliques emerge. You have nerds and jocks and skaters and hipsters and the Emo kids and the so-called “mean girls.” And then, of course, in society as a whole, you have all sorts of divisions. Divisions because of race and income and culture and life experiences and political views. So many different reasons people divide. I’m reminded of how Titus 3 describes people before coming to Jesus. It says they’re “hated by others and hating one another.” That’s just the way things are. 

And not only is their enmity between people and other people, but there’s also enmity between people and God. Look at verse 12, how it describes Gentiles as “separated from Christ” and then after that as “having no hope and without God in the world.” In their rebellion, people have declared themselves enemies of God, and in response to that rebellion, God has declared himself an enemy of them. That’s the situation of everyone before they come to Jesus. Things aren’t just “okay.” God doesn’t just wink at their sin. There’s enmity there, and it’s on both sides. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way, because God took the initiative, and he reached out. Look at verses 13-18. 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 you see that the way God has brought an end to division is through Jesus, through his death on the cross. That’s what that phrase “the blood of Christ” symbolizes in verse 13; it symbolizes his death. Jesus died so that divisions would die. That’s what these verses teach us. 

And I just love in verse 14 how it describes Jesus breaking down “in his flesh”—that is through his crucified body—“the dividing wall of hostility.” It’s like there was this wall between us: between people and people and between people and God. And thinking about modern times this wall was a lot like the Berlin wall. Between 1961 and 1989, the Berlin Wall divided the Soviet-controlled East Berlin from the American and British-backed West Berlin. Anyone who attempted to cross the wall would be immediately shot by the communist guards. And this wall really served as a symbol of the Cold War, the worldwide division and enmity between communism and democracy. And, of course, it was at the Berlin Wall where Ronald Reagan would utter his famous words in 1987: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!”

And that’s exactly what Jesus did through his death. By dying on the cross and paying the price for our sin, Jesus made it possible for God and humanity to be at peace as we put our trust in him. Verse 14 says that “he himself is our peace.” And verse 16 explains how he reconciled “us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” And he killed the hostility not only between people and God but also between people and people—specifically between Jews and Gentiles but also between all other groups. Jesus died so that all divisions would die. He was killed so that all other divisions would be killed.

The Beginning of a New Community

And the result of this is that a new community is formed. And that’s what the rest of our main text talks about. Remember, we said our text lays out two aspects of Jesus bringing people together. And not only do we have the end of division, like we just talked about, but we also have the beginning of a new community. The beginning of a new community.

As I read verses 19-22, note especially the three metaphors Paul uses to describe this new community. Beginning with verse 19: “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.” So how does Paul describe us? First, as “fellow citizens,” that is, citizens of the kingdom of God. Second, as “members of the household of God,” or members of the same spiritual family. And third as different stones that come together to make up “a holy temple in the Lord.” We’re God’s kingdom, God’s family, and God’s temple. And it’s not something we’ve done for ourselves. It’s not like we’ve finally gotten our act together and selected the right leaders and organized everything efficiently. This unity is something God’s brought about. And in fact, he’s the only one who could have brought it about. 

And his desire is for us to live out that unity in our daily lives and relationships. We’re already unified in position, but we need to live out that unity in practice. God’s designed the church to be a community of people where individuals who are significantly different from one another come together. And as they come together, they display the power of the gospel in a unique way. They demonstrate that the gospel has given them an identity that runs deeper than any other identity they have. All of those things that make us different like race, income, culture, life experiences and everything else all fade into the background, and we’re able to live in unity because Jesus brings us together.

At the church I came from right before this, Grace Life Church in Alabama, there were two ladies in that church who should have been bitter enemies of each other—and were bitter enemies…until Jesus brought them together. One lady we’ll call Amanda had an incredibly difficult childhood experience as her dad divorced her mom and ran away with another woman we’ll call Karen. And Amanda naturally was deeply resentful against Karen, because Karen basically stole her dad away from her. And Karen lived with this man for a number of years until he died at a younger-than-average age. Then, guess what happens? Both Amanda and Karen become Christians. And not only that, but they join the same church. And not only that, but Amanda is able to forgive Karen, and the two of them are able to relate to each other with a love and unity that are beyond any earthly explanation. They should be bitter enemies, but Jesus brought them together.

Let me tell you something: that shows the power of the gospel. There are countless books that offer rational arguments for the truth of Christianity, and those have their place, but nothing shows the power of the gospel like people’s lives being transformed, and one of the ways people’s lives are transformed is that people who would otherwise be divided instead come together in loving unity. That shows the power of the gospel. That kind of stuff just doesn’t happen apart from the gospel. People like Amanda and Kathy having a meaningful friendship is simply unheard of. But when the gospel gets ahold of people’s hearts, everything that would otherwise cause division instead fades into the background. We become united, in the words of Ephesians 2, as citizens of God’s kingdom, members of God’s family, and stones in God’s temple. Jesus brings people together in a new and vastly superior way. 

Conclusion

Put yourself in the shoes of someone who’s never been to church and is slightly skeptical about Christianity. How do you think they might respond if a Christian said to them, “Jesus has changed my life”? What would they think? How might they respond? I think for many non-Christians, it would be kind of like someone coming up to them and saying, “Hey look, I’ve been eating these magical beans, and they’ve changed my life.” And that might seem like a silly comparison to you, but I think that’s really the way many non-Christians think. Our society as a whole is very skeptical towards Christianity. Christianity has about as much credibility to them as magical beans. So, play along with me here. Put yourself in their place. How would you respond if someone said, “I’ve been eating these magical beans, and they’ve changed my life”? Personally, I might smile and say, “Hey, that’s great,” but I wouldn’t take it that seriously. 

But let’s say the person had a life that I found very attractive. I observed them in different situations giving honest answers even when they could have lied and made their life a lot more convenient. I observed them helping other people and being generous towards them even when those people were in no position to return the favor. I observed them demonstrating love towards people even when people did them wrong. And I just observed a joy and gladness within them that’s sort of mysterious and difficult to put into words. And so, if a person has a life like that, and they come up to me and say, “Hey look, I’ve been eating these magical beans, and they’ve changed my life,” I’m gonna think about it a little bit. I’m gonna ask myself, “Could it be that these beans really do have magical powers?” And it’s at least going to arouse my curiosity, even if I don’t actually try the beans. Now, if I’m going through an exceptionally difficult time in life, I might get desperate enough to try the beans, but under normal circumstances, I’m probably gonna conclude that my friend is just a really great person who has exceptional character and a phenomenal personality, and he just thinks that those beans he’s eating are magical and are making him the way he is. But in reality, he’d still be that way even without the beans. 

But let’s say that there wasn’t just one bean-eater living an incredibly attractive life. Let’s say there was an entire community of bean-eaters, and they all had lives unlike anything I’d ever seen before. And they didn’t just exhibit their character qualities individually. No, they really loved each other and cared for each other and enjoyed such a unity in their group that made me want what they had. It’s almost like something brought them together like a family—something powerful that I had never experienced before and wasn’t quite sure what it could be. I don’t know about you, but that would probably convince me to at least try these so-called magical beans. Even if the idea of magical beans seemed silly to me at first, I would probably at least try them if I saw a group of people living that way. 

If you’ve truly been saved, your life has been changed by something far superior to some kind of magical bean. And Jesus calls you to gather together with other believers and exhibit a new kind of unity that’s vastly superior to anything else in the world. 

You know what that means? That means pursuing meaningful relationships with other Christians who are a lot different than you. Church should be a place where rich and poor, African, Asian and European, college graduates and high school dropouts all come together and don’t just exchange polite greetings on Sundays but have deep and meaningful relationships throughout the week. That shows the power of the gospel. 

And that also means that when other Christians get on your nerves, you’re able to love them then as well. You know, all this talk about being a community and living like family sounds like a wonderful idea that everyone should be able to get on board with…until someone in the church actually does something against you. It will happen. Just expect it. We’re all still dealing with sin. Someone in the church will commit a wrong against you or say something that offends you or maybe sometimes just rub you the wrong way. Will you choose to demonstrate the power of the gospel by forgiving that person just like God forgave you?