God's Household, Part 1

People are born with an innate craving to belong where wired for relationship isolation from others has a damaging impact on our psyche today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll helps us understand that our emotional need to belong goes far deeper than a psychological longing. It's rooted in theology defined by God, the creator's death, burial and resurrection provided the means for belonging. I could never be broken because of Calvary were no longer strangers in a foreign land. Chuck titled today studying Ephesians chapter 2 God's household. Really a great day in my life but I realize that Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God through the perfect and willing sacrifice of his life. What a glorious truth that was to discover and yet our acceptance of God's gift of salvation and reconciliation with him merely inaugurates our relationship, our newfound faith promises to change us in profound ways, but only in our character but also in the way we relate both to God and to God's people because Christ brought peace we now have access to God through Christ, joining other believers as part of his family on earth. What a magnificent thought. Now this profound truth is found in our passage for today and I'm referring to verses 17 through 22 of Ephesians chapter 2 since so many of you are reading through this book with me every week.

Your Bibles are probably automatically opening to this passage by now, so let's do that. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2 where we will begin our reading at verse 17 and he came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near for through him we both have our 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 are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the spirit listening to the site for the search the Scriptures Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scripture study by going to inside world.org/studies another message titled God's household to many years of our lives. Our father have been spent getting watching out for number one, grabbing every opportunity to advance our ambition is one of the few places where we learn to put things in proper perspective and and we learned that that your more important than we are and others. In fact, great. A higher level than we do and so teach us the pleasure of returning to you the gift of love. We don't know of a better way to do it than have you touch us where our heart is we commit to you these few moments together in Christ's name.

Everybody's reconciliation is a wonderful thing. Stop and think to people who once got along great. Because of some rift, some usually some almost trivial thing.

Something comes between them and then they no longer talking than they no longer laugh together. They no longer converse and before you know it, there's no relationship at all and then one of them. Besides it isn't worth the silence is not it's not the way it ought to be and so one of them takes the first step in the other comes back in meets them halfway before you know it. There there back again. Enjoy your relationship is called reconciling their differences. Sometimes in the rift is so great it takes 1/3 party to promptly action to bring about reconciliation. I read about the three, four weeks ago of two brothers who had enjoyed a relationship from the time they were kids. I grew up, bought acreage of land and decided to build their home so that they would have a similar backyard far enough away to say good friends and yet close enough to relate them to raise their families together and they did that they farm the same land they were involved in the same projects sharing the cost of them. The they shared the backyard for games and holidays and birthdays and parties together and it was just great until till there was a rift that came between them. Before long, the rift led to an ugly silence and finally they just stopped altogether even remembering the other was there they had related closely for almost 40 years now no longer a knock came at the door of the younger brothers home one afternoon and it was a handyman had his toolbox at his feet and he he said to the owner of the home.

Do you have a job or two that I could do I need to work in is a big place.

Maybe you need a hand in and the younger brother said I sure do. Come on in.

Walking through the house and he came to the kitchen and they looked out a big bay window and he looked across and he said you see that home over there. You said my brother lives over there. So you see the creek running between our homes is set up.

I need to tell you that used to be a beautiful green meadow where we played and laughed and had fun and enjoy life together but we got a falling out and we don't talk to each other anymore and not too long ago, he took his bulldozer really cut into the levy of the river, and he's let this creek flow through us and it when the rain falls it's it's even larger and not tell you what I decided not to take that sitting down but like you to take that stucco lumber out there with the barn and I want to the bill effects following a 6 foot fence.

I wanted 8 feet. I wanted to be substantial not a case I'll show him who can break this relationship and make it permanent looked at the handyman. He said not to be gone for several days so you're on your own.

You understand what I want is you. I think I understand what's needed. The man laughed when out-of-town was gone for four days of the time he came back. The job was done. Handyman was wiping his hands as the owner came back in the backyard and was amazed to see the bridge had been built instead of fence had a nice firm handrail and it was wide enough for several people to walk across and of all things, while the younger brother was staring in disbelief. He looked up and saw his older brother walking toward his arms, he said, oh, what a great idea said I had no business causing this creek to come between us and furthermore we have no business living in silence with the community, said to his younger brother and they stood there and embraced each other in younger brother didn't have the heart to tell them that it wasn't his idea but it was a bridge was built anyway and he said why this is wonderful.

Mabel turned and said the handyman stick around me got number of things we want to do it. He said no. He said actually got to be on the way I got another bridges. I need to bill for a few that's reconciliation.

There was a period of time that lasted for centuries. When Jew and Gentile were separated by a great creek where racism ran deep and where if you were to you or the privileged and if you were Gentile you were the dog. There were names used for you for the Jew had one God, whom they viewed as keeping them separate from contamination with the dogs.

The Gentiles had many God, take your pick. None of them could be satisfied. So what was the use but there came a moment in time were Christ built a bridge and not only built a bridge for sinners to know the living God, who is holy and righteous and just and full of forgiveness and mercy and grace for which we have just given him.

Thanks. But he also bridged the gap between Gentile into you see it when you come to Ephesians chapter 2 and you realize neither Jew nor Gentile came up with the idea it had to be a third-party in Christ was the one chosen by the father beginning of chapter 2 in verse 13, those great words but now in Christ sounds a lot like verse four, but God, being rich in mercy. Verse four talks about bridging the center back to God first 13 talks about bridging the relationship between the Jew and the Gentile, you who were formerly far off. That's the Gentile have been brought near by the bridge. The bridges built by blood and is the blood of Christ. In fact the bridge has a name he himself is our peace. The bridge is named shalom shalom Gentile shalom to there's a bridge there and it has brought you together in peace. He made both groups into one and broke down the fence. He didn't let the facts stand.

He tore down the dividing wall by our Bibles. Read abolishing a word like nullifying would be just as good in the word flesh could be through his death by nullifying in his death, the enmity which the law of commandments contained in ordinances so that in himself he might make the two into one new man.

Jesus didn't crystallize choose. He didn't Judaize Christians. He didn't create a halfbreed he didn't create a halfbreed. He created a new breed called here a new man.

He link them together as one new race, if you please. 1/3 race called his body the church great.

He built a bridge and he didn't have to.

He chose to in grace and mercy and we who walk across it regularly and enjoy that sense of oneness with those completed Jews and those converted Gentiles and we have a relationship. It's like none other on this so that the world stairs in the basement. They've never seen such a thing.

I had a vivid illustration of this last Thursday at Dallas seminary we have a couple of days each semester that we set aside to invite in our prospective students for the years to come. We send out letters we hear from them through the year and we find out their interest in the school and so we bring them from all the states sometime this time we have one from Puerto Rico at several from Canada.

We bring them from all around on the campus and we just pump them full of DTS propaganda. I mean we are we are nicer than we ever are in the other two days of the year we open our classrooms. We invite a man we we bring up the chapel and they sing with us the diadem which is our school song. All hail the power of Jesus name if you can send all four stanzas without tears report for listing so I can tell you you did something wrong and were all standing there in tears of there were singing Bill Bronner, our chaplain is playing his trumpet, full force on those Sunday bill just drop playing the trumpet like you place it just things come out that it is one then the whole thing is about 330 to 4 o'clock we have an ice cream and some of the students or potential students have already applied and if we finish their application and approval. We we let them know that station at the ice cream social that therein, which is always great. We give away wonderful prospects caps and beer mug coffee mugs and the old habits are hard to break your sweatshirts and T-shirts and books and all kinds of an somebody wins the big prize which is a stack of books by the author and so will have these books and we did so we give them away red so the final prize he always gets Pedro Plotner by the man who was accepted as a student and got the final prize is named Jason Gentile.

I promise you Jason Gentile will we have the same group converted to as Jason Gentile walks up to pick the books is a great moment he turns around and the guy walks over to the Zion Joe Jew I'm glad to meet you that is reconciliation, all brought together in one grand family and in the embrace of each other where they can feel the breath of each other on the neck of each other.

They forget that they were born.

On the other side of the creek because Christ bridged the gap is what this is about. This is not some theological or historical history that that ties in truth imported to the first century believer.

Owen impacted them to the point of audacity, but it's still exciting. Every time I meet up with a fellow believing Jew and a brother or sister Gentile candidate. Verse 17 he came and preached peace to you who were far away. If you haven't done so already circle that input Gentile in the margin to you who were taken Gentile, and he did the same.

He came and preached peace to you who were near in the margin put to crew together Gentile and Jew any broke down the dividing wall.

He refused to fill that fence with no gate. He tore it down and he said we are one in the bond of love. It was in the 19th century John Knox and him put it this way in Christ there is no East or West in hymnal South or North but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth join hands them brothers of the faith. What area of your race may be service my father as a son is surely can to me that great who serves my father is a son is surely can to me now. I read that time I think like you do about the blessing of reconciliation and I find myself which is so likely asking. So what big deal.

Chuck time I got it you know was going to things that are important. This is important. In fact, in the final verses of the chapter I find for things we have in common because the bridges been built for things I really want you to write them down in the margin of your Bible. Just a word or two here and there because the bridges built and because we are one together. First, we have a common access. You can even circle the word in verse 18 we have a common access for through him we both that's Jew and Gentile.

We both have our access in one Spirit to the father Prasad okay is that funny sounding Greek word used in several ways. It was used for bringing a sacrifice to God you would Prasad okay God you what access God we have the word used in the computer world you access this. Are you access that here they access God with a sacrifice to use for bringing people into the presence of God to be consecrated for service. They went through a process or a ceremonial Prasad okay its use for making a speech being introduced before a large political gathering so that you might be respected as a speaker, you were introduced, you were access to the group, but accused above all for introducing a person into the presence of the king. In fact, it was a person who did that Prasad will abuse with his name. He was called the introducer he was the one who brought an insignificant individual into the presence of royalty. He gave access to what this is referring to is this prayer. This is prayer Gentiles never knew if I could access their God's mean, how many sacrifices do you have to make to keep him from frowning.

It's carved into his far right of wood or stone. Most gods of the idolaters are angry that the Gentile never knew which one to choose for which ever was the wrong that had been done. He accessed his God it was, it was not a pleasant experience.

That's why when you watch idolaters practice their false religion. You don't see smiles and happiness in your songs of joy is a never know if the police had the Jew always came through. The priest came through another and was always with a sense of sacrifice because that the payment had not been paid for the sins and according to the work of the priest would be the success of the sacrifice. Here we have access. We have immediate access. In fact if you look at 312 just across the page chapter 3 verse 12 we have boldness and confident access through faith in him is not great innocent arrogance. That's not the same as confidence and it is of the brashness it's boldness it's in its than on fearing trust I come before him confident he is awake he cares. He loves me. He's forgiven me. He's hearing me and he will respond with what is best that accessing the right source of power, and we have a common access through him through Christ who preached peace to Gentile and Jew.

We both have access in one Spirit to the father great.

The next word is citizenship. We have a common citizenship.

See verse 19 so that you're no longer strangers and aliens, but your fellow citizens with the same love that you're no longer aliens and strangers ever been either one probably have. If you have traveled enough.

You have been the foreigner if you will, not a politically correct word.

That's why I like using it. There are still foreigners and when you go across the seas. You are often told. Don't be the ugly American.

I remember when our troopship was about a mile off the dock of Yokohama, Japan, and our company commander with a chest full of metals in full uniform, stood in front of us. He had been there for other reasons. On a number of occasions he looked at us in our many of OSHA's raw Marines fairly soon out of training. He said for the first time in your life.

You were the foreigner you treat these great people with respect, you're the stranger. Never forget that speech he said a few other things I will share with you in this gathering, but he got our attention is that I don't want to hear one remark from one official or citizen of Japan that you men acted anyway.

But in your best behavior because you are for the first time the stranger you've lived overseas. You know what it's like to live without citizenship.

And you know you spend some your time with hat in hand, gaining a hearing because aliens and strangers are often viewed with suspicion and dislike. You earned the respect, but he said you know that's there's a common citizenship now is a great thought.

There's a common citizenship.

You can even enter his presence and go right to the throne back in 1871 archaeologist were digging around the Temple in Jerusalem and they uncovered a remarkable stone with an inscription in both Hebrew and Greek dated all the way back to ancient days when there were warnings placed in the temple this sign that they uncovered almost intact very little disrupt the destruction over time written here this way no man of another race is to proceed within the partition and enclosing wall about the sanctuary anyone arrested there will have himself to blame for the penalty of death which will be imposed as a consequence. In America we just have two words keep out just two words to the monosyllable words keep out but now were fellow citizens with fellow access is great God broke down the barrier so that both Jew and Gentile alike are now part of the family.

You're listening to Insight for living and there's much more in this second chapter of Ephesians that we need to address Chuck Swindoll titled today's message God's household. To learn more about this ministry.

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Insight world.org in order to fully understand the letter of Ephesians.

It's important respect the time in which it was written in the cultural issues that Paul referenced to help you dig deeper on your own remind you the check is written an in-depth commentary that includes this attention to historical detail. And unlike many commentaries that are somewhat technical and academic checks book includes additional features that make this resource very practical and even fun to read is called Swindoll's living incites commentary on Galatians and Ephesians.

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