Introduction:
Another “before” and “after” picture.
From “Outsider” to “Heir” and the Benefits That Go with It.
Ephesians 2:11-18 NLT
Oneness and Peace in Christ
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
Examine the scriptures:
Ephesians 2:11-18 NLT
Oneness and Peace in Christ
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders.
- Gentiles used to be “outsiders”.
You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.
Socially:
Gentiles were considered outsiders.
Genesis 17:9-14 NLT
The Mark of the Covenant
9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”
Gentiles were cut off from the covenant family.
- Gentiles were “excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel” (verse 12).
12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
- Gentiles:
Were living apart from Christ.
Did not know God’s covenant promises.
Lived in this world without God.
Lived without hope.
Colossians 1:21 NLT
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
We really were outsiders, lost and without hope, heading straight to hell.
13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
Brought near to God.
Jesus restored a broken relationship.
- Gentiles were brought near to God through the blood of Christ.
The Old Testament discusses this in some detail in Isaiah 56.
Isaiah 56:8 NLT
8 For the Sovereign Lord,
who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says:
I will bring others, too,
besides my people Israel.”
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us.
- We can have peace with God because of what Jesus has done for us.
Romans 5:1 NLT
5:1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
- Christ made peace between Jews and Gentiles possible.
Galatians 3:26-28 NLT
26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations.
- The Mosaic Law included many commandments that served to separate Israel (the Jews) from the other nations (Gentiles).
Deuteronomy 20:16-18 NLT
16 In those towns that the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 18 This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the Lord your God.
Jesus changed all of that.
Romans 10:4 NLT
4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.
Romans 6:14 NLT
14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Romans 7:6 NLT
6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
- We have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power.
He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NLT
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NLT
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
- Christ’s death on the cross reconciled humans to God, and also Jews and Gentiles to each other.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.
John 14:27 NLT
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
The gift of the Holy Spirit.
We have access to God through the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:44-45 NLT
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.
Galatians 4:6-7 NLT
6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Romans 8:15-17 NLT
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.
Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Ephesians 3:12 NLT
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
- Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
