Dr. Marc S. Blackwell, Sr.
Our discussion outline:
No. 8 - KINDNESS in Christ.
Ephesians 2:1-10
“A TEMPLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION” - 2:1
OUR DIVINE BUILDER IS GOD … Who is
8.1 HE IS REDEEMING. Our Raw & Rough Materials - Wasted Lives - in “Times Past!” 2:1-3
8.2 HE IS GRACIOUS. Our Wise Master Builder Refining & Polishing us -
He in All Times is Rich in Mercy! 2:4-5
8.3 HE IS KIND. Our Present & Future Architect: building according to His own Blueprint! 2:6-7
SUMMATION & APPLICATION
8.4 HE IS ACCESSIBLE. Our Timeless Foundation & the Gracious Gift of “access” from God! 2:8-9
8.5 HE IS CREATIVE. Our Lives –God’s Workmanship 2:10
CREATED IN CHRIST
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The Second Chapter of Ephesians shares the idea of Christ’s direct involvement in forming, from the brick and mortar of our inner being and our personal lives, a Temple in which He dwells.
NOTE: This chapter in Ephesians expands aspects the truth of the Spirit dwelling in us but along somewhat broader lines than are also discussed in the First letter to the Corinthians or even Romans Eight. Ephesians Chapter Two remains focused on Sanctification and as such is so very practical and helpful for the Christian seeking God’s will. This portion of Spirit inspired Truth focuses on the Christ’s work in us (2:6,7,10) but ultimately a work to be accomplished by the Spirit (2:18, 22).
THE LOCAL CHURCH AS AN ARCHITECTURE OF GOD:
A TEMPLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Chapter Two
Dr. Spiro Zodhiates reminds us that: “Ephesians is quite similar to Colossians. There are seventy-eight versus between them which are almost the same. Each is devoted half to doctrine and half to practical Christian duty. Colossians portrays Christ as the Head of the Church, but Ephesians goes further to display Jesus as the ascended, glorified Christ. In Colossians Paul is within the throes of fighting against a serious heresy, but in Ephesians Paul is relishing the of Christ in quiet thought.”
INTRODUCTION:
“A LIVING TEMPLE”
Ephesians 2:1
It is interesting to me to look back in history to see how many temples, churches synagogues and other religious structures have been built out of the ruins of previous but similar structures. I remember visiting Merida, Yucatan (Mexico) and seeing the Roman Catholic Merida Cathedral built from the huge stones and possibly the very foundation of an old Mayan Temple. Then too Canterbury, or at Winchester Cathedral and even the Winchester Great Hall of SW England, all yield evidence that their huge stones were previous cut and still held the markings of heathen temples, as well. Demolished by fires, wars and the centuries of decay all recorded as “quite normal really” – even cities are built upon “their own” centuries of rubble and ruins! Structural archaeology is full of such examples of renovation, remodeling, further additions and more destruction all serving as good metaphors for the believer.
God has made us new creatures, He has given us a new birth and the status of adoption with the assurances of Justification, but we are no less (2 Cor. 4:7) still structures created from our own past. The flesh and our previous relationship with Satan and the World system need to be noted and the cautions given are real and timeless. We, as long as we are on this earth and in this original body are needing to be fully aware of (2 Peter 1:9) the “purification from his former sins” or “the pit from which we were dug.” We must not forget our past, not live as though the past is not an ongoing influence in our present experience.
Believers are the “building blocks” used by the Lord to create the house of the church. This “material” for the construction of the Temple is the true and believing Christian who super-naturally has been born-again or regenerated by the Spirit of God and “made alive.” Such a dynamic or living church alone is the Temple or the place of habitation of God. Our role as living “building blocks” or “living stones” receives special attention from Peter, as well.
In Peter’s First Epistle and chapter two Peter explains the unity between ourselves and the “corner stone.” Peter points out that this role we play, as building blocks or stones, is especially spiritual and living since it includes a ministry role for each one of us! This house – this Temple – is, in fact a Priesthood, as well. This is “living” not in word only but also in deed. We are made alive in Christ and with this life we are also given a most important responsibility to fulfill … (2:5) “…you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
This ministry of spiritual sacrifice is summarized in 1 Peter 2:9-21 when the Spirit of God inspired Peter to write these detailed orders for our Christian service: in 1 Peter 2:9: to proclaim the excellencies of our Lord. 11: to abstain from fleshly lusts. 12: to keep your behaviour excellent. 13 &14: to submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution. 15: by doing right. 16: to act as free men but not to abuse your freedom. 17: to honour all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, and honour the emperor, king or one in authority over you.
Now all of this is exciting and encouraging but let us return to Ephesians 2:1-3 to return to the reality of our ‘human dilemma’ to the truth regarding our sinfulness. “And you being dead by reason of your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this age, according to the prince of the power of the air (none other than Satan, himself), the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging (doing) the desires of the flesh and of (the thoughts) the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (nasv)
Dr. Louis Talbot rightly points out that: “In the first three verses we have a life-sized portrait of our lost condition. The Spirit gives this portrait in order to show the exceeding riches of God’s grace.”
“And you being dead by reason of your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this age…”
OUR WASTED LIVES
- in “Times Past!”
Ephesians 2:2-3
To understand that in times past we wasted the time God has given us is of little value unless we understand that what was a “wasted life” is now, by God’s grace, being redeemed! We bring nothing ourselves to this construction. The Lord is teaching the Ephesians, and each one of us, as well, that we are a temple under construction: but we are nothing more than "Raw and rough" materials!
Ephesians and the other Prison Epistles focus the message of salvation around the internal aspects – that which God does “in us” by the Spirit rather than emphasizing the legal aspects as is done in Romans or Galatians. If we fail to appreciate our sinfulness we will fail to rightly value the work of God being done in each one of us! To appreciate what is being offered us – when we come from such an opposite mind set of self and sin is truly difficult. Even obtaining a basic comprehension of what it means to be involved with these amazing blessings of God – of being a temple – a place of God’s habitation is most complicated! Spiritual awareness of these blessings – to understand the privilege and opportunity being offered us calls for our whole-hearted change!
Being given such a blessing, being given the opportunity of having a ministry like that mentioned earlier in our readings from 1 Peter 2 we must come to grips or (in other words) come to a full awareness of just how much God is doing for us – how great this salvation is that God has been so merciful to actually … forgive us! We forget so quickly!
It is vital, then, that we help our congregations to come to a practical understanding that though we, as pastors are more than willing to help one and all; we nonetheless must offer help that faces the personal problem we all struggle with – the reality of sin! We cannot ignore the absolute seriousness of our sinfulness! The moment we begin to think that verses like those in 1 Cor 10:1-11 could be intended as warnings for others, at that very moment we make the fatal spiritual mistake of 1 Corinthians 10:12!
Reading the first three verses of Chapter two should lead us to focus our thoughts around our sinful state, but these verse are not there to provide us with some theological debate materials.
In Ephesians Chapter two the message is on the genuine or true need for real change! Paul is demonstrating our sinfulness to enable his readers to recognize clearly that believers are to change and are not to go on living lives like they did before. In this letter we see the doctrine of Sanctification. Paul is establishing clearly that the change brought about by God’s Mercy (vs. 4) and Grace (vs. 5) clearly call for a change in our daily lives. “You and I “were”; you and I “formerly walked”; you and I once lived “according to the prince and power of the air”; “among them we too all formerly lived” … and we “were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” This is clearly the subject – what we were is not now what we are to be!
We must redeem the time and we must determine not to spend one more moment of our time in a further waisting of our lives – as we once did - in times past! Now, in the present, we are to ‘move on!’ – to “get with it’ – and - ‘go with the plan’ of God! God wants to make something of our lives – something special – of us!
The Lord is teaching the Ephesians, and each one of us as well, that we are a meant to be a temple and that this temple is an ongoing process or in other words it is a life “under construction.”
Ephesians 2:1-5 are verses needing to be understood as a group of verses – a thought – that clearly points out that the materials that the Lord is using to build this temple are both "raw and rough" materials! But God is changing – refining, recreating and redesigning the “raw and the rough” into useful building materials.
In 2 Timothy 2:14-21 Paul teaches that we are to avoid the world and rather cleanse ourselves “from these things” and then we see this focus again … where Paul teaches Timothy to strive to “be a vessel for honour, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”
This “plan” of a Sanctified or separated lifestyle - is in positive terms: to be redeeming the time (5:16), to submit to the Word of God, to submit to the Spirit, and to submit to the brethren! We are being called to responsibility, personal responsibility and this means we must be “pro-actively” committed to living our lives every day to God’s Glory! To pray, to read our Bibles, to attend church faithfully and then to share our testimony or to witness to our friends, as well! We may be some sort of “diamond in the rough” but surely the issue is more of understanding just how rough we are – otherwise we may well miss the dependency we have on doing things according to His will, His way and in His power.
A truly pastoral sermon framework should be an outline that focuses our message on the comparison of the old and the new. We as New Covenant preachers of grace should be encouraging our brethren, not discouraging them or trying to ‘bury them’ in some false sense of guilt! “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:2,3) nasv.
We also want to encourage our people, as Jay Adam’s would say in the process of “Dehabituation” and “Rehabituation” . Of course this is taught more clearly in the fourth chapter of Ephesians (4:22-23), but the principle could well be applied even at this stage of our study. Christians who have not matured as they should or who are young believers often struggle to understand their uniqueness in Christ and all too often fall short of separating from the world, the flesh and the devil.
The failure to live apart from evil around us can and generally does lead to our redefining the “terms” – the issues. We compromise! The cost of compromise is far greater than most understand or seem to want to acknowledge. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 we find an interesting listing for comparison to Ephesians 2:1-3.
Our Wise Master Builder -
in All Times – Rich in Mercy!
Ephesians 2:4-5
“But God…” In this abrupt but effective way of making a clear comparison Paul moves our focus completely away from us and our sinfulness to Christ and His “rich mercy!” We have seen just how sinful sin is and we have seen how sinful we were but now we are redirected to understand that a Temple is not about itself but about its purpose as a place where God is prepared to make His abode. This temple could never be built by “unclean hands” but requires the Holy and wise Master Builder – Christ Himself be the active and effective agent of construction. There are many who offer to build for you, but only a Master Builder like Christ could be trusted for a project such as this amazing and complex project must have!
What “rich in mercy” means can be understood in the verses that follow.
But before considering this definition we must pause, as did Paul, on the subject of “His great love!” Love is an action word and God’s love is nothing like the superficial emotional definition of “love” tossed around in the world! This love is great in that it is unbounded and formed from the very character and being of God Himself. God’s love is His eternal commitment to His creation – to that which is best for us! Love is never a focus on the one loving but instead is always a focus on doing what is right and best on the other person – the one being loved!
The mercy of God is shown in this verse as an attitude that flows out of God’s concern for our well-being – our good! This is love in action – mercy! It is mercy because of our sad display of sinfulness, blindness, lifelessness –by reason of our being dead in our transgressions mercy alone could respond – God alone could respond! But praise be to His name He did respond!
“Made us alive together with Christ” and
“raised us up with Him” and “seated us with Him in heavenly places”
STUDY NOTES:
(A.) “Made us alive together with Christ” – Now the question about being “made alive” is often discussed among ‘learned men’ to decide if this is “regeneration,” (?) i.e “a spiritual resurrection from the dead”(?) or rather being offered a “lively relationship” with Christ, (?) or even a future resurrection to eternal and heavenly life with God in Christ(?). The words quicken, raised, seated is a reference to the method by which the Lord God is pleased to act toward us! But when and where? Wuest, points out that the Greek usage could well refer to all of these uses at one and the same time. Moral resurrection, a living and meaningful relationship and an eternal fellowship – all these … for you and I – for us who are “alive together with Christ.”
Paul wants to make a point that he will repeat later in another way – but now needed to be said “By Grace you have been (completely) saved…in past time … with the present result that you are in a saved state of being … which persists through present time” [Wuest, p. 66] This is positional sanctification or in other words the guarantee of both the immediate and the on-going acceptance by God and provides the believer with the assurance, grace and spiritual insight through the Word of God that is necessary to allow us to move forward progressively in our growth in God’s grace and in the image of His dear Son and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29 and 2 Peter 3:14-18.
(B.) “Raised us up with Him” – Still, there is an important aspect of the “made … alive” life that call for our attention. If we are in the fullest sense truly to be “with Christ” we must “die to self,” – that is: to live a life separated from the world and busy ourselves with saying “NO!” - NO to Satan! There is no resurrection to an old walk in sin. Read Romans 6:4, 17…22 It is, of course, self evident that to be separated from the world and Satan is to enable us to live consistent and committed lives that are separated to Christ, His glory and His will. Both the negative and positive must be evident. To be “raised … up with Him” is a truth regarding the resurrection work of Christ, but is a practical reality that is a result of a life submitted to the Spirit and the Word! Such a life “raised … up with Him” results from accepting our need to die with (in) Him and is practically speaking a daily call or on-going demand upon our mind, our will and our sense of responsibility, i.e. our diligence and commitment.
(C.) “Seated us with Him in heavenly places” – Dr. Ironside rightly states the situation: “Some of these days we shall be caught up and shall be with Christ, but that will be when we all get home to glory. While still here, God sees us “in Christ.” We are thus represented by Him and in Him. As the high priest of old had the names of the Israelites upon his brest and upon his shoulders when he went into that holy place, and they were all seen in their high priest, so we are seen in Christ, and every moment of our lives He is giving us a perfect representation before the throne of God.” We are today with the Lord, in that we “seated” – secured and fully represented with Christ!
Our Present & Future Architect:
Jesus Christ!
Ephesians 2:6-7
vs. 6a - “… raised us up with Him” Our present status is “in Him” secured in His loving care and in His work as our mediator. Consider: 1 Timothy 2:5.
vs. 6b - “… seated us with Him in heavenly places” Our present status is positionally secured in His redemptive work and is a work accomplished by Christ alone.
vs. 7 - “in order that in the ages to come He might show (to all):
After all other ages – after the “age of grace” – after the Millennial Kingdom – the “age of peace” is yet more – much more and in this timeless “eternal day” to come – He will show to all His surpassingly rich grace.
“… the surpassing riches of His Grace” beyond all time comes an unfolding of a richness of His grace that time itself withholds from our view. His Grace to be fully known must be enjoyed fully for all eternity. His grace is eternal and eternally His and of Him.
“… in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
In the beautiful way of God’s word and in the simplicity of salvation by grace we are reminded that all of this – all of these blessings are nothing more than the wonderful kindness of God, our heaven;y Father, made available to us in Christ Jesus!
Our Timeless & Gracious Gift
... from God!
Ephesians 2:8-9
I find the obvious truth of this passage so clear that no one could miss it. The issue of the gift … “it” is interesting to follow – so many views – some say it is grace, some say it is faith, but then men such as Harry Ironside and others would say “it” is salvation. I follow this last viewpoint. Grace is naturally from God alone. Faith is “the essential element” as Romans chapter 4 so clearly outlines but here we see that the question of the gift is influenced by the theological views of various ones – committed to presuppositions of this or that order.
“The way we receive the gift of eternal life is through faith. Faith means that man takes his place as a lost, guilty sinner, and receives the Lord Jesus as his only hope of salvation. True saving faith is the commitment of a person to a Person.” “Not of works…” is meant to be an obvious statement rejecting “good works” or the “keeping of the Mosaic Law” or by living according to “good morals” or even by being a “good neighbour” or truly “self-sacrificing. Too often, the church has made the mistake of allowing its members to think that there is a security or ‘safety net’ of some sort within the church. Of course the Roman and Greek Catholics have actually taught (via Tradition) that there was no salvation ourside of the church and outside of keeping “its Sacraments” (3,7,or even 9).
Of course, none of this is related to the truth of Scripture but is in direct opposition with the message of Salvation by faith alone! The most regrettable error in the history of the church came when the Reformation failed to make its efforts to reform permanently and completely based in the Scriptures alone. With the Reformer’s acceptance of the Catholic Confessions and Creeds and with the unwillingness to break from “Allegorical” and “Figurative” interpretations of the Scripture, it was only a matter of time that the old arguments between Pelagius and Augustine would lead to a new wave of arguments!
These Seventeenth Century debates resulted in the Reformation’s churches becoming “State Churches” and with a new theological system of its own, eventually known as “Covenant Theology” or “Reformed Theology.” This new theological system presenting the Christian church as a “modern day” Israel busied itself with keeping the Law, living by the Sermon on the Mount and the “Golden Rule” and offered no immanent hope of Christ return! By carrying on the old Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox attachments to Amillennialism (or for awhile a Post-millennialism) the now Orthodox and Reformed Denominations became the lifeless religion we call Orthodoxy and then finally it slipped into the heresies of Neo-Orthodoxy, Liberalism, and Modernism. Today’s Reformed Revival Movement is an all-out effort at returning these Reformed Denominational churches and other independent or separated churches to the fold of Seventeenth Century theological thought and debate.
We as independent Bible-believing congregations (sometimes called fundamental or evangelical Baptist congregations, often known as Bible or Community Churches or even recognised as similar to the independent Brethren Assemblies) really have no relationship with this “Reformed” denominational history or with the new movements resulting or reacting to the history of denominationalism. Regrettably, one arm of Baptist history includes the development of large denomination-like bodies among the Baptists known in countries such as England, the United States, Canada, Australia or South Africa as “Unions” or “Conventions.” These churches have tried to maintain both a level of congregational individuality while being a part of a larger national body.
Our roots, as Independent Congregations, are surely to be found in Biblical principles often discovered before or during the Renaissance and Reformation and sometimes identified as similar to those known as “anabaptists” or “brethren” in those periods. Yet, we are primarily, like many before us, simply “people of the book” – Bible believers. We are those who interpret the Bible simply, literally and following only the obvious or self-evident interpretations. We accept that the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant revelation was both progressive and dispensational in its development and represents His complete communication in this age. The independent Bible-believing churches recognise that the truths and themes of Scripture may be systematically studied or doctrinally summarised but no creed or confessions are recognised as having authority, of any type, over the Word of God, itself!
I would suggest that in regards to verses 8 and 9 we just read and accept the most obvious and plain meaning of these verses. They are words of joy and comfort not words for theological argumentation!
SUMMARY: 2:10
Our Lives – God’s Architecture -
in Christ! 2:10
The very joy of life is having a genuine and meaningful purpose. It was God’s plan all along to return us to a relationship with Him wherein we could live lives capable of serving Him and bringing glory to His Holy Name. Due to our new relationship with Christ Romans chapter Eight teaches us that we, who are “in Jesus Christ” and thus walking “after the Spirit” have many New Covenant blessings, victories and a life filled with good works or rather lives that are now enabled to enjoy lives where “the righteousness of the law might be filled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”(8:4).
The result is “no condemnation,” a “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” (8:1) “free” (8:2), minding “ the things of the Spirit” (8:5), “life and peace” (8:6), and we can now “please God” – “in the Spirit” (8:8-9), “the body is dead … but the Spirit is life” (8:10), we - as Sons of God, we “receive the spirit of adoption” and … we cry “Abba, Father” (8:14-15) and “heirs” (8:17). It is in this light that we find ourselves by God’s power living lives that allow the Mosaic law’s good and God glorifying lifestyle completed in our daily lives – and doing good works… or works that are done or completed by the Spirit of God. Now we “walk” or live lives that are concerned with God’s “things” and can live within the sure hope of “life” and the joy of “peace” with ourselves, others and most importantly – God, Himself!
Warren Wiersby outlines the issue of the Biblical outlook on the Christian’s “good works” as follows: Matthew 5:16; Philippians 1:20-21; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Colossians 1:10; 2 Timothy 3:17 (NASB); Titus 2:14 and Hebrews 13:16. Then Dr. Wiersby states: “It is important to note that we do not manufacture these good works. They are the results of the work of God in our hearts (Philippians 2:13). The secret of Paul’s good works was the “grace of God” 1 Cor. 15:10. Our good works are evidence that we have been born again. See also Matthew 7:21. Our good works are also testimonies to the lost (1 Peter 2:12) The win us the right to be heard.”
To further understand the matter of “good works” one should read Paul’s words of encouragement in 1 Corinthians 15:58, with 16:13-14 and the words of warning and reality found in James 2:8-13, then followed by the study of verses 14-20.
Personally, I am convinced that the truths found in Galatians 5:5, 6, 13, 14, 16, 22-26 best summarise the life of “good works” as the life of “faith,” that “works by love,” serving “one another,” by “loving thy neighbour as thyself,” and by recognising that a life or “walk” in the Spirit should and can – even must yield the “fruit of the Spirit:” – love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control and a “crucified flesh” living and walking in the Spirit … not desiring vainglory or provoking or envying one another! Paul provides another overview of the issue of “good works” in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, 8-24
Before the very foundation of the world God planned this great and amazing return of “whosoever will” to His fold! The role of the Word of God working together by or under the direct operation of the Spirit of God provides the dynamic process for change and growth. The fact is that the Word of God is both the blueprint and an agent of the Spirit. The results are changed thoughts, attitudes, life-styles, choices and activities.
These “works” are more than just “good works” to be doing! These “good” works are good because they are according to his Divine will and accomplished by His power. These are lives now regenerated and that by the Spirit - working through the Truth of God’s Word now enabling the man of faith to live to the glory of God. All good works are testimonies (John 17:14-17 and 21-23) to the world that in Christ we can live separate from the world and committed to God and enabled to fulfill the law, serve one another and bring honour and glory to God as a part of our lives and ways of living! We, as genuine believers, are His workmanship – created by Him and for HIM! (Romans 8:36).
We have seen that the believer is a temple of God under construction. We also clearly acknowledged that God is working with "Raw and rough" materials (at the best)! We have also considered the fact that this is a temple currently under construction and that it is an ongoing life experience of being "Refined & Polished" in the Master's hand. Then we have tried to summarise this process of spiritual construction as that of building the believer individually into a temple, though under construction, no less a genuine "workmanship from above and according to His blueprint."
Looking ahead: A Temple, whatever else it is about, is about the One and only True God who offers to abide within that temple. The temple is not the theme, but the love of God willing to abide with us – even in us – this is the great theme of Ephesians chapter two.
THE CHURCH -
HIS ASSEMBLED BELIEVERS
"THE TEMPLE OF HIS DWELLING."
In Ephesians 2:10 we have learned that we as his creation – his work of salvation also – as we know, we are created - given New Birth, regeneration by the Spirit so that we can be as individuals and collectively or generically, we are His temple. In this sense we are then His own personal “workmanship!” The purpose of God unleashing all of this Personal effort to create the believers, the church, this (His) special “workmanship” on the world was, and is, to demonstrate to the world the glorious saving and life changing power available through the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
We have seen in these previous verses that God before the foundation of the world itself determined to work through us in this world. We would ultimately be found doing these “good works” as the very “habitation of God through the Spirit” (2:22). In other words, the purpose of all of this was to allow us to be used as a Temple for God through which He would represent Himself to the lost world – with the end in view of the conversion of the lost!
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