One in Christ

Ephesians 2:11-22 ESV

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.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Future faithfulness is fueled by Christ's finished work.

once ____, but now _____

Paul speaks of how we were before Christ and now what has changed.

The wonder of oneness

Back in this age, the Jews saw the world as two. Jew and gentile. Jews were called to be holy and separate. But this became the basis for a sense of superiority.

Not only that, but there were the Greeks. They saw themselves as enlightened and viewed the rest of the world as uneducated barbarians.

So there was often animosity between these two groups. Yet there was one place where they lived in peace together, the church. They greeted each other with a holy kiss as family. Paul exhorted them to celebrate this unity.

In our day and age, there are many divisions. Ferguson shows that we are not in a "post-racial" America. So many heated arguments on this. Or the influx of hipsters and young families into Philly and the impact on the poor families that have lived here. Where in the gospel in all this? The gospel is the one way to lasting unity and oneness. It can bring together divisive and hostile groups into community.

The way of oneness

The gospel tells us that we are all human, we are all sinners in need of a savior, and we are need Christ for life and hope.

Jews prided themselves on circumcision and their status as a holy people. But all of this was only available through the grace of God.

Christ gives Shalom, not just peace, but rather wholeness. Not only not hating and not living in hostility, but loving those around us. The Jews were following specific practices to show that they were different. But this became superiority. When Christ comes, he shows that we are all sinners in need of salvation. When we have self-righteous justification, we compare our righteousness against one another. But from God's perspective, it looks like we're comparing whose $h1t smells less. It's all worthless and pointless. Our righteousness is filthy rags.

In Christ, we are all in the family of God. We may be different in many ways, but we are family. Different income, socio-economic, culture, etc.

The chief identity of every Christian is being in Christ. This does not eliminate race, economic, and other differences. But it should not be what we find most value in. How does this look? Your identity shows up in who you hang out with. We only hang out with those like us. And additionally, we are afraid of anything that threatens our identity.

The "so what" of oneness

We should worship. We should be awed by what God has done. There is much of brokenness in this world, but the church is a new thing.

We should reach out to people from all walks of life. Do not root your identity in other things. Root it in Christ.