Sermon in a Sentence: Jesus gives us a new family to enjoy.
In this passage, Paul follows the same three steps he used last week: what we were, what God did, and who we are.
Verses 11-12 remind us of what we were then.
Since Paul is writing to Gentiles, he uses Jew-Gentile relations as a case study. The Gentiles had three problems (v.12). First, they were without Messiah (helpless). They had no help available when Messiah came. They were on the outside looking in. Second, they were without citizenship (homeless). They were like illegal aliens with no place to call home. Third, they were without God (hopeless). They had no hope for the future and were living “lives of quiet desperation” (H. D. Thoreau).
Actually, those problems do not simply describe one group of people. They describe each one of us. We were separated; we were isolated; we were alienated. We were away from home and on our own. We were all alone in a sea of humanity. The poet says that no man is an island, but that’s exactly what we were—each of us was an island with no connection to any other island and a lot of water in between.
Apart from Christ, our interpersonal relationships were a mess. The good news is—that was then, but this is now.
Verses 13-18 remind us of what God did.
Verse 13 is where we meet “But now . . .” Verses 13-18 are where we find out about the difference God made in our relationships with one another.
Paul continues talking about Jew-Gentle relationships and says that Jesus’ death had three effects on those relationships. First, his death destroyed the dividing wall (v.14). You see, the Gentiles were forbidden to enter the inner court of the Temple. They were relegated to the Court of the Gentiles. Jesus tore that wall down. Second, his death created a new race (v.15). The word Paul uses (kainos) denotes “new of a different kind.” The new race Jesus was neither Jew nor Gentile; it was Christian. Third, his death gave all of us direct access to God (v.17; cf. Heb 10:19-22). We no longer need to go through a mediator, because there is one mediator between God and man—Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).
It’s not just about Jew-Gentile relations. It’s about every other man-made division as well: black-white, Yankee-Southerner, Democrat-Republican, Carolina-Clemson. God took every division humankind could make and threw all of them into the darkest cave you could ever find, into the depths of the deep blue sea, into the blackest hole in outer space—he made peace among enemies. That’s what’s new: Jesus gives us a new family to enjoy.
Verses 19-22 remind us of who we are now.
“Therefore . . .” marks the conclusion. Jesus has erased all the divisions between Jew and Gentile—and between all of us. In fact, he has done more than erase the divisions; he has brought us together and made us part of something greater than we could ever have imagined. He has made us into his people, his church.
Paul says we are no longer homeless (without citizenship)—we are fellow-citizens of God’s kingdom (v.19). We are no longer helpless (without Christ)—we are fitted together into Christ’s redeemed building (v.20-21). We are no longer hopeless (without God)—we are part of the place where God dwells (v.22). We are now part of a new creation, a new kingdom, a new society. We are now God’s people and God’s family. We now have more in common than natural siblings. And so . . .
Jesus gives us a new family to enjoy.
We were helpless, homeless, and hopeless. We were separated, isolated, and alienated. We were away from home, all alone, and on our own. But now we are fellow-citizens, part of Christ’s building, and the place where God dwells. This new place of belonging is what we call the church. It’s not the building, though. It’s the people. Together we are now the family of God.
If you think about the picture Paul paints, you realize that each of us is uniquely designed and uniquely gifted for a specific role in that family. Each of us has a job to do if the family is going to function properly. Do you know where you fit? Is the family functioning as it should because you are functioning as you are supposed to function?
That’s one aspect. Here’s another. Over in Romans 12, Paul says that members of the family rejoice when others are rejoicing and weep when others are weeping. Why? Because part of being in a family is caring for one another. Do you truly care about the other members of this family? Do you pray for one another? Do you see a need and act on it?
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