Grow With Pastor Joe

Have you ever forgotten something important only to remember it later? Let’s take losing your keys for example. That in-between time of forgetfulness and remembrance is a vast wilderness. We are making circles. We are lost. We have no direction. Our spouse may ask the ever-helpful questions, “Well where did you have them last?” Of course, our internal response is always a sarcastic, “Well if I knew then I wouldn’t be looking for them.” However, the moment we remember (sometimes by simply stumbling upon them again) where are keys are then all is well again. Forgetfulness is amajor spiritual hurdle in our walk with Christ. When we forget who we are in Him, what He has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us we go into a spiritual “no man’s land.” Remembrance and rejoicing are critical to our daily walk with Christ. In Christ, we have been given an eternal wealth in Him and an experiential walk in Him. Being in Christ is all that we are (wealth) and all that we do (walk). All that we are and do are found in Christ. Therefore, the key to faithful Chrisitan living is remembering our wealth in Christ and rejoicing in our walk in Christ. When I forget who I am in Him I find myself unable to rejoice. I quickly slip into a place of disconnect and discouragement. As a pastor, I see many people walking in this sort of spiritual condition. They are saved but forgetful. They are in union with Christ but forgetful of the wealth that they’ve been given. They are active but have spiritual amnesia.

As we have been studying the book of Ephesians, we have seen an incredible depth of doctrine that should produce doxology and devotion in our life. The Christian life is rejoicing the riches of His grace to the praise of His glory. When I am forgetful then I become unfaithful. When I am not rejoicing then I am walking in unbelief. My prayer is that as we look at Eph. 2:11-22, we will remember the redeeming, reconciling, and restoring work of Christ for, in, and through us. As we learn to remember our wealth in Christ then we can learn to rejoice in our walk in Christ. There are four things that this passage will bring to remembrance and cause our hearts to rejoice. We must remember and rejoice that we have acceptance in Christ (V. 11-13), armistice in Christ (V. 14-17), access in Christ (V. 18), and association in Christ (V. 19-22). Eph. 2:11-22 says, “¹¹ Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; ¹² That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; ¹⁵ Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; ¹⁶ And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: ¹⁷ And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. ¹⁹ Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; ²⁰ And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; ²¹ In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: ²² In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Just as with the previous passages in Ephesians, this too will give us a deeper awareness and application of what it means to be in Christ. In this passage we will learn that our wealth and walk in Christ must be one of continual remembrance and rejoicing through faith. God’s grace will remind us so that in faith we will respond in rejoicing in our wealth and walk in Christ.

We must first remember and rejoice that we have acceptance in Christ. Eph. 2:11-13 tells us, “¹¹ Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; ¹² That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” As we grow in our walk with Christ, we sometimes forget the unchanging wealth that we have in Him. We sometimes live under condemnation and not the eternal acceptance that we’ve been given. I find myself in that place as often as you probably do. Sin comes in and I am convicted and corrected by the Holy Spirit but I often don’t allow Him to comfort me afterward. The indwelling Holy Spirit that each believer has indwells us as our comforter (John 14:25-26). His conviction, correction, and comfort in our life is done through bringing our wealth and walk in Christ into remembrance, which in turn leads to our hearts rejoicing in faithful confidence in Him. In order to rejoice in the present, I must remember my past. Eph. 2:11-12 reminds us of who we used to be which should cause our hearts to rejoice that we have been give acceptance in Christ. In times past, we were unaccepted and walked unacceptably (See Eph. 2:1-3). We were lost. We were blind. We were deaf, dumb, dead, and depraved. Our greatest need was to be accepted by Christ. The way in which we are accepted by Him is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). It is Faith that accepts His grace and His grace only accepts faith. The moment we trusted Christ we were eternally accepted by Him and in Him.

However, our prior life of unacceptance is described in Eph. 2:11-12. Notice, there are five different descriptions of our previously unaccepted and unacceptable walk. We were “without Christ.” There is no other more terrifying thought. To be without Christ is to still be in the darkness of death looming over us. The reality is not only that we who are now in Christ were once “without Christ,” but that much of the world today lives without Him. All that we are, all that we have, and all that we need are in Christ. There is nothing that I could ever need that is found outside of Him. The Gentiles before their acceptance in Christ were without Him. This means that they had no personal or corporate hope for a Messiah or relationship with the Messiah. Secondly, we were “aliens of the commonwealth of Israel.” Israel was God’s national people who had not only received His covenant promises but the privileges of those covenants. God had chosen Israel, formed Israel, covenanted with Israel, and preserved Israel even through their great unfaithfulness to Him (See Psalm 78 for an example). God in times past was dealing specifically and only with His people Israel. Gentiles didn’t and couldn’t enjoy the privileges of belonging to God’s covenant people because they were on the outside looking in. The Gentile nations continuously lived in idolatry and immorality; and overwhelmingly still do today. Thirdly, we who are in Christ were “strangers from the covenants of promise.” Gentiles previously didn’t enjoy the blessings that Israel had. Sadly, the Gentiles were without those blessings completely, but Israel abused those privileges as Paul makes clear in Romans 2-3. Fourthly, we who are in Christ lived “having no hope.” Gentiles had no hope outside of their own earthly life. They were without Christ on the outside looking in. We were uninvited and unaccepted. Lastly, our prior life without acceptance in Christ was lived “without God in the world.” The idea is that we were once God forsaken God forsakers. We had forsaken Him in unbelief and therefore suffered from being forsaken of Him.

Eph. 2:13, just like in Eph. 2:4, brings the wonderful transformational truth to us through the preposition “but”. We who were once unaccepted and walking unacceptable have now been eternally accepted by Christ, in Christ, and through Christ. All who are in Christ are accepted. We are accepted not because we became acceptable but because He accepted us by His grace as we accepted Him in faith. Our acceptance is through belief in the finished work of His shed blood for our sins. We were once former aliens who were excluded. No, we are accepted friends of God who have been eternally embraced in Christ. Without the blood of Christ (His sacrificial, sufficient, substitutionary death for sinners) we would not be redeemed or reconciled. It is by His blood that we have been redeemed and reconciled to God who was our enemy. Colossians 1:19-23 bring out these truths perfectly. As we remember our acceptance in Christ it must cause us to rejoice in Christ. The victorious Christian life is one of remembering what we have been redeemed from and reconciled to. As we remember that Christ has accomplished our acceptance through His blood we rejoice in the person and work of Christ. This is our wealth and walk. Praise God that we who were far off have been brought near. When we remember that we are always near to Him and He is near to us we by faith can rejoice as we day-by-day draw all the closer to Him. Our walk in Christ is rejoicing and remembering our wealth in Him. One of the brightest jewels of being in Christ is that we have been accepted in Him.

The second thing that we must remember and rejoice in, is that we have armistice in Christ. An armistice between two warring parties to end the fighting at minimum for a certain time or indefinitely. What we now call Veterans Day was once called Armistice Day celebrating the armistice that took place to bring World War I to a close. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars, but we see what has happened since. An armistice enables and ensures peace. Peace is something that everyone needs but none can provide for themselves. We all want the peace of God, but it doesn’t come outside of having peace with God. There was a time that Gentiles were spiritually at war with God. Each believer, regardless of background, lived as an enemy of God under the rule of the world, flesh, and the devil (Eph. 2:1-3). The armistice that those in Christ have does not come from us but only from Christ. Eph. 2:14-17 says, “¹⁴ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; ¹⁵ Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; ¹⁶ And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: ¹⁷ And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.” Jesus doesn’t just provide peace but He Himself is our peace. Our acceptance and armistice with God are found in having peace with God and in turn the peace of God. The price of the armistice came through His blood. It is He, the Prince of Peace that has provided peace for all who will believe in Him. There is no peace in this world or in our hearts outside of Jesus Christ. He is peace personified. So, what did this armistice accomplish? Yes, it accomplished our peace but there is more to remember and rejoice in. The armistice that we have in Christ has demolished our division and abolished our adversity. We once lived in division in adversity to Christ and His people. We have now been included in His plan. There were once only two people groups in the world. One, Jew or two, Gentile. Now there is not actually a third option, but rather there is simply either lost or saved. Either dead or alive. Either blind or seeing. Either unbelieving or believing. Either outside of Christ or in Christ. Either unaccepted or accepted. Either an outsider or an insider. The division between us and God has been demolished. Now, the division between Jew and Gentile too has been demolished in Christ. It is no longer Jew verses Gentile or Us verses God. Now there is one team, one body, one new man. There is only one true Church. God doesn’t have a Jewish Church, Gentile Church. It is not divided up by color, style or preferences. There is only one church made up of those who are in Christ. We now have peace with God in Christ and peace with one another in Christ. When we are brought into remembrance of what this eternal armistice has done for us vertically and horizontally it naturally causes us to rejoice. Few rejoice over war. Many rejoice when war is over. Peace has been given and accomplished in Christ. If we have anything to rejoice over it is that we are no longer an enemy, an outsider, or far from God. The war has been won in Christ. We now have an armistice giving us peace with God and one another. Do you have a spiritual Armistice Day? This passage is as well reminding us that to be in Christ is to be in Christ with all the others who are in Him. We are as united to Christ as we are to His Church which we will expound on in more detail to come.

Grow with me as we study the believer’s wealth and walk in Christ.

Grow deeper.

Grow higher.

Grow wider.