Read -Study Notes – Ephesians Chapter 2:19-22

Eph. 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
Eph. 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
Eph. 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
Eph. 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

• As Gentiles we need not hang our heads or think ourselves second-class citizens in the body of Christ
  • On the contrary, we are no longer strangers and aliens
    • Those two terms are found in the Law
    • The Law often spoke of foreigners or strangers among God’s people, referring to the Gentiles
  • It labeled Gentiles as lessor followers of God
    • Gentiles could associate with Israel, participate in the feasts, worship Yahweh
    • But they were always outsiders
    • Gentiles never forgot they were strangers and aliens among God’s chosen people
  • But we are no longer to be considered strangers or outsiders in the body of Christ
    • We are fellow citizens with all saints, both Old Testament and New Testament
    • All those of faith in Jesus Christ are equal, made so by their faith in the work of Christ
  • Paul says we are as privileged as the one born in the household of the master
    • In the days before Christ, a God-fearing Gentile could convert to Judaism but that didn’t make the person Jewish
    • A Gentile could never become Jewish, since Jewishness is by birth only
    • The best a Gentile could hope for was to be permitted to remain among God’s people for a time, called a sojourner
    • But today by faith we are considered members of the household with full privileges
• Paul ends the chapter with another analogy, speaking of believers in the church like the stones in a building
  • He begins his rhetorical construction project with the most important part of any building: the foundation
    • Paul says the church body’s foundation was built by the apostles and prophets
    • Paul is referring to the word of God delivered by these men
    • The prophets of the Old Testament and the prophets of the New Testament, called apostles, delivered the word of God to the world
  • The word of God is the authority for all we believe and do as a body
    • And of course, at the cornerstone of that foundation is Jesus Christ Himself, Who established the church in His blood
    • Christ is both the subject of the word and the Deliverer of that word through His Spirit
    • And therefore the church, the body of believers, ceases to have authority or purpose without the word of God
  • Since the word of God is the church’s foundation, then like any building, if our foundation is faulty, the whole structure will falter
    • A church damages its foundation at its own peril
    • If a church body compromises on the authority of the word of God, then its downfall is only a matter of time
  • And compromises come in many forms…
    • It usually begins by denying the literal interpretation of scripture
    • Instead of being taught that the text means what it says, we’re taught creative and false views
    • And chasing after faddish interpretations becomes a goal in itself leading the church into many foolish beliefs and practices
  • The final step – and one that usually comes quickly – is the church abandoning the teaching of the word altogether
    • Today it’s easy to find many churches at this point
    • Many church bodies meet under the banner of Christ but not under the authority of His word
    • We’re not saying those gatherings lack true believers
    • We’re saying those believers lack the truth they’ve gathered to hear
  • If a church body is to remain true to its Master, it must forever submit to the word of God and never grow weary of studying and following it
    • As Peter said

1Pet. 2:2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

• Next Paul says we, the believers, are the building, so as we know the church is not the building but the people in the church
  • But notice also Paul emphasizes we have been “fitted together”
    • The word in Greek refers to the way stone masons worked the surface of adjoining stones to create a seamless joint
    • Paul says we’re not just haphazard stacks of stones that happened to come together by chance and circumstances
    • On the contrary, Paul says we were fitted together precisely by our Father, the Master Stone Mason
  • First and foremost, Paul is referring to the larger body of Christ
    • When all is said and done, the total population of God’s people will show itself to be a perfectly fitted group of humanity that serves God’s purposes perfectly
    • Not a single person will be superfluous to God’s plan for the Kingdom, nor will a need go unmet
    • The Lord will have exactly the number of people He needs to staff His government
  • But each of us occupies a particular place on earth and time within history by God’s design
    • Therefore, we know Paul was also speaking of our place in own local church
    • In order words, we are not participating in this local church by chance
    • I’m here for a reason, you’re here for a reason, the Father fit us together precisely
    • He fitted you and me so that we would slide right into place here and serve a unique purpose
• This fact reminds us that we shouldn’t take our participation in a local body of Christians for granted
  • First and foremost, we shouldn’t neglect gathering together, as Hebrews reminds us
    • Imagine a wall constructed by God with each stone carefully selected to complete the mosaic
    • And now imagine if a few of the stones were taken out
    • They decided to stay home on Sunday…what would happen to that wall?
  • In the beginning, it’s mostly a matter of appearances
    • The integrity of the wall hasn’t weakened, but it doesn’t look right with those holes
    • Instead of admiring the whole construction as God intended, our attention is naturally drawn to what’s missing
    • Like a church that misses key areas of leadership or volunteers or  funds or other essential needs
    • We may have 95% of what we need to glorify God as He intended, but it’s those few missing pieces that get our attention
    • It reminds us how important every piece is in God’s plan for the church
• But as more stones go missing, the wall’s very survival becomes at risk
  • I’m not talking about the failure of the Church Universal, of course
    • Christ is the One Who builds and leads His church
    • And He said the gates of Hell will not prevail against it
    • I’m speaking about the health and continuation of a local congregation, the place where our individual service takes place
  • We know the body of Christ is much more than a once-a-week gathering, but that weekly gathering is of primary importance to spiritual health of every member
    • If believers drift away from the gathering where God has placed them, they will suffer spiritually in the end
    • Or even if a member of the body falls away from corporate church attendance in favor of private personal study or smaller groups, that stone has gone missing
    • In order for stones to be fitted to one another, they have to touch one another
    • And in order for each of us to play our appointed roles in the body of Christ, we have to gather together with one another in the place God has fitted us
  • But of course, there is a time to enter into a new fellowship and there comes a time to move on
    • We should leave just as we enter…obediently following the call of God and doing so with joy
    • If we leave a church in protest, we may be running away from an important lesson God wanted to teach us
    • We need to feel equal conviction when we part from a church as we did when we joined
• Secondly, Paul’s analogy reminds us that each of us have a unique contribution to make to the body where we meet
  • As a mason shaped a stone, he took into consideration the shape of the stones on either side
    • The new stone was shaped to fit in that space perfectly
    • In the process, the mason had to cut some of the stone away to shape it properly
    • He must strike the stone carefully, knocking off the rough points, throwing off sparks in the process
    • But at the end of that process, the stone emerges smooth and matched to its place in the wall
  • That’s a great picture of how sanctification within the body of Christ works
    • When we come together with God’s people, we show up with some rough edges
    • Our personality, our habits and our sins must be reshaped by our Stone Mason, the Holy Spirit, who chisels us by the word of God
    • Which reminds us why the church must remain committed to hearing the word of God taught
    • It’s the sword in the hand of the Spirit to do His work on our hearts
  • That process can be painful at times, and it may throw off some sparks
    • Sparks of personal conflict, sparks of hurt feelings, sparks of wounded egos, sparks of conviction
    • But if we give the process time and if we remain dedicated to filling our place in God’s building, then we’ll see the fruit eventually
    • We’ll find ourselves slipping into our place and as that mosaic is completed, we’ll see the value of our place in time
• We are God’s building, and the mortar holding us together is the Holy Spirit Paul says in v.22
  • This is God’s construction project and we are His materials
    • You may feel your participation here doesn’t matter much
    • But if that’s your attitude, then you’re selling the Lord short
    • You’re forgetting the Lord delights to show Himself strong in our weaknesses
    • You’re overlooking His sovereign choice to save you and to bring you here
  • Allow me to propose our collective New Year’s resolution
    • We resolve to serve the Lord in the New Year
    • We resolve to serve Him in our appointed role above serving ourself
    • We resolve to make the gathering a priority
    • We resolve to come prepared to worship, pray, study and serve others with all the energy, joy and persistence we know Christ desires
    • We resolve to be patient with the “rocks” around us, most of all the hardheaded pastor
    • And we resolve to do everything with an attitude of love