well let us turn to that portion
we were reading in Ephesians chapter 2 I'll read again from verse 11 I'll
read the passage through from verse 11 to verse 19 It's a Gentile church, of course,
the church at Ephesus. And Paul reminds them of their
origins. Wherefore remember that ye, being
in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called on circumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, 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. But now in Christ
Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, that is, both Jew and Gentile, and hath broken
down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished
in his flesh the enmity even the Lord of Commandments contained
in ordinances for to make in himself of twain or two one new
man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto
God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby,
and came and preached peace to you which were far off, you Gentiles,
and to them that were nigh, those who were Jews, for through him
we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore,
ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and of the household of God." I want to say something
with regards to what he says here, in particular at verse
19. No more strangers, he says, but
what? They are, of course, partakers
of the grace of God and he goes on to say that really in verse
6 of chapter 3 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of
the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel no more strangers but partakers of the promise and
as we really look at these two verses 19 in chapter 2 in relation to verse
6 in chapter 3 I want to deal first of all with the historical
context what Paul is writing of with regards to himself and
his own ministry and then to consider some application how
these things can be related and applied to those who experience
the grace of God But firstly, what is he speaking of historically?
Well, of course, as I'm sure you're aware, he's speaking of
the calling of the Gentiles. The calling of the Gentiles,
and we have to remember what the apostleship of Paul was all
about. He is dealing with it here, really,
in this whole passage that we read from verse 11 in chapter
2, through to verse 12 in chapter 3. And it is, he says, the revelation
of the mystery. It was ever there in the eternal
purpose of God. The Church, the calling of the
Gentiles is not an afterthought. I know that's what the dispensationalists
would say, that Christ really came to save the Jew. but he
was rejected and then God has second thoughts as it were and
decides that he will call to himself sinners from amongst
the Gentiles. What a foolish notion is that
because Paul clearly speaks here of that that was a mystery from
eternity that was now being revealed and being revealed in and through
his own ministry. there in verse 6 of chapter 3
that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel whereof I was made
a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto
me by the effectual working of his power unto me who am less
than the least of all saints is his grace given that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ." It was always there. It was God's
eternal purpose. And of course, every purpose
of God must have its fulfillment in the appointed time. And so
we have the record, don't we, of how this man who becomes Paul
the Apostle is called. We have the account there in
the ninth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles where he's arrested
at the very gate of Damascus where he's intent on the destruction
of those who are the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Christ
himself apprehends him. and he's led blind into the city
and then a disciple called Ananias is sent to anoint his eyes because
he's been blinded. His sight will be restored and
he will have a ministry to exercise and Ananias is told He is a chosen
vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings,
and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great
things he must suffer for my name's sake." These are the words
of the Lord Jesus to Ananias who's directed to go to this
great persecutor. And that is his calling now.
He must preach not only to Jews he does do that of course that's
the manner of his ministry initially in the Acts of the Apostles he
will always go first to the synagogues on his missionary journeys but
ultimately his calling really is to be the Apostle to the Gentiles
and right into the Galatians. He
makes the point how that he and Peter have different ministries,
ministries that really complement one another. The words that we
have back in Galatians 2 and verse 7. He says there, Contrariwise
when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the
gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter. For he that wrought
effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, that is,
the Jews, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles. These are the ministries that
these two men are to exercise. And Paul, time and again, in
the course of writing his various epistles, will remind the people
what his prime ministry is about. Romans 11. And verse 13, he says,
For I speak to you Gentiles inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles,
I magnify mine office. And so as I've said when we read
of this ministry recorded by Luke there in the Acts we see
that the time must come when he turns from the Jews and begins
to turn more extensively to preach to the Gentiles in Acts chapter
18 and there at verse 5 following is He's gone to the Jews there
in Corinth but they reject it and he shakes the dust from his
feet and says well I'm going to turn now to the Gentiles.
A striking passage there at the beginning of Acts 18. Paul then
the apostle to the Gentiles and in this portion he's reminding
those in the church at Ephesus where they stood as as Gentiles,
what was their state in their unregeneracy? Well, they were
strangers and foreigners. That's what he says in verse
19, Therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. What does he mean when he speaks
of them as strangers and foreigners? Well, two things. They were outside
of the covenant in the Old Testament. They had no part, no interest
at all in it. Back in verse 12 he says, At
that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God in the world. That was their standing. That was the standing of all
the Gentiles under the Old Testament dispensation. God would say through
Amos to those who were of ethnic Israel, you only have I known
of all the families of the earth. Had he not, as we are told in
Deuteronomy 7, chosen them, set his love upon
them, though they were the least of nations, They were the ones who God was
pleased to minister to by the ministry of His prophets in the
Old Testament. The Psalmist says, "...he showeth
his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation, and as for his judgments
they have not known them." or what blessings, what favours
really belong to the Jews amongst all the nations that they should
be God's ancient covenant people. And again, the language that
we have in Romans, here in chapter 9, in verse 4, he speaks of them
who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and
the covenants. and the giving of the Lord, and
the service of God, and the promises, whose are the Fathers, and of
whom concerning the flesh Christ came, whose over all God blessed
forever. Amen. They were so favoured,
so privileged, and the Gentiles were outside of that Old Testament
covenant. Worse than that, they were really
in a state of alienation. from God. He mentions it later
in chapter 4 verse 17, This I say therefore and testify in the
Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in
the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is
in them because of the blindness of their heart. This is the state
of the Gentiles by nature. alienated from the life of God,
through the ignorance that is in them and the blindness, the
Martyn said, the hardness, the hardness of their hearts. Or they're left in that awful
state then of their sinnership. The carnal mind, the mind of
the flesh, enmity against God, not subject to the law of God,
says Paul, neither indeed can be. the natural man he receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God they are foolishness to
him neither can he know them they are spiritually discerned
but of course in a sense that was also true of many in ethnic
Israel for they are not all Israel they are not all Israel they
are of Israel and he is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither
is circumcision that which is outwardly in the flesh the true
circumcision is that in the heart, it's that of the spirit and not
of the letter says the apostle there in Romans chapter 2 but
how obvious was the awful state of those to whom the gospel was
to come this is that great mystery that such sinners as those who
have been left to their own devices the time of that ignorance Paul
says when he's preaching to the Athenians The time of that ignorant
God wintered, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.
They're all to turn from their foolish ways and to recognize
there is but one living and true God. This then is the historical context
of what Paul's writing about the calling of the Gentile nations.
But as I said, How does this relate to us? Is
there some spiritual truth that we can learn here? Doesn't it
teach us something about the experiences of the people of
God? It's Paul telling these people what they were, but in
contrast he speaks of what they became, or what they came into
the possession of. And so there in verse 6 of chapter
3 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, he says, and of
the same body. and partakers of his promise
by the gospel all they were to partake of that promise he spoken
of it previously in verse 12 of chapter 2 remember they were
strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and
without gods in the world. But now he says they are partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel. And what is? What is
this promise? Well, evidently it centers in
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ and its justification
in his righteousness that is really the promise. We see that
quite clearly from what the Apostle says of Abraham and Abraham's
faith. And the great boast of the Jew
of course was that they were the children of Abraham. But
there back in Romans chapter 4 Paul speaks of Abraham as the
father of us all. He's the father of all believers.
And what do we read concerning Abraham and the promise there
in that chapter? Well, at verse 20, Paul writes,
Romans 4.20, He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being
fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also
to perform and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Evidently what was imputed, what
was reckoned, what was accounted to Abraham for righteousness
was the promise. Now the promise here of course
in this fourth chapter centers in Sarah who is to bear a son to Abraham that's what's spoken of previously
there at verses 16 and 17 we read of the end of the promise
being sure to all the seed and we read of Abraham believing
God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be
not as though they were. Who against hope believed in
hope that he might become the father of many nations according
to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. And when he
was weak, he was not weak in faith when he considered his
own body at the age of a hundred years, neither the deadness of
Sarah's womb. He doesn't stagger at the promise
of God. Here is the promise, then, Sarah is going to have
the Son, and the Son is Isaac, and Isaac is that one who is
that wonderful type of the Lord Jesus Christ, because the true
seed of Abraham is Christ. We know that. Galatians 3.16,
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not
unto seeds as of many, but as of one unto thy seed, which is
Christ. the true seed of Abraham, the
one of whom Isaac was the type is the Lord Jesus. Here is the
promise. Here is that promise that the
Gentile nations have an interest in. They are partakers of his
promise in Christ by the gospel, though they were previously enemies
and alienated in their minds by their wicked works. And what
does it mean then to be partakers of the promise? Well, I want
to observe three things, three blessings. They know acceptance,
they know access, and they know affliction. They know many other
things besides those three, but just to think of those three
things for a little while this evening as we see them in this
portion of Scripture. First of all, These Gentiles
now know the blessing of acceptance. Verse 13, Now in Christ Jesus,
ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. Or they have reconciliation.
They were alienated, they were enemies, but no more. They are now reconciled, reconciled
to God. And the reconciliation is by
and through the work of the Lord Jesus, of course, and what He
accomplished when He died upon the cross. As we see again in
Paul, Colossians 1, and verse 20, having made peace
through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things
unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you, again a Gentile
church, a Colossae, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in
the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Oh, there is reconciliation. The sinner is forgiven. But there
is, of course, no remission of sins without the shedding of
blood. Christ is the one who has reconciled
his people. That's an historic event. And
we have to remember that. It happened. The reconciliation
actually occurred here upon the earth in the time that was eternally
appointed by God himself when the Lord Jesus Christ made that
great sin atoning sacrifice. And by that he reconciled sinners
to himself, even sinners from amongst the Gentiles, even such
sinners as you and me. It was accomplished in the fullness
of the time. But of course, It must be applied. It's redemption accomplished
and applied, to use the title of that most significant little
book on the atonement by the late professor John Murray. Redemption
accomplished and applied. The Apostle reminds the Romans
of that, in Romans 5.11. He says, We also joy in God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement, or the reconciliation, it says in the margin, in the
context, of course. It's clearly there in that chapter
speaking of reconciliation. Reconciliation, atonement, it's
one and the same thing. As you know, the The word atonement
is that word that was coined by William Kindo at one moment. They were enemies, now they're
at one with God, reconciled to God. I like the line or the lines
in Joseph Hart's hymn number 31, But when to me that blood
supply "'Tis then it does me good." Oh, "'tis then it does
me good," having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, our
bodies washed in pure water. We feel to need that cleansing,
the virtue of that precious blood, that fountain open for sin and
uncleanness. We are accepted in the Beloved.
with those who are being spoken of in there in verse 13 by faith
in the Lord Jesus we come to experience that blessing now
in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by
the blood of Christ there is acceptance then that's one of
the blessings of the promise but there's not only that there's
also access there's access he says doesn't he verse 18 through
him that's the Lord Jesus Christ
that he's speaking of through him we both have access that's
Jew and Gentile by one spirit unto the Father and by this access
by coming into God's very presence and the purpose of our coming
together tonight is to pray and in prayer we we come to experience
something of the great doctrine of God himself, the doctrine
of the Trinity. Because it's a Trinitarian statement
that we have in this verse. Because we have the three persons
of the Godhead. He's speaking of the Son through
Him. He speaks of the Spirit, and
then He speaks of the Father. We need that gracious ministry
of the Holy Spirit. If we're going to pray, we can't
pray without the Spirit's help. He is that One who is the Spirit
of grace and the Spirit of supplications. We need to know that ministry
in our souls, those quickenings. We know not what to pray for
as we ought. We're so dependent upon Him.
but then we have to come by and through the one mediator the
Lord Jesus Christ through him we have access what a blessed
access it is in chapter 3 and verse 12 in whom we have boldness
and access with confidence by the faith of him one God and
one mediator between God and men our access then is by the
mediator We know we need that ministry of the Spirit, but we
also need the one who is now in heaven at God's right hand,
our Great High Priest, and our Advocate with the Father. And
what is the outcome? We all come unto the Father.
We have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Though we enter
heaven itself, we have the very ear of God and He hears our prayers
and we address Him as our God and our Father in Heaven. What a blessing! Truly our fellowship
is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. What has Christ procured for
us? Life eternal. And how is that
life eternal known and experienced? why Christ says it doesn't he
in his own prayer there in John 17 3 that they this is life eternal
that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ
to whom thou was sent his access is well there's acceptance first
of all we're reconciled there's atonement one with God there's
access now to him And then, finally, just to say
something with regards to afflictions. I know it says here in verse
19, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.
No more strangers. But in a sense we're not strangers,
are we, to what we might term the afflictions of the gospel.
We don't count those things strange, or we shouldn't count them strange.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that
is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ's offerings, that when his glory appears,
or is revealed, ye may be glad with exceeding joy, he says. there's no rest in this present
life that we live here upon the earth it's a strange life that
we live the life of faith and that's why Peter writes as he
does there in that fourth chapter of his first epistle Beloved,
think it not strange as though some strange thing happened unto
you twice he uses the word strange And it has the idea really of
something unusual, a strange thing, a surprising thing we
might say. And that's true in a sense of
course of the life of faith, that strange course that the
Christian must tread, the life that's coming to his soul, puts
him at odds. with the world in which he's
having to live his life. In the world there's tribulation.
Christ says, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. And
the Apostle echoes those words in Acts 14, we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom. It's a straight gate that we
go through, it's a narrow way that we have to walk in. Paul
says, yea, all that would live godly in Christ Jesus, all that
would live godly, shall suffer persecution. And yet, this is
the life of the believer, and surely the people of God would
not exchange that life. Though our cup seems filled with
gall, for there's something secret sweetens all, says the hymn writer. There's always something sweet,
there's something for God to reveal to us, some mystery. All
the mysteries. that we find here in the Word
of God, the mysteries of the life of faith and the mystery
that's being spoken in this whole portion that ever God should
have gracious thoughts towards those gross sinners of the Gentiles
such as we are but all the blessings to be those who know what it
is Gentiles who are now fellow heirs and of the same body and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. Oh, the Lord help
us then that we might see what our privileges are, but also
recognize what responsibilities fall upon us and our solemn accountability
to God himself. Oh, that we might live then as
those who truly are partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel. The Lord bless His word to us. We're going to sing our second
praise before we turn to prayer. We'll sing the hymn 598. The
tune is Samuel 560. Peculiar are the saints, and
God does them esteem, though numerous are their wants, they
all things have in Him. He is their treasure and their
joy, Nor can they ever starve or die. 598 and the tune is 560