this evening to Ephesians chapter
2. Ephesians chapter 2, let me begin
my reading tonight in verse 11. Wherefore remember that you 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, that
at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenant of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ
Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one and broken down the middle wall
of partition between us, 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. Tonight, as we show forth the
Lord's death, and this is what we read in 1 Corinthians 11 that
we do each time that we observe the Lord's supper, we show forth
his death. For there we read, for as often
as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show forth the
Lord's death till he come. How do we show forth the Lord's
death? Because we have the bread separated
from the wine. And that speaks of death, when
the blood of Christ was poured out on Calvary. So tonight as
we show forth the Lord's death in observing the Lord's Supper,
I want us to think especially on what the Apostle Paul tells
us in verse 13, that his death accomplishes. He tells believers,
and he is writing to believers, Above, in verse eight, he said,
for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. He is writing to believers, and
he tells believers, but those in Christ Jesus, that
we who were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. This is what his death that we
are showing forth accomplished. It makes those who are far off
nigh. First, we were far off. Now, he is writing particularly
to Gentile believers, but the same was true of Jewish believers. It's true of all men. What does
far off mean? What does far off mean? When
we have a loved one in the service and they're stationed over in
the Middle East, we say he or she is far off. They are far
off. In that case, we're speaking
about a far off that is a distance measured by miles. Your husband
tonight is far off. He's in North Dakota. But that
far off is a distance measured by miles. That we know is not
the meaning here. When we read that we were far
off, that's not the meaning here. For God is never far off from
anyone in that sense. He is omnipresent. There's no way, there's no place
in the universe that any individual could be in that sense, and be
far off from God because He is everywhere. In Jeremiah chapter
23, verses 23 and 24, he asks this question, am I a God at
hand, saith the Lord, and not a God far off? Am I just a God
here at hand, just here in this building, and not a God who is
also far off? Can any hide himself in secret
places that I shall not see him, saith the Lord? Do not I fill
heaven and earth, saith the Lord? We love, I love especially that
Psalm 139 that speaks of so many of God's attributes showing he
is all powerful, all wise, and all present, or omnipresent. It begins like this, whither
shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy
presence? One writer said, God is our nearest
environment. His center is everywhere. His
circumference is nowhere. God is omnipresent. So when we read that we were
far off But all men by nature are far off from God. We recognize
we're not speaking about being far off in distance, miles or
measurement like that. What then does it mean to be
far off? Let me answer in this way. God
is holy, absolutely holy. Remember in Isaiah's vision of
God, he heard the seraphims which were crying one to the other,
holy, holy, holy is the Lord God. Holy, holy, holy. Holiness, we believe, is his
chief attribute. God is holy, absolutely holy. But you and I, by nature, are
far off from God. We're far off. He is absolutely
holy, and we are absolutely, by nature, sinful. You know,
sometimes men use the word whole, W-H-O-L-E, in speaking of His
holiness. He is whole, but we are far off
from God, for we are broken. God loves righteousness and hates
iniquity. But we are by nature far off
from God because we love unrighteousness and hate righteousness. We're
far off, far off. God is a God of peace, but we
are far off from God. We were the children of wrath,
even as others. I believe in our Lord's parable.
He showed this when he spoke about the prodigal who took his
inheritance and went into a far country. He went far off from
his father. And yet the father welcomed him
home. But there was a distance. In
that case, it was a distance measured by miles. But we know
the distance is much greater between a holy God and a sinful
individual like all of us are. If we thought of an archangel
tonight, Gabriel, and a worm, what a distance, right? What
a distance between a holy being created by God and a worm that
crawls in the earth. And yet, my friends, the distance
between that angel and a worm is not nearly as great as the
distance between God Almighty, the Holy Lord God, and you and
I as sinful individuals. What does it mean to be far off
from God? It means to be in God's world
and have no hope. Or I should rephrase that, it
means to be in God's world and have no good hope. Many have
the hope of the hypocrite. Job speaks about this in his
book. And he asked, for what is the
hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained? Our Lord said,
what should it profit a man if he should gain the whole world
and lose his own soul? And Job asked, For what is the
hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh
away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble
cometh upon him? And the answer is implied, no. No, when his soul is taken away
from him, God will not hear his cry. When once death separates
the soul from the body, Then God will not hear the cry of
the wicked. We know that from our Lord's
words in Luke chapter 16. That rich man, when he lift up
his eyes in hell, being in torments, he cried, didn't he? He cried. He had a prayer. He had a petition. But it wasn't granted. And though
he reasoned that if someone rose from the dead, they would hear
that person, He was told if they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
they would not hear a man who came back from the dead. How far off were we? And you may be here tonight and
you are lost in your sins and you are far off. How far off
are we from God? Well, as Mr. Bishop said about
God's grace, Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that
they cannot lift the acts of justice, so corrupt that they
cannot change their own nature, so averse to God that they cannot
turn to him, so blind that they cannot see him, so deaf that
they cannot hear him, and so dead that he himself must open
their graves and then lift them into resurrection. Brother Scott
Richardson used to say, we're so far off that we cannot come
back on our own. And that's what the word of God
teaches. That's how far off we are. by nature, all of us, when
we come into this world, so far off, if we could work our fingers
to the bones in doing good works, and we live for a thousand years,
we could not bring ourselves nigh unto God. That's how far
off we are. The case could not be any worse. It could not be any worse. for
someone who is far off. But second, notice we are made
nigh. Well, what does made nigh mean?
Again, this is not speaking of a distance measured by miles,
but what does it mean to be made nigh? Well, let me answer this
question by calling to our remembrance several analogies that we find
in the word of God to show the union which exists between Christ
and his people. In John chapter 15, remember
he said, I am the true vine and you are the branches. He is the
vine and believers are branches. Well, how near is a branch to
a vine? How near is it? How near is a
branch to the vine? It is in the vine. It's in the
vine. It's part of the vine. It receives
its sap, its life, its nutriment. It receives everything from the
vine. And that's what it means to be
made nigh. Notice our text tells us, but
now in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus, you, who sometimes were
far off, or made nigh. What a picture. What does it
mean to be made nigh? To be brought nigh? It means
to be just like the branches in the vine. Connected. Receiving its life. Receiving
everything from the vine. And then here's another analogy
that is given to us The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 speaks
about Christ as the head and every member being a member of
his body, or every believer, rather, being a member of his
body. And he said, for as the body
is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one
body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body. God, the Holy Spirit,
in the new birth, He brings us into Christ. Manifestively, we
are in Christ. And you notice here in our text,
in verse 15, the apostle says, 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, one new man, that is
the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, his mystical body. And every
body has a head, and that head is Christ. And how near is the
member of the body to the head? It receives its life, its instructions. Everything comes from the head. That's how far now, or how now
we are now to Christ. We're one new man. He's the head
of this new man, the head to which the whole body is joined. And then there's a third analogy. If you look over a page or two
in Ephesians chapter five, Paul speaks of the marriage union. And yes, he gives instructions
concerning the husband to love his wife, even as Christ loved
the church and gave himself for it. And yes, he gives the wife
instruction to obey her husband. But notice down in verses 31
and 32, He says, for this cause shall
a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his
wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery,
but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Do husband and wife become one? They do. Can you get any nearer
than one? I don't think so. You who were
sometimes far off are now made nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ. How nigh? So that you are one
with him. Who were by nature far off. The scriptures speak of man as
like a wild asses colt. unbroken, untamed, sniffing at
the wind. I'll go my way, I'll do my thing,
and no one is going to tell me different. We were far off. That's a picture of all of us
by nature. And you may be here tonight and
that is a picture of you tonight. But notice the only way that
Those who are far off are made nigh is by the blood of his son,
Jesus Christ. This is what our text tells us. For now in Christ Jesus, you
who sometimes were far off. Do you remember when you were
far off? Do you? I do. I do. I remember when I was far off. I'm so thankful tonight that
by the blood, through the blood of Jesus Christ, through his
death, I've been made nigh. And I know I speak for every
believer here. You wouldn't want to go back
for anything. You wouldn't want to return to
being far off from God. In fact, your prayer, like mine,
has drawn me near, near, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou
was crucified. The blood, the third, the blood
of Christ alone accomplishes this great act. It is the blood
of Christ alone that makes those who were far off nigh. It is
the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses those of us who were
by nature filthy from all our sin. God opened a fountain, didn't
he? Aren't you thankful? Aren't you
grateful tonight that God opened a fountain? And he didn't open
it for show. He opened it for use. Come to
the fountain and wash and be clean. And that fountain, as
William Cowper said, is filled with the blood drawn from Emmanuel's
veins. It is the blood of Christ that
justifies those who were condemned by the law. The law, not only
did it condemn us, but it cursed us. And the curse was death,
eternal death. But it is by the blood of Christ
that we who were far off are made nigh and justified, declared
righteous in God's sight. It's the blood of Christ that
sanctifies all of those who trust in him. The Apostle Paul said,
but of him, or you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. I found this hymn I want to read
in closing my message tonight. Beautiful words. A mind at peace
with God. Oh, what a word is this. A sinner
reconciled through blood, this, this indeed is peace. By nature
and by practice far, how very far from God, yet now by grace
brought nigh to him through faith in Jesus' blood. So nigh, now
listen, so nigh, so nigh to God, near I cannot be. For in the person of his son,
I am as near as he. So dear, so very dear to God,
more dear I cannot be. The love wherewith he loves his
son, such is his love to me. Why should I ever anxious be,
since such a God is mine? He watches over me night and
day and tells me, mine is thine. How near? Near I cannot be. For in the person of his son,
I am as near as he. What a blessing, right? Those
of us who were far off being made nigh by the blood of Jesus
Christ. I'll ask the men, if you will,
to come at this time who are going to serve the table this
evening.