In Ephesians chapter 1, and I
want to remind you of verse 3 there in chapter 1, God hath blessed us. God hath
blessed us. We dealt with that a long, long
time ago in our study. But you and I must never forget
that passage because it continues through this book. God hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. In Christ Jesus. In Ephesians
chapter 2 and verse 12, At that time, you were without
Christ, you Gentiles, 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, you
who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of petition
between us, having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for
to make in himself of two one new man. and 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 afar off, and
to them that are near. For through him we both, Jew
and Gentile, have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now,
therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints, and of the household of God. And you are built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth into that holy temple in the Lord.
in whom ye also are built together for the habitation of God through
the Spirit." The Apostle here, having reminded
these Ephesians, especially the Gentiles... Brother Larry, shut
my fan off. The fan's just kicked on. He had reminded them here in
these first few verses in Ephesians chapter 2 of their condition
before their conversion. Of their miserable condition
before their conversion. Their walk. They walked according
to the course of this world. They fulfilled the lust of the
flesh and of the mind. And they did that because of
their spiritual condition. They were dead in trespasses
and sins. And he said, even by nature,
by the thoughts of your mind, by your attitude, by your motives,
you were children of wrath by your very nature. And then here
in verses 4 through verse 10, the change, the wonderful change,
the mighty change that had been wrought in these very same people. He says here that you have been
quickened. You have spiritual life, new
life, eternal life, spiritual life. You've been quickened.
You've been saved, he said there in verse 8 and 9, and you've
been created anew in Christ Jesus. You're a new man. You have a
new life. You have new motives. You have
new loves. You're created anew. And then
there in verse 4, He tells them the cause of it all. The cause
of the rich mercy. Mercy. And the great love of
God in Christ. Even when you were dead in sin,
God saved you. And here in verse 12, he tells
these Gentiles something that I imagine they had thought little
of. And I know that you and I think
little of this. We know very little of this.
That they were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Aliens. You were aliens. from the Commonwealth of Israel. You and I know something about
illegal aliens, don't we? We hear so much today along our borders, our southern
borders, about illegal aliens. And we're upset about it, aren't
we? Just talk to people about the illegal aliens and they'll
show you pretty soon that they wish that our government would
stop the illegals. Well, they have nothing wrong
with foreigners coming into our country legally. But slipping
across our borders, they have no right to do that. This is
our country. We're citizens of this country.
That's very important to us, isn't it? We have a Constitution. They don't have our Constitution.
They're not subject to our Constitution. They're illegal. They don't have
a birth certificate. They don't have a social security
number that's right and legal. They're not subject to our laws.
They're not partakers of our privileges. They're illegal aliens. How much more were the Gentiles
aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel? How much more were
they jealous of their state and their government and their commonwealth
than you and I are as citizens of this great country? God called these Jews in the
Old Testament out of Egypt, and He made them a great nation.
He made them a government. He gave them a constitution.
He gave them laws, spiritual laws. to regulate their worship
and civil laws to regulate their daily life. Their attitude and
their dealings one with another. They were a state. They were
a community. A commonwealth as the Apostle
Paul calls them here. What advantage then had the Jew? Much in every way. They had something
that no one else had. They were one nation under God. Moses said to them like this,
he said, What nation is there so great who hath God so near
unto you as the Lord our God is to us in all things that we
call upon Him for? What nation is so great that
has these statues and these judgments and these laws as you do? You're
a peculiar people. You're a holy nation. You're
God's nation. He's made a commonwealth, a state
out of you. I tell you, to be in this commonwealth
of Israel meant you were under their constitution. You were
subject to their laws. You were partakers of their privileges
and their blessings. But to be that, you had to be
born to the Jew. You couldn't just naturally go
join yourself to the Jewish nation and say, I'm going to be one
in your commonwealth. They said, no, you're illegal.
You get out of here. You have no part nor lot in this
matter. You're a Gentile. You're an alien. What about us Gentiles? What
about the Gentile nation? Well, we were aliens. Just about
all the light. that the Gentile nations had
was the light of nature, the light of conscience. And for
the most part, the Gentile nations so sinned against that light
and sinned against their conscience that God gave them up to a reprobate
mind. The masses of the Gentiles, with
few exceptions, lived and died without hope. and without God
in this world. Paul tells us in the fourth chapter
of this epistle, not only were the Gentiles aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, they were alienated from God Himself,
from the very life of God. I wish you and I, in this day,
I wish you and I could give more thought to this. that we were
aliens. Things haven't always been brothers
and sisters as they are today. What did the Lord Jesus say when
he sent his disciples out to preach the gospel? Don't you go to the Gentiles.
Don't you preach to the Gentiles. Don't you do any miracles before
those Gentiles. Don't even mention my name to
the Gentiles. Why? They're aliens. It's not me to take the children's
bread and give it to dogs. I'm not sent, but to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. I'm not sent to the Gentiles.
I'm a Jew, and I've come to the Jews. There was a time when the Gentiles
had no hope, and no hope was preached to them. There was a time when no prophet
was sent to the Gentiles with a message of redeeming love and
forgiveness of sins. They never had a psalm written
to them of hope of the coming Messiah. The songs of Zion was
never sang to them, and among them they were aliens, illegals,
no right. And now Paul comes here in verse
13 and he says, "...but now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes
were afar off are made near." Near to God. Paul uses this word
all the time. And this is what's so glorious
about the Gospel. This is what's so glorious about
this day in which you and I live. Paul kept using this word, in
time past you walked. In time past you were Gentiles
in the flesh. At that time, you were without
Christ. You were sometimes afar off.
What you were in the past was dreadful. But now, in Christ
Jesus, you are made near. Near. I wonder how long it took
them to reach that position. Do you think it took them a few
years or months of study and labors? Well, after their faith got strong
enough and their understanding was broad enough, no, it had
nothing to do with any of those things. Here is what made them
nigh, their position. They found themselves in Christ. But now, in Christ Jesus. That's what Paul's been saying
all this epistle. I've emphasized that to you over and over again. He continually says, in Christ. God hath blessed us in Christ. We're made near. Near to God
because we are in Christ Jesus. What a blessing! What a blessing! To be in Christ is the greatest
blessing between eternity. In Christ. We are in Christ, and being in
Christ, we are near to God. As near as Christ Himself. Where is Jesus Christ this morning?
Where has he been now for almost 2,000 years? Paul told us in
chapter 1 that God had raised him from the dead by His mighty
power, and he's seated at the right hand of God. And he not
only says that in chapter 2 and verse 6, he says he's raised
us up together and set us together. in heavenly places in Christ. Where is Christ? He is in the
presence of God. Where are we? In Christ. Nearer, more nearer, I cannot
be. For in the Person of God's Son
I am as near as He. Why? By virtue of being in Him. We are made nigh. And being in
Jesus Christ, that position can never change. It's not dependent
upon us. He Himself is in the presence
of God. He Himself is near to God. Set
on my right hand. And there He is continually.
And therefore we are continually in Him and with Him. What a blessing. What a blessing. You know why
you and I don't rejoice more as Christians. You know why we
don't experience greater joy and peace and happiness. Let
me give you two reasons. There are several reasons, but
let me give you two as it pertains to our text. First of all is
this. We don't take the time. We don't
take the effort to truly consider our position. We read over this in Jesus Christ,
your Maiden and I, and we read over it. By virtue of being in
Jesus Christ, we are made near to God. In Christ Jesus, we are
blessed. Listen to these passages. Israel
shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. In
the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory." In the Lord. Surely, shall one say, in the
Lord I have righteousness. In the Lord. God hath made Christ
to be sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. In Him. God hath made us accepted in
the Beloved. In Him we have obtained an inheritance. In Him. The problem you and I
are faced with as we even attempt to consider this, it overwhelms
us. The thought of such a thing overwhelms
us. We can't hardly believe it. We
can't enter into it. It's too grand and it's too glorious. Being in Christ, I'm near to
God. We're told, especially today,
when the economy's down like it is, that there's a lot of
shastlers out there. And people are telling us everywhere
to beware of fraud. Beware of fraud. If something
sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If somebody comes
to your house and you've got a driveway 200 yards long and
8 foot wide, and they say, we'll pay you that for $1,000, that's
probably too good to be true. You better not believe that.
But that's the problem we face with the gospel. It's almost too good to be true.
It's too wonderful. It's too glorious. We can't believe
it. We can't lay hold upon it. And
let me say this word, and I know you may misunderstand me when
I say this, but this is true, and I think you can examine yourself
and find this out. The gospel is so good that if
it doesn't breed unbelief in us, it strengthens the unbelief
that's there. It's too good to be true. Let
me give you an example of what I'm saying. You remember in Luke
chapter 24, after the Lord Jesus had raised from the dead, and
His disciples were hiding out in that upper room, scared, so
fearful. The Lord had already appeared
to two of them on the road to a mass, and they came back and
said, we've seen Him. We've seen Him. They didn't believe
that. But suddenly, with the doors
being shut, the Lord Jesus stood right there in their midst. And
he said, peace be unto you. And they were so afraid. Thoughts
filled their hearts. And he said, why are you so fearful?
Why do these thoughts arise in your heart? I am he that was dead, but now
look at the prince in my hands. Look at the hole in my side.
It is I. It's me. Handle me and see. And He showed them His hands
and He showed them His feet. And the Scripture makes this
statement, "...yet they believed not for joy." What does that
mean? That means they were overwhelmed.
What does this mean? Not just the miracle of it, that
was enough to overwhelm them, but all He had been preaching
to them. All the promises He had made
to them were true. And here's the evidence of it.
He said, destroy this temple. I'll raise it up in three days.
They heard Him say that. Now here they've seen that. There
He stands before them. I'm going to be betrayed. They're
going to crucify me, put me to death. But the third day I'll
raise again. Here He stands before their very
eyes. And it was too wonderful. They
couldn't get a hold of it. We just can't believe this. Is
this happening? Has this really happened? We
thought it was He that should have redeemed Israel. And now
they begin to realize He did. He did. He said, I go to prepare
a place for you, and I'm coming again, and I'll receive you unto
Myself. Here they begin to experience
that. Here He is. I'm going to my Father, and I'm
going to pray Him, and He'll send you another conqueror."
All these things, all these thoughts, what He preached unto them, and
the promises that He'd made, all of them began to suddenly
dispeel their mind. And they were overwhelmed with
the joy of it. So overwhelmed that for a time they couldn't
even believe it. They couldn't lay hold upon it. They couldn't
grasp it. That's what we're saying about
our text this morning. It's a wonderful thing. It's
the blessing of God to be in Christ. But the reason you and
I have difficulty living in the joy of it is this. It's just
too wonderful. It's too wonderful. I'm near
to God simply because I'm in Christ. What does it mean to be in Christ?
What does the Bible say it means to be in Christ? Did you ever just take your Bible
out and read it and let it speak for itself? Just read these chapters,
read these verses, and see what it means to be in Christ. And
receive the testimony of that and see if you're not so overwhelmed
with it, you can hardly believe it. It's just too good to be true.
Is the Lord kidding me? Is this real? You know one of
the reasons I haven't been here to the Book of Ephesians now
probably what, a month or so. I've preached what, 25 messages
from this Larry already? And I haven't preached from it
for probably a month or whatever it's been. And you know one of
the reasons I haven't. I've been overwhelmed with it.
The deeper I get into it, I get overwhelmed. And I wind up sitting
in my office and I think this, I can't enter into this. If I
can't enter into this, how am I going to explain this to them?
This is too wonderful. It's glorious and the further
you go, the more glorious it becomes. And one of the reasons,
brothers and sisters, you and I don't live with a fuller joy,
we just don't stop to consider our position. Are you in Christ? Do you find
yourself this morning in Him? Wonderful things are spoken of
you. Glorious things are spoken of the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. But here's another reason why we have difficulty entering
into the joy of this being in Christ and therefore the results
of it all. Because we lean sometimes too
much, or we lean in any sense upon other things, instead of
what this verse actually teaches us. We already saw here what
it actually teaches, at least some of what it teaches. And
I don't know of any good commentary that would teach otherwise. But
by virtue of being in Christ, we are nearer to God. But what
do you and I begin to depend upon as a means to bring us nearer
to God? Our faith? Our knowledge? Living worthy? Living up to our
calling? Our feelings? We say things like
this, Oh, if I could just only believe stronger. If my faith
could only be increased. If I could just grasp this in
my mind, if I could just live more worthy, surely I would be
nearer to God. All those things are good in
and of themselves. Who doesn't want their faith increased? Who
doesn't want to grow in knowledge? Who doesn't want to walk worthy
of the Lord? But our nearness to God doesn't
depend upon any of these things. And when we begin to think they
do, we lose our joy. What does our nearness to God
depend upon? Our being in Christ. In the person of His Son, we
are near to God as He, and we are continually near to Him. We're always near to Him, and
that can never change unless somebody can get you out of Christ. Let me tell you a story, and
you'll find this in Psalms chapter 73 concerning Asap. A man by the name of Asap. I
think this is his experience. Some say this was written to
Aesop, some say by Aesop, but I think it was probably written
by him. But he gave his experience, and you who have read this passage
will remember this. Remember this man was in trouble. His attitude was awful. His thinking
had gone awful. He even got to the place where
he said, I'm almost ready to fall. My feet are ready to slip. And this was the problem. He
said, I was envious. I was envious at the foolish. I saw the prosperity of the wicked. I began to watch them. That's
what he did. He stood and watched them. Everything they did prospered. He said, they're not in trouble
like everybody else. They have all their toys. They're
at ease in their mind. They're not sick in their body.
They lift their mouth against God and take His name in vain,
and nothing seems to come of it. They have more than their
heart can desire. Their eyes stand out with fatness.
And he said, I look at myself, and I'm chastened every morning. I'm concerned about my sin. I'm
so weak. Everything I put my hand to fails. And he said, I'm so miserable.
I've got myself in such an attitude. I've cleansed my hands in vain.
Washed my heart in innocency. What an awful thought! To serve
God in vain? To be careful in your ways? To
shun even the appearance of evil? To follow the Lord fully? To
say that's vain? And look at the wicked and envy
him and the toys that he has. and the ease that he has to be
jealous of him because everything is going good and the rod of
God is not upon him. That's what he did. And he said,
oh, I'm in a miserable condition. And then he went into the sanctuary. He went into the place of worship.
I don't know if somebody got up and read from the Scriptures
and preached to him. I don't know what happened. But
suddenly he come to this knowledge. What happened to the wicked when
they died? And he said, now I see. I see
what I never saw before. All of this worldly things that
the Lord gave them, that just set them in slippery places.
They have their hearts full of this world. But then suddenly
they die. And then what happens to them?
They're brought into desolation. Brought into destruction. Now,
he said, I see. And he was pricked in his conscience.
He was convicted of how he'd been thinking. And he said, oh,
I'm glad I didn't tell anybody this. If I'd have told God's
children how I'm thinking, it would have offended them for
sure. And then he got all convicted in his own conscience. And he
said, oh, I was a fool before you, Lord. I was like a beast
before you. And then he made this tremendous
statement. And listen to this. He says this
in verse 22. Nevertheless, I am continually
with thee." You mean when I was in this miserable attitude, envy
of the wicked? When I was acting so foolish?
He said, this is the amazing and wonderful thing. My thinking
was wrong. I had changed, but my position
never changed. I am continually with thee. Ain't that a blessing, brothers
and sisters? My position never changes. What's my position? I'm in Christ. Therefore, I am ever with and
near God. Well, sometimes you and I, we
feel so miserable, don't we? So useless, so tried, so tested. And this and that sin begins
to come to our mind and we're convicted. Everything we do turns
out wrong. Trials within, troubles without. How in the world can we continue?
How can we set one foot in front of another? We're almost ready
to halt just like they said. That may be where you are this
morning. But let me ask you this question.
Do you believe that being there changes your position? Does your position depend upon
your circumstances or your feelings? No. What does it depend upon? In Christ. In Christ. But now in Christ Jesus. You want to believe that. You
want your faith to be increased in that. You want to live in
the reality of it. Then don't let that verse be
dependent upon your faith or upon your knowledge of it. Let your faith and your knowledge
and your joy be dependent upon what that verse teaches. See
what I'm saying? What does this verse teach? In
Christ Jesus, you're near. By virtue of being in Christ
Jesus, you're near. I don't know of anything that
has a tendency to pick me up when I'm down than to know something
about what we're talking about this morning. The blessing of
being in Jesus Christ. But he doesn't stop there. Look
at the last portion of this verse. He adds this. But now in Christ
Jesus, ye who sometimes were afar off are made near by the
blood of Christ. Well, Paul's heart and his pen
and his mouth was full of Christ. And not only full of Christ,
but this redeeming Christ. Not just a Jesus, but a Jesus
who brought redemption and accomplished it. By the blood of Christ. Boy, there are so many things
that Paul could have said about Christ's year, and would have
been absolutely true, but it would have never fit in here.
He could have said this, you are made nigh by the birth of
Christ. You may nigh by the life of Christ. You may nigh by the miracles
of Christ. You may nigh by the morality
of Christ. You may nigh by the love of Christ. You may nigh by the example of
Christ. But none of that would be true,
would it? None of those things make us
near. As essential and as true as all of those things are, what
is it that brings us near to God? The blood of Christ. The blood of Christ. We don't
talk about a Christ except we talk about a redeeming Christ. That's what brings us near to
Christ. We have men and women on every hand talking about a
Jesus who is our example. and a Jesus who loved us. And
that's soul. But they seemingly never get
around to tell of a Christ who redeemed us and how He brought
us near to God. That was by His blood. The Father
delights in the Son. Every aspect of His Son, He delights
in. He looks upon Him and says, that's
my Son. My soul is wrapped up in Him.
I love Him. Look at His heart. He loves righteousness
and hates iniquity. My law is in His heart. Look
at His motives. Everything He does, He does it
to glorify me. Look at His words. Hear Him. Listen to what He says. That's
my truth He's speaking. He's honoring me. Look at His
deeds that He's doing. Oh, just search all about Him.
within and without. I love my Son. Every aspect of
Him. Every part of Him. I love Him. But when God draws near to you,
and when God draws near to me, and He brings us near to Himself,
what does He say then? When I see the blood. When I
see the blood of My Son, I'll pass it on to you." That's what
God's looking for. The blood of His Son. I've given
you the blood. Not just any blood. Not the blood
of bulls and goats. It's the blood that makes an
atonement for the soul. And I've given you the blood.
Whose blood? The blood of My Son. This is
My blood of the new covenant that's shed for many for the
remission of their sins. It's the blood that answers every
charge. It's the blood that satisfies
justice. By His blood. Let me read one
passage, if you'll turn there with me, over to your right,
in Hebrews. A scripture that we've read often lately. Hebrews
chapter 10. You're made now by the blood
of Christ. Look in verse 11. Hebrews chapter
10, verse 11. Every priest stands daily, ministering
and offering oft times the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting, waiting, till his enemies be
made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Wherefore, the Holy Ghost also
is a witness to us. For after that he hath said before,
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission
of these is, there's no more offering for sins. Having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. There it is. Enter God's presence. We're in God's presence by the
blood of Jesus. By a new and living way which
He hath made for us through the veil, that is to say His flesh,
And having an eye-priest over the house of God, let us draw
near with a true heart and in full assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from
evil carpets and our bodies washed with pure water, let us hold
fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful. That promise. Near. And if we're near in Christ,
let's draw near. Let's draw near. If we're always
near, let us always be drawn near. If it's not conditioned
upon the strength or weakness of our faith or anything in us,
in our character or in our conduct, if it's by virtue of being in
Christ, then don't let anything hinder you from not only enjoying
your position, but coming into the very presence of your Father
in Heaven. Let's pray.