Latest / The Daily Word / June 6 – Built Together in Christ
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Well hello, it is June sixth, Pastor Jenny here, and we are in Ephesians chapter two today. Excited to share with you ⁓ verses eighteen through twenty-two. And Ephesians chapter two, ⁓ in this portion of scripture, talk is ⁓ Paul talking to the Ephesian or the church at Ephesus ⁓ about how Both the Gentiles and the Jews have now been grafted into one body in Christ, that through the new covenant they've been made one. So let me read this to you with that in mind. It says this for through him, referring to Jesus, we both have access, both both Jew and Gentile, in one spirit to the Father. First of all, let's talk about the power of that scripture, talking about we've got Jesus, Holy Spirit and and God the Father all in there. love that. All right. Keep going. For him through for through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Love it. So we've established we're all a part of this family. We're all together. Alright. I'm going to keep really leaning in, narrowing down Verses 20 through 22. I want to key in on these. All right. We're all one family. So where does this family we're what are we being built upon? We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together. into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Now at first glance, I think this ⁓ portion of scripture can maybe sound very, I'm gonna say, maybe high up, maybe very poetic, perhaps very beautiful, maybe hard to touch and grab, ⁓ very metaphorical. Right. So we're talking about the a building, but we know we're not a building, and so what does that look like? But I want to pull some things ⁓ down to perhaps our understanding this morning and pull some other things in from the rest of the scriptures that might ⁓ connect some dots for us that was really exciting for me. And as I'm reading through the scriptures, that's why I love for going through the whole Bible through the course of a year because you when you really get to see all of God's word and you get to pull all of what he's saying together. ⁓ I never sit down and only watch a portion of a movie. That would be super insane and it wouldn't make any sense. Yet people do that all the time with God's word. We read a portion of the word and then we're confused and we're like, I don't understand. This doesn't make sense. Well of course it doesn't make sense. But when we sit down and we hold all of God's word together in tension, it's like, wow, that makes so much more sense. And then the same thing happens when we watch a movie. Imagine ⁓ when you watch a movie, you don't have to imagine, but you can probably think about when you watch a movie and you watch it multiple times, how you connect dots you didn't see there before. That's what happens when we read God's word. ⁓ so going back to this scripture built on the foundation of the apostles, Christ Jesus Himself being The cornerstone. ⁓ remember when Jesus ⁓ was telling not just his ⁓ disciples, but he was telling the Pharisees, he was pretty proudly boasting, to I don't know if I should say proudly boasting, but he was confidently saying, I'll say, ⁓ making it known that he was going to die, but then three days later ⁓ he would rise. ⁓ he also was making statements like This temple is gonna be destroyed. The temple of God is gonna be destroyed, but three days later it will be built again. Now, he wasn't talking about the Pharisees like, What are you talking about? This temple took a super long time to build. How are you gonna build something back in three days that was took years to build? but when we read this scripture, it's like, Jesus wasn't talking about that physical building of a temple. But we see where Jesus was talking about a new temple, right? And so on which he himself became the cornerstone. Now remember back in the these times in the building, the cornerstone was the most important piece of the building. You know, you've got the foundation, which yes is super important, but you had to have that cornerstone and you had to have it just right in order for the rest of the building to to go and be set up. And so we see here that the New temple is being built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. So you have all of the doctrine and things that are going on. But Jesus, he's setting everything in place, everything that's come up until him through the Old Testament and everything that's going to come after him. It's being held together by Jesus. It says this in verse 21, in whom the whole structure being joined together. So think of this: our Old Testament, the New Testament, Jesus literally holds it all together. He holds every part of this thing together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. So Jesus is the one who's holding everything together. But then he says this at verse 22, in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. And so he pulls it into both a corporate and a personal setting. So I love that. We we are a person personal housing for the holy for the spirit of God ⁓ because of what Jesus did, but also as the body of Christ, we ⁓ are it it's the temple of God. And so this is just it's mind blowing to me to just to even meditate on this scripture. Whereas in the old testament there was a physical location in which God's spirit would come down. They had to build something of brick and mortar, but now Jesus, because of what he's done, has created a way ⁓ for not only his presence to dwell in a physical ⁓ building, I'll say, because he does come, he does join us in our physical ⁓ spaces. The Bible's very clear. Where two or mirror are gathered, there he is with us. But then it also says, as we are new creations in Christ, his spirit dwells within us. And so that the scripture, this is what Paul says. is is unveiling and revealing to the Ephesian church. So that was my exciting ⁓ reminder and revelation today. I hope it ⁓ spoke to you this morning, gave you some insights and reminded you as he started off ⁓ in verse eighteen, for through him we both have access. Again, talking about Jew and Gentile. This isn't exclusive to any one person. This isn't just for God's chosen people, quote unquote, that was original in the old testament to the Jews, but this is for everyone that would call and confess Jesus as Savior, for through him we have access in one spirit to the Father. We all have access to him. If we would, as we learned in Romans verse 10, or I'm sorry, chapter 10 verses 9 and 10, if we would confess with our mouth, believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, call upon him, we all have access to this. So can you see the theme of the importance Of reading through, understanding God's word because it's revealing more. We get to understand more of who he is, what he's done, what he said, so that we can understand more of what he's saying to us today. So, Lord, we continue to be grateful for your word, continue to be grateful that you are speaking to us. Jesus, thank you for the life that you lived here on earth, but that you are still alive today. Thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit that lives and dwells in us, that leads and guides us in all that we do. Thank you that you are building us up together, that we are joined together into a holy temple, ⁓ housing the spirit of the Lord, and that you are building your church. Lord, we thank you that we don't have to feel the pressure to build the church, but Lord, that that's something you're doing. But as you are building your church, we thank you, God, for the opportunity to grow in love, to love one another, to love those ⁓ outside of the church. And that Holy Spirit, you're going before us, drawing people unto you. So, Lord, as you're building your church, would you continue to give us eyes to see all that you've called us to, the good works that you've set before us, so that we can. Be and do all that you've called us to. But Lord, first and foremost, we want to continue to walk in intimacy with you, day by day, step by step. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.