Woe Unto Me
Woe Unto Me
WUM Ephesians 2
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When's the last time you thought about what Jesus has done for you? Today, Butch and Rod discuss Ephesians 2 the the amazing grace that God has lavished on His people.
Well, good morning, good afternoon, and good day wherever you might be. I'm Rod.
SPEAKER_00And I'm Butch. Welcome to WUM. We're here for another exciting edition, and we're going to hop into Ephesians 2 today. But Rod, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_01Doing okay. It's still hot here in Arizona, but I'm doing well. Thanks for asking and yourself.
SPEAKER_00Oh, so you think 114 is hot?
SPEAKER_01Uh well, tiny bit. No, it's hot. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I saw it might be 116 on Wednesday. I'm like, oh, I'm not going to be upset when August is over.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, it is summertime in the desert, and we we know this is coming and we know to prepare because it's it whether we like it or not, not only is it coming, it's here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Feels like we this time of year feels like we're calling out the week.
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_00Like the people that don't really want to be here, they're gonna find out what it's really like here.
SPEAKER_01Oh, you're right. You're right. But you know, uh the summer in Arizona is a is a is a good way to be reminded of why we want to stay away from hell.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. There is something to this super massive dry heat. Right? You have to come experience it to see.
SPEAKER_01Not going. But we are in uh the book of Ephesians, where we are uh just last time we were together, uh we we we took a trek through chapter one and really got to see all that God has done for us. Um and God has done on our behalf some amazing things as we saw uh in Ephesians chapter one. We got to read about God's love for us and just what he has done and where he has placed us and what he has provided for us through his grace and an inheritance and and and just so much.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was almost overwhelming. That was probably one of the most overwhelmingly worshipful times of talking about scripture for me, and I really enjoyed that last time just thinking through that. So if you haven't listened to Ephesians 1, go back and listen. Hopefully, you'll be blessed by just reading through the scriptures, not necessarily Rod and I talking, but reading through Ephesians 1. And today we're gonna hop into chapter 2, and it again, it it's like, and wait, there's more. It wasn't like we're just Ephesians 1's good and the rest is a letdown. Right. No, it's amazing what's coming after this, and as a reminder, we ended chapter one where Paul's telling us that all things have been put under Christ's feet, yes, and Christ was given the title and to be the head of all things to the church.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00And you're like, oh wow, so all authority and power and dominion and everything is given to Jesus Christ because of what he did on the cross.
SPEAKER_01That's right, that's right. And if Pastor Rem would hear, he would remind us that all means all. It's all all means.
SPEAKER_00All that all means.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, all power, all authority, all dominion belong to Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00And then the which interesting, he ends it in 23 about it being the church, being his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. So we use all a couple times. Right? Wow.
SPEAKER_01Right? I love that. And then Paul takes a uh a slight diversion to talk about where some of us used to be. And and he begins in in in chapter two, verse one, and he says, And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Can I just stop right there? Uh it's just a great reminder. He says, You talking to the church, talking to those who would read this letter, talking to you and me today, he says, and you were dead. Now, does help me because um you know where I'm from. So from Arkansas. So when we talk about dead, are are we talking about are we we're we're just sin sick and uh uh just can't, just just weak.
SPEAKER_00Spiritually dead. I mean, we're he says it, we you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Right? You were a dead we were dead men walking, dead women walking, dead children walking, if you're gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_01So we were like the original walking dead.
SPEAKER_00Yep, exactly.
SPEAKER_01We we were flatlined, spiritually dead.
SPEAKER_00Spiritually dead, blind, naked, stupid, had no clue.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So were we like near death?
SPEAKER_00No, dead.
SPEAKER_01Dead, like like doorknob.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, not swooning, not uh barely breathing, not slow heart rate, no.
SPEAKER_01Not just just give me the medicine and I'll be just no dead. Unable to respond, not having the ability to respond, um, spiritually deceased.
SPEAKER_00Nope, dead. That's why he says we were resurrected. We're resurrected in Christ. A resurrection doesn't happen for somebody who's already alive. That's a resurrection happens from somebody who is dead, incapable of resurrecting themselves. Another reality for us, and we'll see how this plays out in 8, 9, 10 of the same verses 8, 9, and 10 in the same chapter.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Okay, so we had no spiritual life within us, separated from God. And Paul says that we were we were dead in our trespasses, uh, in our rebellion, in our offenses against against God, and in our sin, our our violating his laws, uh, guilt being upon us, and we didn't care.
SPEAKER_00Well, what's a dead man gonna care about?
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_00Because spiritually there's and he tells us what we were doing, right, in verse 2.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00In which you once walked following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air, which is Satan, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
SPEAKER_01So the spirit that was working in the people at the time that Paul is writing who are separated and dead in their trespasses and sins, we were doing the very same thing.
SPEAKER_00Following the demonic power that was leading us around. Yeah. Our father was the devil before we were saved. Yeah, yeah. This stuff's hard to hear. But this is scripture. Right? This is what is being written for our good for us to see this. And Paul, for some reason, decided by the power of the Holy Spirit, because he was inspired to write it by the Holy Spirit, starts off with all these incredible benefits of where we are now, but then wants to remind us. Wait, you once walked. And I think that's a really good reminder for us not to be so prideful at times where we're like, I'm too blessed to be stressed. And those are good phrases sometimes, but sometimes they can be so arrogant. Yeah. And it's yeah, but don't forget, you once were a child of disobedience, and letting the prince of the power of the air lead you around by your desires.
SPEAKER_01And right, and that's what Paul says, in which you formally walked, and I love that, in which you formally walked. Not that you were presently walking as sons and daughters of the king, but you once walked, in which you formally walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
SPEAKER_00So it's still happening, folks.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Not it just wasn't a one-time thing. He Paul's saying it's now at work in the sons of disobedience.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Um verse three, he says, Among them, we too. We too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh.
SPEAKER_00Wait, not me.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. He says we're not the Apostle Paul. He says, All. He says, We too, and he said, me too, all of us.
SPEAKER_00Yep. Nobody's immune to this, right?
SPEAKER_01Right? No. You know, Romans 6 says that we were slaves to sin. And Paul says that we too all formally lived, and I love that we formally lived the old life in the lust of the flesh, um, and in the in in indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. So that's not a good position to be in.
SPEAKER_00It there's two positions, right? Right. This is all the options. There's not an in-between, like you're being saved, or you're you're in between. Oh, I'm right on the cusp. It's like, no, you're either with the sons of disobedience or with your with Christ.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. You mean there's no fence that we can straddle?
SPEAKER_00No. There, none of that. You're either alive unto Christ or you were dead in your trespasses and sins.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I love how Paul makes the dichotomy very, very clear. We all were part, that's what else, for the pride not to creep in for us to remember we're all there. Even the Apostle Paul.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00He was once there, living his life out with the desire, desires of the body and the mind. I love how we don't just say just because you don't commit the act, if you're thinking about the act, it's still a desire of flesh and passions that should stop.
SPEAKER_01And where does it start? Starts up in the mind.
SPEAKER_00And then it works its way through hands and feet and eyes and ears and I think that's why James writes later on, it's the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh, right? It starts with you see something. It's just what Eve did. She subbed the fruit she was not, the only fruit she was not supposed to eat. The only fruit Adam was not supposed to eat.
SPEAKER_01And desired it. Whoa, look at it. Look at look. Lust of the eyes. Right.
SPEAKER_00Looky, looky, looky. And then it was, then it was the flesh. Like, ooh, that's gotta taste. Ooh. Can you just imagine how good that must taste?
SPEAKER_01Gotta be good for knowledge and wisdom. Gee. And the rest is history.
SPEAKER_00Yep. But and again, he he clarifies though, like the rest of mankind. So nobody's immune. We're all born into this. It's like Romans 5. Yeah. Because of Adam's sin. He didn't blame Eve. He put it on Adam.
SPEAKER_01Because it was his responsibility.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he knew I wasn't supposed to do that.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh. And he let her do it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. He stood right there. Uh-huh. And then took, too. He could have said, Whoa, you messed up for yourself.
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_00But then he took it anyway. I think that's why because he was supposed to lead. I don't know for sure, but it seems like because he was supposed to lead and he didn't, all of us are subject to it.
SPEAKER_01Well, he should have stopped her because God gave him the prohibition to not eat of the fruit. And surely he told her, because she kind of recounted, she twisted it a little bit, she added some stuff to it, but she knew don't eat from it. And yet she, the temptation was too great. And he should have said, you know, no, honey, we don't do this. No.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, come on. I love you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00This is what's hard, I think, sometimes when we see our spouse or we see a friend or we see even somebody we don't even know, but we're like, man, yeah, you are your brother's keeper. Look at what happened with their children, too.
SPEAKER_02Right?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00I'm not my am I my brother's keeper? Right. Yeah. You learned the hard way. You you've got a mark forever, all of your descendants. Yeah. Like, whoa. Same thing with Adam. But this is what's cool. I started down going to verse 4.
SPEAKER_01No worries. No worries. No worries. Go right ahead. That isn't the end of the story. One of my favorite words in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00But but go for it. God. I've heard some incredible sermons from just this. But God, when you do look at these things, because before that, there's always some tragic thing that you're looking at. Like, oh my gosh, I'm subject to the lust of my flesh and lust of my eyes and blah blah blah. Just being drug around by all these passions. No, wait, stop.
SPEAKER_01And we're like, and we're like, yeah, let's go. Because we were we were slaves to sin, slaves to this flesh. And there was no hope for us.
SPEAKER_00But but God. And this is where it gets really good. Rich in mercy. Because of the great love with which he loved us.
SPEAKER_01That'll preach right there.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01God is there's hope right here.
SPEAKER_00Right?
SPEAKER_01God is not poor.
SPEAKER_00There's humongous hope right here.
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_00All of mankind is subject to that.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00But God, who is rich in mercy, an endless supply of mercy because he proved it when Jesus came.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00Even what in verse 5. Even when we were dead. That's another thing I love about this too. He constantly reminds us we were dead. We were dead. Meaning, dude, we're alive.
SPEAKER_02We're alive.
SPEAKER_00We're alive. What we were dead in our trespasses.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00But God, who's rich in mercy, he made us alive together with Christ.
SPEAKER_01Even when we were dead in our trespasses.
SPEAKER_00Wait, see, he made us alive.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And we go back to what we were saying before. So dead means dead.
SPEAKER_01Dead means dead. And so God made us.
SPEAKER_00He quickened us. Breathe the breath of life, which is the Spirit of God, into us so that we would be resurrected, even in this life, to a new life.
SPEAKER_01So God didn't say, here's the medicine. If you want to take it, you can, and you'll be better.
SPEAKER_00Or you'll start slightly getting a little bit better at a time. So I heard this baloney about sanctification. You'll get slightly better and then eventually you'll get saved.
SPEAKER_01It's like No, no, we're made alive in Christ. That's right.
SPEAKER_00Instantly.
SPEAKER_01It was God's mercy and his grace that made us alive together. Because he loved us.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's great.
SPEAKER_01Great love, right? Paul says. Even when we were dead, he made us alive together with Christ.
SPEAKER_00And but didn't God look at me and that in the future I'd be a good guy and I'd do good things? And he then said, Oh, I'm gonna save him.
SPEAKER_01Because you're gonna do good things. Because I'm gonna do good things. Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_00Because chapter one, he said, Before the foundation of the world, he chose us in him.
SPEAKER_01What were we doing before the foundations? Oh, wait a minute, we went to the world.
SPEAKER_00It didn't even exist.
SPEAKER_01But in God's infinite wisdom, he chose us.
SPEAKER_00Not oh, we'll keep going. We better jump ahead. By grace you have been saved. It does not say by works. Right, does it?
SPEAKER_01No, by grace. You have been saved. Um and he raised us up with him. So there's the spiritual.
SPEAKER_00There's a resurrection right here.
SPEAKER_01With Jesus.
SPEAKER_00While we were here. Yeah. He's saying, raised us up. Present tense. Yeah. He raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. Now I do we cannot hammer this point hard enough.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00This is where the gospel gets completely perverted when we start saying things like, After I've done everything that I can do, the grace of God saves me.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_00That is Mormon theology, folks. If any of you are Mormon and listening, you know I'm telling you the truth. That is not the gospel.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's not when you've done all you can do.
SPEAKER_00He says, while I was dead in my trespasses and sins, not while I was doing good works, then he raised me up. No, it says, by grace I was saved and raised me up with him and seated me in the heavenly places. How in the world could I resurrect myself and seat myself in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus?
SPEAKER_01You heard the gospel and hearing the gospel gave you the power to choose, yes, choose life or choose death.
SPEAKER_00Where is that, brother? What page is that on?
SPEAKER_01You know, that's the gospel. That's the gospel message that's being taught today. That when you hear the gospel, hearing that gospel, you you're you're you you you can make that choice.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and this is not what the scriptures are teaching us. It is but God who's rich in mercy saves us.
SPEAKER_01While we were still dead, dead in our transgressions and dead in our sins, it was God who made us alive, who resurrected us with Christ, who caused us to be born again and seated with Christ in the heavenly places, in this place of honor. Now, why did God do that? Well, continue. So that, here's the purpose statement, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00And here we are again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Proving this has nothing to do with my merit.
SPEAKER_01Not a thing.
SPEAKER_00How tiny, how small, how big, nothing to do it. He says he did all of this so that he would show in ages to come the immeasurable riches of my works, no, of his grace. In his kindness toward us. Why does this have to be all about his grace and his kindness toward us? Because we were dead. We were following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit, now at the work of sons of disobedience. I go on and on about the first part of it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And then God makes us God makes us alive with Christ.
SPEAKER_00If this feels repetitious, it is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's meant to be this way. Because we're sheep and we're not very smart sometimes, and we forget. And sometimes we want to pat ourselves on the back and say, Look at what we're looking for. I'm a good guy now. After we get saved, we start thinking we did something to earn this, or or God's pleased with me when I preached a message or taught a Bible study or led somebody to Jesus. No, this is but God. That's what we have to remember. But God, He's the one rich in mercy. He's the one rich in love and kindness towards us.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Um it is it is all on Him. And then Paul reminds us again in verse 8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Our salvation is based solely on God's grace through faith, through placing our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. And he says, You didn't do it. It's got nothing to do with you. It is the gift of God.
SPEAKER_00I this is a whopper because every time we start to think we did something, I prayed a prayer, I walked the aisle, I got baptized, whatever. You're like, no, no, by grace you've been saved through faith. You could go, well, see, it was my faith. I exercised faith and God then saved me. But he says, this is not your own doing. Even when he says I was saved by grace through faith, even faith is not your own doing. It's a gift. John 1. If we're so caught up in all this stuff, if you want to have this point hammered home, in John 1, when it talks about the word coming who was God and is God and in the beginning with God, okay, that's talking about Christ. The true light, which gives light to everyone, I'm in verse 9 now, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, so we could think, well, maybe belief is how I did it. He gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.
SPEAKER_01So the idea here is I didn't exercise my will.
SPEAKER_00I didn't exercise my own belief to believe. I didn't get this through birthright of blood, not my heritage. Will of the flesh that I gutted it out to do the right thing. No, this was all but of God.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So it's by the will of God.
SPEAKER_00And his alone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that we are where we are as those who uh trust Jesus Christ and what he's done for us on the cross. It is solely on God.
SPEAKER_00Because you know what we would do if there was an inkling of this that it had something to do with me.
SPEAKER_01We boast about it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Look at what I did.
SPEAKER_00Look at me. Pat myself on the back. I'm so good now. And what does he make very clear? This is not a result of works.
SPEAKER_01So that no one may boast.
SPEAKER_00Nobody.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And even when the word boast comes up, it's in Galatians 6.14. Right. Hey, far be it from me to boast in anything except the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, to which I am crucified to the world and the world to me. And folks, I'm so slow, I tattooed it on my arm. We can get into the tattoo debate another day.
SPEAKER_01But that's that is such awesome news because it really shows us how inept we were to save ourselves and how gracious God was that even when we were enemies, He made us alight with Christ.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but Rod, now that I'm saved, I'm going to do these good works through my own will and my own desire, and I'm going to do all these great things that are going to be pleasing to God. I'm going to choose to do these things, right?
SPEAKER_01No, no, not at all.
SPEAKER_00What does verse 10 have to say about this?
SPEAKER_01Paul continues. He says, for, and I love how he phrases this, for we are his workmanship. Not our own, but his workmanship, created in Christ for good works. So we're created for good works. And he says, which God prepared beforehand so that, purpose statement, we would walk in them. God has prepared good works for his people to do. And at our time of salvation, we begin to walk in those good works and carry out those good works. Not so that we can be saved, but because we are saved.
SPEAKER_00It sounds to me like Paul's trying and you're trying to tell me, I didn't do anything to get saved, and I'm really not doing anything after I'm saved, except walking. And God has prepared the works that I'm supposed to walk in beforehand. He chose me before I was born. My job was apparently just to walk by faith and be obedient, to find the things that God already wants me to do and prepared me to do.
SPEAKER_01And he will lead you where he needs you to go.
SPEAKER_00Does it get any better than this? No. Because think about in our careers or things that work that we've done, and we strive so hard to like, okay, these are the steps I have to take to be promoted or get a raise or do whatever. And half the time your bosses don't usually tell you a whole heck of a lot of how that's gonna happen. They move the needle, the bar gets higher. Every year, yeah, more stringent of how to do this. And God says, I not only saved you and did all of this, but I actually prepared all the people that you're gonna talk to beforehand.
SPEAKER_01That's right. And so there's work to do.
SPEAKER_00Just be obedient.
SPEAKER_01And that's the thing. Just be obedient. Because sometimes we choose, sometimes we choose not to be obedient because I don't want to go talk to so-and-so, or I'm tired today, or I don't feel like it. And we miss out on blessings.
SPEAKER_00Is this why he goes right into verse 11 again?
SPEAKER_01Like Let me remind you of something, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, therefore, right? This is the reason this is therefore is this.
SPEAKER_01And what's he saying right after that? Remember.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Don't forget.
SPEAKER_00Don't forget this. Yeah. But he keeps doing that. He goes ahead to where we are, right? Back to where we were, and then but it's that perfect balance of it's about God. And the minute it isn't about God, we're in trouble. Like you're gonna be in trouble.
SPEAKER_01You remember the movie Up about the the guy, the it was animated, the guy with the balloons. Yeah. And the guy had a dog, and it's like, squirrel, that's us. Squirrel.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01That's us.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and the dog would be completely distracted.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, squirrel, which is why Paul keeps going back to here's where God has you, but don't forget this. You just said it earlier. We're sheep.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_01Sheep are dumb.
SPEAKER_00And he actually goes to this thing about circumcision, uncircumcision, right? The chosen people and the and which is sheep and goats. And he's like, therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Right? It's interesting he does that too. Like, people are bragging about being circumcised. Well, it's made by fleshly hands. Like it takes a hand to cut the foreskin around your penis. Like, come on.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Remember that you were at the time separated from Christ. And then he gets into some pretty cool stuff that is important for us to see as Gentiles. Maybe there's a Jew listening though, but most of us are Gentiles. Alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel. We were aliens apart from it all. Not part of the family of God. Not part of Israel. Strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
SPEAKER_01What a place to be. Right? Separate from Christ. Which is which is already that's the no star, that's a you know, that's a that's no starter. Um, alienated, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenant supremacy. No hope and without God. That's not a very good position to be in.
SPEAKER_00I thought we had some kind of hope, and I thought we had some things, you know, before Christ.
SPEAKER_01Because just a few verses earlier, we were dead in our trespasses and sins.
SPEAKER_00So Paul seems to be clarifying more and more what this means, what this must have felt like. Yeah. Like, and I think Paul's then reminding don't forget, before Christ, this is where we we all were. All of us, not just you, yeah, all of us were there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. We had no hope.
SPEAKER_00And the here we go, another beautiful word thrown in in verse 13.
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_00But.
SPEAKER_01But right on. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were former who were far off, have been brought near. How? By the blood of Christ.
SPEAKER_00So I didn't even I didn't bring myself. None of you brought yourself.
SPEAKER_01No. I didn't bring the decision to I'm gonna go. Follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00Or I'm just gonna apply the blood to myself, right? Right. No. As a dead man or woman, how can we apply the blood of Jesus that draws us near to him?
SPEAKER_01Well, like you said, when you're dead, yeah, there's no ability, there's no will, there's no there's no anything because you are D-O-A, you are dead, there's no activity. You're lifeless spiritually until until the God of life comes and breathes life into you, and you become born again.
SPEAKER_00This is amazing. And he he just keeps going deeper with these analogies and things. Because he says, for he himself is our peace. After talking about being separated, alienated, a stranger, no hope, without God, and you were not near him at all. Right, he is our peace. He made us both one and is broken down in the flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, now which which which dividing wall could Paul be referring to? Could this be the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile that Jesus has come and obliterated so that now we're no longer two people?
SPEAKER_00We're now one? The church. The body of Christ.
SPEAKER_01The body of Christ.
SPEAKER_00All the hostility that used to go on and even went on where they're like, yeah, we're gonna proselytize Gentiles. There was always some little thing here. Like, yeah, but you're not a real Jew.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Jesus broke all of it.
SPEAKER_01He broke all of that.
SPEAKER_00That's why he tore the veil.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00That's why it tore top to bottom. Supposedly woven that nobody could tear that thing. But he tore it, ripped it in half to be like, we're not doing this anymore.
SPEAKER_01At his death, it was read top to bottom. That's what the scripture says. So that's it.
SPEAKER_00But who broke the hostility? Who broke down the dividing wall?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Was it me? Is that what it says? Did I do that?
SPEAKER_00No, the Prince of Peace did it.
SPEAKER_01No, for he himself is our peace. Who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall? By abolishing in his flesh the enmity, the hatred, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that purpose statement in himself he might make the two into one man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross by having it put by having put to death the enity. So God took that hatred for one another that was dividing us, and he nailed that to the cross.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Isn't this incredible though? The world system and the prince of the power of the air and so many humans right now are still in this thing where they're fighting the Jews, fighting Israel. There is still the war between Gentile and Jew. And people are, oh, how do we solve this? How do we do this? How do guess what? You just read the answer. It is God who's rich in mercy who can break that hostility. He is the only one. We can do all these wonderful things, and maybe we should give to different organizations and whatever and try and help Israel, but you know, the country of Israel isn't real Israel. There's people that live in Israel that are not Jews. So it's a weird thing here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're talking about the spiritual. Yeah, the spiritual entire those spiritual children of Abraham, Paul talks about in Romans 9. Because he says, not all Israel is Israel.
SPEAKER_00And here we are seeing the answers. When we start going, well, how do we break down this? There's all these wars and rumors or wars. Well, we don't.
SPEAKER_01We don't.
SPEAKER_00We don't.
SPEAKER_01Jesus has already done that between Jew and Gentile. He has brought the two together to become one.
SPEAKER_00Whether it looks like it or not, the church is one.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00One Lord, one faith, one Baptist.
SPEAKER_01That's right. There is no Jew or Gentile.
SPEAKER_00Gentile. Nor slave, nor free, nor male, nor female. Oh, wait a minute here. In Christ, we are all equal. That's right. Jeez.
SPEAKER_01We got some. We need to get it together, man. I'm telling you. Jesus has done this for us. He's like, come on.
SPEAKER_00And then he reminds us, and he came and he preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near.
SPEAKER_01So Jew and Gentile. He preached peace to both.
SPEAKER_00And you saw how both had really different reactions.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00There were Gentiles like saying, Yeah, but you know, even you're calling us dogs, and even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table. And that's Jesus was like, I've never seen such faith in all of Israel. Somebody who's like, I'll take anything you give me, God. Imagine that kind of faith. Oh man. Lord, whatever you provide, no matter how big or how small, I'll take it. That's Jesus providing that way. But then you see Jews. Some come to Him and submit, and many were rejected. So crucify Him. Crucify Him. But Jesus doesn't hold the grudge. He just says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody comes to the Father but through me. That's right.
SPEAKER_01He is the only way.
SPEAKER_00And then he says in verse 18, For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then you're no longer strangers and aliens, but you're fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
SPEAKER_01What do you think this did to the Jews and the Gentiles who made up the church at Ephesus and the surrounding the churches in the surrounding area? What do you think this said to them?
SPEAKER_00I I it's hard to fathom because we didn't live that way. At least I didn't. I didn't live with other Jews and have the oh, you have you're the chosen people and I'm just the leftovers. I never had that, but trying to look at it, you're like, this would have been frustrating for some. You can see how even Peter struggled, like, oh when the Gentiles came, when the Jews came, he was like, Oh, I'm I'm hanging with the Gentiles, and oh, maybe I shouldn't eat with them anymore. Because he grew up with, hey, Gentiles are unclean.
SPEAKER_01That's right. And what they eat is unclean. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But the way it's laid out in scripture, it seems like it would be so incredibly freeing. And when you look at this, it should be.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00All the hostility, it's all laid aside. God made peace through Jesus for us to have peace with one another, so we could have fellowship with one another and you know, meals together and break bread and study God's word together and pray together, all that stuff is supposed to happen because we're in Christ with anybody in the world.
SPEAKER_01And what I love is that we didn't do this. This was all God's doing through Christ. This was all his doing through Jesus Christ. We had absolutely no part in this. But what our what our responsibility is is to make sure that we are living out that peace with others.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because this is the this is what was built, right? And that's so cool how he talks about this, right? We're citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But then verse 20, he clarifies that was built on the foundation of the prop the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, which is the foundation. Like that it won't stand without him being the cornerstone.
SPEAKER_01Everything is built off that cornerstone, all the walls and everything else is built upon where that cornerstone lies, and all the whole church and the and the apostles and prophets.
SPEAKER_00The strength of that structure is vital.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00At the cornerstone. That's right. It won't work well without that.
SPEAKER_01No, it can't.
SPEAKER_00And this is what we keep learning. The minute we start taking Christ out of things, things are gonna fall. It's like building your house where?
SPEAKER_01In sand.
SPEAKER_00Because the storms are gonna come.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh. When they come, and that sand's gonna shift, so's the house gonna fall. Right.
SPEAKER_00Because the house is divided. It's not focused on Christ Jesus because he himself is the cornerstone. Yes. And then he clarifies in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Every single one of us who have called on the name of Christ Jesus had been part of this temple building.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But you notice what he said. He didn't say that we're being fitted together so that we can build a temple. He says that we're growing into a holy temple.
SPEAKER_00We are the temple.
SPEAKER_01We are the temple.
SPEAKER_00An individual, this is my individual temple. Yes. However, it doesn't belong to me. This is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And then that same part of the temple is a bigger part of the entire community, right? That holy grows into a holy temple in the Lord. This is part of the sanctification process, right? Of us becoming more like him, even though he's already seated us in the heavenly place. We already have a guarantee.
SPEAKER_01Positionally, yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, done. Experientially, practically, yes. We're growing into the temple of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00And then in him, last verse in the twin in chapter two, and I'm sad that we're closing out. In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. So I don't even build this temple. I don't help build up my own temple.
SPEAKER_01No, but this is God's doing, growing us together, fitting us together, with Christ being the cornerstone. And all of us hinge on him. And I just I love it. Man.
SPEAKER_00So we have ah it's so cool to think about it. We have connections in every corner of the world of people that we're being built together in as the temple.
SPEAKER_01That's right. People in Iran, people in China, people in South Korea, people in North Korea, people in the Philippines, people in the UK, people all around the world.
SPEAKER_00Even Canada? Even Canada.
SPEAKER_01Even Canada.
SPEAKER_00And Timbuk 3, places we don't even know about or never even heard about.
SPEAKER_01God's people are there.
SPEAKER_00Every tribe and tongue and nation. Right? Yeah. I get all of those tribe, tongue, and nation.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh. And one day we will all have this singular focus. And that will be perfect peace of in the church of Christ. Wow. When we all stand before him and worship him and sing praises to his name in unison. Oh man.
SPEAKER_00That's crazy. Right. Such a beautiful thought.
SPEAKER_01But before you know what, but before then, we can do that now.
SPEAKER_00That's supposed to be gathering together, right? To worship together. To say, but God, who's rich in mercy, when some of us need words of encouragement, right? To be like, don't give up, don't give in. Yeah. Stay in the game. All those things that I've heard from my brother that I'm staring at right now. That we need to be that person for other people sometimes. Yes. Come on. Let's confess our faults. Let's pray for one another. Continue to be healed and be reminded that God chose this for us before the foundation of the world. That we would be sanctified. Someday we will be completely cleansed.
SPEAKER_01Amen.
SPEAKER_00Man, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_01It's coming. But today, here in this time, that's what the church is for. For us to gather together, to encourage one another, to love on one another, to pray for one another, to walk together in this life. Knowing that I don't have to do this on my own.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I feel like saying, and I'm going to go back and do it myself. Hebrews 10. Go back and read that. To see the reasons why we gather together. It's pretty powerful. There's multiple reasons listed there. I'm going to do that when I get home tonight. I think that that'd be important to just, for some weird reason, the Lord put Hebrews 10 on my heart. Hopefully that helps somebody listening.
SPEAKER_01I hope so.
SPEAKER_00Won't come back void. He promised. That's right. That's right.
SPEAKER_01It's going to touch somebody.
SPEAKER_00You're going to be blessed somehow for reading Hebrews 10. Right. Right. We appreciate you. Man, we'd love to hear from you. If you want to reach out to us, you can reach out to us by email. It's um W-U-M, the number two, the word guys, G-U-Y-S at Yahoo.com. We'd love to have you drop us a line if you want prayer requests or you want to give us some feedback or encouragement or hey, Butch, be a little smarter. Maybe this is something you need to be corrected on or could clarify. Whatever. We'd love to hear from you. Give us some encouragement and send us an email.
SPEAKER_01Amen. So that email address again is the number is is W Mthe Number 2guys at Yahoo.com. We'd love to hear from you.
SPEAKER_00And Lord bless you. Lord willing. Have a great week, and we'll hear from you next time.
SPEAKER_01We'll see you soon. Thank you.