Ephesians 2 Part 4
Bible Study Time 7-17-05
Bible Study Time 7-17-05
In Ephesians, Chapter 2, the Apostle Paul first reminds us that we were at one time dead in trespasses and sins but that God has now saved us by His grace and brought us to life in Jesus Christ. Then he reminds those of us who are Gentiles that we were at one time aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from Israel’s covenants of promise.
Now when Paul says this about our past relationship to Israel’s covenants, we just kind of naturally expect him to conclude that we have now been brought into the commonwealth of Israel and that we have now become partakers in Israel’s covenants of promise. However, that is not Paul’s conclusion. Paul simply says that now we have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.
Under the economy of the Mosaic Law. Gentiles had to come to God through the ceremonies and rituals of the Law. For instance, when God gave the rules for observing the Passover, He said:
Exodus 12:48 (NKJ)
48 " . . . when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.
A Gentile had to be circumcised to draw near to God under the Law. This kept the Gentiles at a distance.
Therefore, in Ephesians 2, Paul was announcing a dramatic change. He said that now Gentiles can draw near to God not through Israel’s covenants of promise but through the blood of Christ. In fact, Paul is going to conclude in the next few verses that the commandments relating to ordinances were abolished by the work of Christ upon the cross.
Rather than being brought into Israel’s covenants as a result of Christ’s work on the cross, we have been brought near to God apart from the covenants of Israel. This understanding is tantamount to understanding the position and hope of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
In Ephesians 1, Paul said that today God has given Christ to be Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. In Ephesians 5, he said that believers today are members of Christ’s Body, of His flesh and of His bone. Here in Ephesians 2, he says that we come to Christ through simple faith in the power of the blood which was shed for us. The commandments regarding rituals and ceremonies were nailed to the cross.
In Colossians 2:13 we read:
Colossians 2:13-14 (KJV)
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
This clear teaching of the Apostle Paul refutes any idea that the Church today has replaced the nation of Israel in God’s overall plan and purpose. Some have theorized that the Old Covenant Law was for the nation of Israel, but when Israel rejected the New Covenant, God gave it to us as members of the Church.
If that were the case, then certainly, those things which were associated with the New Covenant, such as water baptism and sign gifts, would belong to us. But the Bible plainly declares that the New Covenant belongs to Israel just like the Old Covenant Law belonged to Israel.
God spoke through Jeremiah and said:
Jeremiah 31:31-33 (NKJ)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Jeremiah 31:35-37 (NKJ)
35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night:
36 "If those ordinances depart from before Me, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever."
37 "If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the LORD.
In other words, God’s commitment to Israel is as sure as the sun and the moon and the stars in the heavens. According to the scriptures, when Israel rejected the New Covenant, God set Israel’s covenants aside on a temporary basis to call out the Church which is the Body of Christ. Our relationship with God is not based on Israel’s covenants of promise. Our relationship with Christ is based on the blood of Christ.
After the cross the New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel and was confirmed by many signs such as speaking in tongues, healings, and the casting out of demons. These signs were given to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel throughout the Acts period, but Israel steadfastly refused to accept it.
Then God revealed the Church which is the Body of Christ through the Apostle Paul in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, and quite suddenly we see no water baptism and no sign gifts.
When we talk about the prophecies concerning the kingdom, we have to account for the prophecies regarding the antichrist and the tribulation period. Some who claim that God has given us Israel’s kingdom, also claim that the prophecies concerning the antichrist were fulfilled when the Roman General Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Apparently, Titus did go into the temple and declare himself to be God. It follows that if Titus was the antichrist of prophecy, then the tribulation period has already come and gone, and we are now in the New Covenant Kingdom.
There are several problems with this theology. First, Paul said that we, as members of the Church, have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ. He did not say that we have been brought near to God by Israel’s covenants of promise. If God has given us the kingdom, then we have been brought near to God through the covenants of promise. Paul never said that.
Second, the Apostle John gave new prophesies concerning the coming antichrist in the book of the Revelation which was written around 90 A.D., some 20 years after Titus destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. John did not say that the antichrist has come. He said that the antichrist will come.
Third, this theology has no explanation for the revelation of the mystery which was given to Paul in the prison epistles. Paul said that the revelation given to him concerning the mystery of the Church had been hidden in God since before the creation of the world and was never made known to men of other ages. If God has simply given to us the blessings which were promised to Israel, then all of our blessings are a matter of prophecy which were many times foretold.
Fourth, if believers today are simply the beneficiaries of Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom then why did the miracles cease after the Acts period? Why did the rituals which were part of Israel’s program pass away.
Well, this is just a partial list of why we can not be in the New Covenant Kingdom now. We do not have time to look at all of the prophecies regarding the kingdom, but even a quick look at the prophecies will reveal that the kingdom awaits its fulfillment at some point in the future.
We today come to God through the blood of Christ. No longer are we held at bay by Israel’s covenants of promise:
Ephesians 2:14-16 (NKJ)
14 For (Christ) Himself is our peace, who has made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
Today, there is no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile in the sight of God because God’s covenants with Israel have been set aside. Jesus Christ broke down that middle wall of separation:
Ephesians 2:15-16
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Now this is one of those areas which really stands out as being different from Paul’s Acts period epistles. In Romans 11 we read in verse 26:
Romans 11:26-29 (NKJ)
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Here it is evident that God was still dealing with the Jews and the Gentiles as two separate groups of people. In Romans 3, Paul said that there was no difference between the Jew and the Gentile in the sense that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and in the sense that all who come to God in faith are justified freely by His grace.
However, in Romans 11 there was still a big difference between the Jew and Gentile in regard to the election. He said that concerning the election the Jews were beloved of God for the sake of the fathers. In other words, God was not going to turn His back on the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Earlier in Romans 11, Paul had said that the Gentiles were being grafted into the stock of Israel, and as we all know, a grafted limb maintains its own identity and bears its own distinct fruit.
In Ephesians 2, Paul says that today, Jesus Christ has broken down the middle wall of separation between the Jew and Gentile. Obviously, Israel’s program has been set aside, and the concept of Israel’s election is no longer operative. Today, God is reconciling both the Jew and the Gentile to God in one body by the cross.
As I close this morning, I would just like to say that these things may seem irrelevant to some who say, “I believe in Jesus and that’s all I need to know.” Well, it is a wonderful thing to know that all we have to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus, but we can not have that assurance unless we have a clear understanding of Paul’s teachings concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ.
When theologians go back to Israel’s program, inevitably you find other things thrown in to the process of salvation. It may be church membership, a ritual, or a spiritual gift. When we see Paul’s message for us, we can rest assured that faith alone in Christ alone is God’s requirement for salvation.
If you don’t know the Lord today, I would invite you to accept Him even now. If you have faith alone in Christ alone, you can be saved today. Call unto Him and He will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.
Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time this morning. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Now when Paul says this about our past relationship to Israel’s covenants, we just kind of naturally expect him to conclude that we have now been brought into the commonwealth of Israel and that we have now become partakers in Israel’s covenants of promise. However, that is not Paul’s conclusion. Paul simply says that now we have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.
Under the economy of the Mosaic Law. Gentiles had to come to God through the ceremonies and rituals of the Law. For instance, when God gave the rules for observing the Passover, He said:
Exodus 12:48 (NKJ)
48 " . . . when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.
A Gentile had to be circumcised to draw near to God under the Law. This kept the Gentiles at a distance.
Therefore, in Ephesians 2, Paul was announcing a dramatic change. He said that now Gentiles can draw near to God not through Israel’s covenants of promise but through the blood of Christ. In fact, Paul is going to conclude in the next few verses that the commandments relating to ordinances were abolished by the work of Christ upon the cross.
Rather than being brought into Israel’s covenants as a result of Christ’s work on the cross, we have been brought near to God apart from the covenants of Israel. This understanding is tantamount to understanding the position and hope of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
In Ephesians 1, Paul said that today God has given Christ to be Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. In Ephesians 5, he said that believers today are members of Christ’s Body, of His flesh and of His bone. Here in Ephesians 2, he says that we come to Christ through simple faith in the power of the blood which was shed for us. The commandments regarding rituals and ceremonies were nailed to the cross.
In Colossians 2:13 we read:
Colossians 2:13-14 (KJV)
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
This clear teaching of the Apostle Paul refutes any idea that the Church today has replaced the nation of Israel in God’s overall plan and purpose. Some have theorized that the Old Covenant Law was for the nation of Israel, but when Israel rejected the New Covenant, God gave it to us as members of the Church.
If that were the case, then certainly, those things which were associated with the New Covenant, such as water baptism and sign gifts, would belong to us. But the Bible plainly declares that the New Covenant belongs to Israel just like the Old Covenant Law belonged to Israel.
God spoke through Jeremiah and said:
Jeremiah 31:31-33 (NKJ)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Jeremiah 31:35-37 (NKJ)
35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night:
36 "If those ordinances depart from before Me, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever."
37 "If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the LORD.
In other words, God’s commitment to Israel is as sure as the sun and the moon and the stars in the heavens. According to the scriptures, when Israel rejected the New Covenant, God set Israel’s covenants aside on a temporary basis to call out the Church which is the Body of Christ. Our relationship with God is not based on Israel’s covenants of promise. Our relationship with Christ is based on the blood of Christ.
After the cross the New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel and was confirmed by many signs such as speaking in tongues, healings, and the casting out of demons. These signs were given to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel throughout the Acts period, but Israel steadfastly refused to accept it.
Then God revealed the Church which is the Body of Christ through the Apostle Paul in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, and quite suddenly we see no water baptism and no sign gifts.
When we talk about the prophecies concerning the kingdom, we have to account for the prophecies regarding the antichrist and the tribulation period. Some who claim that God has given us Israel’s kingdom, also claim that the prophecies concerning the antichrist were fulfilled when the Roman General Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Apparently, Titus did go into the temple and declare himself to be God. It follows that if Titus was the antichrist of prophecy, then the tribulation period has already come and gone, and we are now in the New Covenant Kingdom.
There are several problems with this theology. First, Paul said that we, as members of the Church, have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ. He did not say that we have been brought near to God by Israel’s covenants of promise. If God has given us the kingdom, then we have been brought near to God through the covenants of promise. Paul never said that.
Second, the Apostle John gave new prophesies concerning the coming antichrist in the book of the Revelation which was written around 90 A.D., some 20 years after Titus destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. John did not say that the antichrist has come. He said that the antichrist will come.
Third, this theology has no explanation for the revelation of the mystery which was given to Paul in the prison epistles. Paul said that the revelation given to him concerning the mystery of the Church had been hidden in God since before the creation of the world and was never made known to men of other ages. If God has simply given to us the blessings which were promised to Israel, then all of our blessings are a matter of prophecy which were many times foretold.
Fourth, if believers today are simply the beneficiaries of Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom then why did the miracles cease after the Acts period? Why did the rituals which were part of Israel’s program pass away.
Well, this is just a partial list of why we can not be in the New Covenant Kingdom now. We do not have time to look at all of the prophecies regarding the kingdom, but even a quick look at the prophecies will reveal that the kingdom awaits its fulfillment at some point in the future.
We today come to God through the blood of Christ. No longer are we held at bay by Israel’s covenants of promise:
Ephesians 2:14-16 (NKJ)
14 For (Christ) Himself is our peace, who has made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
Today, there is no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile in the sight of God because God’s covenants with Israel have been set aside. Jesus Christ broke down that middle wall of separation:
Ephesians 2:15-16
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Now this is one of those areas which really stands out as being different from Paul’s Acts period epistles. In Romans 11 we read in verse 26:
Romans 11:26-29 (NKJ)
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Here it is evident that God was still dealing with the Jews and the Gentiles as two separate groups of people. In Romans 3, Paul said that there was no difference between the Jew and the Gentile in the sense that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and in the sense that all who come to God in faith are justified freely by His grace.
However, in Romans 11 there was still a big difference between the Jew and Gentile in regard to the election. He said that concerning the election the Jews were beloved of God for the sake of the fathers. In other words, God was not going to turn His back on the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Earlier in Romans 11, Paul had said that the Gentiles were being grafted into the stock of Israel, and as we all know, a grafted limb maintains its own identity and bears its own distinct fruit.
In Ephesians 2, Paul says that today, Jesus Christ has broken down the middle wall of separation between the Jew and Gentile. Obviously, Israel’s program has been set aside, and the concept of Israel’s election is no longer operative. Today, God is reconciling both the Jew and the Gentile to God in one body by the cross.
As I close this morning, I would just like to say that these things may seem irrelevant to some who say, “I believe in Jesus and that’s all I need to know.” Well, it is a wonderful thing to know that all we have to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus, but we can not have that assurance unless we have a clear understanding of Paul’s teachings concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ.
When theologians go back to Israel’s program, inevitably you find other things thrown in to the process of salvation. It may be church membership, a ritual, or a spiritual gift. When we see Paul’s message for us, we can rest assured that faith alone in Christ alone is God’s requirement for salvation.
If you don’t know the Lord today, I would invite you to accept Him even now. If you have faith alone in Christ alone, you can be saved today. Call unto Him and He will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.
Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time this morning. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
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