MPC, 16th December 2001.Ephesians 2:11-22 - "Cats and Dogs?"
Phil Campbell MPC, 16th December 2001.
On the Friday night news there was a neat little story at the end; McDonalds has those ads, things that make you go MMMM. I reckon they save the last little spot in the news for things that make you go AHHHHH. Happy little heart warming story to leave you feeling good about the world.
And so in Acacia Ridge, there's a kind lady who looks after newborn kittens for the RSPCA until they're ready for a home. And so she's taken home these 8 little kittens to her home in Acacia Ridge; where she's already got a dog. And the news report said this dog who'd just reared her own litter of pups 18 months ago, straight away took an interest in the kittens. And started to suckle them. And care for them like her own. So here's Missy the dog; sworn enemy of cats for generations; adoptive mum of a bunch of tabby kittens.
I mean, there's that old saying, they fight like CATS AND DOGS. But here are CATS AND DOGS who are all in the one family. Who LOVE EACH OTHER. In spite of every instinct that tells them otherwise.
If you were here a couple of weeks ago when we looked at the BIRTH OF THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS, you might remember that the NEW CHURCH that's started by the Apostle Paul, it's a little bit the same. With a MIX OF PEOPLE that's potentially explosive. A mix of people who for generations have been taught to have as little to do with one another as they possibly can.
You've got JEWS. Who Paul preached to in the synagogue. Jews who for generations have been obedient to the Old Testament law. Marked out as unique. Jews with the ritual markings of CIRCUMCISION. Jews with the promises of God that stretched back generation after generation all the way to Abraham.
Back in Acts 19 we saw Paul preaching in the synagogue for three months. Arguing persuasively. And by the end of that time, he takes a bunch with him to a lecture hall. And keeps teaching them. Until in Acts 19 verse 10 we're told that by the end of two years, ALL THE JEWS AND THE GREEKS who lived in the province of Asia had heard the WORD OF THE LORD. And by verse 18 again, you've got not only the Jews; but the GREEKS as well - worshippers of the goddess ARTEMIS; holding the name of the Lord Jesus in high honour.
This is cats and dogs stuff. Because the one thing Jews would never have anything to do with was someone who'd go the couple of kilometers out the road to worship at the temple of Artemis. Loaded with its little silver souvenir statues. Temple prostitutes ready and waiting on the huge stone steps. Artemis was a fertility goddess. And the temple at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was FOUR TIMES THE AREA of the Parthenon. Supported by 127 carved columns. Took 120 years to build. And until Paul came to town, business was booming.
And now people who used to GO THERE… they've decided they want to be Christians. Along with Jews from the Synagogue. Who want to be Christians as well. Cats and dogs.
Now if you're Paul writing to a church like that a few years after you'd left, I guess you can imagine some of the issues.
And it's no surprise by the time you get to Ephesians chapter 2, Paul's reminding the Ephesians of the IMPORTANCE OF UNITY. No matter what they WERE, they're called to be ONE IN CHRIST. No matter what they USED TO BE, what they're NOW TO BE is all one family. The Church. In the city of Ephesus.
I'm not sure what your perception of being part of God's CHURCH is. But it seems to me some people think of it as kind of just another group to be part of - an organization like the Rotary Club. A service club. A social group maybe? Or maybe even a performance that you go along to and watch every now and then.
Paul's got in mind something much bigger than that. That goes RIGHT TO THE CORE OF WHO WE ARE. Paul's got in mind something more like a FAMILY. Or a NATIONALITY. That goes even deeper that the family you're born to or the national anthem you're taught as a kid.
And so for the Ephesian Christians Paul wants to say, remember what you USED TO BE. And then REMEMBER WHAT YOU ARE.
He's starting with the Gentiles. And have a look what he says. Read from verse 11. He says, "Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called UNCIRCUMCISED by those who call themselves "the circumcision" - that done in the body by the hands of men - he's talking about the Jews - he says remember that at THAT TIME you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise. Without hope, and without God in the world.
That's how it used to be. That's what he says. You gentiles, look back a little way. You might have had Artemis and your big marble temple. But you didn't know God. And you didn't have hope. You didn't have the PROMISES OF GOD that the Jews had in the Old Testament scriptures. He says, you Gentiles, remember what you WERE. But MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT THE WAY THINGS ARE NOW.
In the past the Gentiles and the Jews might have been foreigners to one another. But IN CHRIST, things are different.
But now IN CHRIST JESUS, verse 13, you who once were far away have been BROUGHT NEAR through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Foreigners have been made into FRIENDS. Because of the sacrificial death of Jesus.
Here's how it works. Paul goes on to explain it. The Jews biggest distinctive was that they were the one race on earth who had God's law. They KNEW exactly what righteousness looked like. Moses brought God's commandments down the mountain. And so Israel was the one place on earth that was able to live in obedience to God. Or otherwise. Which meant Israel was the one nation on earth that also knew more than anyone else that the consequences for rebelling against God was DEATH. And so that LAW THAT THEY HAD, the commands from God; became the great distinctive. The line between US and THEM. The "we know something you don't know" sort of distinction.
Except the news for the Jews is that since JESUS DIED AND ROSE, they're playing by the old rules. The whole point of the death of Jesus on the cross was that he TOOK THE PENALTY on himself for every broken law. That in the death of the perfect man, the penalty past present and future was all taken care of. Which means the law has had its day.
And so the Jews in the church who want to keep claiming THE LAW as their distinctive, the Jews in the church who want to say, "we're the CIRCUMCISION" and you're not, "we've got the law and you Gentiles haven't," "we're CITIZENS OF ISRAEL and you're not welcome…" - they've missed the point.
Have a look at verse 14 and 15 and see if you can pick the logic. Because that's what he's saying. For HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE - Jesus - who has made the two one - Jews and Gentiles, dogs and cats - and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, BY ABOLISHING IN HIS FLESH the law with its commandments and regulations. That's all gone. The DIVIDING LINE, the rule book that marked out the Jews from everyone else… it's gone. The things that USED TO COUNT don't count anymore.
And so THE JEWS have peace with God because the penalty for sin's been paid. And the Gentiles have peace with God because the penalty for sin's been paid. So how can they still be HOSTILE to each other?
You get the sum up in verse 17 and 18. The difference Christ makes. He came and preached peace to you who were far away - you GENTILES who used to go up to the temple of Artemis - and peace to those who were near; the Jews in the synagogue, waiting for the message of the saviour - For through him, we BOTH have access to the Father by ONE SPIRIT.
We've got a mango tree in our backyard. With plenty of fruit. And we've got an avocado Tree. With ONE AVOCADO. I heard Lou pondering the other day about whether you could GRAFT a branch from our weedy avocado tree onto our healthy mango tree. I don't know if you can or you can't. But what Paul's talking about here is one of the biggest grafting jobs in history. That these GENTILE FOREIGNERS have been grafted into God's family. And you can't even see the seam mark.
So here's the "What you are now…" section. He's addressing it to the GENTILES. Who'd been on the outside. Excluded from citizenship and foreigners to God's promises. Verse 19, he says, CONSEQUENTLY, you are no longer foreigners and aliens… but FELLOW CITIZENS with God's people and MEMBERS OF GOD'S HOUSEHOLD, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with CHRIST HIMSELF as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is being joined together to become a HOLY TEMPLE TO THE LORD. And in him you're being BUILT TOGETHER… to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Now a letter like this has always got something to say. Because even though we're not in a situation where there's a LINE DOWN THE MIDDLE of our church dividing JEWS from GENTILES, maybe there are other sorts of ways we're mixing CATS AND DOGS. Maybe you look around and you feel you're seeing people who are DIFFERENT TO YOU.
But the message is, no matter HOW FAR you've been from God, you're welcome to be part of the family. Doesn't matter where you've been; doesn't matter what you've been. When you come to Christ, God says WELCOME. So God's PEOPLE are meant to say WELCOME AS WELL. And if that's not happening, there's a problem.
Whether you've been part of this church all your life and your parents were and your grandparents, God's saying WELCOME TO ALL SORTS OF OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL. And you need to say welcome as well.
And grow together as ONE FAMILY. Or as Paul puts it here, one building. A temple to God.
Funny, see, when one of the great wonders of the world was the temple of Artemis; but God's on about ANOTHER TEMPLE. Not built with stones but with people like us. A temple built on the chief cornerstone of Jesus Christ. And the whole building grows and locks together around him.
A good reminder to us right at this point. When last week we celebrated the opening of something WE'VE BUILT. I've been thinking lately, you know, the UNITY in our church while we had something to build, something to focus on together has been QUITE ASTOUNDING. I guess there's the danger now that we say, well, that's over. So now the claws can come out. And I can get out my PET ISSUES again, I can start phoning around my little faction again and stir up some issues. I know there's nobody doing that, but imagine there was. The point is, building THIS BUILDING has been a unifying thing. How much MORE unifying should it be to be BUILDING GOD'S BUILDING? Stone by stone. Person by person. As God brings us together by his Spirit.
There's a guy at the gym I go to who often wears a t-shirt with a message on it. He's a member of a Trade Union. And on the back of the T-shirt it says, UNITED WE BARGAIN…. Divided we beg.
I guess for us the stakes are even HIGHER. United we're God's BUILDING. Divided we're just a pile of rocks. Which is not God's intention at all.
You might think that all sounds a bit abstract. So let me finish by showing what it's going to look like. Here's the church in Ephesus; the church of dogs and cats. Of Gentiles and Jews. Who as he writes this letter to them, he's calling to be BUILT TOGETHER AS ONE.
Turn over to the start of chapter 4 and you'll see some solid practicalities. Which apply just as much to you and me. Here's how you do that. Here's how a church is going to look that's united. "As a prisoner of the Lord then, I urge you to live a life WORTHY of the calling you have received. Which will look like this. "Be completely HUMBLE and GENTLE. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
It's going to look like this. Being HUMBLE. Instead of proud. That builds the church.
Being GENTLE. Instead of harsh. That's like MORTAR between the bricks. I mean, it's easy to stick around with people who are like that, isn't it?
Being PATIENT. When your natural inclination is to explode with frustration. Bearing with one another, in love. A church full of people like that is a church built strong. And being part of a church like that is something worth getting excited about. It's a miracle when it happens. A bit like the dog with the kittens at Acacia Ridge. It runs counter to our nature. It's a work of God's Spirit.
You know, by the year 262, the temple of Artemis was gone. Great wonder of the world. These days there's just a single column left standing in a swamp. Christianity spread in the area around Ephesus until Artemis and her temple weren't even a memory. While God's temple built of people grew strong. I guess they took notice of their letter from Paul. And we should as well. Because he says, "There's ONE BODY, and ONE SPIRIT. Just as you were called to ONE HOPE when you were called… one Lord, one faith, one baptism - one God and father of all, who is overall all, and through all, and in all.