1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,600 Well, church when? When Jamie and I travel, we 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:09,400 always like to pick a random book that is somehow relevant to 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,880 wherever it is that we're going, but something that we would 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,360 never read otherwise. So when we were looking toward 5 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,960 going to visit Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, in the back 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:25,320 corners of the 4th floor of the bookstore, Hatchers found a 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,280 little book called Building Saint Paul's by James WP 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,560 Campbell. So picked it up and read that. 9 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,240 And I got to read for the first time the story, the amazing 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,560 story of Christopher Wren, the chief architect of one of the 11 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:40,960 greatest building projects in history. 12 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,360 And I didn't have to read long before I realized that the story 13 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,200 of how Saint Paul's was built was a story of adventure. 14 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,280 It's a story of courage. It's a short book. 15 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,080 If you ever like to read it, it's upstairs. 16 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,360 It's of wealth and loss. It's of scientific progress and 17 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,160 breakthrough, A story of mutinous workers and pirates, 18 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,840 patients and endurance. And there's points where he's 19 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,960 building this cathedral where the masonry doesn't exist yet, 20 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:11,840 the technology doesn't exist yet to physically hold up the 21 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:13,800 structure. And so as they're going, Ren 22 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:16,200 invents it. And that there's points where 23 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:22,040 they need wooden beams to uphold the structure so long that trees 24 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,520 are not that tall in England. And so he's having to 25 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,200 communicate with foreign countries and bring in import 26 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,600 all of this lumber. And as he's doing it, pirates 27 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,720 are stealing their wood and their materials. 28 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,680 It's it's amazing this this thing ever got built. 29 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:39,680 The timeline kept getting pushed back. 30 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,440 But over 35 years, Saint Paul is built. 31 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:44,560 And if you've ever been there, you know, it's a work of art, 32 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,240 magnificent to behold. A legendary building that housed 33 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,560 worship, a legendary building that is now the resting place of 34 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:57,080 statesman and heroes. And this was the same building 35 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,520 that in World War 2, Winston Churchill was preoccupied. 36 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:00,920 He said this building is so important. 37 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,200 He would wake up every morning in the war. 38 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,840 And the first question out of his mouth was, is it still 39 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,440 there? That building is what we're 40 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:10,720 talking about. And one of the most beautiful 41 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:13,960 structures in the world. He needed it to have glory says 42 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:15,920 when you see this building, you need to understand that it's 43 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:17,640 glorious. And so he built 3 domes. 44 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,920 He says when you see it as on the hill there in that one 45 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:24,720 square mile of London, he says you need to see its glory from 46 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:28,000 the ex externally. So he made a a beautiful Dome 47 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:29,960 and then something had to hold up the building. 48 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,840 So there was a a non visible Dome that's in the middle that 49 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,080 no one has ever. You cannot see from the outside 50 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:37,360 or the inside. And he said, and there needs to 51 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:39,760 be a glory in from the interior. When you look up, you need to 52 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,800 behold the glory of God. And so as you go in and you look 53 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,640 up, there's an interior Dome painted and beautiful. 54 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,600 And so a dog lover all his life, it's a humorously. 55 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,440 He quoted Christopher Wynn said. Wynn said the chief architect of 56 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,760 Saint Paul's said the secret of architectural excellence is to 57 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,440 translate the proportion of a dachshund into bricks and mortar 58 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,360 and marble. And so for fun, somebody took a 59 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,680 picture so you can see the glory of God's created order in the 60 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:13,080 glory of this church. And so this was Saint Paul's, 61 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,880 was Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece, and he was buried 62 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,480 in a crypt there in a coulombarium beneath the church. 63 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,840 And there's a simple monument of stone where it says simply in 64 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:29,080 marble in Latin, reader, if you seek his monument, look around 65 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,240 you. And what that means is if you're 66 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,200 looking for a memorial for Christopher Wren, you're 67 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,400 standing in it. Look around and see the glory of 68 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,320 what he accomplished. And and take your Bibles turn to 69 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,200 Ephesians chapter 219 to 22. We're going to be going through 70 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,400 those few short verses this morning. 71 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,840 And what I want to do about my goal again, in every sermon 72 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,240 here, the goal is so you understand what these words of 73 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,240 Scripture mean, but communication and truth is not 74 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,360 only housed in the words, but what Paul is doing with those 75 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:01,560 words. And so I want to tell you what 76 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,560 the outset before we ever dig into it, what Paul is doing with 77 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,120 the words he's saying. He's telling local churches in 78 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:11,400 the region of Ephesus, and by extension us all these centuries 79 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,480 later, our local church. He says if you want to see the 80 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,079 legacy of Jesus Christ, look around you. 81 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,320 Look at what he accomplished. Look at what he's building. 82 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:25,760 Look at the glory of the church. Jesus is the cornerstone of a 83 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,520 building that is being constructed to the glory of God 84 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,320 the Father. And Scripture says that this 85 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,640 building is eclectic with God as the chief architect. 86 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,080 It says that he's taking raw material from all over the 87 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,600 world, choice stones and materials from the world over, 88 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,320 and he's fastening them together, putting them together, 89 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,520 assembling them together into this church. 90 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:49,440 And though it's eclectic from all over the world, it's unified 91 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,280 because this is done according to the will and plan of the 92 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:57,480 chief architect, who is God. He's actively fitting together 93 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,320 every piece as he builds, and even more than Saint Paul's, 94 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:07,000 God's Building is a has an amazing story of courage and 95 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:12,480 bravery and life and death and loss and heroism and victory and 96 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,720 adventure. But construction is ongoing. 97 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,280 And maybe you've seen pictures of the Sagrada Familia in 98 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,600 Barcelona, Spain. It's being built since 1860. 99 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,800 And though it's not yet complete, the tourism department 100 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,680 is working 24 hours a day because the whole world wants to 101 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:31,440 come and see the glory of this building. 102 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,440 It's not done yet, but even now there is a certain glory to it. 103 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,240 The same with Christ Church. It's still being built, it's 104 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,120 still growing, and yet it's glorious. 105 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,560 And so the wonder for you is that the glory of the building 106 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,360 being constructed on the cornerstone of Jesus, on the 107 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:48,360 foundation of the apostles and the prophets. 108 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,040 This is so important. It is our glory, and it's our 109 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:57,880 glory because Scripture teaches we are that building, we are his 110 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,800 temple. So the building is Christ 111 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,680 Church, the architect is God the Father, the foundation is the 112 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,480 apostles and the prophets. The chief cornerstone that's 113 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,280 upholding the whole enterprise, that's got the whole structure 114 00:06:10,280 --> 00:06:14,040 supported is Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior. 115 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:15,960 John's going to go on in Revelation to say that this 116 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,280 building a God is putting lamps to illuminate it. 117 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:23,400 That is the pastors and the teachers of the church, and it's 118 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,240 all for Jesus Christ. It's being fit together as an 119 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,680 inheritance for him. And so with that, I want to 120 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,200 introduce to you this metaphor of the building. 121 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,440 Read with me Ephesians 219 to 22. 122 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,760 Paul says so then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but 123 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,040 you are fellow citizens with the Saints and members of the 124 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:49,480 household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and 125 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,120 prophets. Christ Jesus himself being the 126 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,440 cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together 127 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,400 grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 128 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,640 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place 129 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,880 for God by his Spirit. Raleigh Sadler was here last 130 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:07,760 week. He taught us verses 11 to 18 and 131 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:11,040 he said to to appreciate that where you're standing now, to 132 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,240 appreciate where you are, you have to look back and understand 133 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,840 where you came from. He said remember who you were. 134 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:18,680 Verse 11. You can go back, remember who 135 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:20,280 you were. Verse 12, remember where you 136 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,440 came from to understand now. And he says and now 137 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,960 understanding that, you need to understand that you are no 138 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,560 longer you anymore. This is the beauty of being 139 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,960 baptized by the Holy Spirit. You're placed now into a church 140 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,960 and the moment that you're born again, it's no longer about you. 141 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:41,560 It's about us laying down our lives for the Lord of glory. 142 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,720 You don't have an individuality anymore. 143 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,400 You're 1 stone in this massive structure. 144 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:52,040 And when we read scriptures like this as as a Western church, we, 145 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,720 because we tend to read not in the church, we read on our beds 146 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,720 or we read in our closets or wherever it is on the 147 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,360 individually on the way to work. We tend to read passages like 148 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,360 this individualistically, and this is a reminder this morning 149 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,160 that we're supposed to read these at least with the mindset 150 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,480 of this new identity that we have in the church. 151 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,120 Part of what he's doing with what he's saying is taking us 152 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,680 back to he's building an identity. 153 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,200 All these metaphors, all these words are saying we have a new 154 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,480 identity. And so we read this not as you 155 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:23,800 verse 19, you are no longer strangers. 156 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:25,600 Verse 19, you are fellow citizens. 157 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,280 Most strikingly, verse 22, you are being built together into a 158 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,080 dwelling place of God. Or even in First Corinthians, as 159 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:34,799 RJ said, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 160 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:40,080 All of these you's are plural. This is together, This Is Us. 161 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,720 You plural are no longer strangers and aliens. 162 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,400 You plural our fellow citizens with the Saints and members of 163 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:49,640 the household of God. You collectively church are 164 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,760 being built together into a dwelling place for God forever. 165 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,600 Ephesians 210 says we are his masterpiece. 166 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,720 He has created us new in Christ that we should do the good 167 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,480 things he planned for us long ago. 168 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,480 This is collective and corporate, and even the word 169 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:11,680 together, if you skip down and look ahead to verse 21 together 170 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:15,920 is an emphasis in this passage. This is in verse 21, in whom the 171 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,120 whole structure being joined together. 172 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,560 Look at verse 22. In him you are also being built 173 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,040 together. And so to emphasize this 174 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,280 corporate nature of our new identity in this church, he 175 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,200 gives 3 metaphors. And these are going to be what 176 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,120 what guide us through all of the verses in this passage, 19 to 177 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,960 22, three metaphors for the church. 178 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:41,040 Number one, he's going to say we are citizens in God's Kingdom #2 179 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:46,640 we are children in God's household and #3 we are living 180 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:51,840 stones in God's temple. So Kingdom is going to 181 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,880 communicate a shared place that we now have together. 182 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,840 It's going to communicate our shared values and our shared 183 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,960 King, Jesus Christ. And you move on to the 184 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:02,680 household. Household implies that we've 185 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:04,400 been given not only a place but a people. 186 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,440 And part of this people is now we have a shared Father, God the 187 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,440 Father, and you move on to this shared temple, this building and 188 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,440 it communicates a shared foundation and shared goals and 189 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,720 the shared presence of the Holy Spirit, Father, Son and spirit. 190 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:24,000 And I want to go through just to, to show you how rich this is 191 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,320 and how dense this is. If this was a, a chocolate cake, 192 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,760 it'd be heavy to carry. You can't there's I don't even 193 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:31,920 know how to preach how dense this passage is. 194 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,520 He starts by saying there's three metaphors for the church, 195 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,520 given we're citizens in his Kingdom, we're children in his 196 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,640 household, we're living stones in God's temple. 197 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,800 And every one of these metaphors images is telling us something 198 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:47,400 unique about us as the church. And these metaphors are 199 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,280 bolstering our new identity and and unity as followers of 200 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,000 Christ. And then there's the Trinity and 201 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,840 the Trinitarian formula that that moves us through these 202 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:57,520 verses. And so you see that the church 203 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,200 and the building of the church is from God the Father, and it's 204 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:05,760 done through Jesus the Son of God, and it's by his Holy 205 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,720 Spirit. There's a dynamic role played by 206 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:12,840 each person of the Trinity. And so he's saying, not only is 207 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,000 there unity for us as the body of Christ, but there's unity in 208 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,840 the Trinity as they're working out the building of this church 209 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,760 to the glory of God. God's eternal plan is is worked 210 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:24,800 out in time by Father, Son and Spirit. 211 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,360 And more than the metaphors and more than the Trinitarian 212 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,880 formula, there's a, there's movement in these 5 verses. 213 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:33,640 So you begin in the past and you're moving from past to 214 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,480 present to future. In the past, it says that Christ 215 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,120 was the cornerstone. He's the, the beginning of this 216 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,960 passage, his death, his resurrection, and his prophets 217 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,760 and his apostles laid the foundation after him. 218 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,400 Then you come to verse 21, and in the present it says that the 219 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,960 Holy Spirit is, is building this church, building us together 220 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:55,840 actively. And finally, verse 22, in the 221 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,520 future we grow into a permanent and eternal dwelling place for 222 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,440 God. And the whole movement, there's 223 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:04,960 movement in the whole passage from past to present to future. 224 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,960 He's teaching that history is progressing towards something 225 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,520 that God has strengthened you with power and given you gifts 226 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,840 and given you a ministry. All of this is moving in history 227 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,160 toward a goal. And the best way that Paul knew 228 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,560 how to communicate that goal was through the image or the 229 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,840 metaphor of a building. And finally, that's why he comes 230 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,680 to this last point, that there's an architectural metaphor that 231 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:31,440 spans all four verses. And there's four different words 232 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:35,000 for building that are going to come up as you move through. 233 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:40,280 And all of them have as a root word the word oikos, which if 234 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:42,720 you go to the grocery store and you see oikos, you may think 235 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:47,040 yogurt in the original Greek, oikos is a house. 236 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,040 It's a house. And so when we come to these 4 237 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,400 words, your your interpreters and translators have have 238 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:56,440 translated these words built and building and built together and 239 00:12:56,560 --> 00:13:01,800 dwelling, emphasizing over 4 verses the grand biblical vision 240 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,240 for humanity that the God who was separated from his people 241 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:10,160 because of our sin in the Garden of Eden has now made his eternal 242 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:14,120 dwelling place with his people. This is the, the undoing of 243 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:18,000 Eden, the the fulfillment of Christ's work, the the finished 244 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,760 work of Jesus Christ, God dwelling eternally with us. 245 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:26,880 So Paul's premier metaphor to illustrate this truth is that of 246 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:28,440 a building. They will be his people. 247 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,360 We will be his people. He will be our king, He will be 248 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:36,040 our Father, he will be our God. So if you look now to verses 19 249 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:41,600 to 22, what amazing verses we get to dig into and on this 250 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,160 foundation, Paul's going to start to to pile up next week 251 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:48,880 application in chapter 3. And he's going to say, now 252 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:52,280 because of this, you have boldness through your faith in 253 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,680 Jesus and he's going to say you minister now according to the 254 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:57,880 gifts given by the working of his power. 255 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:00,760 And he's going to add to that the riches of his glory, 256 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,840 strengthen you with power, because the Trinitarian work of 257 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,000 reconciliation that began with the apostles and the prophets 258 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:11,840 continues through us both as individuals and corporately as a 259 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:16,400 church, and it will persevere until God's spiritual temple is 260 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:18,640 completed. And so as you come to these 261 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:20,560 verses, again, there's three metaphors that are going to 262 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,080 guide us. We're citizens in God's Kingdom. 263 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:24,880 We're children in God's household, and we are living 264 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,040 stones in God's temple. We'll start in verse 19 with the 265 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,680 first metaphor. We are now citizens in God's 266 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:33,320 Kingdom. Read verse 19 with me again. 267 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,760 He says so then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but 268 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,520 you are fellow citizens with the Saints and members of the 269 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,520 household of God. So he states it first in a 270 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,720 negative way for emphasis. You are no longer strangers. 271 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:51,040 You are no longer aliens. A stranger is the typical word 272 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:55,160 for a foreigner. You used to be foreigners. 273 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,400 You were vulnerable. You had no permanent home. 274 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,720 You may be here, but you were not of us. 275 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,720 And the same word for alien, or it's a different word for alien. 276 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,600 It's a more specific word. Alien was a technical word in 277 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,200 the Old Testament to describe a Gentile who is living among 278 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,560 God's people, the Jews. So you have foreigners and you 279 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:17,080 have Gentiles who are there, but again, who are among them, but 280 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,320 not truly of them. This is a complaint that 281 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,040 churches here today, and we're not exempt from it, where they 282 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:28,040 say we've come into this church and we're trying to work our way 283 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,240 into inclusion and into this body. 284 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,120 But it's it's so hard to get past the clicks and it's so hard 285 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:37,160 to get in and actually be among and included in these people of 286 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,640 God. And this was what he says of the 287 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:41,160 Gentiles. They're they're outside the 288 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,320 citizenship of Israel. And so they were foreigners. 289 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:46,960 And he doesn't just state it negatively, he states it 290 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,320 positively. And this is where he gives us 291 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,480 this metaphor. He says, but now you are 292 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:56,520 citizens, fellow citizens, Jews and Gentiles, two different 293 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,000 classes have been brought new into this fundamentally new 294 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,240 identity, the church. The two have become one. 295 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,360 And Ian Hamilton, a commentator, puts it beautifully this way, 296 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,400 says in the new covenant, the nationalism and Jewish 297 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,720 particular ISM of the old covenant have been replaced, 298 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,240 brought to their gospel fulfillment in quote, beautiful 299 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:21,040 way to say that. And so now we are a church that 300 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,760 is transnational, and by that we mean we are part of something 301 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,480 that is global. And now we are a church that is 302 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,560 trans historical, which means that we are part of something 303 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,760 that is very, very ancient. This is bigger than any of us. 304 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:36,000 This is bigger than our local church. 305 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,400 This is bigger than you or me. This is transgenerational. 306 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:44,120 And it's transdenominational because this is bigger than us. 307 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,360 And we confess that God has made a way. 308 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,880 Though you were strangers, though you were aliens, you may 309 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,040 become citizens. You can become citizens through 310 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,120 the work of Christ. That word citizens, that for us 311 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,440 comes from an old French word that means literally a dweller 312 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:03,960 in a city. And so for us, a citizen is 313 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,200 somebody who lives in a specific country. 314 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:07,839 But the the metaphor is the same. 315 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,720 We've been given a place. We've been given a place and it 316 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:16,000 is heaven. And so scripture saying we are 317 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,680 fellow citizens with the Saints. Saints just means believers and 318 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,560 Scripture saying not only do you have a shared people to belong 319 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:23,000 to, but you have a place to belong. 320 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,960 And in this Kingdom we have a shared king and citizens are 321 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:29,840 given. You could think even to what 322 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:32,920 your citizenship as an American holds for you. 323 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,320 When you're given citizenship, you're given provision, you're 324 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:37,160 given protection, and you're given inclusion. 325 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,960 And so you're given provision of all of the freedoms that come 326 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,200 with being a citizen of the United States and all the 327 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,080 benefits federally that come to you from being a citizen. 328 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:51,480 This is just like with the Kingdom of heaven. 329 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,040 There are benefits, there's protections. 330 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,640 That's what US embassies are. There protections for you 331 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,640 everywhere you go abroad. There's protections for you. 332 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,480 There's the protection that's afforded to you from the 333 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,320 Constitution of the United States of America. 334 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,840 There's protections in the form of a Navy and the military and 335 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:13,880 army and the Marines and the Coast Guard and the National 336 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,320 Guard. They are here to defend you. 337 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,280 And then there's inclusion, the most beautiful of all. 338 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,080 You're given a new group identity and you're given a 339 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,920 place to belong. And so Paul saying that your new 340 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,080 Christian identity is not primarily your worldly 341 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,720 citizenship, but your heavenly citizenship. 342 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,320 Your heavenly citizenship comes with membership in a local 343 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,760 church because the metaphor for the local church is this is an 344 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,520 embassy. This is an embassy of God's 345 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:46,200 Kingdom on the earth. And we are proud to be members 346 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,640 of this embassy, this expression of God's Kingdom. 347 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:54,080 And so he adds, not only are you citizens of his Kingdom, but he 348 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,080 gives us the second metaphor in verse 19. 349 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,560 You also have membership in the household of God. 350 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,960 So we are members in God's household. 351 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,480 And this again is communicating shared life, fellowship. 352 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:08,280 We like to do things with one another. 353 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:12,320 We're ontologically united by the Spirit in Christ and we get 354 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:16,120 to fellowship with one another. It's communicating even more 355 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:19,400 than the metaphor of citizenship that we've been given a people. 356 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,520 That's why we we say over and over again, you belong here. 357 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:25,680 This is a home for you. It's a homecoming. 358 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,200 You always have a place here and members of a household 359 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,360 communicates a family. We're the family of God and God 360 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:35,480 is our Father. Which is why as a staff and as 361 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:37,720 pastors, when we send out any communication to the church, it 362 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,920 always begins with the same 2 words, church family. 363 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:47,320 All right, this isn't voting members or tithing units, giving 364 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,480 units like sometimes church likes to use those languages. 365 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,760 No, you are, we are family members, church family. 366 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:57,080 That's why our our meetings are not they're family meetings. 367 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,200 They're not business meetings. These are family meetings where 368 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,360 we worship and also engage in business together. 369 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,960 So membership in this household, you can look down to verse 22. 370 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,680 It culminates as a dwelling place for God and men for 371 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,400 eternity. And as you work your way into 372 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,800 verse 20, it's going to remind you that this household of God 373 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,960 is a precious gift of God according to the activity of God 374 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:24,080 made possible by not only his work. 375 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,480 This is why I love verse 20. This is an amazing realization, 376 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,160 But by the activity of the church, by our activity. 377 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,480 And so there's a consensus among commentators when it says the 378 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,760 phrase, the church is built on the foundation of the apostles 379 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:41,560 and the prophets. This is not talking about the 380 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:47,040 prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of Jesus -1 + 1 381 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:51,120 plus Paul, right? This is it says that this is the 382 00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:53,560 foundation of the, the cornerstone is Jesus Christ. 383 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:57,120 That's his finished work. And then came the apostles and 384 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:58,720 the prophets. What the commentators are saying 385 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:03,040 is that it's the 1st century apostles of Jesus and the 1st 386 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:07,000 century prophets, meaning the work of the early church, these 387 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,880 church members who are taking the gospel to the far corners of 388 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,360 the world. That's what it's talking about. 389 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:14,480 These were the first to preach Christ after his resurrection. 390 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,000 So again, this is saying it's not just the work of God, it's 391 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:24,200 the work of us, his church. And so we see evidence of this, 392 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,720 You know, how do we know that it's the 1st century apostles 393 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,280 and prophets? This is how Scripture speaks of 394 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,880 it. In Acts 21, for instance, 9 to 395 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,200 10, the Philip the Evangelist daughters, remember Philip the 396 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,800 Deacon turned evangelist, He has four daughters and it says that 397 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,160 they were prophetesses. And then in the very next verse, 398 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,480 it introduces you to one of the weirdest prophecies. 399 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:47,000 It's memorable of Agabus who hog ties himself and then tells 400 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,080 Paul, right, if you go to Jerusalem, so too will you be 401 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,720 tied up. Very typical prophetic picture. 402 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:54,480 But there there's prophets in the early church. 403 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,120 The same thing is going to come in Ephesians 410 to 11 and verse 404 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,120 10. It's going to say, there's this 405 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,120 historical progression where Jesus descended and then he 406 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:07,680 ascended into glory. And then it says, and then he 407 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,800 gave verse 11, the apostles and the prophets and the evangelists 408 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,680 and the shepherds and the teachers for building up the 409 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,200 body of Christ. So these were the offices of the 410 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,480 earliest church that God used to expand his Kingdom, to build 411 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:27,160 that first layer of the church. And so God gave gifted men to 412 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:28,800 inspire scripture and to form the church. 413 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,120 And now God gives gifted men and women to build his church. 414 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,320 The building of the church has not changed in 2000 years. 415 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,160 God does it the same way. The legacy of the expansion of 416 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:40,800 the church is still a story of adventure. 417 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,040 If you don't believe me, ask Josh Stokes as he goes to spend 418 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,960 an indefinite amount of time among people he's never met in 419 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,960 Liberia. It's still as a story of heroism 420 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,360 and bravery and loss and martyrdom, life and victory. 421 00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:56,480 So you go back to the early church. 422 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,440 What did they need? They needed farmers and 423 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:04,000 merchants and builders and bakers to take on a spirit of of 424 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,480 long-suffering and service and work ethic. 425 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:10,920 And they needed men and women who lived quietly and worked 426 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,840 with their hands. And they also needed heroes and 427 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,200 statesman and evangelists and church planners to take on a 428 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,280 spirit of boldness and risk. And our church, our local 429 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,600 church, needs those same things 2000 years later. 430 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,320 We need those same kinds of people. 431 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,000 And that we have to have a vision at this church that's as 432 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,280 deep and long and wide as the vision for the church that God 433 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,720 had for Ephesus and those local churches there. 434 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:41,000 We need bold businessmen who stay and bold entrepreneurial 435 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:46,400 women who engage in work. We need faithful Proverbs 31 436 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,520 women in all of our church. And we need faithful Psalm 112 437 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:55,160 men in all of our church, and we need families who are raising up 438 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,240 kids and teaching them with excellence in theological 439 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:58,880 education. And we need church members who 440 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,240 don't just come to church, but who give themselves forth a 441 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,720 church. Where are those men and women? 442 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,720 That's what we need to build this building. 443 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,520 And when you're faithful and the smallest role that God has given 444 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,960 you in this divine plan, you can be confident and have faith that 445 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,400 you are participating in building His church. 446 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:19,320 And there's a confidence that comes with the passage. 447 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,080 It says that Jesus is building his church and the gates of hell 448 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,600 will not prevail against it. You have confidence through 449 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,480 these verses. It's the kind of confidence that 450 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,280 gave Brian Salvey. He wrote the song Men of God 451 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,480 take up the sword, commenting on the verse that Jesus Christ 452 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:39,560 through his church is binding the strong man who is Satan and 453 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,720 plundering his goods. If you're a man in the room, you 454 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,480 love that metaphor. That's what we do, men and 455 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,560 women. We have to take up the sword and 456 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,400 take that which belongs right now to Satan and claim it for 457 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,160 God and his church. And we do that through taking 458 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,080 the children that he separated in this world. 459 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:58,640 He takes broken families and we we put them back together and he 460 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:00,640 takes children away from their parents in a way that they can 461 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,160 never return. And we bring them into our own 462 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:03,960 household. We remember that on Orphan 463 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,400 Sunday and we go out and we preach the gospel faithfully. 464 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,560 We win people to Christ and we bring them into the church. 465 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:11,360 That's what we're participating in. 466 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:13,760 We're saving people from eternal fire. 467 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,440 We're taking people who are citizens of the Kingdom of this 468 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,720 world, and we're giving them a new identity and a new metaphor 469 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:21,480 to live by. You are now citizens of the 470 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:23,280 Kingdom of God, and Christ is your king. 471 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,960 We're bringing them into the household of God that God might 472 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,520 be their Father. And we're making them part of 473 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:31,960 the beauty and the glory of the church so that we can say 474 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,160 together corporately we are His masterpiece. 475 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,040 He has created us new in Christ so that we can do the good deeds 476 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:42,200 he planned for us long ago. We will be a beautiful new 477 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,600 creation that will endure forever. 478 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,680 I'm going to go back. If you look at verse 17 last 479 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,440 week when Raleigh was preaching, it says that Christ preached to 480 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,560 those who were near and to those who are far away. 481 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:56,880 And if you think back to Jesus earthly ministry, he didn't 482 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,960 really get very far. And so how can we rightly say 483 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:02,720 that Jesus preached those to those who are far away, to 484 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:08,280 Gentiles who are far away. And we remember this, that where 485 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:12,880 we go, the Spirit of Jesus Christ goes before us and Christ 486 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,240 goes with us. If there's anything I know as I 487 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,240 read through Scripture, I go all the way back to Genesis. 488 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,320 It says that to Jacob, He says, I'm with you and I will keep you 489 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,920 wherever you go. You go to Joshua as they're 490 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:25,320 terrified going into the promised land. 491 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,520 He says, behold, I'm with you and I will keep you wherever you 492 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,480 go. Every epoch you come to the 493 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,600 Great Commission where he says, go and make disciples of all the 494 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,360 nations. He ends the the Gospel of 495 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:39,200 Matthew with what words I'm with you even to the end of the age. 496 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,640 I'm with you always Amen and Amen. 497 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:45,040 And so this household is built on the foundation of the 1st 498 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,640 century apostles and prophets. The cornerstone of the church. 499 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:52,240 What holds it all in place is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord 500 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:54,880 of glory, our Savior. Talk about the household of God. 501 00:26:54,880 --> 00:27:00,920 It's built on that cornerstone. And if you live post 1990, 502 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:06,040 there's archaeologists that found the, the stones that were 503 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:07,640 the, the foundation of the temple. 504 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,800 There's 5 stones that kind of made-up that foundation and 505 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,440 they're massive. The largest of these was 55 feet 506 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:21,680 long, 11 feet high and 14 feet wide and weighed 570 tons. 507 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,960 And so this is what Scripture wants you to think of when when 508 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:33,000 you look at that stone once set in place, it's not moving. 509 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,040 It is immovable, it is unshakable. 510 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:38,560 Scripture says when you think of that, I want you to think of 511 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:40,960 Jesus Christ because that is the foundation from the church. 512 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:43,560 Once it was laid, it will never be moved. 513 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:47,200 It cannot be shaken. It is a worthy foundation for 514 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,400 all of this enterprise of the church that he's building. 515 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:52,680 And so this is the image of Christ. 516 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,400 It began with his death. It was built on as the Holy 517 00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,400 Spirit came at Pentecost. This is where the building 518 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:01,400 began. And the work continues through 519 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,240 you and through us. So the first metaphor was that 520 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,600 we are citizens and His Kingdom. The second we are children in 521 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,640 His household. And finally, the third metaphor 522 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,080 he gives us is that we are living stones in God's temple. 523 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,960 You can see this in verses 21 to 22 read with me, says in whom 524 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,840 the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy 525 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,480 temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together 526 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,720 into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 527 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:32,240 So you see that this building is now a temple. 528 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,960 When you look at the metaphor of a temple, this is provocative, 529 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:37,720 intentionally provocative. Again, what is he doing with 530 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,800 what he's saying? He's attacking the temple of 531 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,440 Artemis that was in Ephesus. It was a a beautiful temple that 532 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,160 people would come all over the world to see this temple and 533 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,280 they still do. People still go from all over 534 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:51,520 the world to come to the ruins of this place. 535 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,640 It was the Temple of Diana or the temple of Artemis. 536 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:56,800 One of the seven wonders of the ancient world was in Ephesus. 537 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:02,400 Massive building, 377 feet long, 180 feet wide, entirely built of 538 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:06,560 marble, hosting A cult statue of Diana made of precious stones 539 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:11,360 and gold. The ancient writers said of 540 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,960 this, of this temple that it's splendor was quote beyond 541 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:16,320 compare. End Quote. 542 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,760 And Paul saying that's that's not true. 543 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:24,040 No, the most beautiful temple in the world is Christ Church. 544 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,200 Saying the temple of Artemis may be beautiful, but the most 545 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,920 beautiful structure in the world is his church. 546 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,560 And he's building a temple that alone is beyond compare. 547 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,080 It's adorned with choice stones from all over the world. 548 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,120 It's meant to bring up the the imagery that Paul already read 549 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,120 this morning of Second Chronicles 3, that all these 550 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,800 choice stones that are are being brought together, eclectic yet 551 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,080 unified. Paul says you are that building. 552 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,320 It's builder and architect is God. 553 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,480 Temple is the word heros, which is not here. 554 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,520 Actually the word heros. Heros is the word that meant the 555 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:56,080 temple and the grounds and the whole complex. 556 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:57,280 That's not the word he uses here. 557 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,200 He uses the word naos, which means just God's sanctuary. 558 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,960 This is talking about the holy place and the holy of holies, 559 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,320 and something is being communicated with each of these 560 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,880 metaphors. Remember back, His Kingdom is 561 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,320 communicating a shared place, shared values, and the shared 562 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,880 King, Jesus Christ, the households communicating shared 563 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:17,840 life and the shared Father, God the Father. 564 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,600 The temple is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 565 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,360 It's communicating a shared foundation, shared goals, and 566 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,120 the shared presence of the Holy Spirit. 567 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:29,280 Temple is connoting access. So take a thought experiment 568 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,360 with me. Think back to the Old Testament 569 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,240 and consider the temple through the lens of access. 570 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,160 And as you think about access, think even about the lighting 571 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,960 that is provided in this Old Testament temple. 572 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,280 Think with me for just a moment. Consider the Tabernacle in the 573 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:47,280 temple. If you were in the camp that 574 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:48,960 surrounded this temple, you had to be clean. 575 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,560 Access is provided to the clean. If you are because of your sin 576 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:54,640 or your sickness, you had to leave the camp. 577 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,320 There's not access provided even to the camp around the temple. 578 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:00,560 If you had, if you wanted to go into the temple compound the 579 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,880 temple grounds into the courtyard. 580 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:07,680 It was reserved for men alone, Israelite men and for the 581 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,480 purpose of sacrifice only. So access, the closer you get to 582 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:15,120 God, access is taken away. It's it's less than it's more 583 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:17,160 and more exclusive. And thinking of even the 584 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:20,120 lighting, the lighting of the courtyard is provided by the 585 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:21,800 sun. It's in broad daylight. 586 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,120 It's the sun. You can see what you're doing. 587 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,320 But then as you go closer to the presence of God, you enter into 588 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,640 the the holy place. Access is restricted. 589 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,280 Now it's just one of the 12 tribes and the the priests that 590 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:36,520 are able to go in have to be chosen by lot. 591 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,720 So it's God is now choosing who's coming in and access is 592 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,280 restricted. You look at the lighting, it's 593 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:47,680 now lit only by the menorah, very dull, dimly lit. 594 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:51,640 And finally, when you come to the Holy of Holies, who gets 595 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:56,600 access there? The high priest, and only once 596 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:01,080 per year as you come into the very presence of God, it's 597 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,760 darkness. He's not meant to be beheld. 598 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,320 He's not meant to be seen. And then you have the high 599 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:08,440 priest going in and throwing blood on everything, hoping he 600 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:10,560 hits the mercy seat so we can make atonement for the people. 601 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,120 He's dwelling in darkness. And so the message is God's 602 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,520 presence isn't meant to be beheld. 603 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:18,720 It's behind a veil. We read about it, a beautiful 604 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:23,600 veil, but it's he's back there, accessed only by the high priest 605 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:28,760 and only once a year until the veil is torn at his crucifixion. 606 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:32,760 That beautiful veil of purple and fine linen with the cherubim 607 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,080 inscribed on it got ripped it with schizo. 608 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:40,320 He tore it in half from top to bottom because through Christ we 609 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:44,840 all have access and he becomes a lamp to our feet and a light to 610 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:47,680 our path and through him we have access through the light of 611 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:52,200 Jesus Christ. And this is in this eternal 612 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,360 temple, we don't get access to God once a year. 613 00:32:55,360 --> 00:33:00,080 For just a few seconds, you become God's dwelling place. 614 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,480 This is the complete reversal of the fall. 615 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:06,240 That is the beauty of this metaphor. 616 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:09,360 God's building a building. He's bringing men and women from 617 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:10,680 every tribe and tongue and nation. 618 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:12,800 He doesn't just use the generic word for build. 619 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,360 He's building, but it's a more specific word that means he's, 620 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,640 he's fitting it together, communicating an intentionality 621 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,040 that's happening as he's building this a deliberate 622 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:25,280 choice as he's putting us all together and where we go and how 623 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,080 we minister. And Paul mixes metaphors here, 624 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:30,400 which is a sin in our culture, but I guess not for him. 625 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:31,920 He, he says we're not just a building. 626 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,160 We're we're a living, growing building. 627 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,000 And it's going to grow until it's complete and then the end 628 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:42,360 will come. And so we pray God that you 629 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:44,920 would grow our vision. We pray that God would grow our 630 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:47,920 vision, that it would be as deep and wide and long as this vision 631 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:52,640 for the church in Ephesians, a church that's trans historical 632 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,320 and transgenerational and transdenominational and trans 633 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,800 political and transnational. And my prayers that you would 634 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:02,280 have a vision of the church that's large enough to include 635 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:07,120 the farmer who's working quietly with his hands out there in 636 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,840 obscurity. And it'd be large enough to 637 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:11,840 extend to the stay at home mother who's raising up 638 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:16,440 worshippers to fill the earth and extend to the statesman in 639 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:20,639 Washington, DC, and to the church planners bold enough to 640 00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:22,280 go to the far corners of the world. 641 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:28,600 And so because of these verses, I, I ask you, whatever lot God 642 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:33,320 has given you, whatever part you have to play in this divine 643 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:38,520 plan, go with confidence knowing that you are building his 644 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:40,120 church. You're standing on the 645 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:44,520 foundation of the church from every generation, all the ages. 646 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,760 You've been given the baton from the church that's come before 647 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,600 you, from the Ephesian church, and through the centuries it's 648 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:53,000 come to you. And now it's for you to take the 649 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:57,880 bar and to move the bar further for the good of the Saints and 650 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,920 for the glory of God. God says he's building a 651 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:03,440 building as an inheritance for Jesus Christ. 652 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,760 This is the church. And he says the gates of hell 653 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:09,760 will not prevail against it. Please pray with me, Lord, 654 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:15,160 expand your church. Help us not to to eat the fruit 655 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,600 of idleness, but to see exactly what's happening. 656 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:22,320 You have called us as you bind the strong man that we plunder 657 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:25,360 his goods, Lord and and we want to do that. 658 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,400 We want to be active. May it be that we are a church 659 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,720 where every member is vibrant and alive and they have given 660 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:35,160 themselves to you and to your mission and to your Kingdom is 661 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:38,120 pictured in this building. Lord, we want to be your 662 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:39,840 masterpiece. You didn't call us your 663 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:45,600 masterpiece so that we can play video games 10 hours a day and 664 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:49,640 fall into all kinds of sin and temptation and to be idle and to 665 00:35:49,640 --> 00:35:52,800 be cowards. But you've given us the Spirit, 666 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:57,760 not a fear, but of power and of love and of self-control. 667 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,520 And so we pray, Lord, help us to walk in that with confidence. 668 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:04,120 Whatever lot you have given to us, whatever lot you have called 669 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:08,560 us to, by the power of your Holy Spirit, because of Jesus Christ 670 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,920 from the Father, we pray that we would walk in that to the glory 671 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:13,160 of God. Amen. 672 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:17,360 Thanks for listening. To learn more about Heritage 673 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,400 Church or if you'd like to respond to this sermon, visit 674 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:24,200 our website at www.heritage Shawnee dot. 675 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:24,840 Org.