HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE

July 25, 2021

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

 

 

Old Testament Lesson; Jeremiah 23:1-6

Psalm of the Day; Psalm 23

Gospel Lesson; Mark 6:30-34                             

Sermon Text; Ephesians 2:13-22

 

Right before our text is the very familiar Gospel sentence, that many know by heart.  It is this wonderful Gospel sentence. 

“For it is by grace that you have been saved

through faith. 

It is not from yourselves. 

It is a gift of God,

not by works,

so that no one can boast.”

That wonderful Gospel statement is a reminder of God's grace, and His undeserved love for us, who are sinners.  It is all by faith, and the working of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to faith to believe in Jesus, as our Savior.

Today, as the Apostle Paul is speaking God's Word, immediately he is talking to two groups of people.  The two groups of people he is talking to are the Jews, and the Gentiles, who are making up the Holy Christian Church, in this one generation after Jesus' death and resurrection.  You can imagine, maybe, the struggles in that Christian congregation, as Jews and Gentiles are coming together as one in their faith in Jesus.  In our text, when it talks about those who are “far away”, he is addressing Gentiles.  When he addresses those who are “near”, he is addressing the Jews.

Let's look at what it is the Apostle Paul has to say to those two groups of people in that generation, after Jesus' death and resurrection.  But, let's also look at what the Apostle Paul is saying to us, as well.

The Word of God we are looking at is taken from Ephesians, chapter two, looking at verses thirteen through twenty-two.

 

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace.  He made the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility that divided them when He abolished the law of commandments and regulations in His flesh.  He did this to create in Himself one new person out of the two, in this way making peace.  And He did this to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by putting the hostility to death on it.  He also came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household.  You have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the Cornerstone.  In Him the whole building is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  In Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

 

This is God's Word

 

So, again remember, as we are looking at our text for today, the Apostle Paul is addressing two groups of people, immediately.  He is addressing the Jews, and he is addressing the Gentiles.  He is saying they now have unity.  They now have peace with one another and with God, through the blood of Christ.  They have peace. 

The Greek word for 'peace' is 'eirene'.  I believe that a couple of summers ago we had a Spanish, foreign exchange, student who worshiped with us quite a bit, whose name was Eirene.  Her name means 'peace'.  Certainly, you probably know the Hebrew word for 'peace'.  The Hebrew word for 'peace' is 'shalom'. 

Paul today is telling the Jews and the Gentiles they have this unity with one another, and they have this peace with one another.  But, they also have this peace with God.

There are a number of questions I want to ask.  I am going to use our text to answer these questions.  These questions are simply the “how question”, the “why question”, and the “what question”.

Let's start with the “how question”. 

-How is it God brought about this unity?  How is it God brought about this peace, first of all between the Jews and the Gentiles, but also how did God bring about this peace with Jews and Gentiles, with Himself?
Our text for today tells us.  It says this. 

“For He Himself is our peace. 

He made the two groups one

by destroying the wall of hostility that divided them

when He abolished the law of commandments and regulations

in His flesh.”

Now, it is important to know what this is referring to.  But, it is also important to know what this is not referring to, when he talks about “the law of commandments and regulations”.

Remember The Old Testament Jews lived by three different laws.  There was the Civil Law, the Ceremonial Law, and Moral Law.  The Civil Law was for God's Old Testament people, only, the Jewish people.  Think civics, here.  It was the laws of government for them.  It only applied to the Jews.

The Ceremonial Law.  This also was only for The Old Testament Jews, and it was governing their religious practices, and their dietary laws. 

The third law, the Moral Law is The Ten Commandments.  That is for all people of all time, not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles.  So here, when Paul says the law of commandments and regulations were abolished, were done away with, he is referring to the Civil Law and the Ceremonial Law.  When Jesus died on the cross, and He said, “It is finished”, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, and those Civil Laws, those Ceremonial Laws were abolished.  They were done away with.  They had served their purpose.  They had served their purpose in serving as 'a fence of protection' for God's people, the Jews.  But now, they were done away with, and now Jews and Gentiles could have unity with one another, and they could have peace with one another, through our Lord, Jesus Christ.  That wall of hostility was destroyed. 

Now we ask the “why question”. 

-Why did God do this? 

Our text for today answers the question. 

“He did this to create in Himself one new person out of the two,

and in this way making peace. 

And He did this to reconcile both to God in one body

through the cross

by putting the hostility to death on it.”

So, God did this to create one person, so they would not be Jews and Gentiles separated from one another, but they would be one.  They would be united, and they would have peace.

The Apostle Paul was talking to another Christian congregation in Corinth, and put it this way. 

“If anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation. 

The old has gone,

and the new has come.”

And so, God did this to bring about peace.  Not only peace between individuals, Jews and Gentiles, but He also did this to bring about peace with individuals and Himself.

The last question I have for you today is this. 

-What is the result?  What is the result of this work God has done in bringing about peace? 

Our text for today tells us. 

“He also came and preached peace to you who are far away

(that is the Gentiles)

and peace to those who are near

(that is the Jews).

For through Him we both have access to the Father

by the one Spirit.”

So, God did this, as Jesus came, and He preached peace so that there would be unity, and so that all of us would have access to the Father.  Jews would have access to the Father.  Gentiles would have access to the Father.

Now, we know this, as we look at our Old Testament scriptures.  You know the hostility that was there between Jews and Gentiles.  They did not like to engage with each other.  You probably even heard that if I was a Jewish person living in the south of Israel, and I wanted to go and visit a Jewish friend in northern Israel, I would not take a straight journey there.  I would go out of my way, so I would not have to interact with Gentiles, so I would not have to interact with other people.

But what about you?  What about me?  We know the troubles and difficulties the Jews and Gentiles had with one another, but what about you?  Why is it you struggle with your relationships with other people?  Why is it that I struggle with my relationships with other people?  Certainly the answer you all are thinking about in your head is, “It is because of sin that we struggle in our relationships with other people.” 

Here is what we allow to happen.  I let my pride get in the way, and so do you.  You let your selfishness get in the way.  Well, guess what?  So do I.  In doing so, we allow this wall of hostility to build itself up between ourselves, and our relationship, with other people.  Now, during the course of this past week, I knew I wanted to focus on the word, 'peace'. 

Jesus, Himself, is our peace.  

But, during the course of this past week, there were two more words I knew I needed to bring up, and define with one another.  They are antonyms of each other. 

-The first one is 'hostility'.  Do you guys know what the word 'hostility' means?  It means, 'an unfriendliness, or an opposition to another person, or to another group of people'.

Here, because of sin, we allow hostility to get in the way, this wall of separation between ourselves, and our relationship with other people.  Think of that with Adam and Eve, for a moment.  (Over the course of these past few weeks, we have brought up, and talked about Adam and Eve.)  Think about their relationship with God.  They had a perfect relationship with God.  They walked with God.  They talked with God.  Then, when they sinned against God, what did they do?  They threw up a wall of hostility, and hid from God.  While they were hiding from God, they were not searching God out.  Isn't it awesome to know that God, in His love for them, He sought them out.  And, in searching them out, He made a promise to Adam and Eve.  The promise was this.  He would send His Son to be their Savior.  He would send His Son to save them from their sin.  In doing so, God knocked down that wall of hostility, in His relationship with Himself and Adam and Eve.

Notice the promise that is coming to you from our text today.  I am going to use it, talking about ourselves, because we are Gentiles.  But, this promise is for Jews and Gentiles.  It says,

“...You who once were far away...”  

And, we all were far away, because of our sin.  We have been brought near to God, through the blood of Jesus. 

I want you to know that verb tenses in scripture are important. 

We “have been brought near...”

It is not that we brought ourselves to God, but He brought Himself to us. 

We “have been brought near (to God)

by the blood of Christ.”  

As we have been brought near to God through the blood of Christ, we have been 'reconciled' to God, through Jesus.  That is the second word I want to bring up, and mention to you today.  The word 'reconcile' is an antonym to the word hostility.  The word hostility is an unfriendliness.  It is an opposition to another person, or to another group.  But, 'reconcile' is 'to make friends of those who once were enemies'.

Now, many of you have heard me share this story before with you. And, it probably won't be the last time I will share it with you, since maybe not everybody has heard this. 

When I was a boy, growing up at home, once a month there would be a letter that would come in the mail.  It was a letter from the bank.  It was the bank statement.  When that bank statement arrived in the mail, my mom would get out her checkbook, and she would open up her checkbook register.  Here is what she would say to us children. 

“Don't bother me right now, because I am reconciling the checkbook.” 

As kids, we did not know what that meant, but we knew we should just let Mom be by herself for a little while, until she has finished her task.

What was she doing?  On the kitchen table she was placing two things.  The bank statement, and her checkbook register.  And what was she doing?  She was making sure those two documents were in harmony with one another.  If you know my mom, she reconciles her checkbook to the penny.  She was making sure those two documents were in harmony with one another. 

That is what God has done to you, and to me.  We have this wall of hostility that we have built up between ourselves and God.  That wall of hostility is this.  It is an unfriendliness, or it is an opposition to God.  But, God in His love for you and me has done what?  Through the blood of Jesus, He has reconciled you to Himself.  He has reconciled me to Himself.  He did that through the blood of Jesus. 

And so, our text for today shares with us probably the most familiar portion of this portion of scripture, when it says this, because of Jesus reconciling you to God, who you now are. 

“So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,

but you are fellow citizens

with the saints and members of God's household. 

You have been built on the foundation

of the apostles and prophets,

with Christ Jesus, Himself,

as the chief Cornerstone.”

All of scripture points to Jesus.  The Old Testament was written by prophets.  The New Testament was written by Apostles.  Everything written in The Old Testament was pointing forward to the day when Jesus would come.  Everything in The New Testament was written to show what has completed with Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection.  Jesus is the central point of all of scriptures.  He is the main Person in all of scriptures.  He is the chief Cornerstone.  That is why, in our hymn before the sermon, we sang, 'Christ is Our Cornerstone'.  That is why, in our hymn after the sermon, we are singing the hymn, 'In Christ Alone'.  The first verse talks about Jesus being our Cornerstone.  It says this. 

In Christ alone my hope is found. 

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid ground...

Just as the cornerstone in Jesus' day was the key stone around which a building was built, so also in the scriptures Jesus is the central point.  Jesus Himself came to be our peace.

That is why at Christmastime, when we sing our Christmas hymns, we talk about Jesus being our peace. 

He is the wonderful Councilor,

mighty God,

everlasting Father,

the Prince of Peace.

That is why, in the Christmas hymn we sing,

Hark the Herald Angels Sing,

Glory to the new born King. 

Peace on earth and mercy mild. 

God and sinners reconciled.

Jesus Himself came to be our peace.

I close with this.  World War I began in the summer of 1914.  As World War I was raging on, it got to December of 1914.  In France there were two fronts.  There was a German front in which the German soldiers had dug a trench.  On the other front there were British and French soldiers who had dug a trench.  In between that was known as No Man's Land. 

As it came to Christmas Eve, and it came to Christmas Day, there were German soldiers who were getting up out of their trench.  And there were British and French soldiers who were getting up out of their trench.  They were walking toward one another in No Man's Land.  On Christmas Day they shook hands with one another, and exchanged gifts with one another.  They were singing Christmas hymns in German, English, and French.  For a moment, there was peace.  It was temporary peace, though.  It has become known as The Christmas Truce.

The very next day on December 26th the guns started up again, and the firing continued.

Guys, when Jesus came, He came to be our peace.  It is not a temporary peace, but it is a permanent peace.  Jesus has done away with 'The No Man's Land'.  Jesus has done away with the wall of hostility that separates us from God.  He destroyed that wall of hostility by His death on the cross.  Jesus Himself is our peace.  He has restored us to a right relationship with God. 

Now, it is my prayer that He also restores our relationships with one another.

God grant this unto us, for Jesus, our Savior's sake.

Amen

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, shall be now, and forevermore.

Amen