Under One Roof

Questions for Reflection

Ephesians 2:11-22

• What words did Paul use to describe us before we are reconciled to Christ in vs. 11-13?
• What is the purpose of Christ and how did he fulfill it in vs. 14-16?
• What are the different ‘dividing walls’ or ‘barriers’ that exists today between different groups of people? What role might you play in reconciling others and bringing peace in its fullness to the household of God?
• What has been given to all of us now that we are reconciled to God in vs. 13, 17-19? Have you experienced ‘access to the Father?’ How has that changed you?
• To learn more for how to practically live out this Scripture, watch the on-line video with Rajeev Nandakumaran, Outreach Ministries Project Manager, and Jeanine Smith, Director of Adult Communities.  To continue on with more questions in Ephesians 2:11-22, see the Small Group Study Guide.  Both are available at www.lakeave.org/becomingstudyguide

Sermon Notes

Becoming Who We Are: Under One Roof

Ephesians 2:11-22

     Yusufu Turaki, a Christian scholar and author in Nigeria, tells the story of a man from a rural tribe who had met an evangelist and become a Christian.  After a while, this new believer had an opportunity to visit a town with his evangelist friend, and, for the first time in his life, to go to a church.  But, when he walked into the church, he was shocked when he saw people from a neighboring tribe that his tribe hated, a tribe that had killed some of his friends and family members.  He angrily said, “What are those people doing in a church? They are dogs.  Their people are killers. I will not be seen with them.”

     But, his friend told the man, “Then, you have not yet understood why Jesus died.  He died so that they might be in his church.  And, he died so that you might be in his church.  When you are in his church, you and they are in it only because of his mercy.  Jesus gave his life to bring us all into one tribe with one Heavenly Father.  So, if you cannot learn to love your new brothers, then you do not yet love your Heavenly Father.”

#1:  The “Dividing Wall” Back Then …the dividing wall of hostility… (2:14)

     I remembered that story from Nigeria as I read again our passage of the day, Eph 2:11-22.  Throughout our study in Ephesians, we have been seeing that Paul spoke about two different kinds of ethnic groups coming by faith in Jesus into the church in the city of Ephesus, i.e., Jew and non-Jew. In last week’s passage, Eph 2:1-10, the Apostle Paul talked about there being a wall between all people and God that needs to come down.  Do you remember that?  He said that all people are dead to God because of our transgressions and sins, But God, because of his great love, has found a way to make us alive to him; i.e., by his grace through faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus tears down the wall between people and God.

     But, the problem is that, even though the wall between God and people comes down when we place our faith in Jesus, the walls between people and people often remain intact.  That brings us to Eph 2:11-22.  The point the Bible makes in our text today is that God’s grace through faith in Jesus is not only saving grace but also uniting grace!  In our text today, God’s Word takes on this matter of the relationship of people within the church to one another.  Look at two phrases, one in v. 14 and the other in v. 16:

• “Christ has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… (2:14)”
• “Christ put to death their hostility (2:16).”

     Don’t miss that word “hostility”?  It’s a strong word that occurs twice.  It’s a word that refers to hatred among enemies.  The “wall of hostility” in v. 14 was a wall that stood in the 1^st C. Temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the rest of the temple.  It was a wall that kept Gentiles out of the important places of meeting God.  On that wall there was an inscription, called the Thanatos Inscription, written in both Greek and Latin forbidding non-Jews to enter.  This is what it said: 

No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure.  Anyone who is caught doing so will have only himself to blame for his ensuing death.

     And, this hostility had spewed out into their regular teaching in the synagogues and Temple.  Some rabbis taught that God created Gentiles only to be fuel for hell.  Others said that it is immoral to help a Gentile woman give birth to a child because it would bring another heathen into the world. 

     So, can you imagine a young Jewish couple hearing the Gospel and believing in Jesus.  They tell their families about this and, although the families might be able to accept them following this Jesus and say, “On one hand, it’s not the best.  But, on the other hand, at least he was Jewish.”  But, then – what would the families think if they heard that their children and grandchildren were worshipping with Gentiles?  

     And this hostility was not a one-way street.  It was not just that Jewish people were hostile toward Gentiles.  No, believe me, anti-Semitism was alive and vibrant in the 1st C just as much as it has remained alive throughout the centuries.  All this is to say that one of the most difficult realities for 1^st C followers of Jesus to come to grips with was that Jew and Gentile were now in one family, by the eternal plan of God and the work of Christ. How would God break that wall of hatred and hostility down?

#2:  How God Breaks Down Walls -- Through the cross, God put to death their hostility (1:16).

     In 2:11-13, Paul spoke specifically to the Gentiles about what God had done for them.  He said that before Jesus came, they didn’t even have God’s Word.  They didn’t know what God’s moral law required of them.  They were, “Without hope and without God in the world (2:12).”  But, 2:13 is hope-filled: “But now… in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near…”  How? -- “thorough the blood of Christ (2:13).” 

     But it wasn’t just the Gentiles.  The Jews did have the Scriptures.  They knew God’s moral law.  But, they had a problem too.  They couldn’t keep the law.  They had all had fallen short.  Therefore, they too were without hope. So, what were they to do?  In v. 15, we get the answer.  “Jesus set aside in his flesh the law with its commandments and requirements.”  Jesus lived the life the law required by living a sinless life and then offered his life on behalf of those who have sinned.  This changed everything – for everyone.  Now, we who have failed – Jew and Gentile – can have peace with God.  Get ready to say hallelujah as I read 2:17-18: Jesus 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.

     With that beautiful declaration, we learn that when we place our faith in Christ, we experience 1) that the walls between us and God come down and, at the same time, 2) that the walls between us and our brothers and sisters in Christ come down too. Look at what he says in v. 14-16:    

* Jesus is our peace.  He destroyed the wall of hostility… (2:14) 

* Jesus’s purpose was to create in himself one new man humanity out of the two, thus making peace (2:15).

* Through Jesus both Jew and Gentile have access to the Father by one Spirit (2:18).

     In one of the most in-your-face passages in the Bible, we read, “Brothers and sisters in Christ: No more walls between you!  No more arrogant pride.  No more shunning one another!”  In other words, when we respond God’s offer of mercy and receive Jesus as Savior, we dare no longer have hostility toward another believer.  As we saw in last week’s text, Eph. 2:1-3, i.e., the only thing that would cause us to be broken from another believer and to refuse reconciliation is pride; i.e., the feeling that “I’m better than that other person or group”.  Or, thinking that “they have done unforgivable things and I never have.”   But, a genuine Christian cannot think those things -- Right?  We were all dead and enslaved and condemned (2:1-3).  We’re all only in God’s family by grace… so, in God’s family, there is no boasting!  No boasting -- and, no walls!

     So, what had to happen that these walls of hostility would come down?  1) God had to deal with the sins, transgressions and injustices in all people’s lives.  So, Jesus came into this world and bore the punishment necessary because of our sins so that we might be right with God.  And, 2) on a practical level, the ongoing sins of hostility toward people that existed in the church in Ephesus had to be identified, called out specifically, and repented of.  And, the same thing continues to be true in day.

     What I’m saying today is that, today, do not be surprised if you sense there is still some hostility that exists in your relationships to people. In fact, as you grow in your walk with God, you’ll find he opens your eyes to places where you need to seek reconciliation with people from whom you are broken.  When that happens, do not close your eyes to it.  Do what Paul did in Eph 2:11-22, i.e., identify where you have walls of hostility in your life, call them out for what they are, and then take steps toward peace. We will be seeing much, much more about how to do this in the passages we will be coming to in Ephesians.  But, now, let’s let Eph 2:19-22 guide our thinking and practice about being a people with no walls of hostility.

#3: Becoming Who We Are – One household living out the peace of Christ.  Consequently… (3:19).

     “Consequently…”  That’s how this next part of God’s Word begins.  Jesus gave his life to make peace between us as sinners and God.  Jesus gave his life to tear down any hostility that might exist in our hearts toward one another -- “Consequently!!”  In the next few verses, the Bible begins to tell us how the way we live as one unexpected family with no walls of hostility makes God’s glory known to the world.  In 2:14-18, Paul used two metaphors to describe our oneness in Christ, i.e., one new humanity (2:15) and one body (2:16).  In 2:19-22, Paul used two more metaphors to tell us the consequences of us placing our faith in the crucified Jesus.  He said, “Jesus died to make peace… Consequently”: 

1. We become “fellow citizens with God’s people”.

     Before coming to Christ, we were, according to the Bible “foreigners and aliens.”  Oh, both the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus were members of some nation – just as we are here today.  But, those kinds of citizenships do not last forever, do they?  What the Bible is saying is that apart from Christ, we do not know the eternal king over all kingdoms.  Using Paul’s language, we were aliens with respect to God and his eternal kingdom.  Alienation is a word most of us understand we understand well.  A sense of alienation is the root cause of hatred among nations and of racial strife.  It’s that deep sense that we really don’t belong.  But, the King over all kings declares, “In Christ, you are a citizen of my kingdom with all the rights of citizenship.  You are a fellow citizen with all my people.”  In other words, when you come to Christ, you become a part of a people with whom you belong -- never again an alien.  You belong forever with God’s people to God’s kingdom.

2. We become “fellow members of God’s household”.

     This is a much more intimate description of our relationship to God and to one another.  The church of Jesus Christ is not just a place where our God is the king over all kings or president over all presidents. No, God is our Father when we’re Christians. We’re not just citizens – we’re God’s children.  Together with people from every tribe, language and nation, we form the household of God.  Again, this shouts out that when we come to Jesus, we have a people and place of belonging.  I think that one of the biggest challenges for a church family that has a worship center as big as this one is to help all of us really experience that we belong here.  We all have to work hard to make sure that we nurture that kind of belonging here that Jesus died to bring about.

      Did you notice that Paul first said we become members of God’s household in v. 19 and then moved to the idea of us together being a household building, i.e., a place where the household meets, and God dwells in 2:20-22?  He was saying that, when this unexpected, diverse but unified family meets and worships together, we should experience God’s presence – and, at the same time, the world should see that God dwells here. 

     I know that when you read all this language about us being one body, one new humanity, one citizenship and one household of faith, you might get the idea that, when we come to Christ, we begin to lose all uniqueness, all the distinctiveness, with which God has created us.  It is indeed, this often happens in the world when we try to bring about oneness, i.e., we try to bring about equality by making everyone the same.  Do you remember the NBC television show, Community, filmed down at the LA Community College but about a fictional school called the Greendale Community College?  At that school, the Dean applied every aspect of “political correctness” to his school.  By that, I mean he so much wanted equality among people so much that he didn’t even want their school mascot to have any distinguishing traits.  He called their sports teams, “The Greendale Human Beings” and had this as their mascot:

     But, that’s not how God works.  I really love this about the gospel.  God doesn’t make us one by making us uniform.  Men remain men and women remain women – but we are one in our standing before God and in the church.  We also retain our skin color, our distinctive and God-given personalities, and our family names.  But what God does is that he brings us all together into a new and all transcending identity in Christ.

     Jesus is the heart of all this.  He is the cornerstone of this new household (2:20).  The cornerstone was the 1^st stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation in ancient buildings. The cornerstone was the principal stone placed at the corner of the building with all other stones being set in alignment with this stone.  What the Bible is saying is that, what aligns all of our lives is that we follow Jesus and become more like Jesus.  When we do live in unity, growing together to be more and more like Jesus, then the world will know that God dwells here at Lake Avenue Church.  “In Christ, you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (2:22).” 

     Let’s bring all of this home to us here at LAC right now.  Let me remind you of the commitment we have made as a church to becoming the kind of church the Bible describes in our passage this week.  Based on this text, Ephesians 2:11-22, we state that we are committed to the core value of “Kingdom Community”:

Reflecting God’s family in the church, we are unified across cultural, generational, socio-economic and racial/ethnic differences.

     So, among many kinds of walls of hostility that existed in the Ephesian Church, it is clear that the most formidable was the Jew/Gentile wall.  What do you think is the most formidable wall we face in our world?  I have asked that of dozens of LAC people this week – and each person quickly gave me the same answer, i.e., bringing the divisions we see in our nation’s political arena into the life of our church family.

     As I watched the hearing related to our Supreme Court playing out with such hostility, I began to do what the Bible commands us to do, i.e., to pray for our leaders, especially for our US Senators this week.  I’ve prayed that God would give them wisdom, sound minds and an understanding of what is good and just.

     And, I’ve prayed for us here at LAC, that God would enable us to walk through this time, not in uniformity, but in unity.  I’ve prayed that we will be able to discuss political matters respectfully and pray for our leaders together.  I’ve prayed that not one of us would say, “I will not worship in the same household of faith with people who disagree with me about political matters.”  We cannot have in our church family the kind of hostility we’ve seen in Washington, DC.  We have a higher citizenship brought about by the blood of Christ. 

     And, I need to call another matter out too.  Almost all of us have some walls in our personal relationships.  Sometimes, they are walls passed down to us by things in the past.  Others are walls we’ve built ourselves.  So, in response to God’s Word today, I ask you to allow the Spirit of God to help you search your heart right now.  Here is my question for you:  What wall in your relationships would you ask God to tear down today?  Now, beware -- When you ask that question, you should know that God will almost certainly ask you to take the first step toward peace. And, he will ask you to take that step with humility.  He will ask you to search you heart and be sure you want, not so much to win the battle, but that the best will happen for the other person or group. 

     Remember that to bring things back together, Jesus had to break down some walls – pride, hostility, grudges, etc.  Some of your personal walls of hostility may have to be broken if there will be peace.  There may be some hard places in your own heart that God will have to break down.  You will have to be ready to forgive and to receive forgiveness. 

     But, when you humble your heart and seek peace with someone else in obedience to God’s Word, you can be assured that God will be pleased.  And, in God’s time, you will begin to see God do more than you could ask, think or even imagine.  As walls begin to come down, you and the world that watches will know that you – and we – are “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (2:22).”

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Chinese Study Notes

回歸原本的自己：在同一屋檐下

以弗所書2：11-22

            尼日利亞有一位基督徒學者和作家，名叫Yusufu Turaki。他曾講述過一個鄉村部落成員遇到傳教士並成為基督徒的故事。後來，這位新信徒有機會和他的傳教士朋友一起去一個小鎮，並且在他的人生中第一次走進了教堂。但是當他走入教堂的時候，他很震驚的看到了為他自己部落所憎恨的鄰村部落的人們，那個部落的人曾經殺死過他的朋友和家人。他生氣地說：“那些人在教堂裏做什麽？他們是狗，是殺人犯。我不想和他們在一處。”

            但是他的朋友告訴他：“如果是這樣的話，那麽你還沒有理解耶穌為什麽而死。祂死了，他們才可以進入教會。祂死了，你也才可以進入教會。你和他們得以共同進入教會，都是因著神的恩典。耶穌舍棄了自己的生命，帶領我們所有人一起進入同一個部落，敬拜同一位天父。所以，如果你無法學習愛你的新弟兄，那麽你還沒有學會愛你的天父。

第一：從前那“中間隔斷的墻” ……將兩下合二為一，拆毀了中間隔斷的墻……(2:14)

            當我再次讀到我們今天的經文----以弗所書2：11-22時，我想起了尼日利亞的那個故事。在我們研讀以弗所書的時候，我們看到，保羅談到了兩種不同的種族群體都相信了耶穌、進入了以弗所教會，那就是猶太人和外邦人。上周我們講了以弗所書2：1-10，使徒保羅談到，在和神之間有一堵墻，需要被拆毀。你還記得嗎？他說：1）所有人都死在過犯罪惡之中（2：1，5）；2）所有人都被世界、被魔鬼、也被我們人類的貪欲所奴役；因此3）所有人都應受神的審判。然而因著神的慈愛和憐憫，祂找到了一種拯救所有人的方法，就是藉著信靠耶穌而獲得神的恩典。在耶穌裏的信心拆毀了那道隔在人與神之間的墻垣。

            然而問題是，雖然我們一旦信靠耶穌，神與人之間的墻就被拆毀，然而人與人之間的墻依然存在。這就將我們引入以弗所書2：11-22。今天的這段經文所顯明的信息是，藉著對耶穌的信仰，神的恩典不僅是拯救的恩典，也是合一的恩典！在這段經文中，神的話語講述了教會之中人與人之間關系的問題。請看14節和16節中的兩個短句：

• • 基督拆毀了中間隔斷的墻（2：14）
• • 基督在十字架上滅了冤仇（2：16）

不要錯過“冤仇”這個詞。這個強烈的用語出現了兩次。這是一個描述仇敵之間仇恨的

詞語。14節中說到的“隔斷的墻”，是在第一世紀立在會堂裏的墻，那墻使外邦人的法庭與會堂其他部分分隔開來.。這堵墻將外邦人阻隔在朝見神的重要地方之外。在那面墻上，刻著用希臘文和拉丁文書寫的Thanatos銘文，禁止非猶太人進入。下面就是其中的內容：: 任何外族人不得進入聖所及其圍墻所及之處，任何違法法規之人若被擒獲致死，都需自負全責。

            並且這種敵意也顯明在他們的會堂與聖殿的日常教導之中。有些拉比甚至教導說，神創造外邦人，就是為了使他們成為地獄的燃料。還有人說，幫助外邦女人生產是不道德的事情，因為那樣就幫助他們帶了另一個異教徒進入世界。

            因此，你可以想象，一對猶太教夫婦聽到福音以後相信了耶穌，他們將自己的信仰告訴家人，雖然家人們可能會接受他們跟隨耶穌，並且說：“這雖然並不是太好的事情，但是另一方面，祂至少是個猶太人。”然而如果這些家人聽到他們的孩子或子孫與外邦人一同敬拜，他們會作何感想呢？

            這種仇恨不是單方面的。並不僅僅是猶太人對外邦人懷有敵意，不是的，相信我。貫穿歷史，當代反猶太主義的熱潮並不亞於第一世紀。這一切都顯明，耶穌在第一世紀的跟隨者們最難以理解的現實之一，就是因著神永恒的計劃和基督的工作，猶太人與外邦人現在同屬一個家庭，你看到了嗎？聖殿之中的阻隔之墻只是他們心中彼此仇恨的外在表現。如果神永恒的計劃是創造一個包容這兩個群體的傑作（2：10），以顯明祂的榮耀，那麽祂如何打破那仇恨之墻的阻隔呢？

第二：神如何摧毀那阻隔之墻 ---- 在十字架上滅了冤仇（2：16）

            在2：11-13， 保羅向外邦人講述了神為他們所成就的。他說，在耶穌到來之前，他們甚至沒有神的話語。他們不知道神的典章對他們的要求。“他們活在世上沒有指望（2：12）。” 然而，2：13卻充滿了希望：“但是現今……從前遠離神的人，如今在耶穌基督裏，靠著祂的血，已經得親近了”（2：13）。

            但這不僅僅是對猶太人說的。猶太人確實有聖經。他們知道神的典章。然而他們也有問題。他們無法遵守律例。他們全都有所虧缺。因此他們也毫無希望。那麽他們要怎樣做呢？我們在15節中可以得到答案。“耶穌以自己的身體，廢掉冤仇，就是那記在律法上的規條。”耶穌按照律法的要求，過著無罪的生活，然後卻為罪人舍了生命。這改變了所有人的生命。現在，我們這些失敗的猶太人和外邦人都得以與神和好。在我接下來讀2：17-18時，請大家準備好說哈利路亞：“並且來傳和平的福音給你們遠處的人，也給那近處的人。因為我們兩下藉著祂被一個聖靈所感得以進到父面前。”

            藉著這個美麗的宣告，聖經明確告訴我們，因著耶穌基督的死，1）那些在基督裏的人都與神建立了關系；2）來到基督面前的人們之間的墻垣被拆毀。請看14節：基督使我們和睦，將兩下合而為一，拆毀了中間隔斷的墻。在這裏譯為“和平”之意的詞，原文是“Eirene”，這個詞的願意是修復破碎的關系，直到它們完整如初。

            聖經中最常見的一段經文中告訴我們，在基督裏的弟兄姐妹們之間不再有墻垣相隔！也不再有傲慢。沒有人再彼此躲避！“請看祂的話：

• • 耶穌拆毀了中間隔斷的墻（2：14）
• • 基督將兩下藉著自己造成一個新人，如此便成就了和睦（2：15）。
• • 我們兩下藉著祂被一個聖靈所感得以進到父面前（2：18）。

藉著這些清晰有力的話語，聖經宣告說，當我們回應神所賜下的憐憫，並接受耶穌為

救主時，我們就不會對其他信徒懷有敵意。正如我們在上周的經文----以弗所書2：1-3中看到的那樣，唯一會導致我們與其他信徒不和，並拒絕和解的事情，就是驕傲，也就是認為自己比其他人或團體更好。或者認為“他們做了不可饒恕的事情，而我從未做過。“ 但是真正的基督徒不能這樣想，對不對？我們都死於過犯罪惡之中（2：1-3）。我們只是因著神的恩典才進入神的家……因此，在神的家中，不應有自大！沒有自大，就沒有阻隔！

            那麽，要怎樣才能摧毀這隔斷的墻垣呢？1）神必須要處理人生命之中的罪惡、過犯與不公。不能任由邪惡被忽視或掩蓋。因此，耶穌來到世上，擔當了因著我們的罪而必須要受的刑罰。2）在現實的層面上，以弗所教會必須要指出他們對人懷有敵意的罪，並且為之悔改。

            在我們的生活和教會中，同樣的事情仍然在繼續。當我們來到神的面前，我們需要確定我們生命中的罪，需要轉離它們，向神悔改。當然，在我們最初信靠耶穌，承認祂是救主之時，我們就這樣做了。你是否轉離了自己的罪、信靠耶穌為你的救主呢？

            我今天要說的是，當我們與神同行時，我們發現，神打開我們的眼睛，讓我們看到自己的罪，然後我們向神悔改、並相信祂會赦免我們，也會繼續在我們裏面作工。使徒約翰在約翰一書1：9是怎麽說的？“如果我們認我們的罪，神是信實的，必要赦免我們的罪，並使我們免受一切的不義。“

            具體來說，在我們破碎的人際關系中，我們需要做保羅在以弗所書2：11-22中所提到的事情，也就是確定我們生命中的那阻隔之墻，然後學習邁向和平。在我們研讀以弗所書的時候，我們將看到很多關於如何這樣做的經文。但是現在，讓以弗所書2：19-22引導我們的思考和行為，讓我們成為一個沒有阻隔之墻的人。

第三，成為原本的自己 ----基督將兩下藉著自己造成一個新人，如此，便成就了和睦。既…（2：15）

            “既……” 這是神的話語下一個部分開始的方式。耶穌為了使我們這罪人與神之間和好，舍棄了生命。祂為了消除我們心中對彼此的敵意而受死。“如此“， 在下面的幾節經文裏，聖經告訴我們，作為神家的成員，我們應當如何藉著沒有敵意阻隔的生活方式，向世人宣告和彰顯神的榮耀。在2:14-18，保羅使用兩個比喻來描述我們在基督裏的合一：一個新人（2：15）和一體（2：16）。在2：19-22，保羅以這兩個比喻告訴我們，若信靠那釘十字架的耶穌，我們將會得到什麽。他說：耶穌為要成就和睦而受死……因此…。

1）我們成為神子民中的一员

            在我們認識基督之前，根據聖經，我們是“外人和客旅”。以弗所的猶太人和外邦人都是屬於某個國家的成員，就像我們今天這樣。但是那個身份不是永久性的。聖經的意思是，若是與基督分離，我們就無法認識那永恒的萬王之王。保羅的意思是，對於神的永恒國度來說，我們是外人。我們大多數人都能理解疏遠的含義。疏遠是各國與各種族間仇恨的根源。是一種完全沒有歸屬的感覺。但是萬王之王宣告說：“在基督裏，你是神國裏的一分子，享有一切權力。你是我子民之中的一個。”換句話說，你永遠不再是外人。你永遠和神的子民同屬神的國度。

2）我們成為“神家的成員”

            這是對我們與神的關系和我們與彼此間關系的更為親密的描述。耶穌基督的教會不僅只是我們的神統領萬國的地方。不是的，當我們成為基督徒時，神是我們的天父。我們也不僅只是成員而已，我們是神在兒女，與各國及各種語言民族的人們一起組成了神的家。再強調一次，這大聲宣告了一個事實，就是當我們來到耶穌的面前，我們就有了所歸之處與所屬的群體。我想，像我們這樣一個有著宏偉教堂的教會，其中一件最富挑戰的事情，就是幫助會友們建立和經歷歸屬感。我們必須努力培育這種因著耶穌的受死而帶給我們的歸屬感。

            你有沒有註意到，在19節中，保羅首先說到，我們成為了神家裏的人，接著說到我們一同成為主的聖殿，就是20-22節中所說的神家裏的人所聚集、神所居住之處。他的意思是，當這些各不相同、卻又合而為一的家人一同聚集敬拜的時候，我們應當經歷到神的同在，同時，世人也當看到神住在這裏。

            我知道，在你讀到我們成為一個身體、一個新人、一個族類、一個信仰的話之後，你可能會想，是不是當我們來到基督的面前時，我們就開始失去神所賦予我們的全部的獨一性與獨特性。事實上，每當我們試圖取得同一性時，經常會發生這種情況。比如我們希望每個人都一樣，由此而帶來平等。不知你是否記得，有一個NBC電視臺的節目，叫做“社區”，是在洛杉磯社區學院拍攝的，但其實這個節目是關於一所虛構的、名叫格林黛爾的社區大學。在那間學校裏，教務長將“政治上的正確性”應用到學校各種事務之中。意思就是，他非常希望人們之間能夠平等，以至於他甚至不希望他們學校的標誌有任何獨特之處。他稱學校的運動隊為“格林黛爾的人”，並且以下面的圖形作為他們學校的標誌:

            但是，這不是神作工的方式。我很欣賞福音的這個方面。神使我們統一，卻沒有使我們變得一樣。男人仍然是男人，女人仍舊是女人，但是我們在教會裏、在神的面前，我們是合一的。我們仍然保留自己的膚色，的獨特性、神所賜的個性，和我們的姓氏。但是神將我們聚集在一起，使我們在基督裏成為一個全新的、有超越性的群體。

            基督是這一切的核心。祂是這新聖殿的房角石（2：20）。在古代的建築中，房角石是砌築根基的第一塊石頭。。 房角石是放置在一棟建築物角落的最主要的石頭，所有其他石頭都以它為基準。聖經的意思是，我們一切的生活都當以耶穌為基準，越來越像耶穌。當我們確實合一地生活、共同成長，越來越像耶穌時，世人就會知道，神住在我們教會之中。“你們也靠他同被建造成為神藉著聖靈居住的所在（2：22）。”

            讓我們看一看，我們在教會中應當如何理解這一切。我想提醒大家，作為一個教會，我們曾做出承諾，要做我們這周所學經文之中描述的那種教會。根據以弗所書2：11-22，我們宣告說，我們承諾要致力於神國的核心價值。為要在教會中顯明神家的特點，我們來自不同的文化、年齡和種族的人都要一同聯合。

            在以弗所教會中存在的各種阻隔之墻中，最頑固的就是猶太人與外邦人之間的墻。你認為在我們的世界中，我們所面對的最頑固的墻是什麽？這一周，我問了我們教會很多人同樣的問題，每個人都很快的給了我同樣的答案，那就是，將我們在國家政治舞臺上所看到的分歧帶入神家的教會生活之中。

            當我看到在最高法院的聽證會上的那些敵意時，我開始做聖經命令我們做的事情，就是為我們的領導人禱告，尤其是為我們的參議員禱告。我祈求神賜給他們智慧、睿智的思想以及對良善與公義的理解。

            我也為我們的教會禱告，求神使我們能夠合一地走過這個階段。我祈求神，使我們能在談論政治問題的時候彼此尊重，能一起為國家領袖禱告。我祈求，我們中間沒有一個人會說：“我不會和那些與我有不同政見的人在同一個教會聚會。“ 我們不願在我們的教會裏看到華盛頓特區的那種敵意。基督的寶血帶給我們的是更高一層的公民身份。

            我也需要提到另一個問題。我們幾乎所有人都在各種私人關系中有某些阻隔。有時候，這種阻隔是過去遺留的事物所傳遞給我們的。還有一些阻隔是我們自己造成的。因此，今天在回應神的話語時，我想請大家讓聖靈在此時幫助你反省自己的內心。以下是我的問題：在你的個人關系中，你有什麽墻垣需要求神幫助你拆除？在你問這個問題的時候要小心，你應該知道，幾乎可以肯定，神會讓你邁出走向和睦的第一步。祂會讓你謙卑地邁出這一步。祂會讓你檢視自己的內心並確定，你不是為了贏得什麽爭戰，而是希望最好的事情能發生在對方的身上。

            請記住，為要使一切都恢復合一，耶穌必須要拆毀一些墻垣，包括驕傲、敵意、怨恨等等。若想要和平，你的一些個人的阻隔也必須要被拆毀。神可能必須要拆除一些你自己內心的堅硬之處。你必須要準備好原諒別人以及接受原諒。

            當你謙卑下來，順從神的教導，與人尋求和睦時，神必定會喜悅。而且，在神所定的時間之內，你定會看到，神所做的遠超你所求所想。當那墻垣倒塌之時，你和世人都會知道，我們是“靠祂同被建造成為神藉著聖靈居住的所在”（2：22）。“

榮耀歸給神

Greg Waybright博士

主任牧師