Ephesians 2:11-18<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. It is important for Christian to remember and reflect<\/p>\n
1. 1 Corinthians 4:17<\/p>\n
2. 2 Peter 3:1<\/p>\n
B. In Ephesians 2:11-18, Paul is reminding the Ephesian Christians where they WERE and where they are NOW<\/p>\n
1. We need this today as Christians, that is, to be reminded of where we were and where we are now, lest we become lackadaisical in our Christian walk.<\/p>\n
2. When a Christian thinks of his life as a non-Christian, he should be even more thankful for his life as a Christian<\/p>\n
C. Ephesians 2:11-12<\/p>\n
1. Before they had become Christians they were:<\/p>\n
a. Held in contempt by the Jews<\/p>\n
1) The Jews by their corruption of truth were keeping many Gentiles from the Lord<\/p>\n
2) Today many are corrupting truth…<\/p>\n
b. “Separate from Christ” (“without Christ” — KJV)<\/p>\n
c. “Alienated” from spiritual Israel<\/p>\n
d. “Strangers from the covenants of the promise”<\/p>\n
e. “Having no hope”<\/p>\n
f. “Without God”<\/p>\n
2. What did these Gentiles do about their terrible situation? or what could they do?<\/p>\n
a. They had to rely on Christ!<\/p>\n
b. Notice what Christ brings!!!<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. CHRIST BRINGS US NEAR TO GOD (v. 13)<\/p>\n
1. Paul says, “but now”<\/p>\n
a. But now the gospel has come into force<\/p>\n
b. Those who were once “far off” are brought near unto God<\/p>\n
2. They were “made nigh”<\/p>\n
a. There was a removal of the barrier between Jew and Gentile<\/p>\n
b. There was a removal of the barrier between them and Christ<\/p>\n
3. This was all accomplished “in the blood of Christ”<\/p>\n
a. Hebrews 9:13-14<\/p>\n
b. 1 Peter 1:18-19<\/p>\n
4. Thus, we see Christ’s true love for us … John 15:13<\/p>\n
a. Notice what kind of friends we were:<\/p>\n
1) Romans 5:6-8<\/p>\n
2) We were “enemies” of God! (Rom. 5:10)<\/p>\n
b. Could there be any greater love than that of Christ’s?<\/p>\n
B. CHRIST BRINGS US PEACE (vs. 14-15)<\/p>\n
1. Christ brings peace by bringing men together as “one” (v.14)<\/p>\n
a. In times past they were two parties, Jew and Gentile, but this dualistic separation has ceased<\/p>\n
b. Now there is a unity between all obedient believers<\/p>\n
c. Galatians 3:27-28<\/p>\n
d. Notice how we keep this unity … 1 John 1:7<\/p>\n
2. Christ brings peace by breaking down all barriers (v. 14)<\/p>\n
a. The “middle wall of partition” is a picture take from the temple.<\/p>\n
1) The temple had many courts and barriers separating each; .e.g. the court of the Gentiles, the court of women, etc.<\/p>\n
2) Christ broke down all these barriers<\/p>\n
b. All now have access to the Holy of Holies (heaven)<\/p>\n
c. Thus there are to be no barriers of race, wealth, dress, ability, etc.<\/p>\n
3. Christ brings peace by wiping out the “enmity” of the law against us (v. 15)<\/p>\n
a. By being crucified on the cross, Christ abolished the law of Moses<\/p>\n
b. The law of Moses brought enmity because no one could keep it perfectly, therefore, no one could be justified by the law of Moses<\/p>\n
c. Christ removed this enmity<\/p>\n
4. Christ brings peace by creating a “new man” (v. 15)<\/p>\n
a. It is through the new law, the law of Christ, that a man can be created anew<\/p>\n
1) As opposed to the enmity that prevailed between Jew and Gentile<\/p>\n
2) As opposed to the old man of sin<\/p>\n
b. John 3:3-5<\/p>\n
c. 2 Corinthians 5:17<\/p>\n
C. CHRIST BRINGS US RECONCILIATION (vs. 16-17)<\/p>\n
1. The word “reconcile” comes from a Greek word that means to change, to change thoroughly, to bring together, to restore, to turn hostility to friendship<\/p>\n
2. Reconciliation came by means of the cross<\/p>\n
a. When we sin we need to be reconciled (Isa. 59:1-2)<\/p>\n
b. The cross of Jesus made this possible<\/p>\n
1) 2 Corinthians 5:18<\/p>\n
2) Colossians 1:19-20<\/p>\n
3. We learn about this reconciliation through the preaching of the gospel<\/p>\n
a. We have been given the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18)<\/p>\n
b. Romans 1:16<\/p>\n
c. That’s why the gospel is “good news”<\/p>\n
D. CHRIST BRINGS US ACCESS TO GOD (v. 18)<\/p>\n
1. This does not mean that all men will be saved, but all men will have opportunity to be saved<\/p>\n
2. We gain access to the Father “through His Son”<\/p>\n
a. John 14:6<\/p>\n
b. Hebrews 10:19-20<\/p>\n
c. But, we must travel the right way<\/p>\n
1) Proverbs 14:12<\/p>\n
2) Matthew 7:13-14<\/p>\n
3. We also have access to the Father “in one Spirit”<\/p>\n
a. This occurs when we obeys the words of the Spirit revealed in the New Testament<\/p>\n
b. When we obey the Bible we are led by the Spirit unto the Father<\/p>\n
4. Because of the Son and the Holy Spirit, we have a very special relationship with the Father<\/p>\n
a. Galatians 4:6-7<\/p>\n
b. Our relationship with the Father, if we are a Christian, is both personal and paternal<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. It is important for us to remember that:<\/p>\n
1. We were separated from God<\/p>\n
2. Christ brought us near to God<\/p>\n
3. Christ brings us peace<\/p>\n
4. Christ brings us reconciliation<\/p>\n
5. Christ brings us access to God<\/p>\n
B. When we forget these things we lose sight of them, and then we lose sight of God and become lukewarm and unfaithful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sermon on the Work of Christ Ephesians 2:11-18 INTRODUCTION: A. It is important for Christian to remember and reflect 1. 1 Corinthians 4:17 2. 2 Peter 3:1 B. In Ephesians 2:11-18, Paul is reminding the Ephesian Christians where they WERE and where they are NOW 1. We need this today as Christians, that is, to … Continue reading “Sermon on the Work of Christ | What Christ Brings – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}