Wednesday Bible Study: Ephesians revisited part two

 

This one's about prejudice.  At least, that's how it came to me.

I know I heard two messages this week on prejudice, and while the details didn't all stick, I had it guide me to the topic of, there is more than one kind of prejudice.

One is race hate.  This needs no explanation, and it's not what I'm about to deal with.  The other types are a bit more common, and a bit more insidious.

One is a way of looking at another group through stereotypes: the so-and-so's are lazy, they have poor hygiene, they are just waiting for an excuse.

One has nothing to do with actual hate; it's what you take for granted.  They have my same opportunities, they shouldn't mind that joke, because it's not directed at any real person.  It's just funny, why does it bother you?  If it doesn't happen to me, it doesn't happen to you.  That sort of thing.

And one I didn't really catch until the other day.  I'm going to save that till the end.  So what's that got to do with Ephesians chapter two?  You'll see.

This chapter is lined up in such a way that even Paul couldn't (unintentionally) obfuscate it.  There are two 'therefores', two pairs of 'fors', and two 'buts'.  And each tells a story that leads back to where I started.  And each starts with our start:

Eph 2:1  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Eph 2:2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--
Eph 2:3  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

We start dead.  Dead to God, doing whatever.  That 'whatever' attitude is what leads to increasing degrees of prejudice- the joke that 'doesn't matter', the stereotype that 'usually fits', the 'hell with them'.

But note also, we have three enemies here: the spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience, plus our own mind and our own body.  When you realize this, the battle becomes serious, and believe me, it's where I am.  And the "Buts" start with this- BUT God has a cure.

But #1:

Eph 2:4  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Eph 2:5  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
Eph 2:6  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The first but has a few layers. First, God is rich in mercy, and has a great love for us- a love that put Jesus on the Cross. Then, His plan is to make us alive- and more, to give us a seat in heaven. Finally, He has a rich future in store.

But # 2:

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

This 'but' might make a little more sense if I strung things together Paul's way, but I see a lesson in splitting this all up.  And here, the lesson is that Christ should be bringing us TOGETHER.  And being together means standing a little closer than we 'naturally' would to people who are 'different' than us.

So the 'buts' speak of our before and after conditions; the 'for's' will tell us what God has done to facilitate that:

For #1:

Eph 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

WHAT is what He did.  He saved us, of His own good will, and we had nothing to do with that. IF we are saved- and here's a PSA on that:

Rom 10:9  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For # 2:

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Skipping the 'saved by works' battle that wastes all our time, the WHY is because He made us.  That's why He loves us, that's why He saves us.

For # 3:

Eph 2:14  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
Eph 2:15  by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
Eph 2:16  and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

This is the verse that every crusader, every priest that preached that the Jews "killed Jesus", missed. The hostility is to be killed, not the human being.

For # 4:

Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

And this is the NEED- our only need.  To have access to God.  And that, too, God has accomplished.

But, who is this 'both' Paul is mentioning?  Let's go to the 'therefores'...

Therefore #1:

Eph 2:11  Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--
Eph 2:12  remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Ah, see, here's where the prejudice started.  Israel, who was supposed to spread God's love, kept it to themselves and spread hate to others.  And I'm not saying Israel invented prejudice- but they sure injected it into faith.  And Paul had to deal with it, because it was so ingrained, so insidious.  So, why 'remember'? because the Gentile believers had to overcome prejudice at both ends.  They had to recover from the prejudice of the Jewish believers- and they had to stamp it out in themselves.  And there was lots of ground to cover- the self-righteous Corinthians, the foolish Galatians, the lazy Cretans.

Therefore #2:

Eph 2:19  Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
Eph 2:20  and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
Eph 2:21  in whom every building having been fitly framed together, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord;
Eph 2:22  in whom you also are built together for a dwelling place of God through the Spirit. 

 

One building.  One purpose.  No 'save the black stones for the lower levels, put the yellow ones out back, the steeple needs to be white ones'.  Remember last time me mentioning this:

Eph 1:10  as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

The plan was always to unify us, all one people, with all our differences.  So now, what about that last type of prejudice I mentioned?

Well, I tumbled on to that when I had an old reaction to a new story.  Recently, 81-year-old House Speaker Mitch McConnell had a fall at a hotel, and got a concussion. And I reacted...

And right then, I caught myself.  Here was prejudice- in taking joy at one of our high and mighty politicians 'getting what they deserve'.  Does it matter it was one man, or a group? Republican or Democrat? Woke or dozing? I confessed the sin, and prayed for him.  Because politicians are part of 'one people' too.  So are gang members, protesters who throw paint on artwork, sports commentators who see racism where there isn't any.  Does this mean I should throw out my Three Stooges collection?  Not necessarily- But I better check the motives of my enjoyment... remember:

1Co 4:5  Therefore, stop judging prematurely, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts. Then each person will receive his praise from God.