7/23 Sermon

CHURCH                                                                                                                      

Last two weeks, we have been studying Ephesians chapter 1 and 2, specifically, about the love of God shown though Jesus Christ. We are chosen because God loves us (we are his children), wants us to be holy/blameless (to have relationship with God), according to his will (to build and expand God’s kingdom), and to praise His glorious grace. The main point was God wants to build and expand his kingdom through YOU, which means you are selected to be ambassadors of God to spread gospel to your non-Christian friends. And when you become the salt and the light of the world to expand the kingdom of God that is how God’s grace is praised and displayed.
 
What is kingdom? It is not a castle, or buildings, or regulations, or sets of rules… God’s kingdom is made of God’s people. Full of Christians, Christ followers.
So, where do we find this kingdom on this earth? Your local church. The church you attend. It is 밀알 church.
So, we are going to talk about the church. And interestingly enough, Paul is talking about the church from Ephesians 2: 11 to 3:13
 
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility15 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, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[d] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by[e] the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13~22)
 
Before we dive into what the God’s church is all about, there is important thing that we must understand: Jesus is our peace. (14) We will study what this mean from today’s scripture and how this truth propagates to the true idea of church.
 
If one of God’s main objectives are building and expanding God’s kingdom, what would our enemy (Satan) do? He would try to destroy and abolish the kingdom, which is church. What would be the main thing that breaks up God’s church? What would divide up the local church? Fights, different ideas, different belief, different preference, different background and cultures…
NOT having the unity breaks up the church.
 
I want to bring up two points from the scripture today:

1. Why should we deeply committed to the local church
2. How unity can be achieved within the church

 
Let’s go back to our scripture: In verse 11, Paul said we were gentiles and strangers. Verse 12, we were separated from Christ and alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. In old days, if you want to know God and love God, we had to convert and become Jews.
Jewish people, they still do that, if you want to marry a Jewish, you must have the Jewish wedding and you must be Jewish before you marry. They are so prude of being Jewish and the chosen nation.
The Ephesian Gentile Christians, just like the Korean American Christians, we WERE foreigners to God, without hope and without God in the world.
In verse 13, we are brought near to God by the blood of Christ
In verse 14, Jesus is our Peace and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility


There are 10 foot wall around the Jewish temple separating Jews to gentile. They separate the good from the bad, the clean from the unclean, and the safe from the unsafe…
 
Here, I just want to think about Paul who is writing these words at that time:

• Paul was Pharisee and spent more time in the temple than his house
• He knows what this wall truly meant for Jewish Christians. Jewish didn’t want the gentiles to lurking around the holy temple… like the workers in the vineyard in Matt 20, Jewish people were chosen first and serve God the longest since 8AM, then these gentiles came at 3PM and got paid the same amount… (same salvation)
•  That 10-foot wall was still there when Paul was writing these words
• And He is saying that that wall no longer exist!!

 
We have “walls” in our minds to separate the “right-kind-of-people” from the “wrong-ones”

• Racial difference: White, Black, Hispanics, Asian
• Education levels: college, no college
• Successful from the unsuccessful: money, no money
• Political walls: democrats, republicans
• Good family versus dysfunctional family
• Wall between good looking people and the nerds
• Whatever!! Who is your people? Who is your tribe?

 
I do want to be very careful what I say here. Because God created the different cultures and background for his glory.

• There is nothing wrong with these natural affinities!
• But because of our sinful nature, they end up erecting walls that put divisions within the church!
• Verse 14 says, Jesus tore down that wall!
• It is about coming together in front of God and coming in unity despite of different cultures and background because of the same belief and the same saving love of God.

 
When it comes to God, there was only one category of people: SINNERS, as far as God was concerned we were all on the outside of the wall.

• There is no good or bad people, no winners or losers, people who has money or no money, people have it together or dysfunctional people, there were only bad, dead, sinful, children of Satan, sons and daughters of disobedience. That was us
• But we are now chosen and saved.
• No matter what your background and cultures are we are united in Christ because Jesus tore down that Wall!

 
In verse 15, it says, He might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.

• Jesus was raise from the dead, not just for the Jews, not for gentiles, but raise as a completely new race of people
• This new kind of man results in peace.
• There is only one type of believer: alive in Christ, fully adapted into God’s family, partakers of God’s glorious inheritance.
• This is why we call Jesus, prince of peace

 
In verse 16 and 17, we are one body through the cross
In verse 18 and 19, we all have the same access to the Father in ONE Spirit, and we are all citizens and members of the household of God
 
In verse 20 to 22, Paul is describing what the church looks like:

• Jesus is being the foundation (cornerstone), Holy Spirit is building the whole structure, and God is the architect.
• So when it comes to church, entire member of Trinity is involved.
  
  

Let’s go back to the two main questions we had in the beginning:

1. Why do we need to be involved in Church?
   1. Each member of church is key part of building: 1st Peter 2:5 said you are living stone (precious stone) not bricks.
   2. God places the gifts of spirits into each one of us to do his work on earth
   3. Paul uses the analogy of body: It makes the idea so clear, I love it.
      • Jesus is my brain. And my left elbow is itches, it sends the signal to the brain.
      • My brain does not send a magic brain juice fix it. Instead, it sends a message to my right hand and right fingers, “go take care of your brother left elbow”
   4. In the same way, when you pray to God, God does not usually send some power straight down from heaven to fix things. God moves a member of his body to do his work.
   5. This means you CANNOT disconnect yourself from the church
      • You are disconnect yourself from the power of God
      • Again, church is not a building, it is a body of Christ. Your small group, your youth group, your bible study group..
        • Are you lost in your walking with God, go to church
        • You need direction in life, go to church
        • “I don’t understand God…” go to church
        • “God, I am lonely” Go to church
        • “Please God, work in my life”, Go to church!
      • If you want God to work in your life, be a part of CHURCH!
2. How does the unity in diversity achieved in church?

Ephesians chapter 3 points to the unified, multi-culture body of people

1. Let’s skip to Ephesians 3:10
   10 so that through the church the manifold (multi-faceted) wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
   • It is telling us that the best way to demonstrate the wisdom and power of God is through church that has unity-in-diversity
   • What is amazing about God’s church is there are many groups of people in God’s church who have very little in common except for a common experience of grace.
   • The Key is the Power of gospel that created the new man by the resurrection of Christ!
     • Examples in Jesus time
       • Simon the Zealot versus Matthew the Tax Collector … spicy conversation
       • Nicodemus (Pharisee leader) comes together with Woman caught in adultery
   • You might ask, How do these people come together and love each other?
     • If they could do that, could we come together and love one another in this small community of Korean American church called Mil-al and in this youth/EM groups?
     • This is how God’s wisdom and God’s mystery shown through Church: By coming together in Christ when different people have nothing in common.
     • Because JESUS is our peace
2. Obviously this unity in Christ is possible. But IT IS SO HARD.. WHY?
   • Pride:
     • Our core part of identity (racial, political, education,,) sets us apart from others. And we are proud of what we are.
     • Our pride become the dividing walls to achieve the unity-in-diversity
   • Preference:
     • We love our food (김치w/ pork, 갈비,비빔밥,짱아치..) But we love it. We do potluck and eat together. I’m sure some American people would hate walking into the smell.
     • When Jewish did potluck, and gentiles start bringing non-kosher food (blood sausage and pork intestine, or squirrel soufflé) I’m sure they freaked out!
     • Our preference became the source of dividing wall to achieve the unity-in diversity
   • Lack of empathy
     • Paul tells us that we should bear each other’s burdens
     • Having compassion towards others takes practice
       • Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (James)
       • Listen with open heart to have deeper understanding
       • Respond with Love
     • Do not only focus on the vertical relationship (with God) while we neglect the pain of your friends orbiting around you (horizontal)
       • Take care of those who are alone, weak, neglected
       • Be the bridge to those who are not getting along; be the peace maker!
   • Unforgiveness
     • Satan’s main strategy is to break the relationships between Christians.
     • I am really bad at this. I get mad fast, and hold grudge. This is not what God wants…
     • Must forgive quickly: there is no point to drag it. You drag it because:
       • Don’t make the forgiveness conditional:

i.If you do this, I will forgive…
ii.Only God is the judge, forgive and forget!

• You want people to know what they did wrong

i.You think you are helping by making them feel guilty
ii.Unless God intervenes, person will not change his way

• Holding grudge

i.Don’t bring up what’s been done before into a new issue

• Trust God to take care of it

i.Your internal/external damage will be compensated by God if you truly forgive and forget
ii.See with eyes of Jesus
No wonder society cannot do it!!
But what the law is unable to accomplish, the power of new life accomplishes in the gospel!
 
Conclusions:
I want to encourage you to move beyond mere awareness of importance of unity.
There are 4 stages:

1. Ignorance
2. Awareness
3. Intentionality
4. Gospel community

The gap between sympathy and integration is inconvenience
Many of you will walk away from this agreeing with everything that was said today.

1. Make clear intention to have relationship with someone who is not close to you, who is different than you.
2. Start perusing gospel community. Show the world that power of Christ is greater than any differences or preferences.