"The Third Race"

In Chapter 2 of Ephesians, we have been working through the great revelation of the Apostle Paul concerning the nature of the church. The title of this study is a reference to an actual description of early Christians by a pagan contemporary in the 1st century. He called them "the third race." Every group tends to divide the world into two parts -- "them" and "us." The Jews always have looked upon the world of their day as made up of Jews and Gentiles. Anyone not a Jew is a Gentile in the eyes of the Jewish people. The Greeks did the same. There were the Greeks, the "civilized" people, and all the rest were "barbarians." They based that word on the verb barbar which means "to stammer." Anyone who didn't speak Greek, the civilized language, sounded to the Greeks like a stuttering child. When the Romans took over the Greek civilization, they adopted the same terminology. Everyone within the Roman Empire was Roman; all others were "barbarians." The Chinese did the same thing. China is derived from their word for "middle," for they saw themselves as the center of the earth, the Middle Kingdom. Everyone else lived out on the periphery of the earth.

The Apostle Paul adopts this terminology in writing to the Ephesian Christians. He points out to them that they began either as Jews or Gentiles -- one or the other -- and that this division reflected their relationship to God. The Jews were near to God. They were not there yet, but they were close. They had the Scriptures, they had the promises, they had knowledge of God, and contact with him; therefore, they were close, near at hand. The Gentiles were far off. They were pagans, living in superstitious fear. They were immoral. And their outlook on life and the future was that of despair and hopelessness. So they were far off. Now, both were separated from God. The Jews needed to take the final step which would actually bring them to God through Jesus Christ. The Gentiles needed to take that step as well. And, in our last study, we saw how, in coming to Christ, both Jew and Gentile are made one. As Paul says, "The dividing wall of hostility was broken down," and they are made one in Christ.

The Lord does this by removing self-righteousness. Nothing creates hostility as readily as self-righteousness, the presumption that we are all right, and they are all wrong. This arouses distress, creates resentment, polarizes and divides people. When our Lord comes in and judges both sides, and they stand on common ground, guilty of the same sin, needing the same Savior, exercising the same faith. So they are united and made one. A new unity is created, something different than ever existed before. And this is done before God, so that it is realistic, lasting, permanent.

In the passage we come to now, the apostle goes on to give us the advantages, the privileges, which are a result of this new unity in Jesus Christ between Jew and Gentile. Here we learn once more something of the tremendous resources which are ours as Christians. I don't know how to say this forcefully enough, for I do not know anything more necessary than that we really devote ourselves to grasping these great facts. For if we understand who we are in Christ, then we will have some understanding of what to do in our circumstances, in our problems. I see many people who are wrestling with terrible anxieties, fears, and hostilities, which actually prevent them from acting as God intended human beings to act, all because they have not discovered the full resources which are available in Jesus Christ. This is why the apostle labored so to set these out before us by direct statement or, as in this case, with certain figures or pictures, so that we might understand more fully.

There are three beautiful figures employed in this passage, which follow one upon the other -- each an advance upon the previous one. These are designed to teach us great truths about what it means to be a Christian. There is the figure of a kingdom ("fellow citizens with God’s people "), a family ("members of God’s household"), and a building ("a holy temple in the Lord . . . a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit "). These are designed to instruct us so that Paul's prayer for us in the first chapter will be answered. His prayer was: "that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe," (Ephesians 1:18-19a).

Please discard the notion many have that this is only magnificent language. It is not merely language; it is reality. Take these words literally and plainly and personally, because this is what will enable us to understand what to do when we get into difficulty, how to handle problems, and how to work out relationships which are strained or broken. It is with these great resources that we can solve these problems.

Now let us take a closer look at the passage. Notice that the apostle begins with a negative. "You Ephesians," he says, "are no longer foreigners and aliens." Literally, "Once you were foreigners and strangers but now no longer." What is a stranger? We all have been strangers at one time or another. We have come into a city or state which is different from our own. We haven't known where to go or what to do, because we were ignorant of the resource, of the community. A stranger is characterized by not knowing much about the place where he is.

Strangers are ignorant. Once we were strangers, says the apostle. We did not know what God could do for us. We had no idea of the resources of peace and joy and forgiveness. We knew nothing of his capacity for handling our fears and our phobias and our hostilities. We did not know what to do with them; we were utter strangers in knowing how to handle them. But no more, he says. Now that we have come to Christ we are no longer strangers.

And we are no longer foreigners, either. A foreigner is different than a stranger. A foreigner may be very familiar with the country in which he lives. He may have lived there for years and may be fully acquainted with the possibilities of it. But he is limited. He is an alien; he has no ultimate rights. He is living on a passport. He does not have a birth certificate which makes him a citizen of that land. This is very descriptive of many people in churches. They attend church regularly, and sometimes study the Bible, and are familiar with the hymns. Perhaps you have been raised in a Christian family, and the language of Christianity is very familiar to you, but you have never become a Christian. You are a foreigner; you are living on a passport. And, in a time of crisis, aliens are deported, sent back; they are not permitted to enter into the full rights of citizens of the land.

But Paul says that you who have come to Christ are no longer strangers and foreigners. Well then, what are you? Three things, three figures: First, you are "fellow citizens with God’s people." That is a great phrase. It captures the idea of a new kingdom -- you have entered a new kingdom. You have changed your citizenship; you are now under another authority. Most of us in this room are American citizens. We take so for granted the rights of American citizenship that we have almost forgotten the responsibilities of it and the fact that we are under authority. Because we are Americans, the government has certain powers over us. It regulates certain areas of our life, whether we like it or not. We are under certain controls, and if we do certain things the government can step in and actually take our freedom from us. We are under authority -- that is the first mark of citizenship.

The Bible recognizes two kingdoms in this world. In addition, of course, to the nations of earth, with their temporal authority, there are two spiritual kingdoms. And every one of us belongs to one or the other. It is, as Paul says, either the power of Satan or the power of God. One or the other has ultimate dominion over our lives. When you become a Christian, you move out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God. What a change this is! There is a basic change of government, of the ultimate rule in a person's life. Jesus often spoke of the kingdom he came to bring among men. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world" John 18:36-37), by which he meant that it is not like any of the nations of earth. His kingship is over the hearts of men. But it is a kingdom; it has authority over men. When we come into his kingdom, we come under a new authority, a new king, a new head. We are no longer under the bondage and power of the other. What a transformation this is!

Being in another kingdom, even while we are right here on earth, means that we have certain responsibilities and certain privileges which are given to us in Christ. For instance, every citizen knows that he must learn the history of his nation in order to understand it. We Americans had to go to school and take American History, and thus learn what has happened in the past. And, in a sense, that is what we have been doing in these messages on Ephesians. We are learning from the Apostle Paul the history of this great kingdom of God -- what it is, and what has happened, and why we have certain privileges because of what has been recorded.

Then, we have certain concerns we must manifest and certain choices to make. We have recently voted in a national election. Even if you voted for the loser, you at least exercised the right of choice. As a citizen, you had this right. In the kingdom of God it is exactly the same. Certain choices are now possible for you, and you must make them. You have certain concerns you must become involved with.

But the thing which makes us rejoice in our citizenship is that we have certain privileges. Many who travel abroad relate how glad they are to be American citizens because others do not enjoy the privileges they do as American citizens. Chief among those is the protection afforded its citizens by the American government.

You have something similar in the kingdom of God. You have the protection of a King, and you have the right to expect him to protect you. There is power available -- resurrection power, the kind that works beyond human thinking and planning. And God invites you to call upon him for that kind of resource, that kind of deliverance, whenever you need it. There is recourse for the correction of problems. Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven," (Matthew 5:11-12). He knows what to do. Furthermore, "‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord," (Romans 12:19). "Don't try to work it out on your own," he says, "I have not forgotten. I know to straighten it out, and to do so in a way that you will ultimately be glad of and not ashamed. I am not merely going to move in and crack heads together; I'm going to solve the problem in a way that will be permanently peaceful." So we have access to the king, and we can expect his protection and his justice.

And, as Paul points out here also, we share in a tremendous degree of glory. We are fellow citizens with God’s people. Who are these people he is mentioning? As Paul writes, he is thinking in terms of the great saints of the Old Testament, men like Abraham and Moses, Elijah and Elisha, and David, and Isaiah and Jeremiah. We have an inheritance with them; we belong to the same kingdom.

As Americans, many of us are proud that we belong to the nation which produced George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and other great men. And here is an association like that. We actually become personal friends with men such as Abraham, Moses, David, and Noah. Jesus himself said, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven," (Matthew 8:11). Think of that! What a tremendous privilege to know these people whom God has honored in the past -- Paul and Peter and James and John, Luther and Augustine and Wesley.

Then, the final glory of all -- we have access to the King himself. He walks with us, he tells us his plans, his programs, where he is going in history, what he is doing. Just think of the tremendous possibilities of this! We don't have to dwell on it, but this is something of what the apostle wants us to grasp and reckon upon as a result of the figure he employs here -- the marvelous privileges we have in Christ.

Then the second figure: "members of God’s household." This is an advance on the other. We all are citizens of the kingdom, if we are in Christ. We belong to God's kingdom, that spiritual kingdom which rules over all the nations of earth, and ultimately will be the winner in all of history. But more than that, says the apostle, we are members of God's own intimate family. John the Apostle never could get over this. He said, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1). Children of the living God!

You can see what an advance this is. A child always outranks any ambassador or governor or secretary or minister or senator. A biography of Abraham Lincoln I once read related an incident which occurred during the Civil War when the President was involved with his cabinet in a very crucial, decisive meeting. They were in the Cabinet room, working out their grand strategy, when there came a knock at the door. There stood little Willy, the President's ten-year-old son, wanting to see his father for a moment. Abraham Lincoln laid aside all the duties of state, left all the Cabinet members cooling their heels, while he saw what Willy wanted. Willy outranked all the others. He had access to his father.

This is the great truth that Paul is trying to bring home to our hearts -- the fact that we have access to a Father, a Father who is the King, with tremendous authority and power in the affairs of the world, in life as it is lived right now.

The provision and protection of a father is always more intimate and personal even than that of a king. A king is concerned about our general welfare, but a father wants to know all about our intimate problems.

This is what Jesus teaches. He says again and again, "Do you not know that your heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things? He even knows the number of the hairs of your head," (Luke 12:30, Matthew 10:30). Your Father's concern is all around you, about every aspect of your life. He is not only concerned about getting justice for you. A king does that. But you are the object of his deepest, most intimate, personal concern. As Zechariah tells us, God said of his people Israel, "He who touches you touches the apple of my eye," (Zechariah 2:8). Do you like it when people poke you in the eye? Well, that’s how God feels when someone touches you. Could anything be closer than that?

Yes, there is something. Paul goes on, in the third figure, to an even closer relationship: you are “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Perhaps that seems something of an anticlimax. After all, a building is rather cold and impersonal compared with the relationship of a family. But if you look carefully you will see what is in the apostle's mind. He is actually moving closer, higher, to a more intimate relationship, because he is stressing the closeness of the members of the very habitation of God -- to one another and to the Lord.

It is possible for the members of a family to be scattered throughout the earth. Some of you have family members who are thousands of miles away. You still are related, still are members one of another, but you are widely separated and haven't seen one another for years. But in the figure of a building, no separation of stones which make up the walls is possible. Everything is closely joined together, knit together. If the stones were separated, the building would crumble. So the apostle really is bringing us into a much more intimate relationship.

Furthermore, he says that this building is a living, growing habitation of God. It merges right into the figure of a body. The building becomes the body of God, the dwelling place where God himself lives. And what could be more personal, more intimate to you, than your body? We reserve the word intimate for that which concerns our body. An intimate relationship is one which touches you physically, touches your body. Thus Paul is reminding us of how close we are to God -- a God of power, a God of might, a God of love -- of how intimate his relationship is to us, and of how he ties us all together, builds us into this tremendous building he is erecting.

Paul mentions that we are built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets -- the men who first disseminated the Christian faith, beyond our Lord himself. They are the foundation. Their faith and their teaching is what we rest upon. They had to understand that Jesus was Lord, and the Spirit of God taught them this. I have often thought that the people who had the most difficulty of all in believing that Jesus was God were his own disciples. Imagine them as they walk with him and talk with him and see his humanity. They listen to him laughing and breathing, watch him sleeping and perhaps even snoring, see him subject to the normal limitations of human life, even going through the normal elimination processes -- like everyone else. How difficult it must have been for them to grasp the great fact that here was God the Son, become flesh. Yet they came to this knowledge. John says,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

They examined him intimately, were with him every moment. For three-and-a-half years they lived closely with him. And there came the conviction that here indeed was God, living in human flesh. He was God, yet manifesting what humanity was to be like. And so, on their faith we rest. They taught us the truth about the Lord Jesus. Their faith and teaching is the foundation.

And, the apostle says, Christ himself is the chief cornerstone. When you build a building, you place the cornerstone. And all the measurements of that building are taken from that cornerstone. Everything relates to it. The whole building ties together because of the cornerstone. The apostle depicts Jesus as having that relationship with us. You notice that, all through this letter, he cannot forget him a second. Everything is "in Christ," "in him," "by him," "through him," "through his blood," "by his death." Everything comes to us in Christ. If you do not have Jesus, there is no way you can have intimate fellowship with God. "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6), says Jesus. So it is all built on Christ. He is the great cornerstone of our faith. And yet we are all members of it, stones being joined together.

The other night, I saw a special about Machu Pichu, the great Inca city. It talked about how the stones were so carefully shaped and laid together that they have held together for hundreds of years even though the builders used no mortar in their construction.

That is exactly the picture Paul has given us here of how God is at work with us. He is knocking off the rough edges, shaping us up, getting us ready. And if he has put you with some people you don't like, it is because they are the chisel he is using to knock off some rough edges. This is no joke; it is exactly what God is doing. He is building a temple, a holy temple -- a beautiful, magnificent building.

And one day, the only thing left of history will be this temple God is building, the church of Jesus Christ. Everything else -- all our great buildings, all our vaunted progress -- will have been lost. The only thing left will be the church of Jesus Christ, the people in whom God dwells. This is what he is doing with us now -- building us into this temple. What a difference it makes if we begin to understand some of the possibilities and the privileges which are ours! When the temple of Solomon was built, we read in First Kings 6:7,

. . . only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

(1 Kings 6:7b)

It was a quiet, secret process. Stones were shaped down in the quarry, and then brought up to be fitted into place without the sound of a hammer. This is a beautiful picture of what God is doing with the church of Jesus Christ today. Already we are temples of the living God. Individually, our bodies are the temple of God himself. If we understand that, and the relationship into which it brings us with God as King and Father, what a great resource we have to draw upon!