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HopeLives365

Mark Finley

3rd Quarter Sabbath School 2023: Ephesians

01 Paul and the Ephesians

02 God’s Grand, Christ-Centered Plan

03 The Power of the Exalted Jesus

04 How God Rescues Us

05 Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church

06 The Mystery of the Gospel

07 The Unified Body of Christ

08 Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech

09 Living Wisely

10 Husbands and Wives: Together at the Cross

11 Practicing Supreme Loyalty to Christ

12 “The Call to Stand”

13 Waging Peace

14 Ephesians in the Heart


Welcome back to our Sabbath School discussion on the book of Ephesians, lesson number 5, titled Horizontal Atonement, the Cross and the Church. When we think of the word atonement, we think of at-one-ment, human beings being made at 1 with God and at 1 with 1 another. Vertical atonement has to do with the recognition of the grace, mercy, forgiveness, and redemption that has come through Christ on the cross. And as the result of that, we are freed from guilt, our sins are forgiven, we live as redeemed children of God. When we think of horizontal atonement, we are thinking of the fact that because we are forgiven, we can be forgiving.

When we think about horizontal atonement, we think about the restored relationship that comes between us and others. Our lesson this week begins with a very interesting story. Dr. John McVeigh, the author of our lessons, tells the story, an imaginary story of course, but could be very real, of a Gentile Greek who has become a believer, approaching the magnificence of the Jerusalem temple. And as he hears songs of praise, his heart resonates with the grace and goodness of God.

But then he comes to this 4 foot barrier and upon this 4 foot barrier, these words are written, "'No foreigner may enter in within the barrier and enclosure around the temple. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death. And this moment he feels shut out, alienated and separated. What a dramatic difference Ephesians 2 makes because through the cross of Calvary, we can enter in with our brothers and sisters into the heavenly temple by faith. So let's study our lesson today, horizontal atonement, the cross and the church.

The memory text is found in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 13 and verse 14. It puts it this way, in him, that's also in Christ, you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." That's chapter 1. And it points out in chapter 1, verse 13, that when we trust in Christ, we are redeemed individuals. We are changed. Verse 14 says, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase possession.

So that has to do with the vertical atonement. But chapter 2, we come now to in chapter 2, 2 verses 13, 14 in our memory verse. And you'll notice the interesting relationship between chapter 1, verse 13 and 14 and chapter 2, verse 13 and 14. Chapter 1, vertical atonement. Chapter 2, horizontal atonement.

Here we go. Verse 13 and 14, chapter 2. For he himself is our peace. That's verse 14. Let's pick up verse 13.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. So you once were far off. Think about a Gentile reading that. Think about this Gentile once far off, once prohibited from going into the temple, once a barrier between Jew and Gentile. It says, verse 14, but he, Christ himself, is our peace.

He's made both 1. He's broken down the middle wall of division between us. I'm sure Paul is thinking about that middle wall of division is that wall in the temple that would not let a Gentile believer enter in. But all of that is broken down through Christ. In Christ, we are 1 family.

In Christ, we recognize that God is made of 1 blood, all nations. In Christ, we have the barriers between us, the divisions between us, the walls of separation abolished. That's what this lesson this week is all about. When you come to Sunday's lesson, you see brought near by the in Christ. And there's a contrast between Ephesians 2, verse 1 to 3 and Ephesians 2, verse 11 and 12.

Ephesians 2, verse 1 to 3, he's made us alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which we once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience. We were by nature the children of wrath. So at 1 time we were lost. And as the result of that, Ephesians 2 verse 11 and 12 uses 3 significant terms. It uses the term aliens, strangers, and if you look down further in the passage, you find foreigners.

So without Christ Uniting us, we are aliens, we are foreigners, we're strangers, but in Christ, aliens are made friends. Strangers are made part of the family of God and foreigners become part of the citizens of the household of faith. Here, it's brought out in our lesson, the first paragraph under Sunday, middle of the paragraph, they were aliens from the Commonwealth or the state of people of Israel. They were strangers from the covenants of promise, oblivious to the promises of salvation God had offered down through salvation history. The alienation from Israel and the salvation offered through it meant that they Once had no hope and were out were without God in the world.

So at 1 time Gentiles had no hope and you know when you really think of that that characterizes all of us Without Christ we are strangers Without Christ we are aliens without Christ. We are foreigners Foreigners from the covenant of promise, but in Christ, we become part of the family of God. The last couple sentences under Sunday's lesson are meaningful. Here is the powerfully good news implied by Paul's description that the cross of Christ can heal the wide rift between the Jews and Gentiles. That means that all of our feuds and divisions can be resolved.

In Christ, this good news invites us to consider the divisions that exist in our own lives and in the church, and to ponder the power of the cross to supersede them. Think about this fact. If Christ can forgive me for the sins that I've committed against him, if Christ can forgive me for the rebellion in my heart against him, and if I am no longer a stranger, no longer an alien, no longer a foreigner. I'm brought near by the blood of Christ. Therefore, I can reach out in forgiveness to others and the barriers between us can be broken down.

In Monday's lesson, it's entitled, "'Reconciliation, God's Gift from the Cross." And it points out through a number of texts, how we can be, how we, because we're forgiven, can be forgiving. The text that I want to emphasize is found in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32. You will want to read all of the texts listed in the lesson in Monday's lessons, Ephesians 1 verse 7 and 8, Ephesians 2 verse 13 and 14, Ephesians 2 verse 16 and Ephesians 5 verse 2 and 25. But I wanna emphasize 1 Bible passage of these, Ephesians 2, verse 32. And be kind 1 to another, tenderhearted, forgiving 1 another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

So the kindness of Christ toward us leads us to be kind toward others. The tenderheartedness of Christ toward us leads us to be tenderhearted toward 1 another. The forgiveness of Christ toward us leads us to be tenderhearted toward 1 another. The forgiveness of Christ toward us leads us to be forgiving. It says, forgiving 1 another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

If Christ has forgiven me, how dare I hold forgiveness back from another? If Christ has forgiven me, it's a travesty to say I can be forgiven by Christ, but I cannot forgive another. The cross is the place where we are forgiven. And kneeling at the foot of the cross, we too can forgive others. I like the last paragraph in Monday's lesson very much.

It says, reconciliation, this is the end of it, is experienced in the moment when 1 church member lays aside whatever issue divides them from another and acknowledges the other church member as a beloved brother or sister who accepts what's offered. Reconciliation is not a mechanical or legal term. So it's not just something that's theological, but an interpersonal 1 that celebrates the mending of broken relationships. Paul dares to imagine Christ's powerful work on the cross as impacting the relationships between not just individuals but also people groups. He imagines it invading our lives and destroying our divisions, dissolving our quarrels, and renewing our fellowship with and understanding of each other.

That is God's plan for his church, a unified body of men and women redeemed by grace, loving 1 another, and from the power of love reaching the world. In chapter, in Tuesday, July 25th, we read this about breaking down the dividing wall. Now this is sometimes misunderstood, so we should read the passage and then try to unpack it. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 14 and 15. For he himself, that is Christ, is our peace, who has made both 1 and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create himself 1 new man from the 2 thus making peace." I have had individuals when I'm studying the Bible with them, some evangelical Christians who've misunderstood this text.

And it said, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that's the law of commandments contained in the ordinances. And they only read it the law of commandments. So they say, see, the Bible says that on the cross, the law of commandments is abolished. That's a total misunderstanding of the text, of course. Throughout the book of Ephesians, Paul speaks about the commandments.

He quotes the fifth commandment in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 2 and 3. He talks about the seventh commandment, alludes to it in Ephesians 5, verse 3 to 14. The eighth commandment in Ephesians 4, verse 28. The ninth commandment in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 25. The 10th commandment in Ephesians 5, verse 5.

This certainly does not seem like a man who's talking about the doing away of the commandments. What's the problem with the reading of the text in the way that some read it? They put a period after law of commandments, but the Bible says the law of commandments contained in the ordinances. In the Ark of the Covenant, the 10 Commandment law was written by the finger of God and placed within the Ark. The ordinances or the ceremonial law was placed outside the ark.

In the ceremonial ordinances there were these regulations about Jew and Gentile in their interaction. So God did not come to do away with the moral law of God. He came to do away with the ceremonial law that pointed forward to the coming of Jesus. The 10 Commandment law, the moral law, is a reflection of God's character. The ceremonial law points forward as a shadow to Christ.

Every sacrifice pointed forward to the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus is the lamb that died for us, but Jesus is also the priest that lives for us. The Lamb of God, the priesthood of Israel, all pointed forward to Jesus. So what's done away with? The sanctuary system, the earthly sanctuary system.

Why? Because Christ, the lamb that died, Christ is the priest that lives, he lives in the sanctuary for us. So therefore, Jew and Gentile through the cross have the privilege of entering into the presence of God by faith into the heavenly sanctuary, into the arena of God's presence. No Jew, no Gentile could ever think about that. So what's done away with?

Certainly not the 10 Commandment law written with the finger of God on tables of stone. It would of course be the law of commandments contained where? Contained in the ordinances. That leads us to Wednesday's lesson, Jesus preacher of peace. Notice what it says in Ephesians 2 verse 17.

And he came, that is Christ came and preached peace to you who are far off and to those who are near. For through him, that is Christ, we have access by 1 spirit to the Father. The concept of peace in Ephesians begins at the beginning of the letter and it ends at the end of the letter. This idea of peace, Christ not only destroys something, the middle wall petition between us, but he gives us something. He not only destroys the hostility between Jew and Gentile, he creates a new humanity marked by relationships of reconciliation in peace.

Such peace is not just the absence of conflict, but it resonates with the Hebrew concept of shalom, the experience of wholeness and well-being in our relationship with God and others. So through the cross, there is peace. There's this relationship of wholeness between us and God and us and others. He, Paul talks about the unity of spirit, the bond of peace, the gospel of peace. It speaks about the 1 who we preach brings us peace.

Have you ever noticed the many times Jesus speaks about peace? He says in John 14, verse 27, "'Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you. He talks about John 16, 33, I've said these things to you that in me, you may have peace, in the world you have tribulation, but take heart because I have overcome the world. Remember in John 20, verse 19 and 20, Jesus says, "'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.'" When we come to Christ, there's a certain peace. There's a certain contentment of soul.

There's a certain harmony of spirit. There's a certain wholeness. And that leads us to be at peace with those around us. As we conclude the lesson this week in our study guide on Thursday's lesson, the Church, a Holy Temple. In Ephesians 2, verse 11 to 22, it talks about these illustrations of the church, that the church is the household of God.

It's the family of God. Men and women of different backgrounds, different cultures, different creeds, different ethnicities are brought together in the household of God through the cross. And it talks about as well, the church, the building of God, that we are the household of God, we're part of the family of God, we are part of the building of God, built brick by brick, stone by stone. You know, the Bible uses the word the temple of God in different ways, at least 4 ways. First, that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of God.

Second, our families are the temple of God. God's to dwell within the family unit. Thirdly, the Bible uses the expression the church as the temple of God. We indeed in The church are part of God's temple where the spirit is to dwell. And fourthly, the temple of God in heaven's sanctuary.

The Bible uses that term to describe the temple of God that we enter by faith. So bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit, families, the temple of God, church, the temple of God, all reflecting the temple of God in heaven where his presence is and to be given to us as individuals, families, and church to be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. That means that in the church all of us are included. That means in the church all of us, Jew, Gentile, various ethnic groups, the church is to be a place of acceptance, of love, of grace, revealing the redemption that there is in Christ. In Friday's lesson, the author summarizes the entire study and he says, more important, the unity of members within the church, the specific topic that Paul addresses in Ephesians 2, verse 11 and 12, itself has a wider purpose.

Paul discloses this in Ephesians 3.10. So that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God in creating the church out of Jews, Gentiles, and all peoples might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. In other words, as the church reveals the love of God, As the church reveals the grace of God, as the peace of God flows through God's church, as the unity that there is in Christ is in the church, we reveal that human beings, fallen and defiled by sin, with our prejudices and attitudes, are brought together by the blood of Christ in a spirit of loving redemption unity. We reveal the power of the gospel to principalities and powers in heavenly places. The cross demonstrates its power in the lives of individual believers and in the lives of the church.

And we become God's exhibit A of the power of the cross, of the salvation that there is in Christ. May this be true in your life. May you reveal God's love to a waiting world and a watching universe. May this be true in your church. May the unity that we find as individuals in Christ be revealed in your congregation.

May the barriers of sin be broken down and maybe truly be 1 in Christ. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you today for The blessing that there is to find salvation in Christ. We pray today that the peace that passes all understanding will fill our hearts in Jesus. We pray today too that our churches will be places of the unity that you want us to exhibit in Christ.

That based on the atonement that comes through the cross and the teachings that come through your word we would be united in Christ in Jesus name, Amen. This media was brought to you by Audioverse, a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more. If you would like to know more about Audioverse, Or if you

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Series

3rd Quarter Sabbath School 2023: Ephesians

05 Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

01 Paul and the Ephesians

18m

02 God’s Grand, Christ-Centered Plan

21m

03 The Power of the Exalted Jesus

18m

04 How God Rescues Us

17m

05 Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church

20m

06 The Mystery of the Gospel

19m

07 The Unified Body of Christ

21m

08 Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech

20m

09 Living Wisely

20m

10 Husbands and Wives: Together at the Cross

18m

11 Practicing Supreme Loyalty to Christ

21m

12 “The Call to Stand”

19m

13 Waging Peace

17m

14 Ephesians in the Heart

22m

Sound Doctrine