Ephesians 2:19-22

Recent events have sparked a lot of conversation about the end times, and that usually turns to
talk about the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Now, I know that will take place one day,
but what we need to understand is that God doesn't need another temple. The Bible predicts that
there will be one, but God's temple already is, and we're it.
Paul is addressing the benefits of being the temple of God in the passage before us.

POSITION OF PEACE-
We see that Paul uses the word therefore which is a clue to look to what has been previously said
The previous verses speak of how Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God and made peace for us
v. 13-14 are particularly helpful in understanding the idea of our being no more strangers
The Temple in Jesus' day was all about separation: there were several courts Court of Gentiles,
Court of Women, Court of Israel, Court of Levites, and the Court of Priests
Each court was more exclusive than the last
Inscriptions of warning have been unearthed that warned the Gentiles not to proceed beyond the
partition wall of the Court of the Gentiles on the penalty of death
The ultimate place of exclusivity was the Holy of Holies
Only one man dared to enter into the presence of God's glory, and that was the High Priest
He entered that chamber once a year, and he dare not come without the blood of the sacrifice
Paul was explaining that these distinctions have been removed by Christ, our Lord.
He has broken down the middle wall of partition, so that we have access to God
Because the sin that broke our fellowship with God has been forgiven in Christ
We have peace, so there is no more reason for distance
God instead invites us to get as close to Him as we can
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need.
That certainly does not describe the actions of the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies
But it describes the access to God we have been granted in Christ
The old temple sacrifices were kind of like being married, it was a reminder of your faults
No husband has to remember his shortcomings, because his wife is glad to remind him.
Every sacrifice at the temple was about facing their sins again
Hebrews 10:3-4 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
But in Jesus' sacrifice, our sins are removed forever and we are at peace with God
The Gentiles would have naturally associated these words with Greco-Roman citizenship
A foreigner in a Greek or Roman city had no voice in the management of that city
But now, we are fellowcitizens and of the household of God
Through faith in Jesus, we are born again into God's family
The Jews wanted to treat Gentile believers as though they needed a green card, immigrants to
faith, but God was starting a new kingdom, a new covenant with man
God had removed the distinctions and made us all equal.

PRECISION OF PATTERN-
There is great depth to what the Bible says here
Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone
We are familiar with the corner stone. It is the stone that the other stones are lined up by
The cornerstone is also the place where two separate walls are joined
Jesus is the joining place of the Jew and the Gentile
We can see Jesus as the center point of every relationship we have
He is the joining of the husband and the wife and guides our relationship to one another
He is the connection between parent and child, church member and every relationship
As the cornerstone, Jesus is the guide or pattern for the other stones
Every stone must be in line, or we might say, in agreement with the Cornerstone
Every stone is measured by the cornerstone and is brought into arrangement
1 Cor 10:12 tells us that it is foolish to compare ourselves with others
We can always find someone who makes us look better
But our point of comparison is with Jesus, and all of us find the need to be better
And this whole structure is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets
What foundation did they lay?
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every
man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.
We can't build our lives or this church on what modern people say
Their ideas change with the passing of time or what seems convenient at the moment
But we can build on what holy men of God spake as they were moved
We can build on the foundation of what thus saith the Lord
We can build on Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever!

PROGRESSION OF PURPOSE-
The work is ongoing and will not stop until Jesus returns
We hope and expect that someday real soon our new building will be complete
But the temple that God is building will not be complete until the trumpet sounds
Jesus told Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." (Matthew 16:18)
The word Jesus used for build means to enlarge
Jesus had already started the church temple when He called those fishermen to be fishers of men
But He has continued to expand and grow His church
The idea of being fitly framed together is that of a carpenter's joint
Affixing two pieces into a joint that yields a greater strength than either can achieve alone
Since wood has been a component in construction for centuries, the technique is solid
We can't fulfill our purpose without one another, and our connection makes us stronger
No one of us is more important than another and we are dependent upon one another
We can't be the Temple of God alone. We need one another to be the temple God wants us to be
Each of us is needed to make the church what it ought to be
This temple continues to grow, but notice it grows together and is framed together
When our houses start to creak, do we demolish them?
We cannot devalue a brother when he is weak. We are to support one another
Literally, the idea of a church is to be growing in size and in spirituality
We are to be reaching more people with the Gospel of salvation
We are to be reaching greater levels of understanding and practice of the faith
As we grow in our faith, we also grow in our contribution to the growth of the church
But notice that our chief aim is to be the habitation of God through the Spirit
Just as the temple was a place where God dwelt, God wants to dwell in us
He wants to live in our midst and allow His glory to fill us
We don't come to worship a 2x4 or a piece of sheetrock. That's just structure
We come to worship Almighty God.
No 2x4 is the purpose of a building, but a part.
When one of us exalts ourselves, we rob God of the glory He alone is due
The only seat in the Temple was the Mercy Seat -God's throne
The workers in the Temple don't sit, but stay busy in service

Conclusion: Do you realize the privilege of being a part of God's Work? Are you living in line
with the Cornerstone? Are we living up to being the habitation of God through the Spirit?
By the time of the New Testament, there was no Ark or Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. God's
glory did not reside there. He had long abandoned His temple, but the priests kept that
scandalous information hidden behind the veil. They went through the motions hoping no one
would discover, but when Jesus was crucified, the veil was rent in two from the top to the
bottom. You and I can't hope to conceal if we aren't the habitation of God through the Spirit
now. If we aren't living authentic Christian lives, people will know.