As the gospel grants us peace with God, we also obtain peace with one another through our union with Christ. From his expositional series in the book of Ephesians, today R.C. Sproul explains how Jesus unites believing Jews and gentiles in His church to form a new humanity. Get R.C. Sproul’s commentary on the book of Ephesians for your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3616/ephesians-commentary Meet Today’s Teacher: R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was known for his ability to winsomely and clearly communicate deep, practical truths from God’s Word. He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Meet the Host: Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
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A chief cornerstone to a builder in the first century was that stone without which the building could not stand. It's in Christ that the whole building is knit together through and by the cornerstone.
Ephesians chapter 2 paints a very dark picture of the state of humanity. We're dead in our trespasses and sins. Unbelievers are said to follow the prince of the power of the air and that by nature we are children of wrath. But Ephesians chapter 2 also features good news, in fact the best news. That's what R.C. Sproul will consider today on this Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind.
We're currently in a short series in Ephesians, messages R.C. Sproul gave at St. Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida. These messages, along with all of his teaching on Ephesians, form the basis of his expositional commentary. And if you'd like to add this hardcover volume to your collection, you can request a copy with your donation of any amount at renewingyourmind.org.
Well, here's Dr. Sproul on the unity that Christians have in Christ.
Before I begin with the exposition of the text, let me just review a little bit of what we have seen so far. Paul, in the second chapter at the beginning, spells out the radical need for that grace by giving us a perfectly accurate but somewhat grim account of our fallen humanity and our natural deadness in sin.
And now he's been turning his attention to what I regard to be the central theme of the entire epistle, which is Paul's teaching concerning the nature of the church and particularly how Gentiles in the first century fit into this body that we call the church.
And so now, when we look at this in the New Testament, the New Testament has much to teach us about the nature of the church, and the Bible uses several different metaphors. The body of Christ is one of the most prominent, and other such metaphors, the people of God, the , so on. And each one of these metaphors gives us some insight as to the nature of the church.
Last time we looked at that section of the text where Paul had contrasted the former situation, the relationship of hostility between Jews and Gentiles, saying that now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. And then he says in verse 14, for he himself is our peace. In this case, Jesus is not merely the peacemaker.
It's not as though Jesus himself brings the Jew and the Gentile to the bargaining table and affects a successful negotiation for the cessation of hostilities. It's not simply that he brings peace or that teaches peace, but he himself, Paul is saying now, in a remarkable way, is our peace. Now, what does Paul mean by that? He speaks elsewhere of Christ being our righteousness.
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