Thursday: The Church, a Holy Temple
What culminating set of images does Paul use in Ephesians 2:11-22 to signal unity between Jews and Gentiles in the church?
Reviewing Ephesians 2:1-22, we recall that verses 1-10 teach that we live in solidarity with Jesus, while verses 11-22 teach that we live in solidarity with others as part of His church. Jesus’ death has both vertical benefits in establishing our relationship with God (Ephesians 2:1-10) and horizontal ones in cementing our relationships with others (Ephesians 2:11-22).
Image © Rolf Jansson from GoodSalt.com
Through the Cross, Jesus demolishes all that divides Gentile believers from Jewish ones, including the misuse of the Law in order to widen the gulf (Ephesians 2:11-18). Jesus also builds something — an amazing, new temple composed of believers. Gentiles, once excluded from worship in the sacred places of the temple, now join Jewish believers in becoming a new temple. We all become part of God’s church, “a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:19-22, ESV) and are privileged to live in solidarity with Jesus and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
How does Paul’s use of the metaphor of the church as a temple in Ephesians 2:19-22 compare with the uses in the following passages? 1 Corinthians 3:9-17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 1 Peter 2:4-8.
Paul employs the metaphor of the church as temple as a culminating image for the full inclusion of Gentiles in the church. Once banned from worship in the “Court of Israel” in the temple, they now not only gain access (Ephesians 2:18) but themselves become building materials for a new temple designed as “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22, NKJV).
New Testament authors employ the temple metaphor to visualize the sanctity of the church, God’s role in founding and growing the church, and the solidarity of believers within the church. The metaphor is used in conjunction with biological language (see Ephesians 2:21-22, where the temple “grows”), and the process of building is often accentuated (see , “you also are being built together,” ESV). Rather than a static image, the church is able to acknowledge its identity as “the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16, NKJV).
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The Australians and the Italians fought one another in the fierce battles of northern Africa early in World War 2. The Australians won and a lot of Italian prisoners of war were sent to prison camps in Australia. Australia had a farm worker shortage at the time and many of these Italian men were sent to the farms to work. Most of them proved to be hard workers and were also quite innovative, gaining the appreciation and trust of the farmers for whom they worked. They were treated fairly and strong friendships developed. After the war, shipping transport was a bit hard to come by and it wasn’t until 1947 that they were repatriated to Italy. However, many had fallen in love with Australia and the communities they had worked in and returned here with their families to settle.
I sometimes think of the church like the prisoners of war in a strange country far from home. Like the Italians we need to build trust with our captors and that requires hard work and a bit of innovation. Jesus has extended his grace to us and it is up to us to share that grace with our captors. Jesus has asked us to share the Gospel with our captors and one way to do that is to extend our friendship to them.
Jesus was accused by the religious right of his day:
Jesus was not afraid to build communities by sitting with sinners and publicans. His Kingdom was not a class society. It was available to everyone.
Jews and Gentiles are the ones being cut precisely,carefully joined and fitted to make the new temple.There are no defections.The new temple is all inclusive.Both the Gentiles and the Jews who were incompatible and also irreconcilable are harmoniously blended.Whoever is not a Jew in this world is a Gentile,and whoever is not a Gentile is a Jew,thus the whole human race is represented.
Ephesians 5:27 "That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."-This is Christ's goal,to present a temple which is perfect and spotless.
The concept goes from a single person as the temple of the Holy Spirit to a local reunion of believers and all the believers worldwide. That's how God works in my and your life; He acts from the atom to the Universe. He knows exactly what we need. At the same time, Jesus is the one Who binds us together and to the Father.
"Gentiles, once excluded from worship in the sacred places of the temple, now join Jewish believers in becoming a new temple. We all become part of God’s church, “a holy temple in the Lord”"
Come to think of it, most all of us are Gentiles, adopted into the fold of our Shepard.
For, "We too have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer us who live, but Christ lives in us; and the life which we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us."
Galatians 2:20 NKJV.
For me, this lesson proves to address the issues at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As God provided to Israel’s tribes the ‘Covenants of Promise’, these promisses have now been officially extended through the 'Covenant of/by Faith' to include anyone who believes - anywhere, at any time - and so establish the Body of Christ, His Ekklesia, here on earth.
As the believer has now his being/life only as he is found in Christ, it does not matter any longer who the believer is or whether he comes from the East or the West, the North or the South of this wide world.
Through the Father’s Grace, all are now positioned in Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit. No more barriers to overcome for anyone who loves God with all their heart and treats their fellow man kindly and compassionately – 1 Cor.6:17; John14:20;
I consider that stating: “we live in solidarity with Jesus” still implies that the two maintain their separate identities - therefore only being in ‘solidarity’ with each other. But we are told that our new identity is in Jesus, that the old identity/nature is no longer part of the new one, that all we are now is entirely covered by God's Grace as we are found in Jesus Christ through His love and righteousness – John 17:20-23.
I consider this aspect of being 'two as/in one' to be the most difficult part for the believer of our Christian faith to come to terms with. This is the greatest achievement
that - Yes, we are all one in/with Jesus Christ through His Spirit. We are not our own any longer, we have been bought for a price – 1.Cor.19-20.
As the 'body of Christ', all believers, through the Spirit, form now this Temple of God. All in whom God's Spirit dwells are part of His Temple with which to glorify God. Having received the Holy Spirit, this unity of the Ekklesia has received power of being God's Salt and Light here on earth.
This is why we the 'Body of Christ' - the 'Temple of God' - the 'Church' - the individual members - the Ekklesia -, are being assaulted from all sides.
But no power and no one can separate us from the love of our heavenly Father - Rom.8:31-39.
Because of Jesus' spilled blood at Calvary 2,000 plus or minus years ago, all nationalities including Jews make up God's Holy Temple here on earth.
Jesus Himself is the only "Spotless lamb." We Jews and Gentiles are counted as "Spotless," only by "Our Faith," on that fact alone period!
I learn frm the lessn that jews were to be ambasdrs of the kngdm of God but self prevailed that they lost sight. Then Christ came to take the role of uniting jews and gntle now we are sons, no more divition.