Ephesians 2-B "Together In Christ"

S = 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

O = The dividing wall of hostility has been destroyed, two have been made one, enemies have been reconciled—but only in one place (the cross), in one person (Jesus Christ) for one family (those who put their trust in him). These former enemies not family, are being

• gathered together as fellow citizens and members of God’s household,
• built together on the cornerstone of Christ that joins prophets and apostles into one structure,
• grown together into a holy temple (an inner sanctuary) a place of God’s presence by the Spirit.

A = If God has removed all valid grounds for division with others who am I to separate myself from all God’s people? Is Jesus the cornerstone, the meeting place, the center of my life and my family? It must be so. He was lifted up on the cross so that all alike might look to him and live. He must draw us all to him—from all our own private and often mutually exclusive pursuits—and when we get there we will find that we have been so creatively, so complementarily, and so closely fitted together that we are inseparable. One body, one building, one Spirit yet without loss of our identity or personality. Yet all has been transformed by his grace. May all I do this week be focused on drawing near, building up, growing together in Christ our Lord!

 

P = O Lord God, may I be a part of your inner sanctuary this week. May my prayers not just be about physical concerns or and mundane issues but guide my prayers by your Spirit to enter into the spiritual realm to wrestle this week with the forces behind the curtain—to participate in the spiritual battle—as part of the fortress of God. May my heart not be divided in what it worships, who it accepts, or what it rests upon. To him be the glory in the Church (3:21)! Amen.