Introduction: A Real Christmas Gift (Available to Gentiles)
We all have received Christmas cards with pictures of family and friends. As we move through these verses today, picture this on a Christmas card. What does your card look like?
Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT
A Temple for the Lord
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
Examine the scriptures:
Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT
A Temple for the Lord
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners.
Strangers and foreigners have no rights or privileges, or limited rights and privileges.
- There are no strangers, foreigners, or second class citizens in God’s family.
You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people.
Note: As citizens …
1 Peter 1:3-4 NLT
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
You are members of God’s family.
Romans 8:15-17 NLT
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.
- Believing Gentiles are members of God’s family and are heirs of God’s glory.
20 Together,
Jew and Gentile believers.
we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.
Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets teaching, not the apostles and prophets personally.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 NLT
10 Because of God’s grace to me, I (Paul) have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
At this point in time the New Testament had not yet been completed.
Today we could say, built on the foundation of the scriptures (God’s Word).
And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. (Merry Christmas)
The cornerstone is the most important stone in a building’s foundation.
This stone set the foundation and squared the building.
The building is aligned with Christ. Everything points back to the cornerstone.
- Jesus is the cornerstone of his holy temple.
21 We are carefully joined together in him,
- Every believer is a stone in Christ’s temple, the church, Christ’s body of believers.
1 Peter 2:5 NLT
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.
Scripture is all about community.
1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
Believers form a community
Acts 2:42 NLT
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
Galatians 6:2 NLT
2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
Romans 12:5
5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
Romans 12:10 NLT
10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Hebrews 10:25 NLT
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Proverbs 27:17 NLT
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.
- As believers, we are carefully joined together in Christ.
becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
“Becoming”
- The church is a living and growing organism.
1 Peter 2:4-5 NLT
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
Matthew 18:20 NLT
20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
Matthew 28:20 NLT
20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in (or among) you?
- The church is meant to be a community of people in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.
Belonging to the visible church is not optional for followers of Christ.
- Living in isolation, separated from believers, is not an option for followers of Christ.
22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the vast spiritual body of all of the redeemed.
Individually
1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Corporately
2 Corinthians 6:16 NLT
16 … For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
What does your Christmas card look like?
