Weak Link

In Ephesians Paul writes about how the Gentiles were at one time "separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." (Eph 2:12) Bleak. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Eph 2:13) Good news!! He writes that we are made one, made into "one new man" (Eph 2:15). We are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens and members of the household of God (Eph 2:19). Paul describes us -- Jews and Gentiles who are now one and make up the Church, the Body of Christ -- as "a holy temple in the Lord." (Eph 2:21)

The idea in the text is that we are a building, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone." (Eph 2:20) In this imagery, we believers are the individual bricks of this building. We are "being joined together" (Eph 2:21). That phrase is actually a single word in Greek and means, most literally, "closely jointed together." I only point that out because the language suggests something more than simply "joined together." There is an attachment and a bonding of differing materials to form a single surface to build a larger edifice. It is a real union produced "in the Lord." (Eph 2:21) This building, with the apostles and prophets (that we now have in book form -- the Bible) as the foundation and Christ as the cormerstone -- guide for all of it -- is built of us "into a dwelling place for God." (Eph 2:22)

It's an interesting concept. It means the removal of hostilities (Eph 2:16) between Jew and Gentile and between us and God. It means that we are no longer about "me" and now about "us" as "one new man" and about being the dwelling place for God by God. It is a greater purpose and a greater value and a greater responsibility. As such, it is also carries greater consequences when we fail. How do we fail? The passage (Eph 2:11-22) is about God making disparate people into a united group by the blood of Christ, a new family, a living temple. So what does it say about us when we refuse to be "closely jointed together" with others? What does it say about us when we don't embrace others, don't love our neighbor, don't bear one anothers burdens? What does it say about us when we make it difficult to "break into" our churches? You know. When those new people come, do they sense that they are being "closely jointed together" with us or do they feel like they're on the outside looking in? Or how about the other divisions among believers -- race, income, class, education, etc.?

The Church is made up of humans and it will always have faults. That doesn't excuse them; it merely recognizes it. We should be diligent to not fail at what God wants us to do. As such, being a dwelling place for God as human bricks "closely jointed together" ought to be a priority for us, and anywhere that we refuse to be part of the whole, joined to fellow believers, ought to cause us serious concern ... about our own sin. I don't want to be the one weakening God's temple. Do you?