Ephesians 2:19, 22, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, … And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

Questions: What is your experience of this verse? What is the nature of the church?

On reading this verse, I thought the topic would be easy, as I’ve experienced what Paul is describing. But the verse begins “Consequently”, so I read the preceding verses, and it became complicated.

Setting of the verse

In this chapter Paul refers to the Ephesians (and us) as being brought from a state of alienation from God — “being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” (verse 12)

I read about the concept of alienation in Sociology over 55 years ago, and I hear it is still a popular theory. It was started by Karl Marx in the setting of 19th century industrial society, but it’s been revived by others to fit our modern world. It talks of mankind being strangers to their own nature and to society, and having a lack of meaning. Émile Durkheim had a similar theory of anomie, where people were without clear moral guidance or social norms due to rapid changes causing social norms to break down.
These sociology theories propose the cause as being whatever is prominent in society at the time, but I suggest this state of alienation is a basic aspect of our fallen human condition, and Paul highlights the real cause in this chapter, which is our estrangement from God due to sin.

But contrary to the never-ending dismal outlook of these sociological theories, and academic departments built upon them, Paul describes how we have already been given the cure for this condition — we “have been brought near by the blood of Christ … who has … broken down the … wall of separation.” (verse 13-14)

Experience of the verse

And hence our verse says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people”. While I enjoy the privilege of being an Australian citizen, I have far greater joy in being a citizen of God’s people, and an inheritor of His promises.

But the verse reads, “and also members of his household”, so I am not only a member of a new nation, but a new family as well. We may envy people who were born into privileged families, but we have been born anew into the best family of all, into God’s household! And how privileged is that? And I am struck by how deep is the love for my brothers and sisters in Christ. When mixing with people in the world, and I discover a fellow believer, my sense of joy is immediate.

Nature of the Church

The end of our verse describes the Church — “in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

In previous weeks we saw that the Holy Spirit lives in the believer, and is the means of God transforming us as individuals, of changing our nature.

But this shows the Spirit is doing more, He is building us together into a dwelling in which God lives, not only in each individual but in the unity of believers as they fellowship together. This is also promised by Jesus in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Our idea of church may be distorted by views on what is appropriate for singing or rituals of worship, but that is not the essential nature of church. Church is wherever believers are gathered in the name of Jesus. So, this is church in our small group, or in the café when I saw two people at a table praying together amongst the noise; or even years ago when a Christian friend and I were fishing at night on the jetty at Robe, it was a peaceful time of reflection as the fish ignored us.

This verse shows the importance of gathering together as believers. We are not called to believe in isolation, but to share our faith, as God lives in us collectively through His Holy Spirit.

Church Visible

God dwelling by his Spirit is, of course, invisible to the human eye, so it is distinct to what the secular world sees as the church, which are the buildings and human organisations and activities that are associated with the real church.

The church visible may have to deal with all the problems that Paul warned us about – false prophets, false doctrines, idle babblings, and offensive or divisive people. But its importance is that the visible church is where people will hear the gospel preached. So, let us persevere with gathering together, for even if the visible church has aspects that reflect mankind’s fallen state, the real church is perfect because God’s presence makes it so.

Praise God for the sense of His presence with us now.