New! That word is the advertiser’s cliché. People are always looking for something new or improved. In this paragraph the apostle Paul is beginning to describe the new entity that God has created called the church. And though the church may not be a new concept to us today there are probably some ideas about what the church is that are not scriptural.
So as an introduction let’s note what the church isn’t. First, it isn’t a building. The place where people meet together may be called a church but that is a misnomer. The place where we meet is our place of assembly and nothing more. You can make it what you like when we are not here. There is nothing special about this place except that we meet here to worship God. The early believers met in their homes. But their homes were not called churches. Perhaps, as a matter of testimony, we shouldn’t get too bent out of shape when people call this our church. After all we are closely identified with this place.
Secondly, the church isn’t a time of meeting either. In other words “church” isn’t an activity. We don’t “do” church. People who think that way have a misguided idea about how to live their Christian lives. I’ve been to church this week. Usually these people miss the most important factor of the church because they put in their time but miss what church is.
So what is the church? The church is the visible expression of Christ on earth. This is why it is often called the body of Christ. People make up this body of Christ. And it is people who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. So the church is an organism that functions together as a body. We see this in local expressions of people gathering together to worship God and to live before a watching world. We see this in global expressions in one group of believers helping another group somewhere else in the world. But it is the people of God in this age that God has placed together to encourage one another. There are no lone ranger Christians. We are together serving Christ and one another in the ways that God has equipped us.
Paul describes three wonderful facets of the church in this passage. We are going to look at the first one this morning. And the key idea of these first three verses is that prior to our inclusion into the body of Christ, the church, we lacked four key blessings that previously only righteous Jews possessed. In discussing the church, this new body that been brought into being through Jesus Christ and the fellowship of God’s Holy Spirit, Paul first describes its entrance. He observed how the Gentiles were brought into this body. He breaks the paragraph into two sections: that which took place formerly and that which is happening now. So let’s look at these four key blessings that we lacked before the entrance of the church.
I. The Church: Its Entrance (vv. 11-13)
(Bringing in the Gentiles)
A. Formerly
1. We had no fellowship with God apart from Messiah
(The Jews had hope in the Messiah)
So Paul says, that the first key blessing we lacked is that we had no fellowship with God apart from the Messiah. This is what the beginning of verse 12 says. “Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ (or from the Messiah).” The Jews had hope in a coming Messiah. They saw that their need was for this Messiah to rescue them from their sin and give them eternal life. The Jews of Isaiah’s day were falling away from that hope in the Messiah. This is why he wrote his prophecy. He came to renew their hope in the Messiah. In Isaiah 1:18 he says, “Come let us reason together says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet they shall be as white as snow.” Throughout his prophecy he speaks again and again of this Messiah and His coming kingly rule. The teaching of the free gift of eternal life through the Messiah is clearly noted. In Isaiah 55 he says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat . . . incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live.”
The righteous Jew was righteous because of his trust in the Messiah. Oh, he didn’t know who this Messiah would be exactly. But he knew enough so that his soul was made right with God and he had fellowship with the God of Israel and possessed eternal life. Look at King David’s words in Psalm 51 and Psalm 32. David knew that it wasn’t burnt offerings that made him right with God but in his Scripture based faith. In Psalm 51 he says, “For you do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; you are not pleased with burnt offering.” David knew that for his intentional sin there was no atoning sacrifice. And yet God had forgiven his sin on the basis of another sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Messiah. And in Psalm 32, David says, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impart iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!”
David came to God, not with religious ritual to be cleansed but with saving trust that God would provide an ultimate sacrifice. That is why the righteous Jews of Jesus’ day followed Him when John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to be “The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” And this is why those Jews who were trusting in their effort to save themselves, namely the Pharisees and Sadducees, despised Him. They were unwilling to humble themselves and call out to the Messiah to save them.
This is why Paul describes us, unrighteous Gentiles, as separate from God and His life because we were separate from the Messiah. We never partook of the life giving sacrifice of the cross by faith and therefore were separate from Christ. Let me ask you a question. Are you separate from Christ? Has there ever been a time in your life in which you recognized your sinfulness before God and your separation from Him and called out to Jesus Christ for eternal life because He paid for your sin debt completely? If not, then you are still separate from Christ.
2. Wehad no fellowship with the saints apart from Messiah
(The Jews had one another)
The second key blessing that we lacked was that we had no fellowship with the saints apart from Messiah. God never intended people to be completely alone in their worship of God. There are times for quiet and solitude in our worship of God but often, in Scripture, worship is seen as a corporate event. And apart from knowing the Messiah we had no fellowship with other people. The Jews had one another with whom they could worship the one true God and His Messiah. This is what Paul describes in the next part of verse 12. “[You were] excluded from the commonwealth of Israel.” This citizenship and fellowship of the Jew was the way to worship God. There was no worship apart from partaking in this community of Israel. It was in the temple that God’s special presence dwelt. And to be cut off from the people of Israel was to be cut off from the special presence of God.
Psalm 122 describes this wonderful corporate fellowship of worship that took place among the Jews. Psalm 122 reads, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ Our feet are standing within your gates O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that is built as a city that is compact together, to which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord – an ordinance for Israel – to give thanks to the name of the Lord.” Can you see that this worship is taking place in the context of the fellowship of the saints? They are going up together. The tribes of the Israel are going up to the house of the Lord. Can you see what a joyous occasion this is for the people of Israel in their worship of God? It is a happy ordinance for the nation to give thanks to the name of the Lord together.
I rejoice in my private worship of God. I rejoice when I am lying down at night dwelling upon a passage of Scripture as I fall asleep. I am overwhelmed by the administration of God’s grace to my heart as I am alone in my car and sing praise to God. Yet, there is something special about worship among the fellowship of the saints. King David said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” There is something about coming together and singing uplifting songs of praise unto God and praying together with the saints. It encourages you to know that others are similarly serving God with you. And in a special way, the Lord Jesus is in our presence, for He said, “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name there I am in the midst.”
I remember the first time that I experienced that very thing. It was early in my life as a believer while in college. We stood in a circle praying. And as we finished I looked around and realized that the close bond I shared with each one of these people was not deep and effectual because I had known them for a long time (I hadn’t). But the closeness I had with this half-dozen or so other college students was because of the near presence of Christ in our midst. He was the reason for our bond. And this fellowship with these saints allowed me to see that I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Apart from the Messiah there is no fellowship of the saints. Apart from the Messiah there is no fellowship with God.
3. We had no fellowship with the Word apart from Messiah
(The Jews had the Word)
And the third key blessing that we lacked was that we had no fellowship with the Word apart from Messiah. Paul notes this next in verse 12. “[You were] strangers to the covenants of promise.” What were the covenants of promise? They were God’s Word to God’s people as to how He would deal with them. God made certain and specific promises to the people that allowed them to know how to stand in relationship with Him.
But without the Messiah, there was no fellowship with the saints nor any connection with the Word of God. In Romans 3, Paul says, “Then what advantage has the Jew. . . Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the words of God.” It was the Jews to whom the Word of God had come. God spoke to the Jewish people through His prophets. He gave them His words to give them life. Without these words they did not have life. In Deut. 30:20, Moses said, “by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life.” The word of God is life giving and life changing. This is why we give out Bibles freely to those who do not have one. This is why we open our Bibles and look into them here in our service. This is why we go through the Scripture verse by verse and paragraph by paragraph. For it is the Word of God that brings life to us.
Before Christ came into the world and the word was preached openly to the Gentiles we were without the fellowship of the Word of God.
Because today we have the fellowship of the Word we ought to long look into it. We must read the Word in faith that God is not going to allow His Word to return empty-handed but will accomplish its purpose. When we come to the Word we must come expecting God to speak to us. When read the Word we must be willing to listen and allow it to change us. When we come to the Word we must think upon it. I believe it to be true that too many of us are scarcely changed by the Word because we fail to think long upon it. We read and scoot for the day and forget quickly what we’ve read. We no more allow it to affect the way we think and live than the newspaper or radio. Well maybe that’s not true. Maybe we allow the newspaper or radio to affect the way we think and live more than the Bible.
Jonathan Edwards, that greatly used New England preacher, spoke of the joy given to him because of the time he spent meditating upon the Word of God. He said, “I seemed often to see so much light exhibited by every sentence, and such a refreshing food tasted, (paraphrase) that I could not get far reading for I would often dwell on one long sentence to see the wonders contained in it, and yet almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders.” And also he noted, “The sweetest joys and delights I have experienced, have not been those that have arisen from (paraphrase) seeing how well my life is going but through a direct view of the glorious things of the gospel.”
Why don’t we see what God wants us to see in the Word? We fail to repent and turn away from those things we know are grief to God. Peter says in his first letter that before you can desire the pure milk of the Word you must first put away deceit, and slander.
Let as many of us who have come to know the Messiah seek the sweet fellowship of the Word of God that has been written for our strength and joy through which we may bring glory to Him. If you are not receiving the blessing of fellowshipping with the Word of God then cry out to God to make your time sweet and your time refreshing. Ask God to look into your own heart to see if there is something that is preventing you from making the Word of God your delight.
4. We had no hope apart from the Messiah
(The Jews had hope) – Acts 13:32 (Made to the fathers)
The fourth key blessing that we lacked because we were separated from the Messiah was that we had no hope. The righteous Jews had hope. At the end of verse 12 Paul describes our condition as, “having no hope and without God in the world.” We had no hope as to the resurrection of the dead. We had no hope as to whether we would have eternal life.
Now I don’t mean hope in the way the world uses the word hope. Our hope isn’t a maybe, which is how the world uses it. “I hope I have eternal life.” They mean they really want it though they are not sure if they will get it. The Bible hope is a confident assurance based on the promises of God found in His Word. The righteous Jews who lived before the Messiah came, had this hope. Paul says in Acts 13:32, “We preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers.” And in Acts 26:6, Paul in his defense before King Agrippa said, “Now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.” This promise of the resurrection from the dead was made to the Jews of faith long ago. They had the hope of the resurrection from the dead and eternal life because of their trust in a coming Messiah. They had great hope in God and His promises to them.
But apart from this Messiah we had no hope. We lacked the hope of God concerning eternal life. And this is where we were . . . “having no hope and without God in the world.” We lacked these four key blessings: fellowship with God, fellowship with the saints, fellowship with the Word and hope.”
B. Now
However, Paul doesn’t stop there. In verse 13 he describes the entrance of the church. We saw the blessings we lacked in verse 12 then Paul describes what is currently occurring with the words, “But now!” Here Paul introduces the entrance of the church. The church is made up of people, regardless of race or background, because of three astounding characteristics
1. You are in Christ
The first astounding characteristic of those in the church is this: You are in Christ. This is what makes someone part of the body of believers called the church. You don’t become part of the church by some ceremony. You don’t become part of the church by being baptized in water. You don’t become part of the church by walking down the aisle during the invitation. You become part of the church by being in Christ. This is so important because you cannot be saved without being in Christ. You can’t have eternal without being in Christ. You can’t live a life pleasing to God without being in Christ. If you are not in Christ then you are separated from God and under His wrath awaiting His judgment.
So what does it mean to be in Christ? First it is a position, or a place we have. It is a position that we are in before God. Picture with me this metaphorical term “in Christ” in a physical sense. Jesus Christ is seated in heaven. He is sitting at the Father’s right hand interceding on our behalf. Now you enter the picture. You are in Christ. How did you get into heaven? In Christ. How is it that the Father did not reject you because of your sinfulness (After all you have committed sin)? The Father did not reject me because He did not see my sin. I am in Christ. The Father sees me only through Christ’s righteousness. How is it that you can pray to the Father and He will listen to you? He listens to me because I pray in Christ and the Father hears Christ. Are you there in heaven because of your own merit? No I am here in heaven because I am in Christ. Do you have access to the Father because of your effort? No I have access to the Father because I am in Christ and Christ has access to Him. So we see that it is a position that we are in before God.
But not only is being in Christ a position it is also a possession. There are things that we possess by virtue of the fact that we are in Christ. What are some of the possessions that we, who are in Christ, have? We have life. Romans 6:11 says, “Even so consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. And in Romans 6:23, Paul notes, “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We possess eternal life. God has given all who are in Christ eternal life. We also possess wisdom, righteousness, sanctification (or holiness) and redemption because we are in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says this, “For by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” We possess all these things because we are in Christ. We don’t possess them of our own merit but because of the merit of Christ. And as the verse says it is not our doing but because we are in Christ. And there are other possessions that we have because we are in Christ. It is a position. The Father sees us as perfect as the Lord Jesus because we are in Him. And it is a possession. We have been given certain things because we are found in Him.
So the question that is begged from this is, “How does one get ‘in Christ?’” After all if someone doesn’t even have eternal life unless they are in Christ, how does one enter into this “in Christ” position? Because some of this is incorporated into the last characteristic we will answer that question, “How does one get ‘in Christ’” at that point.
2. You are near to God
So let’s look at the second characteristic of these people who now make up the church. Now, you are near to God. Paul says, “You who formerly were far off have been brought near.” Those who are part of the church are near to God. There is no longer any distance between the temple of God and the Gentiles. There is no separation between the temple and the people. You who are now in Christ are in heaven with access to God. And the Scripture says that you are God’s temple because God’s Holy Spirit dwells in you. You have been brought near to God. You have close fellowship and communion with Him because of this new relationship in Christ.
No longer are you separated from God but close to Him.
3. You are washed in the blood
Now the final characteristic for those who are the church, Christ’s body, is that you are washed in the blood of Christ. “You who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” This now begins to answer the question of “how does one get ‘in Christ.’” The blood of Christ is what brings us near to God. The blood of Christ is what places us in Him.
What does Paul mean by the blood of Christ has brought us near to God? In Old Testament sacrifices, the death of an animal was signified by the shedding of its blood. Leviticus said that the life of the animal is in the blood. And the shedding of that blood on behalf of the worshipper stood for the payment of his or her sin that was committed. For sin demanded death. And the Old Testament worshipper was able to transfer his sin upon the animal to remove his guilt and impending punishment for that sin. But this was done with a view to the coming Messiah who would shed His blood, not just for the Jewish worshipper but for the whole world.
Jesus was the perfect, sinless Lamb of God. He didn’t need to die for His own sin. He had none. He shed His blood so that you and I might be brought near to God. He shed His blood so that we would be able to receive His righteousness and lose our sin under its covering. And He shed His blood so that we might be “in Christ.”
Christ shed His blood to forgive all our sin, once for all. It was His work on the cross, His suffering by taking upon Himself the wrath of the Father, that offered us full forgiveness, not partial.
So how does one become “in Christ?” How does one become part of the Church, Christ’s body? It is by faith. Repentance toward our Lord Jesus Christ and trust that His shed blood was effective to remove your sin will save your soul. God has promised that whoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. There is no difference for Jew or Gentile. You will be placed in Christ and given His righteousness. I mentioned Isaiah 1:18 earlier. It said, “Come, let us reason together says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet they shall be white as snow.” There is a stain that sin leaves upon you but the blood of Christ washes it as white as snow.
I heard an old story years ago in college by a man named Darrell Gilyard. A father and son were watching a reenactment march of British soldiers from an upstairs window. The boy exclaimed to his father, “Daddy, the white coats are coming.” The father said, “Son, those are the red coats.” “No daddy, they have on white coats,” replied the boy. And as the father stooped down to look from the little boy’s level he saw that there was a piece of red glass in one of the lower panes of the window. The red windowpane filtered out the color of those red coats and they appeared white.
Though your sins are as red as scarlet the blood of Christ spilled on your behalf will make you look as white as snow to the Father. There is nothing else that can do that. Your sin needs to be completely blotted out by the blood of Christ. And only faith in Christ’s death and resurrection on your behalf will save you and place you in Christ and bring you near to God.
For we who have placed our trust in Christ already are part of this body. You are in Christ, you are near to God having been washed by His blood. As I thought about that this week I was overwhelmed by the thought that unless Christ did it all for me, and completely paid for my sin, I would be lost. I hope that you can see it that clearly that unless Christ paid for your sin from first to last you are lost. But as I thought on that I became so thankful for all that Christ has done on my behalf. He alone accomplished what we could never do. O my brothers and sisters, will you drink deeply of the thought of what God has done for you by making you part of His body? Think on these things that are good and honest and pure and lovely and of a good report and praiseworthy.