"ACCESS TO GOD THROUGH PEACE WITH GOD - EPH 2:17-18"

Good morning. For those of you who are here this morning or listening on live

stream or on radio, welcome to the preaching ministry of Dillingham Moravian

Church. My name is Pastor Simon.

May the Lord lead us to abide in Christ as we study the Word of God together.

According to one article, U.S. and Ukrainian officials are in peace talks this

week in Saudi Arabia aimed at structuring the framework for a ceasefire with

Russia and a peace agreement.

The meeting signals a thawing of relations between the U.S.

And Ukraine, which ruptured abruptly following an explosive Oval Office confrontation

between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

I share this piece of an article with you to explain whether we agree with Trump's

tactics or not, that the U.S.

Is working on brokering peace between Ukraine and Russia.

Now, this peace summit that the U.S. has organized is run by fallible human

beings between two fallible nations at war.

The peace summit may bring peace in the short term or long term,

but the peace between Ukraine and Russia will not be everlasting.

The peace between God and believers in Christ is, however, forever.

And that peace will never be broken because it's based on the sacrifice of our

Lord Jesus Christ Himself and in His resurrection. Let's pray.

Father, we praise You for the wondrous mercy that You have bestowed upon us,

that You have lavished upon us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection.

Thank you for making us your children and loving us with such an everlasting love.

Lord, we pray, Lord, that as we go to your word today, open up our hearts and

our minds with your spiritual power so that we can see you, we can understand

you or understand your word.

And may we trust you and may your spirit work in us to apply what you are teaching

us today. In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Turn with me today to Ephesians 2, verse 14 to 18.

Ephesians 2:14–18

Ephesians 2, verse 14 to 18. Paul wrote,

Ephesians 2:14–18

For he himself is our peace, who made both groups one and broke down the dividing

wall of the partition by abolishing in his flesh the enmity,

the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in himself he might

create the two into one new man, making peace, and might reconcile them both

in one body to God through the cross,

having in himself put to death the enmity.

And here's where we're studying today. Verse 17, And he came and preached the

good news of peace to you who are far away and peace to those who are near.

For through him, we both have our access in one spirit to the Father.

Here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we have been going through a preaching series

in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

Last time we studied in Ephesians 2, we learned that Paul taught the Ephesian

congregation that Christ himself is the Church of Christ's Peace.

Christ has broken down the dividing wall between Israelite believers and the

Gentile believers and has made them into one new being in Christ.

More than uniting the two groups as one,

Paul explained that through faith in Jesus Christ and belonging to Jesus Christ,

The Gentile believers now partake in the same covenant promises that were at

one time solely directed towards Israel.

We also learn that sin was the

reason for God to have his sacrificial atonement laws in the first place.

Christ's atonement on the cross for our sins took away the need for God's sacrificial laws.

It was the sacrifices and the dietary and cleansing ordinances within the sacrificial

laws which caused God's people to be separated from nations.

And thus Christ broke down the barrier of sin that caused the underlying separation

between God and humanity, between Gentile and Jew in Christ.

In Christ, we are united into one people, one nation of God, one being in the church.

God in Christ has created something new from the two warring factions,

one bride of Christ, the church, saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus the Christ.

And today we're going to continue on in our study of Ephesians 2, verses 17-18.

Ephesians 2:17–18

The first essential truth that I wish to share with you today is that Christ

came and preached the good news of peace to those who were near and far away.

During World War II, a small village in Europe found itself caught in the crossfire of conflict.

One day, a group of soldiers entered that village and were grieved by a woman

who had lost everything.

Instead of hate, she offered them bread and water. In that moment,

peace broke through chaos, and the soldiers learned that kindness can transcend borders.

This true historical account reminds us that even in the darkest times,

even when trouble looms on the horizon, we can preach the good news of Jesus

Christ by sharing Christ's love and peace.

And as we do so, God, through the Holy Spirit, will use us to transform lives

around us in His way and in His timing.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, verse 17, and he came and preached the good news

Ephesians 2:17

of peace to you who are far away and peace to those who are near.

As we look at verse 17, I want you to see that Paul began the verse by alluding

to two Old Testament passages and then putting them together into one verse.

The first passage that Paul alluded to was from Isaiah chapter 52, verse seven.

Isaiah 52 · chapter mention

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who proclaims good news,

who announces peace and proclaims good news of good things, who announces salvation

and says to Zion, Your God reigns.

The context of this verse is that Isaiah predicted that because of Judah's sins,

God would send his people into captivity in Babylon.

But God did not leave Judah without hope.

God, through Isaiah, foretold that God would redeem his people from out of slavery for free.

And the one who proclaims the good news of God's peace and salvation to his people is lovely.

That in the midst of the terrible bondage that Judah would be in under Babylon

and then later on Persia, God still reigned and that he would buy back his people.

Isaiah 52, verse 7 also looked forward to the ultimate redemption found in Jesus the Christ,

Isaiah 52:7

where God would buy back His people from the real and most evil and underlying bondage ever, sin.

And when God would one day return, and He would reign in Zion or Jerusalem.

Back in Ephesians 2, Paul was explaining to the Ephesians that it was God in

Christ Jesus who not only paid the redemption price for His elect people through

His death and resurrection,

but Christ also was the lovely one who preached the good news of God's peace and salvation.

Through His time on earth as He preached, but also through His death.

And this leads us to the second passage that Paul alluded to,

which was from Isaiah 57, verse 19.

Isaiah 57:19

But let's look at the verses around verse 19 to get the context.

God in Isaiah 57, verse 16 to 19 promised, For I will not contend forever,

Isaiah 57:16–19

nor will I always be angry.

For this spirit would grow faint before me and the breath of those whom I have made.

Verse 17, because of the iniquity of his unjust gain, I was angry and I struck him.

I hid my face and was angry and he went on turning away in the way of his heart.

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him. I will lead him and restore comfort

to him and to his mourners, creating the praise of the lips.

Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near, says the Lord, and I will heal him.

In Isaiah chapter 57, God promised that even though his people had turned away

Isaiah 57 · chapter mention

from him and made God angry and God struck his people with bondage.

God would also heal His people and lead and restore and comfort them,

promising peace to those who are already near, meaning Israel.

And to those who are far away, meaning those nations who do not believe in the Lord.

Paul in Ephesians 2, verse 16, borrowed from Isaiah 57, verse 19,

Ephesians 2:16 Isaiah 57:19

to explain that the Messiah Christ Jesus not only preached the good news of the gospel to Israel,

who were already near to God, but also to those of the nations who believed

in Jesus as the Messiah Christ and as their only Yahweh Lord.

In the name of Jesus Christ and in his power,

Christ's apostles and disciples continued on to preach the good news of the

gospel of Jesus Christ to the world all the way up to today.

And we are so blessed that we are recipients of that gospel today as we read His Word together.

What can we as Christians today learn from this verse? We can learn three important lessons.

The first lesson is that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,

God is no longer angry with those who have responded to God's grace by surrendering

their lives in faith to Jesus Christ as their only God and Messiah.

We are now at peace with God and no longer His enemies.

The Bible teaches us to pay for even one of our sins.

All of our lifeblood was needed to be sacrificed to atone for that one sin,

let alone all our other sins.

Christ Jesus paid our blood debt by taking all the world's sin upon Himself

and putting it to death on that cross.

And for those who have responded to the grace of God through faith in Jesus

Christ, our blood debt has been wiped clean in God's sight.

And as such, you and I are no longer enemies of God, and we are now at peace with Him.

Paul in Romans 5, verse 8-10 proclaimed, But God demonstrates His own love towards

Romans 5:8–10

us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from

the wrath of God through him.

Please look at this in verse 10. For if while we were enemies,

we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more having been

reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

However, if you are here or are listening, and you've never truly surrendered

your life by faith to the Lordship of Christ Jesus,

then sadly the Bible teaches that you are not yet at peace with God and you

are still an enemy of God.

But I am here to tell you that there is great hope for you.

Christ has already paid the greatest sacrifice in the universe so that you have

the opportunity to be forgiven and be made right before God and be at peace with Him!!

And all you have to do is to pray to God, even right now, repent of your sins,

believe that Christ Jesus is your only Lord and Savior, and surrender your life

to Him as you trust in His love for you and His rule over you.

And the promise is that you will be saved from the wrath of God,

and you will no longer be God's enemy, and you will be at peace with God!

The second lesson we can learn from verse 17 is that God in Christ not only

has brought those who believe in Jesus Christ near to God,

but also Christ's death and resurrection has brought both Jew and Gentile into

near relationship with each other in Christ.

It's important for us as American Christians to understand that Christ didn't

just die for you and I personally,

but He did so to reconcile all believers in Christ from all nationalities to

God and to each other into one being,

Christ's bride, the church.

It is essential that we understand that Christ went to such costly lengths to

secure unity with God the Father and His people, and in Christ,

with all Christ's believers everywhere.

Let's not break that unity with each other that Christ died to attain.

Now, as I said last time, I'm not talking about disagreements over core biblical doctrine.

Doctrines such as who God is in Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity,

what Jesus has done on the cross and through his resurrection,

the fallenness of humanity, salvation by the grace of God alone through faith in Christ,

Christ's future return and reign, the rapture, whenever we believe that is,

the judgment of the living and the dead, the defeat of Satan.

God dwelling with the saints for all eternity in heaven, and there are other

core doctrines that I don't have time to go through today.

These truths, I believe, we must hold strong to and never let go.

But there are so many non-core doctrines and, frankly, other silly things that we've

been known as Christians to split over.

We must remind ourselves of the cost of our unity and the cost that was paid

for by God, Jesus Christ Himself, so that we, you and I,

we didn't have to pay that price.

Thirdly, just as the task to preach Christ's gospel of peace was handed down

to His apostles and teachers, so also the task to preach the good news of peace

with God has been handed down to us as Christ believers.

One of the reasons why it's so hard for Christians to share the good news of

peace with God is because Satan doesn't want us to.

And thus, our flesh tempts us to see the sharing of the gospel as something

burdensome or something that we don't have time to do, or other excuses of not

having the skills or the ability to share the good news of God.

And yet, for those in the persecuted church in some of the worst conditions

imaginable, and without seminary training, mind you, for most of them anyways,

they are so thankful and feel so privileged to share the gospel of peace on

behalf of the King of Kings.

Story after story that I have read of Christians who have been tortured,

imprisoned for their faith, are delighted and overjoyed to be chosen not only

to share the gospel, but being chosen to suffer for Jesus' name.

And although we're not being physically persecuted right now in this country,

we, you and I, have the same wonderful opportunity to be ambassadors of Christ

with His message of peace with God.

So far, Paul has taught us that Christ Jesus not only preached the gospel to

Israel, who are already near to God,

but also to those nations who believed in Jesus as the Messiah Christ and Lord

God through the teaching of the apostles and disciples of Jesus all the way to us today.

The next crucial point that I want to bring to your attention in Ephesians 2,

Ephesians 2:18

verse 18, is that through Christ, we now have access in one spirit to the Father.

Not too long ago, during part of the coronavirus shutdowns, with a few exceptions

for essential personnel and life-threatening emergencies,

we who lived in Dillingham had no access out of Dillingham, nor did others have

access into Dillingham.

Those who were outside of Dillingham at that time were cut off from Dillingham and not allowed in.

And this concept of not having access or being allowed entry into a place is

what Paul was teaching about in verse 18,

except that through Christ, all who believe in Jesus as Lord are now allowed

unrestricted access into the throne room of God in the Holy Spirit.

Paul continued on in Ephesians 2, verse 18, for through him we both have our

Ephesians 2:18

access in one's Spirit to the Father.

There are two aspects of verse 18 that I want you to see. The first principle

that I want to show you is that through Christ's death, we have gained access

or entry into the presence of God the Father.

The word that Paul used for access meant a way of approach, access.

This referred to the access point for ships that offered no access to enemy forces.

This is much like the American and Panama forces guarding the Panama Canal during World War II.

Because it was the main access from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and vice versa.

All access to enemies of the U.S. were completely barred and destroyed.

And this is the picture that we get from Paul about our relationship with God

before Christ's death and resurrection.

Paul in Ephesians 3, verse 12 declared, This was in accordance with the eternal

Ephesians 3:12

purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

in whom we have boldness and confidence, here it is, access through faith in him.

What do we have access to through Christ?

We have access to the Father God. We are now able to be in the presence of God

Almighty, which we were denied access to before the blood sacrifice of Christ.

Mark recorded in Mark chapter 15, verse 33 to 38, after Jesus had been crucified on the cross.

Mark 15:33–38

In verse 33, when the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloi,

Eloi, lama sabachtini, which is translated, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, Behold,

he is calling for Elijah.

And some ran and filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave

him a drink, saying, let us see whether Elijah will come down and take him.

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

And here's what I want you to see. The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The curtain or veil in the temple between the Holy of Holies represented the

barrier between God and humanity.

When Christ died, that barrier was torn in two.

Worshipers of God in Christ now have full access to God through the Holy Spirit.

And this leads us to the next principle that I wish to point out to you.

In Christ Jesus, we now have access to the Father in one Holy Spirit.

There is one Holy Spirit, and He dwells in one body, Christ's bride, the church.

Yes, we are many, but from God's perspective, we are not individuals in unity with each other.

We are in unity because we are actually now one being in one Holy Spirit.

Paul further explained this concept in Ephesians 4, verses 1-6.

Ephesians 4:1–6

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling

with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit

in the bond of peace. But why is this so important?

Verse 4, there is one body and one Spirit.

Just as also you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord,

one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Back in Ephesians 2, verse 18, Paul was explaining to the Ephesian church that

Ephesians 2:18

the unity of the Jew and the Gentile believer is based upon having access to

God the Father in one Spirit through Christ.

Essentially, Paul was teaching the divided believers in Ephesus that both groups

have the same access to God.

They don't need to argue about who's better

they had the same access because they were in one spirit.

I want you to pay attention to the fact that in Ephesians 2,

Ephesians 2:18

verse 18, Paul wrote, for through him, we both have our access, and here's the word

"in" one Spirit to the Father.

The word "in" is a location word, meaning that the Holy Spirit is the vehicle

in which the church as one body travels from being outside of God's presence

to being inside the presence of God.

For example, last October, my family went to Canada to visit my family there.

But I have to tell you this, we didn't walk there. We flew in a plane.

It was the plane that we and the other passengers were seated in that transported

us to our destination of Calgary, Alberta.

And this is essential to understand. Jesus, through His sacrificial death and

resurrection, made it possible for us to enter God's presence by removing the

barrier between God and us.

But it's the Holy Spirit that transports us into the presence of God the Father.

Moreover, I want you to notice that all of the Holy Trinity are also present

with us, His church in this verse.

For through him, in verse 18, for through him we both have our access in one spirit to the Father.

There are two ways to apply this verse to us as Christians today.

The first way we can apply this verse is that we as Christians now together

have access to the presence of God the Father through Christ because we have

been forgiven by God through the sacrifice of Christ.

We have access to God the Father because we have been forgiven and we are now at peace with God.

Everyone has sinned before our Holy God. Not a single person hasn't.

And I want to encourage you today that if you are listening and you are a believer

in Christ and you are struggling with guilt over past sins,

trust and believe that you are one of the privileged body of Christ,

who have now been brought into relationship or into the presence of Almighty God, who loved you

and His church so much that He sent His only begotten Son to be slaughtered

on the cross for you and for me.

You were loved beyond measure by your Heavenly Father.

God gives us guilt to lead us to repentance. But once we've repented,

trust God, trust what Christ has done on the cross and in His resurrection,

and let those past sins go and live with the joy of being able to serve God,

freed from your past sins.

The second way that we can apply verse 18 to us as Christ's disciples is to

trust that all Christians everywhere, from every nationality on earth,

Jew and Gentile Christians alike now have access in the same Holy Spirit because

we are united in one Holy Spirit.

This is the true racial reconciliation movement.

We have the same access to God as any other Christian of any other nationality.

We are loved with the same love of God.

And one day, we will be united together physically with people from all nations,

multitudes upon multitudes, larger than anyone can count,

from all nations and tongues.

Every people group from all time will be united together singing the praises of our Almighty God!!

Our prayers have the same connection to God the Father as any other Christian anywhere.

We can all come with the same boldness before the throne of God's grace.

What then has God been teaching us today from Ephesians chapter 2?

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

First off, God has taught us through Paul that the Messiah Christ Jesus not

only preached the good news of the gospel of peace through His ministry and

death to Israel who were already nearer to God,

but also to those of the nations who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, Yahweh Lord.

All believers in Christ are no longer enemies of God, but children of God

our Father, through Christ.

Secondly, God has taught us through Paul that all Christians everywhere,

from every nationality on earth, Jew and Gentile Christians alike,

now have access to the Father because God is now at peace with us through Christ,

united in one same Holy Spirit.

It is essential for us to understand the cost of being a disciple of Christ,

being part of Christ's church.

It is so easy for us to take for granted the peace of God towards us and the

peace that Christ brokered between all Christians and of all nationalities.

We take peace for granted because we don't understand the cost.

We didn't pay the cost. It's true. God did.

Peace with God and with all Christ's church has cost us nothing.

Peace has cost Christ everything! Peace cost Jesus His life!

Jesus became sin and was temporarily separated from the Father as He took our

sins upon Himself and He died for our sins, nailing them to the cross.

Through Christ in the Holy Spirit, we are now all at peace with God the Father

and with each other. may we together live in the unity that Christ so dearly

bought to give us. Let's pray.

Father, we are so, so grateful. We are so thankful.

Help us, O Lord, to pay attention daily and to remember what you have done for us in Jesus Christ.

May we continually live moment to moment in gratitude for your wonder salvation,

for the unity that we are now in.

May we never break unity with you and with each other in Christ.

May we live in that unity as we abide in Christ together.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with a blessing from Colossians 3, verse 15.

Colossians 3:15

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you are called

in one body. And be thankful.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.