SECTION TWO - 2:1-3 Chapter 2:11-4:16The Church Mystery, the House of God and the Body of Christ *The Father: First, there is the original state in which we are found by the Father and in which preparations were made according to His will. *The Son: Then, there is the work of the Son, which broug... [ Continue Reading ]
Our Prior ConditionSelf-aware, possessing personhood distinct from all other creatures.With moral reasoning, the capacity to assess right from wrong.Self-determinate, possessing freedom of choice and a will to exercise in obedience.... [ Continue Reading ]
Adam's Fall Inherited by All... [ Continue Reading ]
A great contrast... [ Continue Reading ]
By grace, we have been claimed as God's own.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ascended with Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
Divine Purpose... [ Continue Reading ]
Divine Means; First of Salvation... [ Continue Reading ]
(2:9) There is no sense in which our faith can be deemed a "work" of man. Nor can anything, done by anyone, be construed as meriting salvation as a response from God. Thus, there is no basis for boasting that we had anything to do with our own personal redemption.... [ Continue Reading ]
Divine Means; Secondly, for Service... [ Continue Reading ]
Their former state... [ Continue Reading ]
(2:12) Because of their birth as Gentiles, (and this is true of every believer today) they had not inherited either the promises that God made to Israel, or the obligations of the Law. They were considered by all Israelites to be "foreigners to the covenants of the promise" and thus, "without hope a... [ Continue Reading ]
Union of Jew and Gentile in a "New Body". (2:13,14) Where the Gentiles were once alone, now they "have been brought near" to Israelites by means of the sacrifice of Christ. Where there was a barrier of sin which separated Gentile from Jew, Christ "has made the two (Gentile and Jew) one". It is not a... [ Continue Reading ]
The End of the Law... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore, the Church may not be viewed as an advancement of Israel, for it is made up of an entirely new order of created mankind. The existence of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Church, makes clear a path into a new relationship with God. That is the fact of reconciliation. It is God's pur... [ Continue Reading ]
One Gospel is to both Jew and Gentile... [ Continue Reading ]
One Spirit... [ Continue Reading ]
One People-One House... [ Continue Reading ]
(2:20-22) Note in this passage that there is no reference to the priesthood of Israel in the building. First, there is the "chief cornerstone", Jesus our Lord. Second, there are the "apostles". From them, we obtained our specific instructions as to our relationship with God in Christ. Third, there w... [ Continue Reading ]