Ephesians 2:19-22. As Solid as a Brick Wall!!! 19/7/09
(Eph 2:19-22) Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, {20} built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. {21} In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. {22} And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
From our readings today we can see something of God's concern for the safety and security of us, his people, in the midst of our difficulties and of a godless and corrupt world. He is not only concerned about our rescue from our sin and the hideousness of what is happening in the world around about us, but also for our continued protection and wellbeing. He knows that his people will face all kinds of pressures as they live in a world that is full of all kinds conflicting ideas and selfish attitudes. He knows that we all long for peace and a sure sense of belonging.
So here in this reading, God reminds us that we have peace through Jesus Christ. In fact, he is our peace, and he gives us what we need in order to maintain and keep that peace. He alone is the one around which everything else hangs. In the latter part of this reading, we are shown one aspect of this ongoing care that God provides for us. It speaks of us being built together into a solid structure: into the holy temple of the Lord: Built on a solid foundation to keep us strong and secure and on the right track. As Christians, each one of us is formed into one huge interlocked building, with Jesus as the chief corner-stone; or mainstay; and that is what gives our lives the security and peace that we need.
Now I am sure you all have heard the saying, "as solid as a brick wall." A well built, brick building, made with good mortar, on a solid foundation can withstand many pressures. It is a structure that will hold up when many others fall to pieces or rots away. When we have a building that is set on a good foundation, with solid corner pillars, and using good mortar is extremely hard to push over: hard to knock around. It is only with great difficulty that you can even remove one brick, that is well interlocked with others and with good mortar holding it in place. Every part of that building is there strengthening and upholding the rest: so the building itself is solid. It is a haven where people can feel safe against the battering storms of life: secure from intruders who are up to no good.
Now this is very much the image that is used here to encourage us at this time. To help us feel safe and secure as we receive a battering from the storms of life. We are reminded that there is no need to feel as though we are left all alone; having to cope with all our troubles and difficulties on our own: Or that there is nothing concrete and solid that can hold us together: Or that there is no one structure that is right and good.
This is one of the terrible lies of our modern world. By the promotion of rights, individualism and selfishness, we have lost that sense of community that is so important; and of that understanding that there is something which is solid that holds us together. Too many are building their lives on a wrong foundation, or more particularly, are trying to build on a number of different foundations at the one time, and as a result are getting badly hurt in the process – as their lives fall apart at the seams.
But that is not the way that God intends for his people. We are reminded that we are joined together into a solid structure were we can have the help and support; the protection and security we need. As we stay and are involved in the Church, we can know that we are interwoven into a fellowship of believers that makes it hard for any serious harm to come our way. God has here in his Church a place where each one of us is connected to that which is important, and where we can experience and give the experience of being part of a Christian community that is as solid as brick wall.
Now let us look a little closer at what it is that is involved here and what it is that gives this security and strength.
First of all this reading says that we are, 'no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.’ And that is what we are - by the fact that we are Christians – we are members of God’s household. At our baptism we became a part of God's family. We are united with Jesus Christ and all that he stands for.
Now each day that baptism is worked out in our lives, by our being what we now are: by being a part of that holy temple in the Lord: by being a part of something that is bigger and better than ourselves and our own wants and desires. Here in this church family there are no strangers and aliens, even though at times we may feel that way. We are all in this together; sharing each others joys and sorrows and hardships. Here we have the mortar of God's love, binding one another together, and holding each other in place; so that we can have that strength and solidity that can keep us from falling apart.
Now we need to remember that this love that comes from our Lord and that flows around and through us, begins from the foundation up. Here the foundation on which we are built and which stops us from cracking apart is God's Word as we have it in the Scriptures. That Word is always there and always stands solid and firm – it never changes. As we cling firmly to its central truths, nothing can move us or tear us apart. It is only as we depart from that Word that we find that weakness and separation occurs. It is only as we try to interpret that Word to suite ourselves that we find cracks appearing in the life of the church. And when we ignore that foundation altogether - or next to – trying to have a little bit of this and a little bit of that; then we find in time that we are in big trouble. On the other hand as we allow ourselves to be guided and cemented into those central truths of Scripture, then we find great strength and stability, to help us and each other, through times of great difficulty.
Of course, rising out of this foundation is that strong and imposing pillar of our Lord Jesus Christ: Everything in Scripture points and leads to him. He is the only thing that gives strength and the ability to stand firm, and which holds us together. Being joined and built into Christ means we do have one beside us who keeps us secure and strong - God himself. His death and resurrection are our guarantee of his love and help. His outstretched arms holding us firmly in his holy temple; assuring us of his ultimate victory over all that wants to tear us away from what is good and eternal. So throughout we need to stay firmly and closely connected to the Lord Jesus Christ: keeping him as our mainstay: the cornerstone which holds everything together: Seeking his forgiveness - his power to hold us aright: Looking always to the cross and the empty tomb as his assurance that all is well for us in connection with him.
In our being joined to Christ means that we also have become interlocked with each other, and there is a bond now which joins and holds us together firmly. His love and his person, and his death and resurrection; his Word, all cement us together: Giving us the where-with-all to love and care for each other, to help each other through thick and thin – good and bad. So that all can remain 'as solid as a brick wall,' in Christ.
This is what is needed and what is given to us; and which we need to work at as we go forward as God's people. Let us be reassured of what God has given to help us this morning. Let us use this to keep, support and encourage each other, and to watch out for each other so that we can remain strong. In particular, let us know this so that we do not hinder the strength of this congregation or weaken it by pulling one another apart. Let us use the person, love and power of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Word, as the foundation, cornerstone and cement for our life as his people. And then having in him the security of knowing that we are part of that which has strength and the protection that we need, let us go forward boldly and confidently; standing tall and imposing – ‘solid as a brick wall,’ offering safety and security to all who come near. Let us allow the Lord Jesus Christ to keep us as his holy temple. To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
(Eph 2:19-22) Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, {20} built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. {21} In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. {22} And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
From our readings today we can see something of God's concern for the safety and security of us, his people, in the midst of our difficulties and of a godless and corrupt world. He is not only concerned about our rescue from our sin and the hideousness of what is happening in the world around about us, but also for our continued protection and wellbeing. He knows that his people will face all kinds of pressures as they live in a world that is full of all kinds conflicting ideas and selfish attitudes. He knows that we all long for peace and a sure sense of belonging.
So here in this reading, God reminds us that we have peace through Jesus Christ. In fact, he is our peace, and he gives us what we need in order to maintain and keep that peace. He alone is the one around which everything else hangs. In the latter part of this reading, we are shown one aspect of this ongoing care that God provides for us. It speaks of us being built together into a solid structure: into the holy temple of the Lord: Built on a solid foundation to keep us strong and secure and on the right track. As Christians, each one of us is formed into one huge interlocked building, with Jesus as the chief corner-stone; or mainstay; and that is what gives our lives the security and peace that we need.
Now I am sure you all have heard the saying, "as solid as a brick wall." A well built, brick building, made with good mortar, on a solid foundation can withstand many pressures. It is a structure that will hold up when many others fall to pieces or rots away. When we have a building that is set on a good foundation, with solid corner pillars, and using good mortar is extremely hard to push over: hard to knock around. It is only with great difficulty that you can even remove one brick, that is well interlocked with others and with good mortar holding it in place. Every part of that building is there strengthening and upholding the rest: so the building itself is solid. It is a haven where people can feel safe against the battering storms of life: secure from intruders who are up to no good.
Now this is very much the image that is used here to encourage us at this time. To help us feel safe and secure as we receive a battering from the storms of life. We are reminded that there is no need to feel as though we are left all alone; having to cope with all our troubles and difficulties on our own: Or that there is nothing concrete and solid that can hold us together: Or that there is no one structure that is right and good.
This is one of the terrible lies of our modern world. By the promotion of rights, individualism and selfishness, we have lost that sense of community that is so important; and of that understanding that there is something which is solid that holds us together. Too many are building their lives on a wrong foundation, or more particularly, are trying to build on a number of different foundations at the one time, and as a result are getting badly hurt in the process – as their lives fall apart at the seams.
But that is not the way that God intends for his people. We are reminded that we are joined together into a solid structure were we can have the help and support; the protection and security we need. As we stay and are involved in the Church, we can know that we are interwoven into a fellowship of believers that makes it hard for any serious harm to come our way. God has here in his Church a place where each one of us is connected to that which is important, and where we can experience and give the experience of being part of a Christian community that is as solid as brick wall.
Now let us look a little closer at what it is that is involved here and what it is that gives this security and strength.
First of all this reading says that we are, 'no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.’ And that is what we are - by the fact that we are Christians – we are members of God’s household. At our baptism we became a part of God's family. We are united with Jesus Christ and all that he stands for.
Now each day that baptism is worked out in our lives, by our being what we now are: by being a part of that holy temple in the Lord: by being a part of something that is bigger and better than ourselves and our own wants and desires. Here in this church family there are no strangers and aliens, even though at times we may feel that way. We are all in this together; sharing each others joys and sorrows and hardships. Here we have the mortar of God's love, binding one another together, and holding each other in place; so that we can have that strength and solidity that can keep us from falling apart.
Now we need to remember that this love that comes from our Lord and that flows around and through us, begins from the foundation up. Here the foundation on which we are built and which stops us from cracking apart is God's Word as we have it in the Scriptures. That Word is always there and always stands solid and firm – it never changes. As we cling firmly to its central truths, nothing can move us or tear us apart. It is only as we depart from that Word that we find that weakness and separation occurs. It is only as we try to interpret that Word to suite ourselves that we find cracks appearing in the life of the church. And when we ignore that foundation altogether - or next to – trying to have a little bit of this and a little bit of that; then we find in time that we are in big trouble. On the other hand as we allow ourselves to be guided and cemented into those central truths of Scripture, then we find great strength and stability, to help us and each other, through times of great difficulty.
Of course, rising out of this foundation is that strong and imposing pillar of our Lord Jesus Christ: Everything in Scripture points and leads to him. He is the only thing that gives strength and the ability to stand firm, and which holds us together. Being joined and built into Christ means we do have one beside us who keeps us secure and strong - God himself. His death and resurrection are our guarantee of his love and help. His outstretched arms holding us firmly in his holy temple; assuring us of his ultimate victory over all that wants to tear us away from what is good and eternal. So throughout we need to stay firmly and closely connected to the Lord Jesus Christ: keeping him as our mainstay: the cornerstone which holds everything together: Seeking his forgiveness - his power to hold us aright: Looking always to the cross and the empty tomb as his assurance that all is well for us in connection with him.
In our being joined to Christ means that we also have become interlocked with each other, and there is a bond now which joins and holds us together firmly. His love and his person, and his death and resurrection; his Word, all cement us together: Giving us the where-with-all to love and care for each other, to help each other through thick and thin – good and bad. So that all can remain 'as solid as a brick wall,' in Christ.
This is what is needed and what is given to us; and which we need to work at as we go forward as God's people. Let us be reassured of what God has given to help us this morning. Let us use this to keep, support and encourage each other, and to watch out for each other so that we can remain strong. In particular, let us know this so that we do not hinder the strength of this congregation or weaken it by pulling one another apart. Let us use the person, love and power of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Word, as the foundation, cornerstone and cement for our life as his people. And then having in him the security of knowing that we are part of that which has strength and the protection that we need, let us go forward boldly and confidently; standing tall and imposing – ‘solid as a brick wall,’ offering safety and security to all who come near. Let us allow the Lord Jesus Christ to keep us as his holy temple. To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
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