The Price of Unity

This month we remembered the fall of the Berlin Wall. Back on the 9th November 1989
the wall, a symbol of the great divide that separated, physically and ideologically, the people of East and West Germany, was broken and the people were united as one nation.

Thanks to YouTube we can look back at the wall being broken down, and enjoy(!) David Hasselhoff taking us on a whistle-stop tour of what it meant for the German people. Thanks to the Bible we can look back even further to see another great barrier that was broken down in the name of unity, and the enormous price that was paid to secure it. Our guide, rather than The Hoff, is the Apostle Paul.

In Ephesians 2, Paul asks us remember what we were. The original recipients of this letter were about as divided as they could be. The Jews had a fantastic heritage as God's chosen people with the hope of a glorious inheritance and a visible physical sign that they were part of that special community. The Gentiles had none of that. Half of the Church felt superior, the other half inferior. But Paul is keen to remind them that the barrier, the "dividing wall of hostility", has been destroyed. What's made the change? What's the great leveller in the Church of 2000 years ago with the same power to unite us as one today?

Jesus' death on the cross. There is no other way - we all need it as much as each other - we're powerless to save ourselves.

The cross deals with everything that keeps us apart from God, and apart from each other. Our unity is precious - it cost the blood of Jesus to secure it, and we need to treasure it, promote it, and protect it.

Deep down, Paul needed to write to the Ephesians because they hadn't quite grasped this. The message of unity hadn't quite embedded itself in the Church. Do we grasp this in the Church today, or are we just as guilty of harbouring attitudes of superiority and inferiority?

The Temple in Jerusalem was a glorious place where the best of everything was used and displayed. Paul says this is what we are today, as the Church that's built on the blood of Christ and nothing else. We have everything we need to be the people God wants us to be.

In Christ we have peace with God and each other. Let's not create barriers and division in the way we behave towards one another. Let's unite to be the people of God, where his glory dwells, and shines out to the world.

Face the fear and act in faith

Some choices in life appear easier than others. When we're faced with a jump into the unknown it's only natural that there's an element of fear.

Becoming a Christian is like that too. Accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord is actually pretty simple, but there's no denying it's an act of faith.

 

If you're a Christian, you might be wondering exactly what it is that's happened to you. Maybe you've found this blog because someone you know has become a Christian and you are wondering what on earth is going on with them. Perhaps you're standing on the edge, about to take that leap of faith, and you're wondering what will happen to you if you leap.

 

In Ephesians 2, Paul tries to tell us a bit more about the unknown.

 

We find out what we're like:

•  We're 'dead in transgressions'. We fall short of the mark, and to be out of step with our creator makes us as good as dead.
• We're also dominated. None of us can claim to be completely free of influence, and Paul warns us that we're all followers - we need to be aware of who or what we're following.
• We're destined for destruction. God's wrath is right and fair, and entirely predictable. It's a uncompromising refusal to accept sin and evil.

This is us, but God...

 

The good news, or gospel, is that while that might be what we were like, we've been transformed. v5-6 - God made us alive in Christ. Paul writes that we have been saved. Theologically, we were saved before the beginning of time, because God has chosen us. Logically, we were saved when Jesus breathed his last and said "it is finished". Experientially we were saved when we received the Holy Spirit.

 

Whether you want to think about salvation theologically, logically or experientially, there's no doubt in Ephesians 2 it's absolutely a work of God - not of us. He's saved us because he loves us (v4-5) and is merciful in not giving us what we deserve.

 

Still teetering on the brink?

 

Becoming a Christian, being saved, is all from God and not something we can earn or deserve.

 

So in the words of Van Halen, might as well jump.