The Cornerstone of Your Life

Ephesians 2:11-22

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

In this passage Paul is specifically talking about how Jews and Gentiles are united through the blood of Christ – that Christ destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law… He goes on to talk about how we are fellow citizens together, members of the household of God, with Christ as the cornerstone. What a powerful image! God’s desire was for ALL people to unite under one title – children of God. Jesus came to put away labels, human identity, skin color, political persuasions, religious arguments, and a thousand other mortal conflicts, including co-parent ones. Quite simply, Jesus is the be all and end all of every humanly-created concept. His sacrificial act on the cross rendered everything but His grace meaningless. Sit with that for a minute. Whatever argument or point of view you hold against any other human being is null and void in light of the cross. You can even argue with that statement, but it will hold no water in comparison to the cleansing and transforming blood of the cross. Many will walk away from Jesus because our human minds cannot or will not grasp who He is. Remember the rich young ruler in Luke (18:18-30), who when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. We, too, often choose to walk away so we can manage our own lives. We don’t know what happened to that rich young ruler, but we know that Jesus doesn’t suffer fools. John 4:24 tells us He is full of grace and truth, which is unattainable by any human. We can only draw on his grace and truth through our faith and trust in Him and our invitation for the Spirit to live within us, to teach us what we need to know to live our lives in light of his good and perfect will. It may sound complicated, but it requires so much less of us than the world does, that is, if we can sacrifice our egos.