JC Ryle, Warnings to the Churches, 17-18: "To this one foundation every member of Christ's true Church is joined. In many things believers are disunited and disagreed. In a matter of their soul's foundation they are all of one mind...ask where they get their peace, and hope, and joyful expectation of good things to come. You would find that all flows from that one mighty truth, -- Christ the Mediator between God and man, and the office that Christ holds, as the High Priest and surety of sinners. God has laid this precious stone.. that weary sinners may rest upon it. The multitude of imaginary believers lie round about it, but they are none the better for that, any more than stones that lie loose in heaps, near a foundation, but not joined unto it. There is no benefit to us by Christ, without union with Him... to see that your own soul is upon the rock. Without this, all else is nothing... ."

How apropos are these words from the 19th century Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, England! How timelessly important and re-assuring is his reminder that all believers have their inseparable unity through their union in Christ!

The believer's union in Christ is the all-embracive reality of his redemption. This doctrine is the single, unifying theme of our relationship with God in and through Christ. Scripture bears copious testimony in this respect. For example, believers are elected unto salvation by God the Father in eternity past in Christ, Eph 1:3,4. In time we are united with Him in His death and resurrection, Rom 6:2-11. We live the Christian life, being conformed into Christ's image of holiness, through our union with Christ, Rom 6:4. When we die, we do so in Him, 1 Ths 4:14,16. Finally, we are resurrected, 1 Cor 15:22, and glorified in Him, Rom 8:17. So, this doctrine of union with Christ undergirds the entire process of salvation. It is a mysterious, mystical relationship which is compared to the perfect Trinitarian union, Jn 14:23; 17:21-23, and which also has ancillary similitude in the stones of a building, Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pe. 2:4,5; the union between Adam and his descendants, Rom. 5:12-21; marriage, Eph. 5:22-33; the human body, 1 Cor 12:12; Eph. 4:15,16; the vine and branches, Jn. 15:1-10.

The apostle Paul gives us the profound Biblical-theological definition and description of the Christian church. In a word, he asserts that the church is a spiritual body, racially and ethnically diverse but united in essence and purpose, in Christ, established on the unchanging foundation of the prophets and apostles, with Jesus Christ Himself as the Chief Cornerstone. It is a marvelous passage, overflowing with hard but wholesome truths, the full grasp and application of which are either underplayed as impractical or dismissed as unnecessary by many of today's evangelical leaders. Although the immediate context of Paul's teaching is the Jew/Gentile relational dynamic, the timeless principles discussed are of infinite value and absolute necessity both to our understanding of and to our participation in the contemporary church, the body of Christ. It is fruitful for two main reasons: it emphasizes the transcendent nature and it underscores the unity of the church.

The House That God Builds, the church of Christ, is developed in three major characteristics of escalating significance.

Verses 11-13 address the questions of whom is the church comprised? What were the factors facilitating Gentile entry and membership into it? What were Jew/Gentile relationships like before and after Gentile conversion? See now:

I. The Drastic Change in its Condition 11-13

A and B hereunder describe the Gentiles' condition prior to their conversion. From what were they changed? They were changed:

A. From Despised in Relations      11
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--

Remember=a charge to the Gentiles for sober, humble, thankful reflection on their condition before they were saved. Failing to do so leads into an ungrateful disregard of the rich privileges and benefits of salvation which they now possess through divine grace.

Application: Likewise, we are to develop a retrospective grasp of the grandeur and grace of God when He saved us from the depths of sin, futility and filth by Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. We are to cling to this moment, not with a paralyzing fixation but with grateful heart, a worshipful frame of mind and with a renewed will to serve Him. See 1 Pe 4:1-4; Rom 6:20-22.

That the Gentiles were despised by the Jews is established by terms that were derogatory, derisive and divisive. For example:

Explication: Gentiles in the flesh, uncircumcision are a tremendous dishonor, uncleanness and profanity. See 1 Sam 17:26, 36; 31:4. Circumcision, contrarily, was a privilege and practice of divine appointment and God's covenant seal with His people. Circumcision in the flesh, made in the flesh by hands, perhaps refers to the apostolic rebuke of a self-righteous spirit. May even refer to the Jews' sharing in the external covenantal sign but lacking the true circumcision of the heart, Lev 26:4; Dt 30:6; Jer 4:4; 9:25-26; Rom 2:25-29; 1 Cor 7:19; Phi 3:3-6 ; Col 2:11; etc. As such, they were "... proud, self-righteous, malignant, and contemptuous,.. regard(ing) religion as an external service compatible with unholiness of heart and life." Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistles of the Ephesians, 126.

Application: These terms are today's equivalent of the N word or the H word. The intent and result of racial stereotyping are always racial division. Racial relationships are strained, fragile, even hostile before Christ saves us and brings us into the church.

They were also changed:

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