Ephesians 2:18-22
For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Our text today says that through Jesus both the gentiles and the Jews have access by the same Holy Spirit to our common Father. Now we here are pretty much all gentiles-all gentiles yet with some different ethnic backgrounds. Here we are anglo and hispanic and black and indian and surely yet more ethnic varieties. Some of us here must have some Jewish blood somewhere. But no matter who we are or what our ethnic background is, we all have access by one Spirit-the Holy Spirit-to God the Father.

No one can claim that they are any better or any worse because of their racial background. Friends, if we all have one and the same Father, then we are all His children. We are brothers and sisters.

We share a fellow citizenship. Not just the same family, we are also the same nation. Families don't have citizenship; only nations have citizenship. God has grafted us into His kingdom of Israel, a kingdom that is both, a family and a nation. And together we are all of that. And if we are really members of the same family, members of the same nation, having the same Father, then how should we treat each other? Won't we be interested in treating each other like God wants us to treat each other? Like a family and like a nation?

God is asking you this morning: are you built upon the same foundation? Look at verse 20; are the apostles and the prophets your foundation? How is your Bible reading going? We need to be reading God's Word. It is our glue. We can read it in English or Spanish or another language and no matter what language it is, it will make us more like Jesus if we read it and live by it. It is alive. Its words are spirit and they are life. No matter what language.

Did you also notice in the text that we all have the same Cornerstone? Jesus Christ is our Cornerstone together. And if we all have the same cornerstone, then we have to be the same building to. God is building us up together into the same building. Our ethnic background doesn't matter. We may not know the same language, but if we spend some time together we will pick a lot up from our brother's and sister's language, don't you think?

In Him we grow in holiness

Now maybe we haven't thought very much about what it means that we are the same building. But one thing it means is that we will grow in holiness together. Look at verse 21. There it says that if we are in Christ, "all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord." If we all let Jesus into our hearts, we will be built up together in holiness. We will become God's holy last-day people.

There is not very much preaching about holiness these days. Do we even know, I wonder, what holiness is? In the Bible Jesus says "Be ye therefore holy because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). If He is our Father and we are His children and He is holy then we will be holy. Holy people obey God. Unholy people do not obey God. God can change us into holy people. He can change you.

Do you believe that?

He can give you victory. But it won't happen if we don't plead with God to change us. We can't become holy unless His power comes into us. So by claiming God's promises and having faith in Him and His authority to fulfill His promises, we can be changed. We need to be very careful when we claim promises so that we know what God's conditions are. But when we have done our part, we know that He will do His part. His is the very big part and ours is the very small part. We ask Him and He provides the power; He does all of the heavy lifting! But we must ask.

Ellen White wrote that "True holiness is wholeness in the service of God" and that is true (in Christ's Object Lessons, p. 48). In fact, it is the condition of living life as a Christian. We must give everything to God. Then He will refine it and give it back to us filled with blessings. When we give something to Him, it is empty. The only thing it has is the faith that He gave us that we exercise when we give something to God. When He gives it back, it will be full. When we give all to Him, he will give all to us. And His all is so much more than our all!

And the text takes us back to the same Spirit, doesn't it? It says in verse 22 that in Jesus we are "builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." God is making not only a family, not only a nation, but a house for the Holy Spirit to live in. That's what He's doing. And the Holy Spirit wants to move in. And you and I are the house. We are like bricks all fitting together, glued together with the common mortar of holiness; we are like a shining wall going up, glittering and pure, a wall that will reflect back the perfect image of Jesus as He moves in His house. Because we aren't being built into just anyone's house, but into the house of God. The Holy Spirit is God. The Father is God. They want to live in us. White, black, Mexican, any color, because no matter what our background is, we are all from one family. Not just Adam and Eve, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the Father: they are our relatives.

But are you ready to take your place in the wall? Are you ready to be a sturdy part of the building? Today in our communion service we are going to be thinking a lot about our Cornerstone-our Jesus-who died for us. We are here in a special way together today to share our fellowship as members of the same family, as citizens of the same nation, as the building bricks of the same building. And we can thank Jesus who has come here today to help us grow in holiness. Today we think of the night that Jesus agonized in the garden. For us. And we remember His death until He come.

So on this day, let us rejoice as a common family, and let us plan to meet together this way more often as a common family. Some of us speak English and some of us speak Spanish, but we are the same building. And Jesus is our Cornerstone. And today we recall His sacrifice for us, and we know that one day soon He will return. He will not leave His house empty, but He will occupy it. He will save this whole universe from sin forever and we will be part of His foundation, because in you and in me he will have produced a people who do not sin! Because He has all power. And He is ready to grant you all power so that you can become like Him. Today let us rejoice and reconsecrate ourselves to our God. Jesus is coming soon. Today is a new beginning. Let's go toward Him together. He is waiting just now.

Last Modified 23 March 2000