Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Church

Verses:  Ephesians 2:11-22

My thoughts about the verses:

We have to think back to this moment and time and one of the great debates of Christianity.  Did a person have to be circumcised to be a Christian?  Many felt that Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews.  That felt the gentiles who came to believe Jesus had to take on the outward sign of circumcision like the Jewish followers.  Yet, others believed that this was not the case.

Paul addresses this by placing Jesus as the cornerstone of the Church.  See Jesus had come and fulfilled all of the prophets of old.  Jesus was a new beginning not just for the Jewish followers but also for the gentile followers.  There was no true division between them because Jesus was their salvation.

Jesus had come into the world a broke down any walls that had separated the Jew from the gentile.  No longer did the covenant of the past need to be recognized.  There was no reason to continue circumcision because the Holy Spirit lived within those that had accepted Christ.  The outward signs were not needed because the heart and soul now had the Living Spirit within them.

How many times through history do we have to question who is a Christian?  How many times do we have to build wall to separate this group from this group?  Jesus did not come so that we would build walls between ourselves and other Christians.  Jesus came to break down the very foundation of sin so that we could be made whole.  Yet, humankind does not accept this at face value.

We have established rules that we believe we must follow.  We have taken the simple gift of salvation and turned into a world of legalism.  Do what we think you should do and then you are right in the eyes of God?  Live outside the rules and you are a nonbeliever even a heretic.  We have through our own ignorance built up walls that Jesus tore down upon his death and resurrection.

There was only one cornerstone.  That cornerstone was Jesus.  The church didn’t need multiple cornerstones because there was only one Church to be built.  One that stood in unity and opened its arms just like Jesus did on the cross.  Yet, we have broken away so many times that we have attempted to take a piece of the cornerstone to our new religious homes.

We have split over things that have no basis.  We have split over who we think can be Christian.  We have split so many times that it is hard to see the Church as ever being one united front.  Yet, that is what Paul wanted us to see.  We did not need to split to get what we thought was the best Church.  Instead, we need to unite so that we will become the best church possible.

Prayer:

We praise you God for your love.  Jesus we thank you for giving your life so we may be whole.  Help us to break down the walls between us and other Christians.  Help us to see that the Church will be stronger when it is united.  In the name of the Cornerstone of Life we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted Christ in your life?  Are you willing to accept that there is no other requirement to be saved?  Are you ready to break down the walls that have split the Church and Christians from each other?