BaptistWay: The church, meant to be united

• The BaptistWay lesson for Sept. 21 focuses on Ephesians 2:11-22.

Some of the Sneetches have green stars on their bellies. Some of the Sneetches don’t. Those with stars feel superior—shunning, discriminating against and treating those who don’t with disdain. Then Sylvester McMonkey McBean comes to town. For only $3, Plain-bellied Sneetches can hop into his “Fix-it-Up” machine and receive a star, too. 

The Star-bellied Sneetches are indignant. The Star-bellies always have been special; their status is lost as McBean demeans their “real” stars by putting “fake” stars on others. Then McBean tells them of his other invention—a “Star-off” machine. For just $10, they can have their star removed. Thus begins a cycle of Sneetches running back and forth between the machines. Finally, they all are confused—Who originally had a star and who didn’t?—and penniless. And McBean leaves a wealthy man. 

As for the Sneetches, Dr. Suess writes: “I’m happy to say, that the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day … that day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether they had one, or not, upon thars.”

I doubt the Apostle Paul was interested in rhyming his epistle to the Ephesians, but he might have borrowed this idea from Dr. Suess, if he’d wanted to! Those who are different than us—no matter where the differences lie—can bring fear, insecurity, anxiety and, in extreme cases, violence. 

Dealing with them challenges our core assumptions and expectations, our comfort and our culture. We’re forced to look deep within and examine not only what we believe about others, but how we respond to what we believe. Just as the Sneetches finally surrendered their differences, Paul admonishes believers to live as though the dividing wall is broken—because it is.  

Remember  (vv. 11-13) 

Paul’s primary audience in this epistle is Gentile—a group of people whose plight before they met Christ was desperate. They were:

• Divided—“… you were separate from Christ …” Ostracized from the people of God. The language of “far” and “near” is drawn from Isaiah 57:19.  

• Distant—“… excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise …”

• Destitute—“… without hope and without God in the world …”

But that’s where they’d been.

Paul’s charge to “remember” isn’t a call to dwell on the past. In fact, Paul repeatedly reminds believers to forget what is behind (Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:17).  More accurately, it’s a call to be mindful of the disparity between then and now. By remembering the past they can more fully appreciate the present. 

Reconcile (vv. 14-18)

The change to their present status was not a change they initiated. The transcendent God stepped in and altered their present and their future, taking action on their behalf. He took them from being a people who didn’t belong, to a people of his own choosing, grafted into his family along with the Jewish nation.

To emphasize his point, Paul employs an analogy. Within the temple walls in Jerusalem, there were three primary courts—the court of priests, the court of women and the court of Israel (men). 

Outside those walls was one other court—the court of the Gentiles. Its purpose was to allow a place for “unclean” people to worship God and for temple business to be transacted. This wall not only served as a physical barrier between the Jewish nation and the Gentiles, but also was a reminder of the spiritual reality in effect. However, “through the cross,” Christ “made the two groups one” and “destroyed the barrier.” 

His work made peace between the differing groups, reconciling them both to God and giving them both “access to the Father by one Spirit.” Therefore, believing Gentiles share with believing Jews the same Father, the same Savior and the same Spirit who is a witness (Romans 8:16) and seal (Ephesians 1:13-14). No longer is one marked “clean” and the other “unclean.” There exists now a new union, forged in Christ and founded on faith in him, superseding any class or distinction that previously defined them. 

Rebuild anew (v. 19-22)

During the Cold War, a fence marked the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. Erected in the 1950s, it separated populations of red deer living in the nearby forests. In 1989, when the fence was dismantled, the physical barrier was removed, but the psychological effects still stood. 

Wildlife biologists began studying the red deer population and realized those in Germany weren’t migrating to the Czech Republic or vice versa.

The Wall Street Journal told the story of one particular deer, Ahornia, that served as a microcosm of the conundrum. Fitted with a GPS collar, tracking revealed she never had crossed the border from Germany into the Czech Republic. Why was this surprising? She was born 18 years after the fence was removed. She’d been taught the fence existed, even though it physically no longer stood. 

The Ephesian church may very well be the microcosm of the church universal today. Although Christ’s work has torn down our divisions, we still find ways to put up barriers because of race, class, age, wealth, ideology, tradition or personal preference. We seem to be less interested in identifying what we have in common and more interested in focusing on what divides us. We’re not much different than the Sneetches. And like Ahornia, generations that follow learn from us about a world of limitations, instead of building on the common foundation of God’s word, anchored in and guided by the cornerstone of Christ.

We “are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” He is the linchpin that holds us together.

Local churches must be proactive in not reassembling the walls Christ tore down more than 2,000 years ago. We must reach out to and welcome those who are different; we are called to unity, not uniformity. Yes, the status quo will get challenged from time to time, and we’ll have to work hard to maintain peace. But “he himself is our peace.” This won’t mean complete agreement or even full cooperation, but it does mean the Spirit must be free to work within us to produce the fruit of peace (Galatians 5:22).

So, we must ask some probing questions: Am I controlled by the Spirit (Romans 8:6; Ephesians 5:18)? With whom do I need to reconcile? What wall do I need to begin chipping away today? Are Christ and his word my foundation and guide, or are my opinions, feelings or traditions?

Pray for God’s wisdom and the courage to be obedient as you seek to allow him to transform you as he renews your mind (Romans 12:2). Instead of building walls, let’s be rebuilt as his holy temple in unity.