1. In Christ, Identity and Intimacy are Intricately linked.

2. Ephesians 2:1-10 Ephesians 2:11-22 No Reason for Boasting

3. No Boasting: God Initiates  We Respond

4. “ So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh...” (2:11) What we were without Christ (Eph 2:11-12)

5. Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6

6. What we were without Christ (Eph 2:11-12)

8. While people of other faiths pursue their god(s) for a variety of reasons, Christians recognize that the only true God has been the One actively pursuing them even when they were His enemies (Rom 5:8).

9. Sign of the Covenant

10. Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Genesis 18:23

11. We tend to underestimate the grace of God and overestimate the righteousness of people.

14. In order to be saved, one must become part of God’s covenant community.

15. In order to be saved, one must become part of God’s covenant community.

16. “ So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh...” (2:11)

17. What we were without Christ (Eph 2:11-12)

18. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) It is worth noting that the spiritual plight of the Gentiles was caused not by God but by their own willful sin.

19. The promise of a better covenant appears for the first time in Jeremiah 31:31-34, and it is the only Old Testament occurrence of a covenant that is expressed as qualitatively “new”. 19 Hebrews 8:7-13 (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

20. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. Ephesians 2:13

21. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17)

22. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love. Galatians 5:6

23. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17)

24. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) Unfortunately, while the old covenant boundaries of God were removed the barriers created by His children often still remain.

25. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17)

26. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) God is not just adding Gentiles – He is making a new People!!

27. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) While, we tend to approach reconciliation as a way to achieve unity. Christ has given us unity in order for us to be reconciled.

28. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) When ⌊ the Messiah ⌋ came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. Ephesians 2:17

29. What Christ Did to Make the Church... BUT NOW (2:13-17) The people of the covenant were not necessarily saved but salvation came through them.

30. Ephesians 2:18 For through [Christ] we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. The Central Place of the Trinity in Salvation (2:18)

31. What the Church Looks Like (2:19-22)

32. You also are being built together for God`s dwelling in the Spirit. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery. Ephesians 2:22 32 God`s Glorious Mystery