The true body of Christ does not have segregation. If there is one place there should be integration, it is the Church of Jesus Christ. There are all sorts of excuses but love knows no colour. Love can be drowned in a sea of lip service. The Jew and Gentile are one in Christ. The black and white person is one in Christ.

1 – Remember your past (vs. 11-12)

The Jews and the Gentiles had a great hate for each other. The Jews saw the Gentiles as fuel for hell. The wall was high between the two. When you remember where you were before you met Christ.

• Without Christ – You did not have a saviour.
• Aliens – You were outside of God’s promises.
• Stranger – Did not belong to God’s family.
• No hope – There was no reason to live. Without God in the world – You were in fact atheists.

All were the same before they came to Christ and all came to Christ the same way. Don’t forget your past.

2 – Remember your peace (vs. 13-18)

This is what is happening now.

• The barrier is abolished – There was a four and a half feet wall in the Temple that separated the Jew and the Gentile. Paul said that this wall has been broken down. It was broken down spiritually. The veil in the Temple was rent in two to show this change in God’s view.
• A bond is established – Christ has dealt with the division and reconciled us to God and each other. He brings people together as friends. We all have access to the same God through the same Holy Spirit. We have peace with God. If we have peace with God then why don’t we have peace with each other?

3 – Remember your position (vs. 19-22)

There is a unity in Christ.

• The same household – We are fellow citizens and no longer aliens. We are in the household of God. We are all family! Brothers and sisters in Christ. Spiritually we are all in the same family. It doesn’t matter what colour or race you are. We are growing up in the same house.
• The same body – There is great closeness. You don’t cut off parts of your body. Yet this is what some Christians do. There are parts of the body that don’t look or act the same. Each part has a part to play. The Church is about Jesus Christ. He shed his blood for mankind, regardless of their colour.

We need to tear down the walls that may be still in our minds. God has brought the walls down. It is not and “us” and “them”. Christians are all one. They are all in the same family. Slavery may have been part of black history but it is now over. Get over it! We are to live in the present. If it causes bigotry in the Church then it is wrong. There can be differences between people. Judge a person on character rather than colour. Some people of your own colour cannot be trusted! Love knows no colour.

Categories: Ephesians