Well as we come to Ephesians 2 and verse 19 through 22, there is root and fruit that is talked about. In our paragraph here at the close of Ephesians 2 is actually more, at least numerically, about fruit than it is root. Allow me to explain. The root is the work of Jesus Christ, and the fruit of that root is that God makes believers to be citizens of heaven, members of God's family, and a temple that is indwelt by God. Ephesians 2 and verse 19, the fruit is in the green, the root is in the yellow. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God the Spirit. The root, the sacrificial death of Christ, produces these three fruits, the pictures that are given of Christ's people. There is, first of all, in the political realm, the wording of the text is, fellow citizens with the saints, And it is a kingdom picture of the church. There are these citizens, they belong to Christ's kingdom. Then there is the domestic realm, the wording of the text, members of the household of God. And here we have something of a family picture of the church. And then in the architectural realm, we have the wording of the text, a temple indwelt by God the Spirit, which is the building picture of the church. So there is one root of the sacrificial work of Jesus. There are the three fruits, which are the pictures of the people of God. They are a kingdom, they are a family, they are as well a temple. So as we come to the Lord's Supper, we want to heed the words of Jesus found in that inspired record of the Lord's Supper where we twice hear Jesus say, do this in remembrance of me. So we start this evening by looking at the sacrificial work of Jesus in the book of Ephesians. So follow along in this little survey of the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus. I read through the book of Ephesians, jotting down what I thought was a reference to the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus. The first, A, Jesus Christ's blessing, redemption through blood, forgiveness, And here we're looking at Ephesians 1 and beginning at verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption. We have that buying back of ourselves through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. So when we're talking about blessings that come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ, chief in the Apostle Paul's mind is that Jesus has shed his blood to buy us back and that through that blood we have the release we have the forgiveness of our trespasses. A second passage is found in Ephesians 1 and verse 15. This is B, Christ's resurrection. And Corinthians teaches us that the death, burial, and resurrection are all one complex of the gospel, all key parts of the redemptive work of Christ. Listen to Paul's prayer for the believers at Ephesus, Ephesians 1 beginning at verse 18. What does he want for them? He wants that they would be having eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you. What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in heavenly places. Here, Jesus is that one who has set above all rule and authority and power, and it's done in connection with God the Father raising him mightily from the dead. A third passage. This is C, union with the crucified and resurrected Christ. And here we turn to Ephesians 2 and verse 4. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him. and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. So here there was a repeated emphasis on union with Christ. Made us alive together with Christ. Raised us up with him. Seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And what is being highlighted here is a union with the dead Lord Jesus Christ in the grave in which power comes upon him and he is raised from there and he is then exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high. Fourthly, We're looking at Ephesians 2 now, verses 11 and following, concerning D, reconciliation and peace through Christ's blood, flesh, and body on the cross. We'll jump in at Ephesians 2 and verse 13. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one, Jew and Gentile, and is broken down in his flesh. in his flesh as he died on the cross, has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in the place of two, so making peace. and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross. It is the flesh of Christ, verse 14. It is the blood of Christ, verse 13. It is the body of Christ in connection with the cross that is the means of God forgiving us and reconciling us to God. Then a fifth passage in the book of Ephesians. This from Ephesians 3 and verse 14. I'll jump in at verse 17. that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. You say, well, I don't see anything of the body of Christ. I don't see anything of the flesh. I don't see the cross. Well, when we're looking there at verse 19 and considering knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, what is the pinnacle expression of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ if it is not that Jesus, would love us, his enemies, and lay down his life for us, his enemies. F, this is God's forgiveness in Christ. It comes from Ephesians 4 and verse 32. Now in that practical section of Ephesians, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving, Forgiving has here the sense of not the typical term for release from someone's sins, but forgiving in the sense that a bunch of grace is applied to the situation. It's a highly technical term, so I understand that, but I hope you get it. The piling on of grace. forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. God piles the grace onto you in forgiving you through the Lord Jesus Christ. So once again, the death of Christ is mentioned as foundational to his redemptive work. Now G, This is Christ's self-giving love as an offering and sacrifice. Now we're going to read from Ephesians 5 and verse 1. Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. And yet another, this will be H, Christ's self-giving love, Ephesians 5 and verse 25. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, and he gave himself up as he laid his life down on the cross. And now I. Love in the believer from the Father and the Son's love. Ephesians 6 and verse 23. Peace be to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What he is saying in an expanded reading of this verse is peace be to the brothers and love be to the brothers and faith be to the brothers from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So there is love that is given to the people of God that is derived from God the Father and God the Son, and again, the chief expression of that love of the Lord Jesus is his self-giving is his shedding of his blood, giving his body, giving of his flesh, there in connection with the cross. So here we have something of the foundation, something of the root. And if we think of our gardens and think of that which is below the surface that is going to produce those various fruit above the surface, that it is the sacrificial death of Jesus that is the root, and then these three fruits that grow out of it, the kingdom picture, the family picture, and the building picture. And now let's try to work through these passages in more of a survey fashion. Roman numeral 2, the kingdom picture of the church. Ephesians 2. in verse 19. Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. This is A, the unfolding of the kingdom picture. And you remember earlier Ephesians 2, about verse 12 and 13, there was that language that you are those that are excluded from hope. You're outside of the realm of the people of God. Here, in verse 19, there was that language of strangers And on the one hand, they are no longer strangers and foreigners, but they are fellow citizens with the saints. So there is the movement from being outside of the realm of God's kingdom to being fellow citizens within the kingdom. And then when we come, secondly, B, to ask if there are any New Testament parallels to the kingdom picture, my mind goes to 1 Peter 2 and verse 9. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. So here you have moved, in Ephesians 2, from stranger to fellow citizen. There in 1 Peter 2, you're the holy nation, even though you're not all Jews. Jew and Gentile become this holy nation to God, become the people for his own possession. Those who are not a people are now God's people. Thirdly, C, the privileges derived from the kingdom picture. We have the right of access. that which we've already seen in Ephesians 2 and verse 18, for through him, through Jesus, through his death, through the killing of his body, we both have access. We both, as Jew and Gentile, have access in one spirit to the Father. The Spirit grabs us by the hand and leads us to that banquet hall with God the Father. What other privileges? We have the resources of the kingdom. We have all of the blessings in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 1 verse 3 and following. We have the protection of the kingdom. We are in the Father's hand and no one is going to snatch us out of the Father's hand. Hebrews 13 and verse 6, so we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? So here are something of the privileges derived from this kingdom picture. Fourthly, D, the responsibilities. If we have privileges, we may well expect that there will be some responsibility that God lays on us. And the first is that we must be proud of our king and his kingdom. How do you know who a true Penn State fan is? Well, it's not real hard. That's the guy or the gal that is proudly displaying Penn State on their T-shirt or on their sweatshirt. That's not something that they're ashamed of. They don't wear their Penn State T-shirt in clothes and then put a shirt or sweatshirt or a jacket over the top and cover it up, lest someone find out. Does the Eagles fan only wear his Eagles hat around the house and the safety and the privacy of his own home? Well, he's not much of an Eagles fan, is he? And so it is with the Lord Jesus, for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels. There is the responsibility to be proud, to be delighted that God has chosen us and drawn us to himself. A second responsibility is that we put a priority on kingdom commitment and service. 2 Timothy 2 and verse 4, no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. We are in the Lord's army. May God work in us to be delighted to be his followers and his soldiers. Roman number one, the sacrificial work of Christ. The first picture is Roman numeral 2, the kingdom picture. Roman numeral 3, now the family picture of the church. This again, in Ephesians 2, 19, now the latter part of verse 19. And members of the household of God. Let's look at the unfolding of this family picture. It's in the latter part of verse 19. It's in passages like Galatians 6 and verse 10. We are to do kindness, we're to do good to all men, but especially those who are of the household of faith. Are there any New Testament parallels to this family picture that we are members of the house of God, members of the household of God. Well, think of adoption. We have been adopted into God's family. Ephesians 1 verse 5, predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1 and verse 11, since we are adopted as sons, we have obtained an inheritance. We've got the whole family picture in regeneration. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. There is a believing brotherhood, count it all joy. My brothers, when you meet various trials of various kinds, the father of believers, 1 John 3 and verse 9, no one born of God makes a practice of sin. We are born into the family of God. What a privilege. to be viewed as born into that family, adopted into that family, having an inheritance awaiting us. Now thirdly, see the implications from the family picture. Understand the marvelous grace of God in saving you. When that wayward prodigal son was out in the far country, when he had refused to walk in the ways of his father, he came back and said, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. He was hoping to just, if I could just be a servant, if I could get some of the food that the servants have, I'll be glad with that. But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe, put it on him, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate for my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate. This is our experience. when we see what God has done in giving His Son and then drawing us into Himself, not half forgiving us, not half reconciling us, or even 90% reconciling us, But God is a father reaching out to his sons and his daughters and pulling them in close to himself. But then further, understand the unique privilege of having God as your father. There are many who speak of God being the universal father of all men. And that's true. But just because God is the creative father of all does not mean that God is going to forgive all, that he's going to redeem all. But having God as our heavenly father who has forgiven us of absolutely every single sin is a tremendous privilege. Further, understand your responsibility to get your Father glory. If God has worked in us, then he would have us to live in the language of Matthew 5, 16. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. We are to live for the glory of God. Fourthly, the third picture, the building picture of the church. Here again, A, the unfolding of the building picture, now we're in verse 20, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. It's something that is built. The latter part of verse 20, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. Verse 21, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And it's a building that becomes a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Now as we look at these various pictures, we need to remind ourselves that the fellow citizens of verse 19, and so the kingdom picture, and those who represent the people of God in the family picture, we're talking about all the same individuals. All those who have believed in Christ are a part of Christ's kingdom, they're a part of God's family, they are a part of God's temple. The same believers throughout. Notice the divine builder. built on the foundation. You have been built on the foundation. You didn't build yourself. God in his grace has built us on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. God is building his own temple and that is humbling to man, but it's also tremendously encouraging to man. because you and I would not build ourselves. We wouldn't have the spiritual sense to do so. Then notice that first century foundation, the apostles and the prophets, and I won't go in to establish that these are New Testament apostles, New Testament prophets, but you can see that in Ephesians 3 and verse 5. But here, a mark of the true church is a church that is built upon the truths that come to us in the New Testament. And if we do not embrace everything in the New Testament, If we embrace things that are in addition to the New Testament, then we are not a part of a true church. And notice as well the cornerstone, the critically important cornerstone. Verse 20, Christ Jesus himself, the cornerstone. In our building methods, if we were to build a house, there would be a trench that is built, there would be concrete that is put in there, the rebar would go in there, and you want that foundation all around you to be level, and then you come up off of that. Their method was different. They would take a massive cornerstone, Cornish stone could be as long as this front pew and three feet wide and could be three feet tall. A massive stone. And that stone has to be very carefully placed. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And then every other stone that is laid in this building, whether it's on this end, that end, or across over here, it all has to agree with this chief cornerstone that is there. We find this emphasis elsewhere in the scripture where Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 3.11, Jesus as the cornerstone means that he is the leveling point of everything. He's the touchstone. Everything's got to agree with that. The height of the stone over here, the angle of this stone, the angle of this one, all of it has to check out and agree with the Lord Jesus Christ. In salvation, if Jesus is not the chief cornerstone in your life, then you simply are not a Christian. But what a tremendous blessing if we find that God has brought us to faith in His Son. But then secondly, the New Testament parallels to the building figure, and I could hold my paper up and show how I've marked out passages and simply will light upon a couple. 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 16, what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. 1 Peter 2 and verse 4, we've been there earlier. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious, you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. And what Peter does is something that Paul does. There's so much talking in pictures and in illustrations that sometimes you might think that this illustration doesn't go along with this one. And the first illustration, you're a living stones that are being built into the spiritual temple so that you can be a holy priesthood. How can I be a stone in the wall and be a priest that's walking around inside of that temple and proclaiming the excellencies of my God? Well, it's because the New Testament writers see the church as a fulfillment of that picture of the temple. That picture that is given us as priests that are worshiping, that holy nation is now fulfilled in a holy nation of true believers, Jew and Gentile, and that people for his own possession, now a people who are saved and will be his possession in heaven. Thirdly, C, the construction process. in the building picture. It's tied to the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple. Union with Christ. We've seen it earlier this evening. Let me just highlight at this point, we have union with Christ, that first long paragraph, chapter one, verse three through 14, union with Christ, some 11 times. In the six chapters of this epistle to the Ephesians, there are 39 mentions of union with Christ. What do we learn? What we already know. Jesus Christ is absolutely essential. And the only way that you and I are going to find favor with God and make it to heaven is if we are in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Further, notice that this construction process is being performed by God, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple. The process, as we've seen before, it's initiated by God, it's carried on by God. Then notice this striking language of verse 21. The construction process is a living process. The temple grows organically like some living being. being joined together grows into a holy temple. It's not simply built, but there is this living part to this. It's like a plant. It's like a child that grows in this sense. Peter takes this up and he talks about how the chief cornerstone is a living stone. And then he says, you yourselves are like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house. So those stones of Ephesians 2 and verse 20 and 21, those stones that are being built into a temple, they're alive. They are you, they are me. they are being built into this temple, and yet they are living stones that are capable then of fulfilling the role of priests in worshiping the God of the temple, the God who indwells that temple. But further, just as we pass from this phrase, it is a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesus had one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the temple of Artemis, the temple of Diana. And Paul is coming along here in not so subtle terms and saying, we Christians at Ephesus, we have a better temple. It's one built by God. It's one that's got living stones. It's one that is indwelt by God the Spirit. Fourthly, D, a key purpose of the building picture. In verse 22, in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God the Spirit. A key purpose of this building is that the historic Jesus Christ would be central in his temple that God who dwelt inside of the holy of holies in the Old Testament, that same God now dwells in the midst of believers who are the living stones. In the Old Testament, there I will meet with the people of God, the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priest. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God." Well, what did we learn? This is E practical lessons. Consider your great privilege of being a Christian and being not a maverick. but a Christian that has worked into one of Jesus Christ's churches, a living stone that is built in with the other living stones. And here, as we come to the table of remembrance, it's good for us to pause and remember that we are all fellow citizens. We're all on Jesus' side. And if we have something that is not resolved, something that is an irritant between us, then it needs to be worked through. We are in the same kingdom. We are in the same family. We are all calling God our father. We're all looking for our redemption through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are all part of living stones. And view yourself as a living stone. And if there's someone that you've got an issue with, view yourself as a living stone right up next to that living stone. And that's not comfortable. Let's deal with those issues and manifest something of our peace and harmony as believers. Consider your great responsibilities in being indwelt by God. There are those passages where the temple is said to be the church. Do you not know that you are God's temple, 1 Corinthians 3, and that God's spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him, for God's temple is holy, and you, plural, are that temple. Let us have a carefulness regarding the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not my church. It's not your church. It is a church that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. But then there is 2 Corinthians 6 that speaks of the temple again as the whole church. And there, the language draws attention to our special role as a place where God comes to meet with us. What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and will be their God and they shall be my people. As we come to the table of remembrance, If it is true that God draws near by His Spirit where two or three are gathered in His name, and there He is with us, then certainly in the Lord's Supper, which many of us regard as something as the pinnacle, of our worship that God will draw near to us, God will own us, God will make his presence known. Jesus died to forgive us, to transform us, to build us into a local church, to have his Holy Spirit to come and live within us. So, as we come to the table of remembrance this evening, Let's reflect quickly on the sacrificial work of Christ. If we just skim Ephesians, we find time and time again, it is the blood of Christ that leads to forgiveness. It is the flesh and body of Christ in conjunction with the cross that leads to our redemption, to our reconciliation. that it is Christ's love that is shown in a self-giving way for his church as he gave himself there on the cross. All of that is the foundation. All of that is the root. And what grows out of that is salvation. So that you and you and you and I are being built into this temple, we're made to be a part of God's family, and we are a part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. And may we, as we take these elements to our lips, reflect on how the Lord Jesus has died to have us. May we reflect on His kindness and His grace and just even the language of the covenant. It's a life and death commitment and we pledge ourselves afresh to walk in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's pray. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your body. Thank you for your flesh. Thank you for your work there on the cross. Thank you for your blood that is more than enough as the ransom price that was paid. Thank you for your blood. that releases us from all of our sin. And we thank you that your work there on the cross, Lord Jesus, becomes the root out of which these three figures grow. That you make us into your kingdom, you make us into your family, you make us into your temple, that is indwelled by God the Spirit. Father, work grace in our hearts. Encourage us with our privilege, especially as we feel our smallness in a world that is increasingly turning against you and against us as Bible-believing Christians. Encourage our hearts with all that we have in Jesus Christ. We pray these things in Christ's name, amen.