Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV) 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 la holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Looking back over this 2nd chapter of Ephesians we cannot help but praise God for what He, in His grace, has done for sinners.  As we have seen, through Christ:

• He has raised us from the dead and seated us on the throne.
• He has reconciled us to Himself and brought us into His family.
• He has reconciled us to one another.
• He has set us as stones in His temple.
• He has not only saved us individually.
• He has made us part of His church, a part of His eternal plan.

Won’t you take the opportunity this morning to consider a few practical applications?

First, have you personally experienced the grace of God, or are you spiritually dead? Do you feel distant from God … or have you trusted Christ and received eternal life that only He can give? If not, then please turn to Christ by faith and trust in Him. You may have, like the Jews, come from a great spiritual heritage with spiritual privileges, but then rejected God Who gave the privileges. Or you may have like the Gentiles who turned deliberately away from God in sin and disobedience. And you know what, … whichever you are, it doesn’t really matter. You see, scripture says, “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22–23 NKJV). So, don’t wait … call on Christ and He will save you.

Secondly, if you are a believer in Christ, are you helping others to trust in Him? Having been raised from the dead by Christ, do you, “Walk in the newness of life?” (Romans 6:4) Are you living with the grave clothes still on or have you shed what no longer belongs? Do you share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others? What does your mouth say and what does your life say? You have a message of peace to share … peace with God and peace with one another. Are you spreading this great news of peace with God to those who are still fighting Him? You are ambassadors of the Gospel … ambassadors of reconciliation. Are your feet shod with the, “preparation of the Gospel of peace?” (Ephesians 6:15)

Isaiah 52:7 (MEV) “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good news of happiness, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

And finally, what kind of a brick are you and how are you fitting into the building God’s making? Do you fit smoothly with other believers (especially those that are different than you) or do you have so many rough edges that no one wants to get close to you? Are you going it alone – your own one brick building? Or are you a brick at all – have you let God have a go at you, or do you hold out from Him? The church can’t function with a bunch of individual stones doing their own thing. Individual stones trying to do their own thing is just a pile of rock. And yes, we all have ruff edges, but the mortar of grace is able to put us together and hold us together, as Pauls says, “Fitted together into a holy temple in the Lord being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”