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For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 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 and 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 place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 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 by the Spirit. (ESV)

In Christ Jesus, who, together with His Father, sends the Spirit to dwell within us, dear fellow redeemed:

Who among us does not appreciate fine craftsmanship? Whether we are talking about a pair of custom-made ostrich-skin boots, a set of fine, hand-crafted gold earrings, an elegant piece of rosewood furniture, or the special features of a custom-built home, we can and do appreciate the skills and work of a fine craftsman. It should not surprise us, then, when the apostle Paul uses the metaphor of a craftsman to describe the work of the Holy Spirit when He creates faith within the heart of individual believers and unites them within the Holy Christian Church. Paul begins our text by saying that “we (individual believers) are His workmanship,” and he concludes our text by referring to all of us believers as being “built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Today, as we celebrate the Festival of Pentecost, may we both recognize and rejoice in the fact that WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP—A DWELLING PLACE FOR GOD BY THE SPIRIT! What are the results of the Spirit’s craftsmanship? First, we are united by the blood of Christ! Second, we are at peace through the preaching of Christ! Third, we are built on the cornerstone, which is Christ! May that knowledge fill us with joy, help us to appreciate both our own faith and the faith of others, and then draw us ever nearer to our Savior, Jesus Christ!

I. United by the blood of Christ

Paul begins by saying: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Paul addressed these words to the congregation in Ephesus while under house arrest in Rome. Paul had established the congregation in Ephesus during his Third Missionary Journey. It was a congregation made up of both Jewish and Gentile Christians. Historically, these two groups of people—Jews and Gentiles—lived separate lives. Their belief systems and cultural values clashed. The Jews had been God’s chosen people for over 2,000 years. They believed in the one true God, the LORD God of the Old Testament Scriptures, while the Gentiles worshipped many gods, all of which were idols created by their own imaginations. The lives of the Jews were lived, although imperfectly, by the values expressed in the Mosaic Law, while the Gentiles followed their own sinful passions, which regularly led them into activities and lifestyles directly opposed to God’s will.

The Spirit of God, however, had led both the Jews and the Gentiles in Ephesus to confess their sins and to find hope and healing in the promise of the Savior. Both Jew and Gentile were cleansed of their sins through “the blood of Christ,” which brought them “near” to God. By the faith the Spirit created within their hearts, they had become members of God’s family and heirs of His kingdom. They were indeed “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works”—good works “which God prepared beforehand, that (they) should walk in them.”

My dear friends, whether you or I are Native-American, African-American, German-Norwegian-or Irish American, whether our ancestors rode ponies on these plains or arrived generations ago on ships that crossed the oceans, whether our families spoke different languages or observed different customs, the Spirit of God has moved us all to repent of our sins. He has cleansed us with the blood of Christ! He has drawn us together and unites us in His church. WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP—A DWELLING PLACE FOR GOD BY THE SPIRIT! We are united by the blood of Christ!

II. At peace through the preaching of Christ

Paul points out as well that we are at peace through the preaching of Christ! He writes: “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and 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 place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

Two questions are important to answer here: what kind of peace is established “through the preaching of Christ,” and with whom is that peace established? The word “peace” appears four times in this section of our text. Christ is first identified as “our peace.” He is, after all, identified in the Bible as “the Prince of Peace” (cf. Is. 9:6). He is the one who has promised His disciples a peace unlike that of the world—a peace that removes all fear from our hearts, and which no one can take from us. That peace is preached in and through the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life for us and then died an innocent death on our behalf in order remove the barrier of sin that separated us from God. Thereby we have been justified in God’s sight. Paul summarizes this in the opening verses of Romans 5, when he says: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (vs. 1-3).

In this way peace is established between you and me and our Savior God. Whereas the Bible describes us as once being adversaries and enemies of God, we have now through the preaching of Christ become by God’s grace through faith the children of God! Since we are now all children of God, the Spirit creates peace between us. Those things that may have divided us, no longer need to do so. It does not matter whether we are from Africa, Asia, or the Americas. As Paul explained to the Christians in Galatians: “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave not free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26-28).

In Paul’s day the gospel preaching of Christ did away with all the Mosaic laws and ordinances which had separated the Jews from the Gentiles for so long. The Holy Spirit crafted them into one unified body. Today, the gospel preaching of Christ removes the cultural barriers that in the past have divided peoples. Oh, yes, those cultural differences remain and can be enjoyed and appreciated, but they do not need to nor should they lead to a separation within the body of Christ. As Paul points out later in this epistle to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (4:4-6). WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP —A DWELLING PLACE FOR GOD BY THE SPIRIT! Indeed, we are united by the blood of Christ, and we are at peace through the preaching of Christ!

III. Build on the cornerstone, which is Christ

Finally, we are built on the cornerstone, which is Christ! Paul writes: “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 by the Spirit.”

The quality of an individual’s craftsmanship rests not only on his or her skill but also upon the quality of materials being used. When you make those cowboy boots, you want leather properly tanned; when you build a house, you want studs that are straight. What material does the Holy Spirit use in His work? The Bible informs us that Holy Spirit uses the gospel word. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Paul here informs us that the foundation upon which the Spirit builds our faith and God’s Church is that of “the apostles and prophets”—in other words the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Concerning them the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17) and Peter adds: “We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:19-21).

Neither the Christians of the first century nor we Christians of the twenty-first century need ever worry about the truth and value of our Bibles. They are a sure foundation and, as if to emphasize the certainty with which we can use our Bibles, Paul points to us Christ Jesus as “the cornerstone” of our faith. The cornerstone of a building in Paul’s day was the first stone laid. It had to be perfectly cut so that all the angles were true. Every wall was sighted using that stone, so that they would be straight and true. Everything that we hear, teach, and believe is to be confirmed by the teachings of Jesus Christ!

My dear friends, the Holy Spirit is an outstanding craftsman—instilling within our hearts a saving faith and uniting our hearts in “a holy temple in the Lord.” Indeed, WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP—A DWELLING PLACE FOR GOD BY THE SPIRIT…united by the blood of Christ; at peace with God and our fellow believers through the preaching of Christ, and finally built on the cornerstone, which is Christ! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting

Grace Lutheran Church, Valentine, NE
Peace Lutheran Church, Mission, SD
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, White River, SD

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