Represent as Residents || Ephesians 2:19 || Manna for the Mind #102

Welcome to Day 102 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is Ephesians 2:19. It builds on yesterday’s discussion of being a part of the family of Christ. Verses 20-22 are added for context.

Ephesians 2:19-22

AMP	NLT	MSG
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household,	19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.	19-22 That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone,	20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
21 in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, set apart, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].	21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
22 In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.	22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

Our focus is on being together as God’s family and no longer separate as strangers. Why is that important? We’re viewed similarly to the apostles and prophets, receiving the same foundation with Jesus as our cornerstone. We’re working to grow the kingdom of heaven into a holy and sacred community in God’s presence. For when we’re together, we experience the presence of God in the Spirit.

We often look at this community as a church building. It’s God’s house. God’s house is built when a group of believers come together. He lives in us and reveals himself to a watching world through us, which makes it important for a church to be mindful of what kind of Gospel they present and how they represent God to their community and the world. People will see God’s love in us through how we serve God and live in harmony with those around us according to God’s word. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and members of the family of Christ.

The important thing for us to remember is how we show ourselves to the world, which will reflect how others see Christians, the church, and God. Suppose our churches are pushing political agendas or pushing political endorsements. In that case, people turn their noses at the church. If we see the church pushing God’s command to love Him, we will all know who we are and love our neighbors as Jesus loved. These neighbors are not just those who live near us or look or think like us. It’s those we’re enemies with, those that we walk by on the street, those we judge without knowing their story. It’s those who might make us feel uncomfortable due to our bias or those who take us to places that are not familiar to us. How we respond in these situations and how we can meet the needs of those around us is the best representation of how we can share who God is and how he lives.

Father God, thank you for bringing us all together as one body. So much of the world is divided over things that you don’t pay attention to. You look at our hearts. Help us to look at the hearts of those around us and remember that our battles aren’t against flesh and blood but against the evil spirits of the world. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.