We have gone from being aliens to being citizens. What's more, we're now members of God's own household (we get to go in God's fridge and have our mail delivered to his address). And we are also 2X4s being used in the construction of God's temple in which He's pleased to reside.
Each of these metaphors has significance for how we are to live our Christian lives and how we are to operate as a church.
For instance, the divide that Paul makes so much of, the divide between Gentiles and Jews, seems much less significant to us than it did to him: we were never so keenly aware of our disadvantage in being Gentiles, nor so keenly aware of the blessings peculiar to the Jewish people. But the emphasis on mutual citizenship and equal standing before God in Christ is something we need to hear and apply. If, as Paul says, we are all citizens whether we were born here or lately arrived from a great distance, our citizenship should eclipse all the other distinctions. It can be very subtle but we make distinctions in the body of Christ that we have no business making, distinctions based on how long we've been believers, whether or not we have a believing heritage, how exciting or pedestrian our testimonies are, etc. That would be like classing the people in a pool based on the order in which they jumped in, or how deep their part of the pool is, when all God wants to know is if you're wet or not.
Call to Repentance
Romans 13:8 (page 1765)
Call to Worship
Psalm 10 (page 850)
OT Reading
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 (page 1039)
NT Reading
1 Peter 2:4-10 (page 1888)
Message
The Drastic People of a Drastic God
Ephesians 2:19-22 (page 1819)
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