Holding the umbrella low over my head I hoped no one would notice I was a foreigner. I couldn’t see far in front of me, but I didn’t expect to be stared at if my face and hair were not showing. Rain continued.
Sometimes we just want to belong.
Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[d] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by[e] the Spirit.”
The New International Version says it this way, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,” (Ephesians 2:19)
Being a foreigner was a constant reminder of being on the outside.
Yet in one Spirit both the Jew and the Gentile, Paul assures, have access to the Father. It is through Jesus. “ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” Ephesians 1:7 ESV
We are fellow citizens in Christ.
More than being fellow citizens, commentator Foulkes states, “Jews and Gentiles, people of whatever race or colour or class, are together of the household of God, of the same family” (1989). We are a family in Christ.
Christ is the cornerstone.
His people are being built together into a dwelling place for God. We are dependent on Him. Without Christ, we crumble.
“All find their true place and function in relation to Christ and as they are built into him” Foulkes reminds referring to the Cornerstone (Foulkes, 1989).
Now we are one.
In two languages, a woman I had just met and I sang Amazing Grace, Jesus Loves Me, and other favorites. We knew the name for Jesus in each other’s languages and shared it. Praying and singing with brothers and sisters overseas has been one of my greatest joys. We don’t all speak the same language. Yet we worship one God. We call on one Jesus. We are filled with one Spirit.
Through Christ Jesus our Lord, we are citizens of heaven. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Philippians 3:20-21 ESV
I waited for the bus on a different drizzly day. Suddenly I was not getting wet. A stranger’s umbrella was over my head. I did not learn enough of the language to say more than “thank you.”
She waited with me for the local bus, under her umbrella.
A Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for buying me with Your blood. Thank You for Your life. I’m so glad that our citizenship is in heaven and that someday we will be with You! Help me to see my role in You and do my part in this family. In Your Holy Name, Amen.
Questions to Ponder
When have you been reminded that your true citizenship is in heaven?
What is your greatest joy in knowing that Christ is the cornerstone?
When will you invite someone into His family?
Works Cited
Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 93, 94). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
The Bible
More Ephesians Devotionals
You can find more devotionals on this book and other topics in the Life: Devotionals section of this site.
Audio Devotional
Would you like to hear the Bible study read to you? Click here and the audio devotional page will open up. Then you can read along if you like or just listen in.
