Blueprints to building Healthy Relationships – Putting the House Together
Ephesians 2:14-22 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Healthy relationships are built when we choose togetherness
Three rooms in our relationship house:
- Togetherness in marriage
Genesis 2:24-25 “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh …and they felt no shame”
Togetherness is not automatic:
- It is something that a couple daily chooses to do
- It is something they regularly practice
- It is also something they work hard to protect.
- Togetherness of friendships
We were never called to pursue Christ alone
Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Picture of Brick wall –
Picture of brick wall missing bricks
Redwoods – Picture
Friendships that interlock:
- Do more than go to church together
- They pray together
- They encourage and build each other up
- Carry one another’s burdens
Ephesians 2:21 “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.”
YouTube video of symphony – https://youtu.be/HuxdSeQexVY
- Togetherness with God:
Ephesians 2:22 “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
This is one of the biggest mysteries in God’s creation:
- God dwells within us
John 17:20-23 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
This verse is HUGE – for us to understand God’s heart:
- God desires relationship
- God desires connection
- God desires complete unity
Ephesians 2:14-22 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Here is the main point though:
- We aren’t just to have a vertical connectedness
- We aren’t to have just a horizontal connectedness
- We are to have both
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
