Nigerian Baptist Convention Sunday School Lesson August 17, 2025: Title - Jews And Gentile s From One Temple

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON (NBC)

Nigerian Baptist Convention Sunday School Lesson August 17, 2025: Title - Jews And Gentile s From One Temple 

 Sunday, August 17, 2025

JEWS AND GENTILES FORM ONE TEMPLE

Devotional Reading: Romans 9:14-24

Background/Lesson Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22

GOLDEN TEXT

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. Ephesians 2:21-22

Objectives: By the end of the lesson, class members should be able to:

I. Resolve some points of agreement/disagreement with other Christian believers;

II. Determine to reconcile with people they have distanced themselves from;

III. List at least two steps to reconciliation.

INTRODUCTION

God is concerned about how His people relate with Him and with themselves. He desires that the church will be an agent of unity. The early church's life fulfilled this desire of God because they lived together as one single entity, a form of communal living. Most African communities were used to communal life and values before the incursion of Westernisation. Their lives were characterised by whatever there are "belongs to all of us". It was an idea of "I Am Because We Are". The individual lives were intertwined with the community's life. Such a lifestyle has the advantage of enabling individual members of the community because of its sense of brotherhood. Such a life is opposite to the attitude of segregation and individualism, which is common in most society today. Today's study is on the reconciliation made possible by the ministry of Christ.

THE LESSON EXPLAINED

A. Bought through the Blood of Christ Ephesians 2:11-13

Memories are like sold articles, which could erode in the space of time. No one can remember everything, whether good or bad. The role of a reminder is indispensable. The Ephesian believers were reminded of their former state as Gentiles, when they were without five things. They were without Christ, hope, citizenship, covenant and God. They were strangers to the covenant of peace and God's promise to man. Thus, they were separated from God because of their sins. But now, that Christ has bought them over, and He dwells in their hearts; they are no longer strangers because they now belong to God due to their entrance into the Covenant - relationship with God. They had experienced a reunion with God and are now renewed to become new people, not the same people they were before. An offspring of this unique nature is the expectation that the separation between Jews and Gentiles ought to have been broken down. Their new position in Christ should enable them to become united with one another, the Jews and the Gentiles.

There should be some measure of newness in our approaches to life. The entrance of Christ into our lives ought to have changed us in and out. We are not the same persons we were before. Although we were sometimes strangers to the covenant of peace, our salvation through Christ has qualified us to become actual citizens of the eternal kingdom with all its rights and privileges. God creates all men and should be loved by all believers. Our attitudes to life should be void of hostility to people of other tribes because of their languages, colours and economic statures. Our conduct ought to change to become better. We must be conscious of this privilege and endeavour not to misuse it.

DISCUSSION TIME

1. Discuss together some of what is expected of a believer on how he or she relates with people of other cultures because he or she is a new person in Christ.

 

2. Share with the class what you understand by "bought you over to Himself by Christ".

B. Jews and Gentiles are united through Christ. Ephesians 2:14-18

Christ brought peace when He broke down the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility between the righteous God and the sinful man. Similarly, His death destroyed the power that separated Jews and Gentiles. The law spelt out the distinction between the Jews and Gentiles. In the temple, a physical wall demarcated the limit where the Gentiles could get to in the temple's area. A discovered inscription on the rubbles of the temple reads, "No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death." The task of reconciliation was enormous. Christ literarily shed His blood on the cross and by so doing, He, Jesus, fulfilled the demand of the law because He died like a sinner, although no sin was found in Him. Christ "Is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14), and He preached the message of peace between God and man. The effort of uniting God and man was accomplished through the most significant sacrifice offered by Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit is the force that reunites all men.

God hates the artificial dividing wall between denominations, ethnicity and colour segregation because they are anti-Christ. A living church should not be a tribal court. Class and status prejudices are not God's desires for His church. We must live to echo a song which says, "I do not care which church you belong to, but as long as by Jesus you are saved, if by grace through faith you have been saved, you are my brother, so give your hand." We must not be a wall of separation in the society but a uniting force to reconcile all broken relationships.

DISCUSSION TIME

1. How can your church aid in pulling down the wall of separation in your neighbourhood?

2. List some manifestations of hostility in your local church and discuss how to overcome them.

C. Jews and Gentiles Are Co-Citizens of the New Kingdom. Ephesians 2:19-22*

The Jews and Gentiles, are now reconciled by the grace of God. Christ is described as the cornerstone. Christ bears the entire structure of the people of the kingdom, who are now the new temple. God indwells them as His new people. He is the Superstructure on which other parts of the building rest. The Ephesians' church is built on the foundation of Christ through the apostles' teachings. The death of none of the prophets or apostles can ransom the souls of men like that of Christ. But their teachings, which are revelation (prophetic messages and the preaching of the sent messengers - apostles), were vital anchors that held the church. Christians are now citizens of the new kingdom; thus, they are no longer foreigners. Jews and Gentiles are treated with equal rights because God is not partial.

Genuine faith must be built on the truthfulness of Christ, who was crucified on the cross. Is your faith built on a solid foundation, the Rock of eternal life? The unity and collaboration of brethren must spring from the trust in what Christ has done. Additionally, the accord must result from shared identity with Christ. Nothing can be done apart from Jesus, the One that strengthens our faith. No one should be treated as a stranger in the church of God. There is no inferior son nor daughter of God. Discrimination and segregation are not part of the attitudes that should manifest in the church's life and practices. We are to hold everyone in high-esteem and appreciate people equally. Embrace the less-privileged, and work closely with people of other languages in your church and community. This is the way to demonstrate that there is no favouritism between the present Jews and Gentiles.

DISCUSSION TIME

1. What are your roles as a Christian in building your church to be firmly united? 

2. How can you identify with those who withdraw from others simply because of what other people think about them?

*Fellowship and Ministry Building Activity:* Lead class members to share how your class can become an enabling community to assist other languages and cultures.

Prayer:

Appreciate God for removing the wall of barrier through the blood of His dear Son, Jesus. . 

▪︎Pray that peace and unity will reign in His church. 

▪︎ Pray for the salvation of the unbelievers.

*Take Home:* Write down three lessons you are taking home, based on today's lesson.

*Commitment:*

Based on today's lesson, make a personal commitment to change your attitude towards people of other languages and tribal differences.