Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:11-12 NASB95)

In these verses, Paul acknowledges what everyone already knew…there was a significant difference between Jews and Gentiles, but in verses13-22, he introduces a new idea. The death of Christ does not transform Gentiles into Jews or Jews into Gentiles. Jesus took sinful Jews and sinful Gentiles and through His cross, made a "new man"—the church.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-22 NASB95)

But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us. By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He has brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to us Jews who were near. Now all of us, both Jews and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. 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. We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-22 NLT)

Several commentators seem to think that Paul’s declaration that Christ had broken down the dividing wall was probably drawn from Paul’s own experience since he was writing from prison and he was there because he had been accused of taking one of their own, an Ephesian brother named, Trophimus, with him past that dividing wall that separated the Gentile Court from the main temple (Acts 21:27-29)…a violation that brought the death sentence. But that wall still stood when Paul was writing this letter.

Others seem to think Paul was referring to the Temple veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place that was rent from top to bottom at the crucifixion…but that was a veil, not a wall. The structure of the Greek words suggests that the dividing wall describes not a physical barrier, but the spiritual enmity between Jews and Gentiles, which separated them from each other and the enmity of sin that separated both groups from God. Since Christ destroyed this enmity, Jewish and Gentile believers should have no hostility.

As a part of their "fallen-ness", humans love distinctions…rich and poor…the "haves" and the "have-nots"…us/them…white/black…Christians and the world. And there are legitimate distinctions…those "in Christ" and those "in Adam", but it is God alone who has the right to make the distinctions…not us!! It was God who put up the barriers of separation and it was God, in Christ, who tore down those barriers.

When we understand who we are "in Christ", all feelings of superiority vanish…the believer’s standing before God is a gift, not a reward!! There was a dividing wall that kept the Gentiles out of the Temple and symbolically away from God, but the reality that caused their separation was their sin.

Meditate on those words…for He Himself is our peace…

What a powerful statement of truth…apart from Christ, there is no peace…there is no peace with God and no peace with man unless Christ is our life! There are times when we feel peaceful but that "peace" is simply based upon our own ignorance. We have been temporarily blinded to the realities of life and it only takes an angry word, an unexpected death, or a financial downturn to jerk us back into the reality that we live in a dangerous place where apart from Jesus, there is nothing that can bring lasting peace and rest to our hearts. We are living in "enemy territory" where our Adversary seeks to "kill and destroy" and it’s only a matter of time before we are ambushed again!

A surface reading of verse 14 might lead the reader to understand that the death of Christ took away the Law contained in ordinances, but that is only true in a very limited sense. After the death of Jesus, Hebrews 10 makes it very clear that there was no longer any need for the sacrificial system that had foreshadowed the true sacrifice. But the standard of God’s holiness, that is perfection, which the Law required, was not taken away by the death of Jesus…it was the penalty for the violation of that Law that was removed. That Law continues to condemn all who do not accept the sacrifice that removed the penalty. It was not only the Gentiles, but, the Jews as well who were separated from God by the enmity of sin. Those with the Law had not faired any better than those without the Law. None had been able to obey perfectly, as God’s standard requires.

In Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18, we read the accounts of an encounter between, Jesus, His disciples and a wealthy young Jew. The scene begins with the young man asking Jesus a question, "What must I do to receive eternal life?" And Jesus gave the perfect Old Covenant answer when He responded by telling him to obey the commandments, "Which ones," he continued? Jesus answered by enumerating five of the six commands listed on the second tablet of the Decalogue that deal with man’s relationship to other men and concluded with a summary, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Conspicuously absent from the list was the tenth command, "Thou shall not covet…." With his ability to read the heart of the young man, Jesus knew his character flaws and avoided touching that area in His initial response. When the young man declared that he had obeyed all those rules since childhood, he was still not sure he had "done enough" and pressed Jesus by asking, "What else do I lack?"

Now Jesus identifies with Divine precision the real issue, "If you want to be perfect, go sell all you have, give it to the poor and come follow Me," He said, and the young man turned away sorrowfully, for he owned much property.

The Jews believed that material wealth was a sign of God’s approval and acceptance. Knowing this, Jesus made a shocking declaration to His disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven." Many a commentator and preacher has mistakenly understood this statement to mean that, as with the rich young ruler, wealthy people need to dispose of their material possessions and enter full-time-Christian service in order to be saved. Jesus was not talking about something "hard to do"…He was not talking about a camel getting down on its knees to crawl through the small gate called "the eye of the needle"…He was talking about the impossible…a camel could never get through the eye of a sewing needle!! The reaction of His disciples and the response of Jesus make that clear, "Then who can be saved," they asked with complete consternation? "With man it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible." Jesus responded. Here Jesus makes it abundantly clear: Salvation is all about God…He initiates it…He sustains it…and He completes it! Man’s only part in salvation is to accept it or reject it.

The commandments were never given as the "means" of salvation, but to show us that our obedience…our performance could never measure up. Salvation is a gift, not a reward (Ephesians 2:8-9)! It is Christ, the gift of His life and death, that gives humans peace with God, not their performance…not their obedience…not their good works! Christ and Christ alone is our peace!

In verse 17, (And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near…) Paul is quoting Isaiah 57:18-19 ("I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners, creating the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near," Says the Lord, "and I will heal him."). Paul sees that in Jesus Christ, this prophetic promise is fulfilled…that him who is far off refers to Gentile believers and him who is near refers to Jewish converts…now both groups have access to God and as the writer of Hebrews joyfully declares, Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a man who stopped by his office one day and said he wanted to get help. "My wife and I need a re-cancellation!" he blurted out. Wiersbe knew he meant "reconciliation." But in one sense, "re-cancellation" was the right word. They had sinned against each other (and the Lord), and there could be no harmony until those sins were cancelled and though they were, in fact, cancelled at the cross, they were still causing disharmony until they were confessed. A God of love wants to reconcile the sinner to Himself, but a God of holiness must see to it that sin is judged. God solved this problem by sending His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins, thereby revealing His love while meeting the demands of His righteousness. It was truly a "re-cancellation". As Paul so powerfully exclaims in Colossians 2:13-14, When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

In verse 18, Paul makes a short but powerful Trinitarian statement…for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Here the three Persons of the Godhead are connected in order of Their function…notice the prepositions: to the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit…it’s all God!!! Any thought…any teaching…any doctrine that causes me to look at me, takes my focus away from God.

In verses 15-16, Paul uses the metaphor of the human body to describe this new creation called the church…^make the two into ^one new man…reconcile them both in ^one body to God through the cross, now in verses 19-22, he uses the metaphor of a building…the whole building…a holy ^temple in the Lord…a ^dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Trying to describe the things of God requires multiple metaphors…no single metaphor will convey all the aspects of our God who is bigger than our universe! We can’t even comprehend our universe, let alone the God who set it in place. Paul draws upon multiple metaphors to bring out different aspects of this awesome truth he wants us to understand…using the body gives us the idea of being alive and connected with cooperating and complimentary parts that function well together…using the building gives us the idea having a foundation and providing a place for God to dwell. We have to be careful not to press any of these metaphors too far…notice that Paul describes this building as growing and Peter describes believers as living stones (1Peter 2:5).

As we come to the end of chapter 2, let’s do a quick review:

In chapter 1, the emphasis is on the Christian’s possessions in Christ and Paul describes the blessings believers have received from the Father (chosen, adopted and accepted), from the Son (redeemed, forgiven, revealed God’s will to us and gave us an inheritance) and from the Holy Spirit (we have been sealed and He comes to live inside us as evidence of our future with God). Paul concludes chapter 1 by praying that we will be given the gift of understanding all these blessings.

In chapter 2, the emphasis is on the Christian’s position in Christ and Paul points out that on one level we have been raised with Jesus and are seated with Him in heaven and on another level, we remain here, reconciled with God, providing a living temple in which He dwells.

Next week, we will begin chapter 3 where Paul gives an explanation of his ministry.

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