17
Jew and Gentile United In One Body
(Eph. 2:14‑18)
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
In our last study we saw how Jews and Gentiles have historically been divided, and we touched briefly on how both were bought together by the blood of Christ. Now in verses 14‑22 we see this reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in more detail. In this chapter and the next we will see a twofold result of this unity:
· Jew and Gentile United in One Body (vs. 14‑18)
· Jew and Gentile United in One Building (vs. 19‑22).
First, let us examine the fact that the Jew and Gentile have been united in one body. Paul presents this fact by showing that the blood of Christ abolished enmity in two ways.
I. Enmity Abolished Between Jew and Gentile (vs. 14‑15)
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
In these two wonderful verses of Scripture we see no less than six distinct principles.
Christ Is Our Peace (v. 14a)
For he is our peace,
A boy once asked, “Dad, how do wars begin?” “Well, take the First World War,” said his father. “That got started when Germany invaded Belgium.” Immediately his wife interrupted him. “Tell the boy the truth. It began because somebody was murdered” (and, of course, she was right). The husband drew himself up with an air of superiority and snapped back, “Are you answering the question or am I?” Turning her back on him in a huff, the wife walked out of the room, slamming the door as hard as she could. When the dishes stopped rattling in the cupboard, an uneasy silence followed, broken finally by the son: “Dad, you don’t have to tell me how wars begin; I know now!”
The cost of war in human life is mind-numbing. In World War I alone, the cost was almost eight and a half million. But that almost pales in significance to World War II, the most costly of all, in which the total number of fatalities, including battle deaths and civilians of all countries, is estimated to have been fifty-five million, plus another six million in the Holocaust.
The monetary cost of WW II is also staggering. It can only be roughly estimated at one trillion dollars. To put a trillion in perspective, if you typed a trillion dollar signs on your typewriter, it would take about 3,500 to fill a sheet of paper and then 285,714,286 sheets of paper to hold them all. How long would that take? If you could type non-stop, if would take you about 50 years to type a trillion dollar signs. To compare it in another way, a dollar bill is .0043 inches thick, so a stack of a trillion would be 13 miles high. Laid end to end (each is 6.14 inches), they would go stretch for 18,354 miles, about three quarters the way around the Earth.
True peace has always appeared to be an elusive dream. Men have talked about it, coveted it, and striven for it for millennia. According to the Canadian Army Journal, a former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, aided by historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India came up with some startling facts and figures. Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace. During this period there have been 14,531 wars, large and small, in which 3,640,000,000 people have been killed. The monetary value of the destruction would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles in width and about 33 feet thick.
Similar calculations were made by Gustave Valbert in the The Moscow Gazette in 1861, but he added that from the year 1500 BC to AD 1860 (3,360 years) more than 8,000 treaties of peace, each meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time they remained in force was two years.
We hear much today about weapons of mass destruction, which the news media has dramatically dubbed WMDs. But such fears have been around for centuries. Prompted by widespread fears that new weapons of mass destruction might wipe out Western civilization, the Pope issued a bull forbidding their use by any Christian state against another, whatever the provocation. Did the pope’s bull refer to the hydrogen bomb or germ warfare? Actually, it was delivered in 1139 by Pope Innocent II and referred to the newly-invented crossbow.
Since 1919 alone, the nations of Europe have signed more than 200 peace treaties, each of which in turn was broken. Since the signing of the Armistice of November 11, 1918, which ended World War I, for every year of war there have been only two minutes of peace. In that same year, in an address to the United States Senate, President Woodrow Wilson made the ridiculous statement, “The League of Nations [the predecessor of the United Nations] is the only hope of mankind.” Interestingly enough, many are still saying that today.
Even more foolish was the statement the Prime Minister of England, Neville Chamberlain, made in September 1938 after meeting with Hitler in Munich and then returning home, “I believe it is peace for our time . . . peace with honor.” He had just signed the Munich Pact, which gave most of Western Czechoslovakia to Germany in exchange for Hitler’s promise not to take the rest and hopefully avert war. Of course, less than six months later, he did take the rest, followed by Poland a few months later, which forced Chamberlain’s resignation, made Churchill Prime Minister, and ignited World War II. The foolishness of that statement has been repeatedly demonstrated ever since, and political liberalism is still making the same disastrous mistake today.
Much wiser was a statement made by Summer Wells, US diplomat and one-time U.S. Undersecretary of State under FDR and obviously a student of history. He wrote: “History does not record any example of a military alliance between great nations which has endured. The result of such alliances has invariably been that the partners have jockeyed for individual influence and for selfish advantage. At best they have given rise to only a temporary and precarious balance of power.”
I have yet to find a better example of the truth of that statement than the non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed on the night of August 23, 1939, which agreed that neither country would launch war on the other. It shocked the world because Adolf Hitler had clearly outlined in Mein Kampf that conquering the Soviet Union was the key to ruling Europe, which was always his goal. The sole purpose of that pact was to give him free reign to invade Poland, which he did nine days later on September 1. But less than two years after that, on June 22, 1941, Hitler broke that pact and invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, the largest attack in the history of warfare, with three and a half million men advancing along a thousand mile front.
In more recent years, we have all witnessed the warfare that has raged in the Middle East, despite scores of so-called “cease-fires” and “peace initiatives.” In 1948, the less than worthless United Nations ordered a cease-fire on June 11 to end the war that followed Israel’s declaration of its independence. Less than a month later, fighting broke out again. A second truce took effect on July 18 but lasted only into October. An Armistice was signed on February 24, 1949; it lasted seven years before war exploded again in late October 1956. Eight days later, on November 6, another cease-fire came by way of the United Nations. UN troops were based in the region to guard the truce until they withdrew at Egypt’s request in May 1967, just before the infamous Six-Day War began in June. Egypt agreed to yet another UN-ordered cease-fire with Israel on June 8, the fourth day of the war, with Syria coming to terms two days later. Peace was again shattered three years later in August 1970, followed by another cease-fire initiated by the United States, followed by a new conflict on October 6, 1973, and on it went.
Attending a 1974 state dinner in the Saudi Arabian royal guest palace, US President Richard Nixon heard King Faisal express himself clearly with regard to the Middle East problem with these words: “There will never be a real and lasting peace in the area unless Jerusalem is liberated and returned to Arab sovereignty, unless liberation of all the occupied Arab territories is achieved, and unless the Arab peoples of Palestine regain their rights to return to their homes and be given the right of self-determination.” Which means that there can never be peace in the Middle East because the Arab nations do not now have nor have they ever had any legal right to the land they claim is theirs.
Such a state of affairs makes the claim that “peace in the Middle East is the legacy of Jimmie Carter” almost laughable. As a witness for the US, he signed a Peace Treaty on March 26, 1980 between Egypt and Israel that supposedly ended the state of war that had existed for 31 years. We have since seen how empty that treaty was.
On another note, I was also reminded of the motto of the Apollo 11 flight, “We come in peace for all mankind.” This motto was on the plaque that was planted on the surface of the moon, symbolically in the Sea of Tranquility, by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969. The irony of this is that the race for the moon was actually motivated mostly for military superiority, as the US feared that if the Soviets got there first, they would use the moon as a launching pad for nuclear weapons.
Further, during the Cold War, there was the doctrine of “Mutually Assured Destruction,” which held that the way to keep peace was to match the enemies’ number of nuclear weapons, assuring that nuclear war would annihilate both sides. This theory was tested during thirteen days in October 1962 when the world held its breath during the Cuban Missile Crisis. What about disarmament? Men have talked many times of it through the ages, but few have really meant it. Someone has wisely said, “When nations talk about reducing armies, every nation wants the last sword.”[1]
Even today, there is the tongue-in-cheek motto of the military, “Peace through superior firepower.” While that’s certainly an uneasy and frightening method of keeping the peace, in man’s depravity it’s actually the only way. But even that was tested on September 11, 2001 when Islamic fanatics high jacked jet liners and flew them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, and intended to fly a fourth into another target but were thwarted by six brave men, at least one of whom, Todd Beamer, was a Christian.
Yes, peace seems to be an elusive dream. But is it? While it certainly is elusive, it’s not a dream, even though most history makes it appear as such. Peace is possible, but it’s found only in one way, that is, in one person. It comes not through a diplomat, but through a Savior, the only Savior, Jesus Christ. It comes not through negotiations, but through the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
We first saw this word peace back in 1:2. The Greek is eirēne, “a state of tranquility; the opposite of rage and war.” This word is related to the Hebrew word shalom, a common Hebrew greeting. This word, however, means not so much the opposite of war but of any disturbance in the tranquility of God’s people. Therefore, Paul is saying two things: First, because we are in Christ, there is tranquility and harmony between God and man. Second, because we are in Christ, there is tranquility and harmony between Jew and Gentile.
But Paul goes still deeper by stating that Christ is actually peace itself. The literal translation of our text is, “For He Himself is our peace.” Again, men hold “peace-talks,” where they try to “achieve” peace, “promote” peace, and “enact” peace. But the Word of God declares that the Lord Jesus Christ IS peace. It’s also significant that Paul did not use the Greek word eirēnopoios, which means “peacemaker.” What a great Truth! There are a lot of peacemakers today, those who try in vain to bring peace to the world. But the Lord Jesus was far more than a “peacemaker;” He was PEACE.
This is further indicated by the fact that eirēne is preceded by the definite article (“the”). Christ is “the peace,” the one and the only peace there is. Why can’t man ever achieve peace outside of Christ? Because there ISN’T any peace outside of Christ! That is why we presented the history lesson at the beginning of this study, to illustrate that man will never have peace without Christ. Why do men war against one another? Because they are at war with God, and it’s that enmity that displays itself in all other enmity, both toward others and even within themselves.
Scripture reveals that there are two major aspects of peace that the believer possesses.
First, there is peace WITH God. When a poor bricklayer who had fallen from a great height was lying fatally injured he was visited by a minister in the neighbourhood. On entering the cottage he said, “My dear man, I am afraid you are dying. I exhort you to make your peace with God.” “Make my peace with God, sir! Why, that was made eighteen hundred years ago, when my great and glorious Lord paid all my debt upon the cruel tree. Christ is my Peace, and I am saved.”[2] No man ever made peace with God because no man can make peace with God. He can’t even have peace with his next door neighbor, much less the Holy God of the universe. It was God and Him alone who has made peace through Christ.
Romans 5:1 is the key verse here: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In a day when the Gospel is presented as simply something that fixes all our problems or just makes God available when we need Him, the fact of God’s wrath is ignored.
John MacArthur tells of the day he heard a professional football coach say during a pre-game devotional service for his team, “I don’t know if there is a God, but I like having these chapels, because if there is one I want to be sure he’s on my side.”[3] But Scripture declares that because of man’s sin and rebellion against God and His Law, God is actually at war with man; God is, in fact, never on the side of the unbeliever. Romans 1:18 declares: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” That is an absolute.
It was the cross, however, that reconciled man to God, that “made things right between them.” It was, and is, a perfect peace, not one that God looks at one way and man looks at in another. After World War I, a French statesman pointed out that only two types of peace follow a war: first, the peace imposed upon the defeated by the conqueror, and second, the peace accepted by the defeated through surrender.[4] In other words, there’s a vast difference between the peace one party imposes and the one the other party accepts. That was never truer than it was in that same era with the signing of the Treaty Of Versailles, which ended World War I. The harsh measures imposed upon Germany by the European allies created a seething resentment and made World War II inevitable. It is, in fact, true, as one writer puts it, “when they created the crazy Treaty Of Versailles, they also created Hitler.”[5] Some historians even say that every war since World War I has simply been an extension of that war.
But as our Lord declared in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (emphasis added). Can any of us honestly say that any so-called peace that man has achieved has achieved the promise “let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid?” I certainly can’t find one in any history book. God’s peace is nothing like man’s peace. It is perfect not only for He Who imposed it, but also for those upon whom it is bestowed. As someone has beautifully put it, “As the needle in a compass trembles till it settles in the north point, so the heart of a sinner can get no rest but in Christ.”[6] If I might build upon that, Christ is, indeed, our True North.
Second, the believer also possesses the peace OF God. Philippians 4:6-7 is one of those truly wonderful and comforting passages. In it Paul proclaims three principles.
He first voices a Warning, “Be careful for nothing.”
“Careful” translates merimnaō, which speaks of being anxious,
full of care, worried, and nervously concerned. The Lord Jesus used this word
in Matthew 6:31, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat?
or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (emphasis
added). He then adds in verses 33-34,
But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought
for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (emphasis
added).
Literally,
our Lord is saying in verse 34, “Be not anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will be anxious for the things of itself.” This, of course, doesn’t mean we
don’t think ahead or plan ahead; if that were true, the farmer would never
plant. Rather, you need not worry of the end result because worry won’t change
the outcome. Paul, therefore, gives us this warning because worry will defeat
us.
Paul
secondly offers an Encouragement, “But in every thing by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
Simply put, we don’t worry
about anything because we pray about everything.
Paul
thirdly adds a Promise, “And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The
Greek behind “keep” (phroureō)
is a military term that pictures protection by a military guard, either to
prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from
flight. If we pray and leave it there, God will walk around the ramparts and
towers of our lives and protect us from invaders and prevents us from leaving
the safety of His care.
This peace comes into
two areas. It comes first into our hearts to prevent the wrong feelings.
We live in feelings-oriented age. Most people are conscious of and are always
expressing their “felt needs.” But if we may be so bold, if they would simply
turn to Christ and trust only Him, they would stop whining, they would know
true comfort, and would keep their emotions in check. Second, this peace will
keep our minds to prevent the wrong thinking. Many Christians today
think the same way the world thinks, but with God’s peace in their minds, they
will think the way God thinks.
How can we
possibly worry and fret when we believe in the sovereignty of God? I would,
therefore, offer this definition:
The peace of God is not the absence
of trial on the OUTSIDE but a quiet confidence in God on the INSIDE no matter
what the circumstances.
Coming back to our text, knowing we have peace with
God and the peace of God, makes peace possible between men. Again, as
the Bible declares, and history illustrates, there is no hatred greater or
conflict sharper than Jew verses Gentile. But Paul declares that Christ is
OUR peace. That personal pronoun our (hēmon) is all
inclusive, meaning all believers—Jew, Gentile, and all flavors of homo
sapiens. As we’ll see later, shame on us if we rebuild any walls that God
has already torn down.
Christ Has Made Jew And Gentile One (v. 14b)
who hath made both one,
Here is a most important point. The literal idea in the Greek is that Christ has made both things into one thing; that is, as far as man’s standing before God is concerned, there are no divisions or distinctions; or, put simply, there is no such thing as a Jew or Gentile in this age. To clarify, we are not speaking of racial difference here but rather spiritual standing. In the spiritual sense, there is no difference. May we add, it’s not that Gentiles have become Jews or that Jews have become Gentiles. Rather, we are all now called “Christians,” “Believers,” “Saints,” and “Brethren.”
It’s also greatly significant that the words hath made are again the Greek poiēma, which we examined back in verse 10, where it is translated “workmanship,” and from which is derived our English word “poem.” So we see here another of God’s “masterpieces,” another of God’s great “works of art.” Not only is each individual Christian a work of art, but the unity between those who were once enemies is another breathtaking masterpiece, unlike anything anyone else could possible create.
We will come back to this in the sixth principle, but may we see here that the old distinctions are gone having been replaced by a union with Christ.
Christ Has Broken Down The Dividing Wall (v. 14c)
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Here is a truly fascinating point! This middle wall spoken of here has an important historical meaning. Some expositors suggest that this is a parallel term for the tearing of the veil in the temple at Jerusalem during Jesus’ crucifixion. But this cannot be since the tearing of the veil pictured the removal of the barrier of sin between man and God. This is clearly not what is being pictured here. This middle wall actually refers to a literal wall.
I was reminded here of another literal, historical wall. While they slept on the night of August 13, 1961, one faction of their government began closing the border between the two halves of the city. By morning, the job was done and the Berlin Wall was born. Streets had been torn up and barbed wire fences took their place. Over the next few years, the wall evolved until the final result was a 66-mile long, 11.8-foot high concrete wall, complete with 302 watchtowers. Over the 28 years that the wall stood, 192 people were killed and approximately 200 more injured by shooting as they tried to get past that wall to freedom.
It was then on June 12, 1987 that then President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech to the people of West Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, a speech that could also be heard in East Berlin. In it were these words:
We hear much from Moscow about a new
policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released.
Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic
enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state
control.
Are these the beginnings of profound
changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise
false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing
it? We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go
together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of
world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable,
that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.
And then Mr. Reagan made that dramatic Cold War plea to Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev that truly signed the Reagon legacy. Gesturing to the wall behind him, he said:
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you
seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if
you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Twenty-eight months later the Berlin Wall came down. As part of Mr. Reagan’s legacy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), the ninth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, was commissioned on July 12, 2003. A piece of the wall, adorned with a bronze profile of Reagan by artist Chas Fagan is now displayed aboard the ship. During a Precommissioning Ceremony, Commanding Officer Captain Bill Goodwin said, “Many of us who served during the Cold War remember what the Berlin Wall represented—oppression, communism, and a lack of trust between two super powers. This piece of the wall honors our namesake, whom many people credit with ending the Cold War.”
The middle wall Paul refers to here was equally daunting, dreaded, and divisive, but it too was eventually destroyed. It was the wall in Jerusalem that separated the court of the Gentiles from the temple area. Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, records that there was an inscription on the wall in both Greek and Latin “which forbade any foreigner [i.e. Gentile], to go in under pain of death.” [7] Ironically, Paul was wrongfully accused of taking Trophimus (an Ephesian Gentile) past this point (Acts 21:29), and Paul undoubtedly had this incident in mind as he penned this Epistle. Archeological discoveries in 1871 and 1934 confirmed these warning inscriptions, which read, “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.” These “Death Inscriptions” are now on display in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul and the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem. [8] It’s also noteworthy that William Tyndale’s New Testament (1526) translates this phrase, “The wall that was a stop between us.” So, while that wall fell when Jerusalem fell in 70 A.D.—some nine years from when Paul was writing—Paul saw this wall as ALREADY destroyed by Christ on the cross.
All this has a powerful application for today. There was (and still is) an arrogance and bigotry between Jew and Gentile that God never intended. God’s intention was that the Jews use the “court of the Gentiles” as a place to win the Gentiles to Judaism and eventually bring them into the temple, but the Jews used the “dividing wall” to keep the Gentiles restricted.
But may we also point out that we have some of the same arrogance and bigotry in today’s denominations, associations, fellowships, and even local fundamental and evangelical churches. Many act as though their denomination or association was ordained of God when, in point of fact, these are man-made. There is a great need today to realize the oneness that should be present in the Body of Christ. We are not advocating a compromise of doctrine, for no church or individual believer should fellowship with the liberals and apostates who deny foundational doctrines such as the Deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, or the Inspiration of Scripture. But there is far too much “majoring on minors” today, which has caused wicked strife in the Body. We shall deal with this in great detail in Ephesians 4, but let us repeat that unity is not only a PRACTICAL principle (Eph. 4) but it is first a DOCTRINAL principle (Eph. 2).
Christ Abolished The Enmity (v. l5a).
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity,
This point simply continues the last one. The Greek for enmity is echthros and speaks of “the fixed idea of irreconcilable, deep‑rooted hatred.”[9] This hatred had to be destroyed if a body was ever to exist; a body cannot function if the members are at war with each other.
Christ, therefore, has abolished this enmity. The Greek behind abolished is katargeō, “to render inactive, useless, ineffective; to destroy, do away with.” Paul uses this same word in II Timothy 1:10 to refer to the Lord Jesus “who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” as well as in II Thessalonians 2:8 to refer to the Antichrist, who the Lord will “destroy with the brightness of his [second] coming.”
Racial bigotry is one of the most difficult things in the world to destroy. Among the ancients, Cicero wrote, “As the Greeks say, all men are divided into two classes—Greeks and barbarians.” Aristotle spoke of the “remote tribes of barbarians belonging to the bestial class.” In other words, non-Greeks were animals.[10] We all recall Adolf Hitler’s obsession with what he called the “Master Race.” In Mein Kamph, he wrote, “The constructive principle of Aryan humanity is thus displaced by the destructive principle of the Jews. They become the ‘ferment of decomposition’ among nations and races and, in a broad sense, the wreckers of human civilization.” But not only did he hate Jews, but also Negroes, Gypsies, and other groups who also were slated for extermination after the “Jewish Question” was solved.
Other examples of prejudice and bigotry are legion. One that brings a smile, however, but no less displays the ugliness of this innate problem, is one told by Australian Anglican Bishop John Reed. He was driving a school bus one day that carried whites and aborigines. Tired of all the squabbling, when far out in the country he pulled over to the side of the road and said to the white boys, “What color are you?” “White,” they replied. “No,” he said, “you are green; Anyone who rides in my bus is green. Now, what color are you?” The white boys replied, “Green.” Then he turned to the aborigines and asked, “What color are you?” “Black,” was the reply. “No,” he said again, “you are green; anyone who rides on my bus is green.” All the aborigines answered that they were green. The situation seemed resolved until, several miles down the road, he heard a boy in the back of the bus announce, “All right, light green on this side, dark green on that side.”[11]
Reed had the right idea. What was needed was a new race, “the greens,” but he certainly couldn’t pull it off! In himself, man will always be a bigot and no amount of reasoning will change that. Jesus is the only one who could change it. He abolished the enmity, creating instead, as we’ll see later “a new race.”
The crippling result of such prejudice can be seen in an analogy. We see today tragic neuromuscular diseases as well as paraplegia and quadriplegia caused by spinal injuries. In each of these we see that the body will no longer obey the brain. The Church today is tragically in a state of “spiritual paraplegia,” even “quadriplegia;” she is in a state of paralysis; she will not do as the “brain” (Christ) instructs. Christ has abolished the enmity, but many today are building it back up. This thought is continued in the fifth principle.
Christ Abolished The Law (v. 15b)
even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;
More specifically, what was the “wall of partition?” Answer:
The great dividing wall was the Law. The Law was the true source of
enmity between Jew and Gentile. Going a little deeper into the Greek for abolished
(katargeo), one Greek authority explains the thought conveyed in the present
context is that the Law has been “put out of action.” [12]
But a vitally important question arises here: What part of the Law has been “put out of action?” May we clearly understand that we are not under the Law today in any way; that is, our salvation lies not in the Law. But there is also the misconception that all of the Law has been “put out of action.” This is false. The “Moral Law” (that is, the Ten Commandments”), for example, most certainly has not been put out of action; it is just as valid today as when God gave it to Moses. All ten of those commandments (except the Sabbath Day) are somewhere restated in New Testament commands (that is, in the Epistles).
An illustration of this fact appears in Romans 13:8‑10 where no less than five of the Ten Commandments are reiterated. In fact, as Romans 2:15 declares, the Moral Law is “written in [men’s] hearts.” How could the Moral Law be nullified if it has been written in our hearts? The Moral Law of God, in fact, has been the basis for all civilized countries. Without Moral Law, which comes only from God, we will have anarchy.[13]
We point this out only to emphasize what part of the Law has been put out of action. The law referred to in our text is the ordinances, that is, the Sacrificial Law. The Sacrificial Law is what contained the feasts, the offerings, and the sacrifices. This part of the Law was put out of action, it was fulfilled, by the blood of Jesus Christ. This takes us back to the thought of verse 12: The Gentiles were “without a Messiah,” but they are not without a Savior. Christ’s blood was shed equally for all those who would believe. He didn’t die more for the Jews than He did for the Gentiles. Rather, Christ’s death fulfilled all the Sacrificial Law and united all men who would believe. This brings us to one other principle.
Christ Has Made A New Man (v. l5c)
for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Herein is a beautiful summary of Paul’s previous thoughts. The words to make are not the Greek poieō (“to make, form, produce”) but the stronger word ktizō, which as we saw back in verse 10, is the word often used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word bara, “to create from nothing,” as in Genesis l:l. Paul again emphasizes that God created the believer from nothing.
Further,
the word new is kainos and is also extremely important. This word
is distinct from another word for “new,” neos, which means “new in
time.” An example of neos in our society is when we speak of a
new car; a new car is only new in time; it’s not unique since it is just like
thousands of others that came off the assembly line. But kainos means
“new in nature” and implies that which is “better.”[14]
More specifically, it is something that is new in its own way, something
unique, never having existed before. Chrysostom,
famous preacher of the early Church, says that it is as if one should melt down
a statue of silver and a statue of lead, and the two should come out gold.[15]
That is the picture Paul is painting here. It’s not that the Gentile becomes a Jew or that the Jew becomes a Gentile, but rather both become something unique—A CHRISTIAN. This distinction, this title has never before existed; it is something totally new. We would never say, “Moses was such a good Christian.” Why is that incorrect? Because there was at that time no such thing as a Christian. A Christian is something totally unique to this age.
Further still, and even more significant, is the word man. The Greek here is not anēr, “a male person,” rather anthropos, the word that speaks of man as a “species,”[16] man as a race. We can, therefore, say that there is a “new humanity” that is in contrast to the “old humanity.” And what is this “new humanity?” It is the Church. While individuals are implied, for each separate Christian is needed to make up the whole, the deeper meaning is the Church. The Church is the new, the unique thing that has never before existed. Old titles, old distinctions are no longer important or even valid; all men have been united into one new humanity by the blood of Christ. When we received Christ as Savior, we were ushered into this new humanity.
How thrilling this is! There has never been a greater enmity in human history than the enmity between Jew and Gentile—nothing testifies to that more than the Holocaust or the continual warfare in the Middle East. But the cross has brought these two warring factions together. In fact, it was only the cross that could bring these together.
As I studied this verse, a practical issue began troubling me, namely, the disunity between Jew and Gentile that exists even within the Church. While doing some research, I came across a 1994 article titled, “Don’t Give Up on Your Local Church!” by David Brickner, Executive Director of “Jews For Jesus.”[17] He begins with a question he received from a Christian Jew: “I need some encouragement out here in the trenches. I go to a church, not a messianic synagogue. I enjoy the fellowship, but sometimes I feel out of place and even a little guilty about being a part of a church.” Brickner adds that he “[receives] many calls and letters requesting affirmation and encouragement for Jewish believers attending conventional churches].”
Brickner goes on to mention some of the insensitivities that exist in churches concerning its Jewish members. He writes, for example, “How many times have we overheard a fragment of conversation and caught a phrase like: ‘The price was too high, so I had to Jew him down,’ as if haggling over price was unique to Jews?” Others, he adds, “feel uncomfortable with the symbols and trappings that most Christians appreciate, such as “golden crosses for jewelry . . . church architecture, pictures of Jesus and ecclesiastical language.” This particularly struck me because quite frankly such things can fit into the category of graven images.
On the other side, Brickner writes that “a misnomer that causes [him] to cringe” is when Jews use “the phrase, ‘Gentile Church,’” because it’s “just plain unbiblical,” it’s “a rude term that only divides,” and it implies that “the church underwent some form of mitosis, reorganizing itself into two separate entities,” even if the speaker does not mean it that way. He also mentions that many Jews were raised with stereotypes about Christians, such as the one that says, “Scratch any goy and underneath you’ll find an anti-Semite.”
I must also interject here that there are those who feel compelled to stay in their segregated group, continue observing old feasts and ceremonial days, and “continue using certain prayers and forms of worship that are in keeping with [their] Jewishness.” There is a movement even within some, to coin a phrase, “Gentile Christian groups,” to mimic these things and advocate that observing them is more spiritual than the simplicity of New Testament worship.
But all such things lose sight of our unity, what Christ accomplished, and how He fulfilled all such pictures, for that is all those things ever were—pictures. Why stare at a picture when you have the person? Why sit in the shadows when we can bask in the Light?
Brickner says it well when, after quoting Ephesians 2:14-16, he writes, “Regardless of our background, regardless of our gifts, we all belong to Y’shua. In Him, we belong to one another. Let us rejoice! To feel at home with our Lord and Savior is the main thing. When we are immersed in Him, it’s much easier to make ourselves at home with His people, regardless of their background.”
That is Paul’s point in our text. We should treat one another as exactly what he or she is—another part of the body; we are careful about what we say so it doesn’t offend. The cross of Christ has destroyed all barriers, and this challenges us not to build any new ones. There is no longer Jew or Gentile—or any other race for that matter, whether it be Negro, Hispanic, Oriental, or Caucasian. We are all something much better now—A CHRISTIAN. Shame on us if we ever make any brother or sister in Christ feel any different, for it is sin, plain and simple.
This sets the stage for the second way that Christ has abolished enmity.
II. Enmity Abolished Between Sinners and God (vs. 16‑18)
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
We notice here a subtlety: Paul switches his thoughts to the wider principle of man’s reconciliation to God, but at the same time he does so within the context of the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile. Did you get that? In other words, by further showing the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile, Paul applies this and shows how the sinner has been reconciled to God. Why does He do that? As mentioned earlier in this chapter, doing so illustrates that if God could destroy the enmity between Jew and Gentile, He can truly do anything, even bring peace between the sinner and Himself. There are four marvelous principles in verses 16‑18.
God Has Reconciled Us To Himself (v. 16a)
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
The term reconciled is truly marvelous! The Greek is apokatallasso. The simple verb is katallasso, which means “to change or exchange as coins for others of equal value.”[18] So, the idea is to exchange hostility for friendship. In three New Testament references, however, the prefix apo is added (Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20, 21). This Greek preposition adds the idea of “back.” Therefore, apokatallasso means “to bring back to a former state of harmony.”[19] Let us be clear on the fact that Jew and Gentile have not always been divided; before Abraham the human race was all one with no distinctions. So, this reconciliation is a “changing back” to the time of no variance, no distinction. Even deeper, there was a time when there was no variance between God and man. Think of it! There was a time when there was no enmity, no warfare between us. When was that time? It was, of course, in the Garden of Eden. But sin created a barrier; it brought variance and division. Then the blood of Christ “reconciled” us; it was a “changing back” to that time of no variance, no distinction.
Even deeper, there was a time when there was no variance between God and man. Think of it! There was a time when there was no enmity, no warfare between us. When was that time? It was, of course, in the Garden of Eden. But sin created a barrier; it brought variance and division. The very moment sin entered, they immediately realized they were naked, immediately tried to hide from God, immediately tired to shift the blame to someone else, and immediately denied responsibility. In that one moment, that one act, variance was introduced. But it was then the blood of Christ “reconciled” us; it was a “changing back” to that time of no variance. What a truth this is! As a believer, each of us is no longer at variance with God; we have returned to that time of walking with Him “in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8), communing with Him in heart and mind.
It is truly fascinating that apokatallassō is not found in ancient Greek. In fact, even the simple verb katallassō was never used in ancient pagan worship.[20] Why? Because the pagans were never reconciled to their gods; they had no concept of a god with whom they could have no variance. The gods of the ancient pagan religions were always angry, always demanding appeasement. Moreover, neither is apokatallassō in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament),[21] but rather is found only in the Epistles. Why? Because never before has man been brought back to a time of no variance. Only the blood of Christ could that. Even the Old Testament sacrifices were inadequate; they were only an “atonement,” that is, a covering of sin. Only by Christ’s blood could we be reconciled.
All this is
intensified when we see that man is not only separated from God, but men are
also separated from each other. Men can’t get along with other men, much
less with God. Martyn Lloyd‑Jones put the matter very well in this
lengthy quote:
All the minor and secondary divisions
and separations and quarrels among men are ultimately due to the fact that all
men are separated from God. Now that is a fundamental and universal
proposition. The world is full of divisions and distinctions, countries, nations,
blocs, groups, curtains, one side and the other side; in the nation, classes,
industrial groups, capital and labour, master or employer and servant, and so
on; and within all these groups again, divisions, rivalries, envies. The world
is full of divisions and separations. But according to the teaching of
Scripture the really significant thing is that all these minor and secondary,
third‑rate, fifth‑rate, tenth‑rate divisions and separations
and quarrellings are due to one thing only, namely, that all men are separated
from God and are in the wrong relationship to Him.[22]
How absolutely true that is! Why can’t men get along with each other? Because they can’t get along with God; their response to God and His Word has been negative.
But may we go even further in this picture by seeing that this is also true of the emotional and psychological problems of individuals. Barring physical causes, most, if not all, of these problems are caused by a wrong response to God. And may we be so bold to say that most, if not all, of the psychologists and psychiatrists of today would have to look for another line of work if everyone would respond properly to God. Pick any problem, and you will be able to trace it back to a wrong response to God and His revealed Truth. We say all this because reconciliation brings us back to the time of no variance, no warfare, no “class struggle.” We now have peace with God, peace with other men, and peace with ourselves. This leads to a second principle.
God Has Made Us One Body (v. 16b)
having slain the enmity thereby:
As we mentioned our study of 1:23, the Church is viewed in three ways in Ephesians: a Body (1:23 and 2:14‑18), a Building (2:19‑22), and a Bride (5:22‑23). Here in our text the emphasis is again on the Body. So, the moment the Jew and Gentile were united to God through faith in Christ, they were also united to one another. Paul elaborates on this union in I Corinthians 12:12-14:
For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so
also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we
be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to
drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.
We shall examine “the Baptism of the Holy Spirit” when we get to 4:4‑6. Briefly, however, the Baptism of the Spirit is “the placing of the believer into Christ and into His Body.” This is totally the work of the Holy Spirit; we have nothing to do with it. This work of the Spirit, like Sealing (see Chapter 6), occurs at the moment of salvation and unites us all in Christ, regardless of race, nationality, denomination, or any other factor. All believers are members of the Body of Christ, the “Universal Church.”
Applying this, we are, therefore, no longer conscious of ourselves, no longer conscious of the barriers which once separated us, no longer conscious of race (since we are all the same race anyway, the race of Adam), color, nationality, or any other such distinction. Rather, we all are conscious of the Body and do all things to edify It. This very thought will be a recurring theme throughout the remainder of the Epistle—the edification of the Body.
God Has Slain The Enmity And Made Peace With Man (vs. 16b‑17)
having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
These verses are a re‑statement of verses 13‑15a, but they are also a further application. Just as the blood of Christ abolished the enmity between Jew and Gentile, it likewise abolished the enmity between God and man.
We note here the word preached. The Greek is euangelizō, from whence is derived “evangelize” and similar words. It means “to bring good news.” And this is how God said to deliver His message of peace. He did not say to debate, philosophize, psychologize, or even “meet people’s needs,” all of which are typical today. He said to just proclaim the Truth, the “good news.” And what is the good news in this context?‑peace with God. What greater news could there possibly be? We were at one time at war with God, and we might add that we were going to lose the war. But the cross, the blood of our dear Savior has made peace. Those who believe this good news will be brought nigh and will know peace; those who do not will remain afar off and will know only enmity, both now and for all eternity.
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, many have promised, promoted, and publicized peace, but what foolish pride it is to think that men could achieve such a feat. No, it is only God who could accomplish such a task. Those who believe the good news of Christ will be brought nigh and will know peace; those who do not will remain afar off and will know only enmity, both now and for all eternity.
We Have Access To The Father (v. 18)
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Here is an astounding result of the peace God has established through Christ. The word access is the Greek prosagōgē and is found only in two other places (Eph. 3:12; Rom. 5:2). The word literally means “to open a way of access.” A similar word was used in ancient times to describe a person who gave someone else admittance to see the King. Therefore, our text declares that we actually have no “right” to come before God but rather have been granted the “privilege” of doing so knowing we will be welcome. There is a word in French that exactly translates this word—entree, meaning “admission or admittance.” This is the picture in our text; we have been granted “admittance” into the Father’s Presence.” We could also translate the word as “introduction;” we have been properly introduced to the Father by the word of Christ.
We emphasize this truth for an important reason. Many believers have the mistaken idea that they have a right to come before God. Some theologians even teach that Christ’s blood now gives us this right. This is dreadfully wrong! We do not have a right to come before God; how arrogant to think that we do! Rather, we have been granted the privilege to come before the God of the universe. Oh, how often we take prayer for granted and rush into God’s presence thinking we have a right to be there, demanding this, that, and the other thing. Dear Christian, may we forever cease! May we see that we have no right but a privilege. May we never again rush before Him, but rather may we quietly and humbly come before His throne.
I read one story that beautifully illustrates how we have access to the Father:
One day a
little boy named Willie stood wistfully at the gates of Buckingham Palace. He
longed to go in and see the king. Between him and the king, however, were iron
gates, rigid protocol, armed soldiers, and watchful police. What he wanted was
quite out of the question. A policeman who was ordering the lad to leave
suddenly stiffened and sprang to attention as a well-dressed, confident man
approached. A brusque nod from the man and the policeman unlocked the gates and
stood aside. “Come with me, sonny,” said the man, taking the little boy’s hand.
“We’re going in to see the king.” Into
the palace they went. Inside were forty housemaids, fifty footmen (including
one man who did nothing but wind clocks all day), and six hundred rooms. Willie
and the man walked on and on- to the north wing, up stairs, along endless
passages, to the king’s corridor on the main floor, and into the master suite.
(They were a quarter of a mile away from the kitchens!) The man seemed to know
the way and chatted about the rooms they passed: the magnificent ballroom that
contained two majestic thrones on a raised dais; the stamp rooms that housed
the world’s most valuable collection; the Belgian suite with its forty-four
rooms for the use of state visitors; the royal wardrobe; the music room; the
dining room with a table as large as a skating rink; the dazzling green drawing
room. Finally they arrived in the king’s presence, and the man spoke. “Hello, Father. Here’s a little boy who
wants to meet you. Meet my friend Willie.
Willie, this is the king.” The little boy had taken the hand of Edward,
prince of Wales, the king’s son. Through him, Willie gained access to the king. We too have taken the hand- the nail-printed
hand- of the King’s Son, the Prince of Peace. Through Him and Him alone, Jews
and Gentiles alike have access by one Spirit to the Father.[23]
As we close this study, may we notice one other thing—the entire Trinity is in view here. There are those who deny the doctrine of the Trinity and others who at the very least ignore its importance. But anyone foolish enough to say, “The Bible doesn’t teach the Trinity,” should be directed to this verse: Through him [Christ] we both have access by one Spirit [Holy Spirit] unto the Father. This verse declares how vitally important it is that we know our salvation depends on the Trinity. Without the Trinity, that is, without all three manifestations of the Godhead, there is no salvation. This once again takes us right back to the truths of 1:4-14. The Father chose; He thought of salvation and then planned executed all of it. The Son accomplished the work; He shed His blood. The Holy Spirit energized the work; He regenerates and seals us. Putting it all together, we can summarize it thus:
· The Father PLANNED the work
· The Son ACCOMPLISHED the word
· The Holy Spirit SEALED the work
Oh, what a marvelous salvation we have! May we close with this sonnet:
Christ Is Our Peace
Eph
2:14
Wars have raged
since the beginning of time,
Tens of
millions have died throughout the world;
Peace has been
proposed and promised sublime,
With all
weapons laid down and flags unfurled.
But never has peace
lasted very long,
For all men
and countries want their own way.
Pacts and treaties
that at first seemed so strong
Explode again
in another foray.
But what is the
heart of this major ill
Is the enmity
between God and man;
It was the blood of
Christ that had to spill
To break down
walls and create a new clan.
There is but one
way that conflicts can cease,
It is only in
Christ Who is our peace.