Bible Reading
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 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, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Ephesians 2:11-16
Ephesians 2:11-16
Devotional
Not long before writing Ephesians, while Paul was still in Jerusalem, he was wrongly accused of something very interesting. You can read the account of these accusations in Acts 21:27-30. One of the accusations leveled against Paul was that he had knowingly escorted a gentile past a literal wall of separation within the temple. That accusation, among others, was primarily why Paul was currently under house arrest in Rome awaiting his trial before Nero. That wall of separation within the Jewish temple was known as the Soreq, literally a five-foot-tall stone wall that surrounded the inner courts of the consecrated temple area designed to keep gentiles and other "unacceptable" people out of the sacred inner courts. Gentiles could not pass by the Soreq or if they did would face execution. There were several other walls and divisions within the temple in addition to the Soreq. The Court of the Women was an area outside the temple building, which was as close as women were allowed to the temple. There was also a separate chamber for the Nazarites because they had been set apart for service to God; a chamber of the Lepers, who had to be separated because they were deemed unclean; and a chamber of the Levitical Priests who were set apart through their unique calling to represent the people before God.
Paul denied this charge against him because it was untrue. Paul had not led a gentile into the temple, but it was a serious charge that those who hated Paul used in an attempt to silence him. This idea was clearly on Paul's mind as he wrote because later, in verse 14 of today's passage, we see Paul wrote that the "dividing wall of hostility" had been destroyed. Paul was most likely referring to all dividing walls, literal or symbolic, which the Soreq symbolized, that needed to come down between Jew and Gentile. Since Jesus' death, and the tearing of the veil in that same temple, gentiles would now be allowed to experience the same blessings the Jews have always had. Paul made it clear that in Jesus, the dividing walls are gone, both in a spiritual sense, as well as physically. The wall of separation is gone because the common Lordship and unity that followers of Christ have together is greater than any previous division. If the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not greater than any difference you have with others – be it political, racial, economic, language, geography, or whatever, then you have not fully understood what it means to be under the Lordship of Jesus. While there are many different people groups with different values, customs, and religious systems, in Christianity, those dividing lines have been bridged, and those who were once far away or separated have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Christianity is unique in that it crosses cultures and invites all people to come together in Christ as equals. Jesus has not only destroyed the barrier that separated us from God but also the barrier that separated us from one another.
Today, this is more relevant than ever. There are many walls, both physical, cultural, or ideological, that divide us into easily controlled and manipulated groups. These walls include the walls of pride, economic status, race, social status, gender, political affiliation, and countless others. As Christians, we must be aware of these various artificial walls and barriers and work to break them down while elevating the one we should have in common unity. Paul would later declare in his letter to the Galatians that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female, for we are all one in Christ. (Gal 3:28) This was another aspect of the plan of God of how heaven would come down to earth. In heaven, there is no prejudice, racism, classism, or separation of any human origin. There is only brother and sister in Christ. The vision of heaven written down in the book of Revelation declares that believers from every nation, tribe, and tongue will be standing together in worship before the Lamb of God. But we do not have to wait to have unity in heaven. We can experience a taste of that common unity today through a local church that becomes the body of Christ on earth.
Paul denied this charge against him because it was untrue. Paul had not led a gentile into the temple, but it was a serious charge that those who hated Paul used in an attempt to silence him. This idea was clearly on Paul's mind as he wrote because later, in verse 14 of today's passage, we see Paul wrote that the "dividing wall of hostility" had been destroyed. Paul was most likely referring to all dividing walls, literal or symbolic, which the Soreq symbolized, that needed to come down between Jew and Gentile. Since Jesus' death, and the tearing of the veil in that same temple, gentiles would now be allowed to experience the same blessings the Jews have always had. Paul made it clear that in Jesus, the dividing walls are gone, both in a spiritual sense, as well as physically. The wall of separation is gone because the common Lordship and unity that followers of Christ have together is greater than any previous division. If the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not greater than any difference you have with others – be it political, racial, economic, language, geography, or whatever, then you have not fully understood what it means to be under the Lordship of Jesus. While there are many different people groups with different values, customs, and religious systems, in Christianity, those dividing lines have been bridged, and those who were once far away or separated have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Christianity is unique in that it crosses cultures and invites all people to come together in Christ as equals. Jesus has not only destroyed the barrier that separated us from God but also the barrier that separated us from one another.
Today, this is more relevant than ever. There are many walls, both physical, cultural, or ideological, that divide us into easily controlled and manipulated groups. These walls include the walls of pride, economic status, race, social status, gender, political affiliation, and countless others. As Christians, we must be aware of these various artificial walls and barriers and work to break them down while elevating the one we should have in common unity. Paul would later declare in his letter to the Galatians that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female, for we are all one in Christ. (Gal 3:28) This was another aspect of the plan of God of how heaven would come down to earth. In heaven, there is no prejudice, racism, classism, or separation of any human origin. There is only brother and sister in Christ. The vision of heaven written down in the book of Revelation declares that believers from every nation, tribe, and tongue will be standing together in worship before the Lamb of God. But we do not have to wait to have unity in heaven. We can experience a taste of that common unity today through a local church that becomes the body of Christ on earth.