Last time, we went through the first part of Ephesians 2, and we saw Paul remind the Ephesians where they came from. They were dead in their trespasses and sins, under the devil’s control, and were the children of wrath. Paul includes himself in this group, thus stating this is the plight of all who are outside of Christ. However, God who is rich in mercy that stems from His great love for us has made us alive in Christ. We are saved by grace, through faith, not from our own efforts or righteousness, but it is a free gift from God. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has actually prepared for us beforehand to walk in them.
Continuing on in chapter 2, Paul is still reminding them where they came from. The Ephesians were once Gentiles, and called the uncircumcision by the circumcision (the Jews). If we recall from Romans 4 in our last study, Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised. For the Jew, circumcision was a big deal. It was a sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendants. If you were a Jew, you had to be circumcised or be cut off from your people. If we fast-forward about two thousand years, the Jews had taken this sign of the covenant, and turned it into something God never intended. It became a racial thing in which the Jews hated the Gentiles and called them dogs. Even worse, if you were a half-breed like the Samaritans, you were really hated. This hatred was returned as well: the Gentiles had distain for the Jews who saw themselves as superior.
Truthfully though, the Gentiles were not in a good place. Paul says they were without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope, and without God in the world. There was both a racial and a spiritual divide. This may have seemed like an impossible divide from a human standpoint, but not from a divine one.
The answer to this divide was the cross. We who are Gentiles, who were once afar off, have now been brought near by the blood of Christ. The cross is truly the answer to all our problems. And when I say the cross, I’m not referring to the wooden beams, for no doubt people have made idols out of the cross itself with statues, jewelry, etc. However, when the Scriptures speak of the cross, they speak of Jesus and what He accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.
For Jesus is our peace, who has made both Jew and Gentile one. He doesn’t just bring peace, but He is our peace. He is our peace with God, and He is our peace with each other. It is when we compare ourselves to each other or compete against one another that this unity breaks down. It is when we unite ourselves to Christ by faith, centered around the Scriptures that these differences begin to fade away.
In the temple during the time of Jesus and the apostles, there was a dividing wall between the court of the women and the court of the Gentiles that the Gentiles were not allowed to pass. On the wall there was an inscription that read, “No foreigner is to enter the barriers surrounding the sanctuary. He who is caught will have himself to blame for his death which will follow.” Jesus, symbolically, has broken down this wall between us.
Jesus has abolished in His flesh the enmity, (the law of commandments contained in ordinances). Paul wrote a similar thing to the Colossians, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements (certificate of debts) that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col 2:14) Now, this does not mean Jesus abolished the moral teachings of the law, for He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” What the passages do mean is that Jesus fulfilled the law, and that we are no longer under its sentence because he paid our debts for us on the cross. He also has abolished the legal and ceremonial requirements that distinguished Jews as seen in Acts 15:19-21. They all point to Him, and He has either already fulfilled them or will fulfill them in His second coming.
The Jewish rabbis teach that the law is divided into two parts, the law of God and the law of Moses. Both were given by God, but the law of God is the 10 Commandments given from Mount Sinai in the people’s hearing. They state that it could be heard in multiple languages, thus meaning it is for all people at all times. This law of God was written on two tablets of stone. The law of Moses on the other hand, was given privately to Moses on the mount, and later delivered to the Jewish people only. The Bible doesn’t tell us whether or not this is true, but it is interesting that every one of the 10 Commandments with the exception of the Sabbath is restated in the New Testament as being valid for us today. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our Sabbath rest.
Jesus has abolished the law to make in Himself one new man from the two (Jew and Gentile). Gotquestions.org says the following: “The expression, one new man, is rich with meaning. The Greek word for “new” means “fresh or unused” rather than chronologically new. Here, Paul emphasizes the creative—or re-creative—act of God in Christ that produces a new spiritual community distinct from either former group. This new community, comprised of Jews and Gentiles, is a “new man” who is defined by union with Christ.” Because of this union with Christ, there can be peace between Jew and Gentile. Both have been reconciled to God in one body through the cross, and the enmity has been put to death. As the saying goes, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. It doesn’t matter who you are, everyone comes to God the same way, and has access to the same spiritual blessings. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This is just as true for us today: Jesus is the answer to racial tension, tension at work, or the battle of the sexes. Again, if we all come to Him by faith and obey His word, our disagreements tend to disappear.
The gospel has been preached to both the Jews and Gentiles, and we all have access by one Spirit to the Father. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Co 12:13) And to the Romans he wrote, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
If we recall, Jesus had a conversation with a Samaritan woman by a well. As I previously stated, the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other, and after the Samaritans were not allowed to participate in the rebuilding of the temple, they built their own temple on Mount Gerizim which was later destroyed by the Jews. During this conversation, she asked Jesus what mountain they should worship at, Mount Gerizim or at Jerusalem? Jesus responded, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (Jn 4:21-24) In order to worship God, we must do it in spirit and in truth. Our walk is a spiritual one, but it can only exist due to the truth of the Gospel. It is the Holy Spirit that indwells us at salvation, making our spirit alive again, and it is the Holy Spirit who works through us to carry out God’s will. However, this is only possible through our faith in the Truth.
I bring up the woman at the well, not only to highlight this truth, but it really shows us God’s heart for the lost, even those who come from a morally and spiritually bankrupt culture. She was an unlikely candidate in the eyes of many, but she needed Jesus just the same. Many of our neighbors or coworkers come from different backgrounds, backgrounds less desirable than what we were brought up in, but that just means they need Jesus.
Because of the cross, Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners to the things of God, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the house of God. Citizens means to be part of the nation, but members of the household means to be part of the family. We have not only been grafted into the nation of Israel, we’re part of the family of God with them if they too have believed in their Mesiah.
Every house has a foundation, and the foundation of the household of God is the apostles and prophets, Jesus being the chief cornerstone. We will discuss apostles and prophets more when we get to chapter 4, but these original apostles and prophets played a foundational role in getting the Church started and off on the right foot. Many of these original apostles and prophets were also responsible for writing our New Testament Scriptures. This foundational role is complete, and does not need to be re-laid. In fact, Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1:8-9) So, if anyone comes to you or me claiming to be an apostle or prophet with a “new” revelation, we can confidently dismiss their claims.
The cornerstone was the principal stone, usually placed at the corner of a structure. It was normally one of the largest, most solid, and most carefully constructed of any in the structure. Once it was set, it became the basis for determining every other measurement, and everything was aligned to it. I think the parallels are obvious: Jesus is our solid rock, and all the Church must be aligned with Him, and the primary way we know how to align ourselves is to regularly be in the word.
So, Paul says we are being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, we are being fitted together, and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. We are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. The Psalmist again writes that God inhabits (is enthroned in) the praises of His people. When we gather together to worship the Lord, it invites His presence among us in a special way. Lastly, Peter writes, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:4-10)
In closing, we as Gentiles were once far from God, but have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Jesus is our peace, and has brought us all together through the cross. We are no longer under the sentence of the Law, because Jesus fulfilled it for us. Jesus is our cornerstone, and we are being aligned with him and as living stones, are being built into a holy temple and dwelling place of God.
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