Ephesians 2:11-22--One in Christ

One in Christ​
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

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There is a big theme of "unity" here in the book of Ephesians and how all the members of the Church are one body with many members, each a different part of the body, equipped with different gifts for the service, the good works, that have been predestined for them.  Each member should play out his or her role while taking care to not hurt the rest of the body and to obey the instructions given by the one Head of the Body, that is Jesus Christ.  We also need to be careful to not let the disease of sin infect the body and spread like gangrene, so that we institute good Church discipline and cut off the one who is apostate and living in sin for the good of the entire Body.  We'll get back to this idea later in the book of Ephesians, but for now, let's turn our attention back to chapter 2 where Paul will talk about how God has reconciled us to Himself and made peace with those who are once "far off" (the Gentiles) by and through the blood of Jesus.

The Old Testament, the Old Covenant, and specifically the Law of Moses is full of distinctions and divisions that made it clear which people of the world were God's people (the children of Israel) and which people were on the outside physically, culturally and spiritually.  God chose one family to be His "chosen people" that He would reveal His gospel message to and they were to take this message to the whole world--"a light to the Gentiles."  However, they once again failed to be good image-bearers of God and were neither transformed by the gospel, nor did they share the good news of the gospel with others.  Instead they treated God's favor like something that they deserved and earned.  It was their birthright (so they supposed), and instead of sharing it they had the attitude of "it's ours, and you can't have it."  This is the situation that Paul is reminding the Ephesian believers of--that they were once far-off without the knowledge or means to draw near to God since all of that knowledge and means was wrapped up in the Law--a special revelation that was given specifically to Moses and the nation of Israel.

But God was always about wanting to make a people for Himself from every tribe, tongue and nation and His ways were higher than our ways and His thoughts were higher than our thoughts.  So it was that in the fullness of time, God the Son came to this world and the Light of the World stepped into the kingdom of sin and darkness to make atonement and pay the price of redemption--His own blood--for the souls of all the men who had rebelled and were slaves of sin, both Jew and Gentile alike.  In this He broke down the barriers created by the Law (not abolishing the Word of God) so that He could adopt us as sons into one family and we would all be brothers and sisters that are co-heirs with Christ.

In Christ, this also should put and end to the anti-Semetic rivalry and hatred that is of the devil because the devil has always been opposed to the people of God and comes to see the people of God destroyed by his people and to tempt them to destroy each other.  But God came to cause us to love each other because we love Him and He loved us and we are members of one family, so that those who had hated each other can now deeply love each other in a way that the world cannot understand.  This is the transforming power of the gospel.

So then we who were Gentiles who have been saved are no longer "strangers" or "aliens" as we read in the Law, but we are fellow citizens of the kingdom of God and serve the one true King, and we are not lesser citizens, but we have equal rights and status because when God sees any of us, Jew or Gentile, through the blood of Jesus, all He sees is Jesus, His beloved Son in whom He is well-pleased.

We are all members of one household of God and one true faith that is built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles with Christ as the chief cornerstone (without Him being in His proper place, the whole building collapses).  It is through Him that we have been made not just a people, but the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, a temple of the Holy Spirit, and a preview of the heavenly temple that will be the New Jerusalem one day, because the temple of God is where the people of God come to meet with God and have communion with Him.  That used to be a physical place, but now the Spirit of God is with us wherever we God and we have constant communion with God.  So in the end it will be like it was in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, but this time humanity will live in perfect communion with God without the temptation of sin because the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil does not exist in the New Jerusalem.  We will not only be free from the penalty of sin and the power of sin, but the very presence of sin, and the whole "city" that is the New Jerusalem will be the Holy of Holies--the very throne room of God, and we will live "behind the veil" in the place that only the High Priest could enter on Yom Kippur.  We will be able to dwell in the presence of a holy God without fear of our sin nature causing us to have to die, for it is the wages of sin that is death, but we will have no sin--we will be the perfect image bearers of God because we will be made like the Son of God Himself.