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One in Christ
Ephesians 2:11-22
Good News Translation (GNT)
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11 You Gentiles by birth - called
"the uncircumcised" by the Jews, who call
themselves the circumcised (which refers to
what men do to their bodies) - remember what
you were in the past.
12 At that time you were apart from Christ.
You were foreigners and did not belong to
God's chosen people. You had no part in the
covenants, which were based on God's
promises to his people, and you lived in this
world without hope and without God.
13 But now, in union with Christ Jesus you, who
used to be far away, have been brought near
by the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought us peace by
making Jews and Gentiles one people. With
his own body he broke down the wall that
separated them and kept them enemies.
15 He abolished the Jewish Law with its
commandments and rules, in order to create
out of the two races one new people in union
with himself, in this way making peace.
16 By his death on the cross Christ destroyed
their enmity; by means of the cross he united
both races into one body and brought them
back to God.
17 So Christ came and preached the Good News
of peace to all - to you Gentiles, who were far
away from God, and to the Jews, who were
near to him.
18 It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and
Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit
into the presence of the Father.
19 So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or
strangers any longer; you are now citizens
together with God's people and members of
the family of God.
20 You, too, are built upon the foundation laid
by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone
being Christ Jesus himself.
21 He is the one who holds the whole building
together and makes it grow into a sacred
temple dedicated to the Lord.
22 In union with him you too are being built
together with all the others into a place
where God lives through his Spirit.
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
One in Christ
Ephesians 2:11-22
Gentiles are all those people who are not Jews.
In Paul's time, the Jews called Gentiles 'uncircumcised'.
According to God's command, on the eighth day of life every
Jewish male is circumcised, being the outward sign
of being a Jew.
Paul reminds the Ephesians of their former state.
The greatest promise that God made to the Jews was that
He would send them a Saviour. In the sight of the Jews,
these Ephesian Gentiles were without hope and without God.
Jesus, even though He was Himself a Jew, came to save
not only Jews but also Gentiles. Through his sacrificial
death, all believers are brought are brought into
the family of God.
Jesus is our peace, who makes peace between man and God,
and also between man and man. Surrounding the inner court
of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, there was a wall or
barrier through which Gentiles were not permitted to pass.
Paul calls it a dividing wall of hostility.
Jesus has broken down the barrier, the dividing wall
of hostility - the division, prejudice, and enmity -
between Jew and Gentile.
The Jewish law had two main parts: first, the "moral law,"
in particular the ten commandments, and second,
the "ceremonial law," which consisted of all the regulations
about eating and washing.
Jesus taught that man is saved, not through obeying the law,
but only through faith in himself. Therefore, by abolishing
the ceremonial law and destroying the barrier between
Jew and Gentile, Jesus created in himself one new people
(believers) out of two peoples (Jews and Gentiles).
They are all members of one body, whose head is Jesus.
Jesus also made peace between both of them and God,
through His death on the cross, has brought all believers
into God's family, the church.
All are now equally able to draw near to God;
they have equal access to Him.
For through God the Son we have access to the Father
by one Spirit. He is one God.
Christians refer to these three persons of God
together as the "Trinity."
Paul tells the Ephesian Gentiles that they are now fellow
citizens with God's people and members of God's church.
And Paul is saying the same thing to us today
The church is built upon the foundation of the New Testament
apostles and the Old Testament prophets - the Bible.
Jesus himself is the chief cornerstone.
Without such a cornerstone, a building will fall down.
The Jewish temple in Jerusalem no longer exists;
the church is now God's holy temple.
We believers are like stones, from which God has built
His temple. God has built His temple so that He can dwell in it!
Today what is our church like?
Are its members joined together in unity?
Is there peace in our church?
Are we living together in love as in one family?
When other people look at our church,
what do they see? What does God see?
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