From Foreigners to Family

Ephesians 2:11-22

From foreigners to family members, like us the Ephesian church members found unity and equality in Christ. Gentile believers, who were once alienated from Israel and from God, are now joined to both by the blood of Christ, who has removed the wall of separation represented by the law and has joined Jewish and Gentile believers together into “one body” — the Ephesian Church— and “one new man” —Christian Identity as opposed to ethnic identity— with direct access to God (Eph. 2:11-18). Gentiles, once strangers, can now be “fellow citizens” and members of the “household of God;” that is fellow citizens of Heaven with all true believers, and living stones in His holy Temple. To top it all off Christ is the Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-22; see 1 Peter 2:4-5).

Jesus “abolished” ended or made void the law by his death (Eph. 2:15) by fulfilling it (see Matt 5:17). He fulfilled it when he died on the cross for our sins, thus bringing the law to an end (see Rom 10:4).   — Portions from Wilmington’s Bible Handbook by Harold Wilmington

As a result of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we are reconciled and set into the Temple of God (Eph. 2:11-22). In the first half of this chapter, Paul has been telling us what God has done for sinners in general; now he discusses Jews and Gentiles in particular. God had made no messianic covenants with the Gentiles, but God had promised the Jews a kingdom. What is the status of Jews and Gentiles in God’s program today?

A. What the Gentiles Were (Eph. 2:11-12).

Historically, God made a distinction between Jews and Gentiles racially (1 Cor. 10:32), but not individually (Rom 10:11-13). This helped to preserve the nation of Israel. This is the former corporate condition of Gentiles apart from Christ. Christ brought fallen humanity out of alienation into a state of peace and unity with God.

      — The Gentiles were without Christ; that is, they had no promise of a Messiah.

      — They were not a part of the nation of Israel; in fact, the OT laws put a great gulf between Jews and Gentiles.

      — Instead of being "the people of God," the Gentiles were “aliens.”

      — They were strangers, without hope and without the true God in the world. Contrast this sad plight with the privileged position of Israel described in Rom 9:4-5.

      — Verse 13 sums up the Gentiles' condition in two words: "far off." While the problem of sinners in general (vv. 1-10) was spiritual death, the problem of the Gentiles in particular was spiritual distance from God and His blessings. Note in the Gospels that whenever Christ helped a Gentile, He did it at a distance (Matt 8:5-13; 15:22-28). Obviously, there is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to change this condition and state of affairs. God must act as our only means of hope.

B. What God Did (Eph. 2:13-17).

"But now" in v. 13 parallels "But God" in v. 4. When Christ died on the cross, He broke down every barrier that stood between Jews and Gentiles. In the Jewish temple, there was a wall that separated the "Court of the Gentiles" from the rest of the structure; and on this wall was a sign giving warning that any Gentile who passed beyond it would be killed. Jesus Christ tore down that wall!

      — He tore down the physical wall, for in Christ all are made one (v. 15, and see Gal 3:28-29).

      — He tore down the spiritual wall and brought the "far off" Gentiles near (v. 13).

      — He tore down the legal wall, for He fulfilled the Law in Himself and ended the reign of the Mosaic Law that separated Jews and Gentiles vv. 14-15).

Christ not only made peace between sinners and God (Rom 5:1), but He also made peace between Jews and Gentiles. He took sinful Jews and sinful Gentiles and through His cross made a "new man"-the church at Ephesus. Reconciliation is not a gradual process by which people become more acceptable to God over time. No, it is a decisive act, much like a legal verdict, in which believers are delivered from estrangement to harmony and fellowship with the Lord.

      — Keep in mind that the mystery of the church was revealed through Paul (as we shall see in chapter 3), and that it took some time for the Jewish Christians to understand God’s new program. For centuries, God had kept Jews and Gentiles separated, and the Jews had taught that the only way a Gentile could be brought near to God was by becoming a Jew. Now the truth was revealed that the cross of Christ condemns both Jews and Gentiles as sinners, but also reconciles to God in one body those that believe on Jesus.

C. What the Gentiles and Jews are Now (Eph. 2:18-22).

      — Both have access to the Father in the Spirit. Under the Jewish economy, only the high priest could go into the presence of God, and that only once a year. But in the new creation, every believer has the privilege of coming into the holy of holies (Heb. 10:19-25).

      — Both Jews and Gentiles now belong to “the household of God,” and the Jew can no longer claim greater privileges. It is through faith in His blood that Jews and Gentiles are justified.

      — Paul closes by picturing the church at Ephesus as a temple. This would be a fitting image not only for the Jews, who revered their holy temple at Jerusalem, but also for the Ephesians, who had the great temple of Diana in their city (Acts 19:21-41). Each believer is a living stone set into the temple (1 Peter 2:4-8). The apostles and prophets (NT prophets, 4:11)–symbols of the Word— are part of the foundation; they laid the foundation since they were the first to proclaim the message of Christ Who is the foundation of the local church (1 Cor. 3:11) and the “Chief Cornerstone” of the whole building.

      — The local churches today are living, growing temples; when this age is completed, Christ will return and take the temples to glory.

      — God dwelt in the Jewish tabernacle (Ex. 40:34), in Solomon’s temple (2 Chron. 7:1), in the temple of Christ’s body (John 1:14 and 2:18-22), and today in the individual believer (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and the local church (Eph. 2:21-22). What a privilege to be the very habitation of God through the Spirit! — (Excerpts from The Bible Exposition Commentary)

Perhaps more could be learned from these important activities of God and other like passages of Scripture to bring about unity and harmony among believers in modern NT churches. Ethnic division is a real issue in our world and in our country. Even in the churches ethnic division is very real. I know of churches with almost identical doctrinal statements, but they cannot get along or see eye to eye because they differ politically. One group may be relatively conservative politically and the other may have a few progressive leanings on just a few matters, and yet they find more to disagree on than they share in common. Again both groups say they believe the same truths, use the same denominational identity, use the same Bible, sing many of the same songs in their worship services, and subscribe to the same theological and philosophical positions. 

It appears their respective political positions are more important to each group than what they share in Jesus Christ. It appears they value the temporal far more than the eternal. It appears they cherish homogeneous congregations and fellowships far more than God’s family members who may be a little different than others. It appears they wish to hang on to anything that maintains the distinctions and divisions even though we believe the same fundamental truths. If I were guessing I would say much of this mutual inflexibility is rooted in fear and ignorance. People simply don’t talk constructively about these matters. They simply bark out their positions unwilling to hear the other person’s perspective. Everyone seems to be convinced their position is right. Each group can identify numerous passages in the Bible to support their position. There is little willingness to grow in perspective…too see things through the other person’s point of view. I know this to be true, because I have observed it for years. This is a painful reflection for me…. 

While I am not ecumenical, no not by any stretch of the imagination, it would be great to see churches of like faith and practice more ethnically diverse where the opportunities present themselves. Many more churches could become far more cosmopolitan if they really trusted God to build His churches. God has brought the world to live in the very shadow of our steeples, why not reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Why not strengthen our churches for cross culture evangelism? Why not demonstrate from Scripture how multicultural early NT churches were? Christ died to reconcile fallen humanity to God and God’s people into one family, God’s temple, and one citizenship. Who are we to stand in the way of that?