unity in christ
Happy Saturday! This week we are diving into the second part of Ephesians 2, focusing on Ephesians 2:11-22. These verses serve as a profound reminder of how faith in Christ can bridge divides and create a new community that’s built on a foundation of love and peace.
Paul wrote this letter to the early Christian community in Ephesus, a diverse city where Gentiles (non-Jews) and Jews coexisted. The cultural and religious differences between these groups often led to tension and division. Paul's message addresses these divisions head-on, emphasizing that in Christ, these barriers are broken down.
Verses 11-12 highlight the former state of the Gentiles. Paul reminds the Gentiles of their previous status, emphasizing their alienation from the Jewish community and, by extension, from God's promises. The Gentiles were in a desperate place. They were not only spiritually dead but also did not have the access to God that the Jews enjoyed. To be “without Christ” means to be without light, peace, rest, safety, and hope, and without a Prophet, Priest, or King.
Paul illustrates how Christ's sacrifice has united Jews and Gentiles through verses 13-18, tearing down the “dividing wall of hostility.” It is only through the blood of Christ, through His sacrificial death. Paul connects the ideas of the great love of Jesus and His sacrificial death. The crucifixion of Christ isn’t all about bloody, gory Jesus, it’s about love. Talking about Christ crucified means we preach Jesus full of love- sacrificial, giving, saving, love.
Jesus himself is our peace. He hasn’t made peace between God and man and Jew and Gentile– He is our peace. The work of Jesus on the cross broke down the wall of division. Through these verses in Paul’s letter, he made it clear that in Jesus, the wall is gone. The wall dividing the Jews and Gentiles was nonexistent. Christ's mission was to forge a single, unified humanity, reconciling all to God and establishing peace.
Finally, in verses 19-22, Paul reveals the outcome of this reconciliation:
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Paul writes that Gentiles are no longer outsiders but are fully integrated into God’s family. They are now members of God’s household, with Christ as the cornerstone—the essential foundation—holding everything together.
Ephesians 2:11-22 is so applicable in our communities today. It offers a challenge to consider the barriers we face today, barriers based on race, culture, social status, etc. Paul’s message is an encouragement to lean into the unity that Christ offers– creating spaces where peace and reconciliation can flourish. In a world often marked by division and conflict, this passage creates a vision of hope. It’s a reminder that through Christ, and only through Christ, we can overcome our differences and build a community rooted in love, peace, and mutual respect.
