United by Jesus: A Walk Through Ephesians Chapter 2

1 “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2: 1-7.

In the second chapter of Ephesians Paul focuses on the concept of unity in Christ Jesus. It is through God’s love, grace, and mercy that we are saved and in the oneness and unity of Christ that we now live. This concept would have been a tough pill to swallow for the early church in that day. The Gentiles were people seen as heathens by the Jews. They were the outsiders and the outcasts of society. Much like the early days in our country between blacks and whites, so were the Jews and Gentiles. The dividing point here was the God’s covenant with Abraham displayed through circumcision. It is through circumcision that one would dedicate his life to God. When Jesus came and defeated death, however, he brought with him a new covenant This new covenant was one in which closeness to God was brought through the state of the heart rather than the body. Throughout Paul’s letters he is writing to the Gentiles in order to bring them closer to the living God. The culture of that day would have made it difficult for both the Jews and Gentiles to live together in the oneness that Paul is suggesting.

“11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13

In these verses Paul is describing the plight of the Gentiles in the history of the faith. Verse 11 reminds the Gentiles that they were once outsiders and uncircumcised heathens. Here Paul uses the words “used to be” implying that they no longer are. The new covenant that Jesus instilled was one of the heart. One must simply put his faith, love, trust, and life into the hands of Jesus and there he shall be forgiven of his sins, set free from the weight of the world and have everlasting life. This would have been hard for the Gentiles to understand after years of persecution from the Jews and perhaps even harder for the Jews whose lifelong belief was now being challenged.

William Barclay, in his Daily Study Bible series on the Letters to Galatians and Ephesians describes the Jew-Gentile relationship this way. “The Gentiles were called the uncircumcision by those who laid claim to that circumcision which is a physical sign and something performed by human hands. This was the first of the great divisions. The Jews has an immense contempt for the Gentiles. They said that the Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of hell, and that God only loved Israel of all the nations that he had made. ‘The best of the serpents crush,’ they said, ‘the best of the Gentiles kill.’ It was not even lawful to give help to a Gentile woman in childbirth, for that would be to bring another Gentile into the world. The barrier between Jews and Gentiles was absolute. If a Jew married a Gentile, the funeral of that Jew was carried out. Such contact with a Gentile was the equivalent of death; even going into the house of a Gentile made a Jew unclean. Before Christ, the barriers were up; after Christ, the barriers were down.” 1

The Gentiles were called outsiders for another reason as well. The Temple in Jerusalem of that day was believed as the dwelling place of God. It was a common belief in that time among all religions of the day that a god would be located in one holy place. The layout of the temple consisted of separate sections. The Holy of Holies was the center of the Temple and could only be entered by the High Priest on the day of atonement, or Yom Kippur. Here the High Priest would make a sacrificial atonement for the sins of the people. Outside of the Holy of Holies was sanctuary in which only priests could enter. Around that was the court of the Israelites where only Jewish men could bring their offerings to the priests. The Jewish women had a court beyond the men’s court and around the women’s court lay the court of Gentiles. The court of Gentiles was separated from everything else by a thin marble-like wall. The walls were approximately 4-5 feet tall and had inscriptions that warned Gentiles not to go beyond the walls. A gentile that went beyond that wall did so at risk of his own death. Therefore, when Paul calls the Gentiles outsiders he literally means outsiders. Women were second class citizens, children were not considered citizens until a certain age and Gentiles were not recognized as citizens at all. They were separated from God and had no hope of coming near God. Paul says, however, that where the Gentiles were once “far away from God,” they are now brought close to him through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Being brought near was a term that the Jews would have found especially meaningful. In the Jewish culture, to be brought near was to be brought to God. When one was converted to Judaism they were said to be brought near.

“14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. 17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.” Ephesians 2:14-17

In verse 14 Paul declares that Jesus broke down that marble-like wall in order for the Gentiles to enter into the kingdom of God. They could now be considered citizens along with the Jews and live in harmony and peace because of what Jesus did. It should be remembered that Paul, a devout Jewish man before his conversion, spent much of his ministry preaching the gospel to Gentiles. It is these same Gentiles that he used to persecute along with the early Christians for the ignoring the Jewish law. Because of Jesus’ life and resurrection, that law has been overshadowed by the new life in Christ. It is through Jesus alone that we are saved and through God’s mercy and grace that we have life. Paul makes it his life’s goal to preach that message to those who for so long were ignored by the religious. Where there was once a wall separating the Jew and Gentile, Jesus demolished that wall and instituted a new kind of life.

“19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

Jesus proclaimed that the temple would be destroyed. The temple was a gorgeous structure built of carefully sculpted stones that would fit perfectly together. No mortar was used in the building and while it was not an especially large building, it was quite remarkable. Mark 13: 1-2 says, “1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, ‘Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.’ 2 Jesus replied, ‘Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!’” Through his death and resurrection, Jesus destroyed the meaning of the temple. There was no longer a certain place in which the people of God needed to enter to be in community with him. Jesus came to tell us that from now on God will meet us where we are. Jesus is the cornerstone of our life. “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Matthew 18: 20