Ephesians 2:11-22 Christ's Peace Mission

"In this section, Paul explained Christ's peace mission -- the great work of moving from separation to reconciliation to unification," my commentary said.

Paul tells us the Gentiles (non-Jews) were separated:  without Christ, without citizenship in God's nation, without covenants with God, without hope, and indeed without God ... The spiritual plight of the Gentiles was caused not by God, but by their own willful sin ... the Gentiles knew the true God but deliberately refused to honor Him.

Reconciliation came by the gracious intervention of God on behalf of lost sinners.  "The greatest peace mission in history was Jesus Christ not only reconciling Jews and Gentiles, but reconciling both to Himself in the one body, the church."

The Jewish law caused a wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles.  In order for Jews and Gentiles to be reconciled, this wall had to be destroyed and this Jesus did on the cross.  The cost of destroying the enmity was the blood of Christ ... By fulfilling the demands of the law in His righteous life and by bearing the curse of the law in His sacrificial death, Jesus removed the legal barrier that separated Jew from Gentile ... It was not a question of the Gentile becoming a Jew to become a Christian, but the Jew admitting he was a sinner like the Gentile."

Unification:  What Jews and Gentiles ARE in Christ:  One nation, one family, and one temple.  The new nation is the church.  The new family is formed by God becoming our Father.  "Today, through His Spirit, God dwells in the church, the temple of God ... He dwells in the hearts of those who have trusted Christ and in the church collectively ... The temple Christ is building will last forever."

My commentary asks:  "If you are a true believer in Christ, are you helping others to trust Him?  Do you walk in newness of life?  Do you share this good news of eternal life with others?  Jesus Christ died to make reconciliation possible.  You and I must live to make the message of reconciliation personal.  God has give us the ministry of reconciliation."

Father, thank You for this reminder of the task You've given us as Your children through Christ.  And thank You for the movie we saw last night in youth -- The Insanity of God -- which did so much to teach us the importance of obedience to Your words.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford