Tuesday Devo
Scripture:
Ephesians 2
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.
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.
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.
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.
Commentary:
2:11–15 Unity of Christ’s People. Christ makes peace between Jew and Gentile to unify both in the church. There is only one unified people of God.
2:11 the circumcision. That is, the Jews. To be called “uncircumcised” was a Jewish term of derision (see 1 Sam. 17:26 and note on Acts 15:1) and signified that one was a Gentile, outside the covenant people of God.
2:12 separated. To be separated from OT Israel was to be separated from Christ, because “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22; Rom. 9:4–5). commonwealth. For “citizenship” and strangers, see note on Eph. 2:19. covenants of promise. God administered his OT redemption and promises by his oath-bound covenants (Luke 1:72–73), the chief of which were the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants. The new covenant fulfills all the divine promises (2 Cor. 1:20; Heb. 7:20–22; 8:6; 9:15). Note that Paul believed that all Gentiles apart from Christ were unsaved and without God.
2:13 in Christ Jesus. The old division of all people into two classifications, Jews or Gentiles (Acts 14:5; Rom. 3:29; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:23), or Jews and Greeks (John 7:35; Acts 14:1; 18:4; Rom. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:22, 24; etc.), has been transcended by a new entity in Christ: “the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). near. To be brought near means to have access to God (see Eph. 2:18). blood. Christ’s substitutionary death. He died not only for the Jews but for all his sheep (John 10:16), even those who are far off (cf. Acts 2:39).
2:14 peace. This refers to the state of harmonious friendship with God and with one another in the church. made us both one. That is, Jews and Gentiles. The opposite of peace is the hostility that Christ has quenched. Christ created a unified new people from the old hostile camps (Col. 3:15; cf. John 17:20–21). in his flesh. This refers to Christ’s bodily death on the cross (see Eph. 2:16). dividing wall. There was an inscription on the wall of the outer courtyard of the Jerusalem temple warning Gentiles that they would only have themselves to blame for their death if they passed beyond it into the inner courts. Paul may or may not be alluding to this wall, but it well illustrates Christ’s reconciliation of all people into a new humanity (see v. 15).
2:15 law. The additional mention of commandments and ordinances identifies this as the Mosaic law, which included many commandments that served to separate Israel from the other nations. Thus the law was a “dividing wall” (v. 14) which Christ has abolished or rendered powerless both by fulfilling it and by removing believers from the law’s condemnation (see Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:1; Heb. 9:11–14; 10:1–10). The result is a new man, denoting a new human race under the second Adam (Christ), in whose image the Christian is re-created (1 Cor. 15:45, 49; see also Eph. 4:24).
2:11 the circumcision. That is, the Jews. To be called “uncircumcised” was a Jewish term of derision (see 1 Sam. 17:26 and note on Acts 15:1) and signified that one was a Gentile, outside the covenant people of God.
2:12 separated. To be separated from OT Israel was to be separated from Christ, because “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22; Rom. 9:4–5). commonwealth. For “citizenship” and strangers, see note on Eph. 2:19. covenants of promise. God administered his OT redemption and promises by his oath-bound covenants (Luke 1:72–73), the chief of which were the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants. The new covenant fulfills all the divine promises (2 Cor. 1:20; Heb. 7:20–22; 8:6; 9:15). Note that Paul believed that all Gentiles apart from Christ were unsaved and without God.
2:13 in Christ Jesus. The old division of all people into two classifications, Jews or Gentiles (Acts 14:5; Rom. 3:29; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:23), or Jews and Greeks (John 7:35; Acts 14:1; 18:4; Rom. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:22, 24; etc.), has been transcended by a new entity in Christ: “the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). near. To be brought near means to have access to God (see Eph. 2:18). blood. Christ’s substitutionary death. He died not only for the Jews but for all his sheep (John 10:16), even those who are far off (cf. Acts 2:39).
2:14 peace. This refers to the state of harmonious friendship with God and with one another in the church. made us both one. That is, Jews and Gentiles. The opposite of peace is the hostility that Christ has quenched. Christ created a unified new people from the old hostile camps (Col. 3:15; cf. John 17:20–21). in his flesh. This refers to Christ’s bodily death on the cross (see Eph. 2:16). dividing wall. There was an inscription on the wall of the outer courtyard of the Jerusalem temple warning Gentiles that they would only have themselves to blame for their death if they passed beyond it into the inner courts. Paul may or may not be alluding to this wall, but it well illustrates Christ’s reconciliation of all people into a new humanity (see v. 15).
2:15 law. The additional mention of commandments and ordinances identifies this as the Mosaic law, which included many commandments that served to separate Israel from the other nations. Thus the law was a “dividing wall” (v. 14) which Christ has abolished or rendered powerless both by fulfilling it and by removing believers from the law’s condemnation (see Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:1; Heb. 9:11–14; 10:1–10). The result is a new man, denoting a new human race under the second Adam (Christ), in whose image the Christian is re-created (1 Cor. 15:45, 49; see also Eph. 4:24).
Questions:
- In Acts 13, this brand new church in Antioch was extremely diverse. You had Jews, non-Jews, North Africans, Romans. There was Manaen who was the life-long friend of the Herod that killed John the Baptist and tried to kill Jesus. These were all people that otherwise would’ve been enemies… were it not for the cross. They were reconciled to each other, through Jesus, and were now in community together. The Gospel tears down the walls of hostility that divide us. The Antioch church, tho from all different backgrounds, were Christians FIRST. This was their new, primary identity. What about you? Are you FIRST a follower of Jesus? Is that your primary identity?
- The same extreme diversity can be seen in Jesus' selection of the 12. Introverts and extroverts, church kids and street kids, white collar and blue collar. You even had a zealot, Simon, and a tax collector, Matthew. Before Jesus, Simon would kill people like Matthew, whom he considered to be a traitor to the Jewish people. It's as if Jesus was intentionally creating a diverse body that he could unify and bind together; a community that honors each other, forgives each other, worships together, and is on mission together. When it comes to relationships in your life, do you spend time with people that are nothing like you? Has the gospel truly torn down all the walls of hostility in your heart?
Prayer Topics:
- That your primary identity would be "Jesus follower."
- That you would see every other believer as your brother and sister.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
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