Ephesians 2:14-18 (NIV)
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
The context for this section is the preceding one. Paul had just written about how the gentiles had originally been far from God, not being able to know Him or have a relationship with Him because they were outside of His covenant, unlike the Jews, who had been brought near to Him. Thus, there were two (and only two) groups of people on the earth from God’s perspective: those who lived under His covenant (the Jews), and those who did not (the gentiles).
But with the coming of Jesus, that all changed. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus had eliminated the law as the method of salvation, replacing it with faith in Him and in His finished work. Thus, the wall that separated the Jews and the gentiles had been destroyed. Now all who trust in Jesus, whether Jew or gentile, can come in and become part of God’s chosen people, the body of Christ.
God’s purpose in this new salvation economy was to purposefully destroy the division, to bring all people, whoever is willing to believe in Jesus, together into one united, worldwide people, bringing peace where there had been enmity and unity where there had been division and discord. Thus, there would not be two groups of believers, but only one: one body, one Church, united in their salvation experience, united in faith, united in Spirit (Ephesians 4:4-7).
In Christ, those who had been far away (the gentiles) and those who had been near (the Jews) had all received the same gospel and were now saved by the same faith. Thus, the Jewish Christians could not claim special privilege in the kingdom because of their lineage, and the gentiles could not consider themselves second-class citizens because they weren’t descended from Abraham. All are equal in the kingdom. All have equal access to the Father through the same Holy Spirit. All are one in Christ.
Father, it strikes me that in the Church today, we still tend toward division. Not necessarily Jew against gentile, but divisions that are based on our particular denominational identity. But in Christ we are all to be one Church, one body of Christ, united in the work of the kingdom, all taking our orders from the same Lord and Savior, and all empowered by the same Spirit. Lord, help us, especially in times like these, to realize and live out more fully the unity that You intend for us, and to put aside our denominational conceits so that we can be more powerful and effective together. We all have a role to play in Your one plan: to rescue the perishing from an eternity in hell, and to grow Your kingdom by making disciples of all nations. If we will simply make that our focus, and if we will work all together to accomplish it, how much greater our success would be, and how much more of Your blessing we would live in! Amen.