LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS
Climax
Ephesians 2:11-22
INTRODUCTION
Probably the most important commentary on Paul's Letter to the Ephesians is that by Markus Barth, a preeminent NT scholar of the 20th century AND the son of one of the most important Christian theologians of the 20th century, Karl Barth. In his commentary on Ephesians, Markus Barth claims that the section before us is the climax of the first half of Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. Everything in the letter has been building up to this point. Although in previous verses Paul has introduced several of the themes in this section, here he takes them to new heights and presents them as the goal/climax of what has gone before.
THE DIVISION BETWEEN GENTILE AND JEW BEFORE SALVATION (2:11-12)
| 11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called " Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands - 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. |
The Attitude of the Jew towards the Gentile Before Salvation (2:11)
Paul first zeroes in on the relationship between the Jew and the Gentile before both came to Christ for salvation. Before looking at the specific problem between the Jew and the Gentile, we first need to focus on the primary problem which plagues all Christians at all times. The key problem is that before both the Jew and the Gentile became Christians, they were living "in the flesh." What does it mean to live "in the flesh"? First of all, it is not referring to living in a physical body. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the physical body because God actually created the physical body. Rather, living in the flesh means living solely in the flesh apart from God; on the other hand, living with God or under His lordship is what Paul means by living in the Spirit. The attitude of the Jew towards the Gentile before both were saved reflects the attitude of the Jew apart from God, that is the Jew who is living according to the flesh.
When we live apart from God, that is when we live in the flesh, the basis for unity has been destroyed. We focus on the differences we find in the world and start to judge those differences. I am a 5'10", white male with blue eyes, grey/black hair (what is left of it), fair skinned, and a little overweight. When I need a standard by which I can judge others, I come with up the following standard: to be a good or acceptable person to me, you should probably be a 5'10", white male with blue eyes, grey/black hair (what is left of it), fair skinned, and a little overweight.
Upon further reflection I realize that I have just actually described me! Well aren't I the fortunate one that I measure up to this standard? All the while deluding myself by refusing to understand that I was my own measure and that I am measuring my own self and everybody else by ME. (More people do this than they realize or most likely admit.)
Well, this is exactly what the Jews were doing. Now the "fleshy" Jew, that is the Jew who lives apart from God, divided the world into 2 camps: the Jew (that is the chosen people of God) and the Gentile (everybody who was not a Jew and who was destined for damnation). The main characteristic which distinguished the Jew physically from the Gentile was circumcision. Since they were circumcised, then surely everybody else who was not circumcised was naturally not acceptable to them or even to God. In fact, they used the word "uncircumcised" as a type of curse word in order to slander the Gentile who was not circumcised. In one of the great scenes in the Bible (David vs. Goliath), look at how David describes the Philistine giant: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" (1 Sam. 17:26). David's attitude reflects that of most of the Jews of Paul's day. [To David's credit, though, he actually developed a positive and hopeful attitude towards the Gentiles (see Rom. 15:9-11).]
According to Christianity, physical circumcision was meaningless because it was purely an act of the flesh, something Paul emphasizes in verse 11: "Therefore, remember that formerly you, the Gentiles IN THE FLESH, who are called "uncircumcision" by the so-called "circumcision" which is performed IN THE FLESH by HUMAN hands!"
The Hopeless Condition of the Gentile before Salvation (2:12)
The Jew definitely had a "fleshy" attitude towards the Gentile. Look, though, at how Paul describes the spiritual condition of the "fleshy" Gentile before he came to Christ for salvation (that is the Gentile who lives life apart from God): "remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (2:12).
By the name "Christ" or "Messiah," the Jews meant the Anointed One from God who would bring a great deliverance to His people. Deliverance may come to the Jews at the Red Sea, upon crossing the Jordan River, upon destroying Jericho; however all these deliverances were temporary. A day was to come when the Messiah would appear on the scene and deliver once and for all God's people. What a feeling of hope that gave to the Jewish people.
The Gentiles, though, had no concept of such a deliverer. To be sure they had some mythological saviors like Hercules; however, Hercules performed heroic deeds to save himself. He was not the savior of the Greek people. Without this promise of a deliverer, the Greeks did not have the same kind of hope the Jews enjoyed.
Neither the Jew nor the Greek enjoys the same confident hope that we Christians enjoy. The Jew did not know the identity of the Christ. We do! He is Jesus. Moreover, the Jew did not have anything in history which could assure him that the Messiah indeed would come and save him, other than some promises in the Old Testament. We do though; we have the actual FIRST coming of the Messiah Jesus which assures us that He will return at the end of human history and finish what He started, saving His people once and for all. Christians should be the most hopeful of all people.
CHRIST'S DEATH ON THE CROSS RECONCILES US TO ONE ANOTHER (2:13-17)
| 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; |
The situation between the Jew and the Gentile of Paul’s day was one of hostility, the Jew labeled the Gentile “uncircumcised” [dog in some instances], whereas the Gentile definitely felt left out of the wonderful promises God had made to Israel. So how was Christ to reconcile these two disparate groups?
First, by means of the blood on the cross: “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (2:13). We were formerly far off, but far off from whom? From the Jew? Yes, but even more importantly, from God Himself and from the Messiah, the Christ. Our sins separated us from God, from Christ. Christ dies on the cross to reconcile us to God and to Himself, that is to make peace between us and God and Jesus.
Second, by making all believers, Jews as well as Gentiles, a part of His body, He reconciles us to one another. How does this work? At the time when a person confesses Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Spirit of Jesus comes to dwell within us. He doesn’t merely dwell there; He actually makes us a part of Himself. We become part of the body of Christ; for example, some become the tongue, others the hands, still others the feet. No one is the entire body; however, all Christians are part of Christ’s body. The result is that the way I treat another Christian is actually the way I treat Christ; moreover, it is the way I treat myself since we are now all one, all part of the same body.
Now society easily recognizes that people who inflict wounds upon themselves are mentally off, that they either need to be placed into strait jackets or else be given some heavy duty medication until they can get their lives under control. Right now while we are of sane mind we know that hurting ourselves physically means that something is really wrong with ourselves. Unfortunately, we don’t have the same attitude towards ourselves spiritually. We slash away at ourselves spiritually. We destroy our own bodies spiritually. How? By attacking other Christians who like me are part of the body of Christ. When I attack another Christian, I am not only attacking another Christian, I am not only attacking Christ, I am also attacking myself. I then need some heavy-duty spiritual medication.
Third, by removing the very specific obstacle which separated Jews from Gentiles, the Mosaic Law: “by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances” (2:15). The Law was a real point of division between the Jew and the Gentile. In fact, many Gentiles would have converted to Judaism if they had not had to submit to some of the laws of Moses, especially circumcision. Christ, though, lived the perfect life and as a result fulfilled the Law perfectly. We longer have to worry about the Law of Moses. Instead of us having to focus upon the Law, all we have to focus on following Christ and allowing Him to live His perfect life in us and through us. The very thing which separated Jew from Gentile has been removed.
Many NT scholars believe that the dividing wall Paul is referring to here is the wall that was to be found in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. All people, Gentile as well as Jew, could enter the Courtyard of the Gentiles, the outer courtyard which wrapped around the Temple complex. At a certain point in the Temple compound, though, was another wall, not that high, but one which separated the Court of the Gentiles from the rest of the Temple compound. From that point on, no Gentile was to proceed any farther; only Jews could go beyond that point. Signs were posted along the wall warning the Gentile of death if he trespassed that point. One of the reasons the Jews tried to kill Paul was that they thought he had brought Trophimus, a Greek, with him into the inner courts of the Temple, beyond the Court of the Gentiles (Acts 21:29).
CONSEQUENCES OF CHRIST'S WORK OF RECONCILIATION (2:18-22)
| 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the capstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. |
According to Paul, because of Christ’s work of reconciliation on the cross, God is in the process of constructing a Super Structure. He has reconciled us, brought us all together in peace to make this Super Structure: “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone” (2:20). Our first impression of this Super Structure is that it is the church. Like all structures, this Super Structure has a foundation. The foundation for this church is the foundation of the apostles and prophets. We should understand this in 2 ways.
Next Paul claims that Jesus is the Capstone of the structure. Capstones are normally thought of as being ornate stones for the mere purpose of decoration. They actually serve a dual function. First, they provide support for the arch. Bricks/stones, from the left and bricks/stones from the right meet together at the top, at the capstone, putting pressure on the capstone. The capstone is such a large, substantial rock that it can withstand the pressure from both sets of bricks/stones. That is true about Jesus. No matter how much pressure our differences with one another may be put upon Jesus, He is big enough to handle that pressure. If the church is going to experience unity, it needs to take its eyes off church members and put "the pressure" onto Jesus.
Second, the capstones are normally ornate, beautiful, decorative stones. Jesus as the Capstone of this Super Structure is the Glory, the high point of the church. Earlier Paul had called Jesus the foundation of the church (1 Cor. 3:11). By calling Jesus both the foundation (1 Cor. 3:10) and the capstone (Eph. 2:20), Paul claims that Jesus is its beginning and its end, alpha and omega.
Other results of this reonciliation include
Christ introduces us into the presence of the Father: "for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father" (2:18). In other words, we cannot just waltz into the Father's presence unannounced and un-introduced. We must be introduced into His presence by Jesus. Those who claim that there are many ways to God need to consider Paul's claim here that just as we need an introduction to enter into the presence of kings, queens, presidents, and dictators here on earth, we especially all need an introduction into God's presence. According to Paul, the only one who can introduce us into God's presence is Jesus.
One Sunday the speaker at the church I was visiting gave wonderful insight into the way that Christ stands between us and God also stands between us and our fellow Christians. As Christians, we believe Christ always stands between us and everybody else. Do you now see how that will lead to reconciliation? I may be angry at you, but can I remain angry at you if Christ is standing right there between you and me?
Once I was pretty angry at somebody. Somebody else urged me to pray to Jesus about that person and about how he had wronged me. My anger left though the more I prayed to Jesus. How in the world could I ever remain angry at my "enemy" in presence of the One who actually prayed for His enemies: "Father, forgive them"? Now if Christ can pray forgiveness for those who crucified Him, surely I can pray forgiveness for those who may mistreat me or say bad things about me.
So, exactly what is the structure God is constructing, made up of people who confess Jesus as Lord and Savior? The structure is here called God's household.
By "household," Paul means a family. For example, after the jailer believed in Jesus, Paul not only baptized him but also his entire household (Acts 16:33). That household included wife, children, and servants, that is his entire family. By placing the Spirit of His Son Jesus into the hearts of those who believe in Jesus, God has transformed them into being nothing less than His own sons and daughters.
Again, reflect on what that means. Lewis, once more, sums this up as well as anybody when he describes the true state of the Christian: we "live in a society of possible gods and goddesses" . . . "remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship" . . . "This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses" (Weight of Glory).
Next, Paul describes this structure as a type of Temple: "growing into a holy temple in the Lord" (2:21). The word "temple" would certainly resonate with the Ephesians. The Temple of Artemis was in their very own backyard. It was so majestic that it was considered one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. The Ephesian Jews would one-up their Ephesian Gentile brethren because they would point to Herod's Temple in Jerusalem, a structure so massive it took over 70 years to build.
How splendid was the Temple? According to Josephus, a Jewish historian of the first century AD, this is how the temple looked: "Viewed from without, the Sanctuary had everything that could amaze either mind or eyes. Overlaid all round with stout plates of gold, the first rays of the sun it reflected so fierce a blaze of fire that those who endeavored to look at it were forced to turn away as if they had looked straight at the sun. To strangers as they approached it seemed in the distance like a mountain covered with snow; for any part not covered with gold was dazzling white" (Josephus, The Jewish War, p. 304). One Jewish rabbi reportedly claimed that if you had never seen the temple, then you had never seen anything truly beautiful.
The exterior was not the only impressive part about the Temple. The worship services themselves were exuberant. Over 1000 singers in the Jerusalem Temple and musicians with harps, trumpets, lutes, lyres, etc., provided the music for the worship services. Worship was truly an awesome experience in Jerusalem. This kind of structure, a people who are awesome in worship, is something God is constructing out of His people, those who believe in Jesus.
The final image Paul uses to describe the church, that is all the host of believers who have professed faith in Jesus Christ is the house, the home, that is the dwelling place of God. Borrowing a parable from George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis writes:
Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes into rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
God is looking not only for all people to come to salvation by faith in Christ; He is also desiring that they all become great, large people, not physically but spiritually. Cliff Jenkins, one of the finest education ministers in the history of Southern Baptists, said" "If you want a great church, then you need to have great people in that church." God wants a great church; that means He is intent on making us into great people, that is into people who are like His Son Jesus. When that happens, we won't have to worry about unity; it will flow automatically from our midst.