Ephesians 2:11-22

Paul writes to a world divided. His Gentile readers and hearers do not think of themselves as Gentiles. They are, instead, Greeks, Romans, or citizens of a myriad of other nations. They were aware, however, that Paul’s Jewish colleagues grouped them together as other, or as non-Jews. Nonetheless Paul’s Jewish colleagues, continued to think in terms of firm division between the Jews, God’s people, on the one hand, and Gentiles, all [unclean] others, on the other. Increasingly, though, Paul’s non-Jewish followers understood themselves to be Christ-followers first, and citizens of various nations second. This is undoubtedly due to teachings such as this:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. (Ephesians 2:13-16 NRSV)

Our old way of life is inconsequential to the new life offered by Jesus. So they were formerly far off – so what! God came near in Christ Jesus and offered reconciliation to all. Both circumcised and uncircumcised – it no longer mattered. All were accepted and offered redemption according to Paul. “Despite lingering uncertainties, Paul’s point is clear enough: The coming of Christ and his death inaugurated a new order, making salvation equally accessible to Jews and Gentiles.”[1] All were accepted, for no ethnic, racial, or sexual distinctions appear to stand in light of the reconciling and unifying work of Christ Jesus. Make no mistake, though, this is not a blanket affirmation. For while all are accepted, all are expected to “live out their new identity—to be in practice what God had re-created them to be.”[2]

To this end, some early scholars opted for the concept of a third race created by Christ, as distinct from both Jew and Gentile. This new race would be defined not by race, ethnicity, nationality, or sexual identity/practices, but rather Christlikeness. According to Paul the Law had been abolished. This does not mean, though, that God no longer had expectations for God’s followers. Rather, it meant that the source of division and distinction was removed – that there was no longer any reason for division and subjugation. The expectations placed on believers, though, might be even higher than before, only out of choice and not obligation. Christ lived a more excellent way than others (the most excellent way, in fact!) and Christ’s followers were understood to be in pursuit of the same – flawed though they may be.

This is not just a hopeful but impossible ideal for Paul. Instead, Paul stressed that Christ indeed came near, and sent the Holy Spirit into our midst, along with the great Saints of the Old Testament and the early Church, all to allow us to build upon the cornerstone that is Jesus Christ. It is quite possible, therefore, for all humans who endeavor to follow Christ, to leave behind their old status, become something new, and build upon the faith and work of those who have come before. The result is a new race, a new building, a new temple made up of people, within which the very Spirit of God was going to dwell.

We should not mistake or explain away the sheer radicality of this important passage. In it Paul, the Jew of Jews, renounces his identity and the identity of his fellow Jews, elevates the role of Gentiles, and proclaims that Christ is about the business of building up a new people, a new community, a new building. He subtly removes all the rules, and yet heaps on the expectations of Christlikeness, made possible only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and concludes with a theologically utopian vision of the people of God as the holy temple of the Lord – the place where God was going to dwell in and for the world! You, we, “are the Church under construction.”[3] 

As we gather together we come into God’s presence as raw, blemished building materials. We leave, a little bit more put together each time, as God’s temple and dwelling place in the midst of the world. Paul writes to a people united in this passage. May we leave behind prior allegiances, goals, and plans, and may we be used by the great builder to do and be something glorious together in and for the world.

[1] Lyons, Smith, and Lyons-Pardue, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (NBBC. The Foundry), 2019, 102.

[2] Lyons, Smith, and Lyons-Pardue, 98.

[3] Ibid., 110.