But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.  Ephesians 2:13-14

Paul gives a great word to his Gentile audience here in Ephesians 2.  He tells them what is now true of them in Christ.  He tells them that though they were once outside of God’s kingdom, outside of His covenant, outside of His promises and separated from His people and from His Son and were without hope and without God, they have (now) been brought near by the blood of Christ.  

He tells them that Jesus alone is their peace and has broken down in his flesh the walls that once divided them.  The walls Paul is referring to here in Ephesians 2:14 may either be a reference to the ceremonial observances that once divided them or could be a reference to the Jewish temple walls.  At that time, there were walls that separated Jew and Gentile—there were certain areas in the temple where the Jews could go, but the Gentiles could not.  There were also ceremonial observances and practices (feasts, Sabbaths and circumcision) that separated the two.  

Paul tells his Jewish and Gentile audience that Christ has broken down those walls that once divided them.  Not only was the veil in the temple torn, which represented the divide between God and man, but the wall that divided man and man—Jew and Gentile was broken down by Christ as well.  Paul says, “Now, in Christ there is no separation between the groups.  The two have been made one in Him.”

"Quote" of the Week

"A divided humanity is reconciled in Christ and joined into a unified worshiping community. Two divergent groups are brought together to create one new man. It is not that the Gentiles just become good Jews, but God creates something new and different.  Some in churches love to speak of a distinction between the Church and Israel. This passage sets that aside. The New Testament church is not just a continuation of Old Testament Judaism nor is it a plan B or an alternative. Rather Christ’s work does something completely new."  –Chris Vogel on Ephesians 2:13-14

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  Ephesians 2:11-12

In Ephesians 2, Paul is calling for the Jewish and Gentile believers of his day to be unified. The way he helps make this happen is by encouraging Gentile believers to remember who they were before salvation.  He reminds them that, before Christ, they were nothing remarkable—nothing special.  He reminds them that there was a time when they were outside of God’s kingdom, outside of His covenant, outside of His promises, separated from His people and from His Son—without hope and without God in their lives and world. 

And the reason he tells them this is because he wants them and the Jewish believers of His day to be unified and knows the only way for that to happen is, first for them to be humbled.  Disunity is and has always been one of the most common problems in our churches and the reason why is because pride is the most common problem in our lives.  Because that’s the case, for unity to occur corporately, there must be humility individually.  Where there is a lack of humility, there will always be disunity.  

"Quote" of the Week

"In our Western thinking humility is a vice, not a virtue. A virtue is pride. In the Bible humility is a virtue and pride is a vice."  -Mark Driscoll

One of my favorite passages in the entire Bible is Ephesians 2:1-5.  In this passage, Paul captures both, man’s great need and God’s great grace.  This marvelous passage begins with “and you” and goes on to explain man’s sinful condition and ends with, “but God” and explains what God has done for us in Christ.

First Paul says, “And you were dead in trespasses and sin.”  He says, “There was a time when you were spiritually dead—living for yourself, following the course of this world and following the prince of the power of the air.”  He says, “At one time, you lived by the passions of your flesh, and were carrying out the desires of your body and mind and were set against God and God’s wrath was set against you.”  He says, “You were by nature children of wrath.”

But in vv. 4-5 of Ephesians 2, Paul gives one of the best transitional statements in the entire Bible.  At the beginning of v. 4 he says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.”  The bad news is that if left alone, we remain spiritually dead.  The good news, however, is that because of God’s extraordinary mercy and love, He has provided for us everything we need through His Son.  Even though we were dead because of sin, God made a way for us, when there seemed to be no way.  He has made a way for us to be made alive again through Christ.

"Quote" of the Week

"Faith in Christ unites us to Christ so that his death becomes our death and his perfection becomes our perfection.  Christ becomes our punishment (which we don't have to bear) and our perfection (which we cannot perform)."  -John Piper

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We must never lose sight of either of these truths (man’s depravity and God’s grace).  If we neglect God's saving grace and become obsessed with the depravity of the human soul we will fall into despair and cynicism. If we focus on grace and forget the condition from which we have been and are being delivered we stand in danger of naivety and presumption.

Note well the relationship between 2:1-10 and the preceding context. It would seem that Paul is resuming in 2:1 the theme that he had broken off in 1:20.

He prayed that the Spirit would reveal to us the surpassing greatness of God's power toward those who believe, a power exemplified and expressed in the resurrection of Jesus from physical death. That very power, that self-same divine energy, is no less exemplified and expressed in the resurrection of (God’s people) from spiritual death! Indeed, even as Christ was made alive (1:20) and exalted and seated at the right hand of God (1:20), so also…have (his people) been made alive (2:5) and exalted and seated with Christ in the heavenlies (2:6)!  In sum, Christ's destiny has become ours.

Even as there are unmistakable parallels between Christ's destiny (1:19-23) and ours (2:1-7), so also there are unmistakable contrasts between our previous condition outside of Christ and our current state in him. Whereas once we were dead (2:1) we have now been made alive (2:5). Whereas we once followed the ways of the world and were subject to Satan's rule (2:2) we are now seated with Christ in the heavenlies (2:6). Whereas we were once under God's wrath (2:3) we are now the objects of his mercy, grace, love, and kindness (2:4-7).

http://www.samstorms.com/all-articles/post/ephesians-2:1-10

"Quote" of the Week

"Against the somber background of our world today Ephesians 2:1-10 stands out in striking relevance. Paul first plumbs the depths of pessimism about man, and then rises to the heights of optimism about God. It is this combination of pessimism and optimism, of despair and faith, which constitutes the refreshing realism of the Bible. For what Paul does in this passage is to paint a vivid contrast between what man is by nature and what he can become by grace."  -John R. W. Stott

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.  Ephesians 1:15-17

This is a prayer Paul prayed for the Christians of his day.  Notice he says in this passage, “My main prayer for you—my prayer I pray for you every time you come to mind is that God would give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”  He says, “I’m praying that God would give you wisdom.  I’m praying that He would reveal Himself to you.  And I’m praying that your hearts would be enlightened to these truths.”  

Are you picking up on the theme here?  What is the essence of Paul’s prayer?  Paul is not praying that the Christians of his day would demonstrate godly behavior—he’s not praying that they would conduct themselves in a god-honoring way.  He’s praying that they would be sound in mind.  Paul is praying for their minds.  He is praying that God would give them biblical insight and would give them the Spirit of wisdom.  He is praying that He would reveal to them what is true of HIM.

Think about how different this is from the way we normally pray?  When we pray, we pray for action.  We say, “Father help me to obey.  Change my behavior—live in and through me.  Help me to live more like this and less like that.  Help my children to do this and not do that.”  That’s how we pray.  But notice Paul doesn't here.  He says, “My prayer for you, is that you would be enlightened—my prayer is for God to give you the Spirit of wisdom and reveal to you what is true of HIM.”

Why does Paul pray in this way?  Why pray for them to know rather than do?  Because Paul knows that godly behavior stems from godly thinking.  He knows that if believers are going to be faithful in practice, they must first be sound in doctrine.

Scripture is clear that right thinking must precede right living.  If we don’t think rightly about God, we will never live rightly for Him.  Paul understood this, which is why he prays in this way.  He knows that if our minds change so will our actions.  

"Quote" of the Week

"The more we know about God, about his Word, about his relationships to the world and mankind, the better we will trust him, the more fully we will praise him, and the more readily we will obey him.”  

-Wayne Grudem