And He made the two one!

Larry Johnson

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Ephesians 2:11–22

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By his blood had made the two into one

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Introduction:

Now

-Wakanda(Identity coming from our race)

-Sports team or College

-Family Identity

Black Hebrews

: Hebrew Israelites believe that modern American minorities – both black and brown – are the true descendants of Biblical Israel.

: Hebrew Israelites believe that modern day Israelites and Europeanized Jews are impostors and not the real descendants of true Israel.

: Hebrew Israelites believe the “time of the Gentiles” means “the time of the white Europeans.” They believe this time is almost over; America and its allies will soon be judged.

4: Hebrew Israelites believe the “time of the Gentiles” means “the time of the white Europeans.” They believe this time is almost over; America and its allies will soon be judged.

: Hebrew Israelites believe salvation is achieved by keeping the Law. Strict Sabbath-keeping, dietary restrictions and a certain physical appearance are important (e.g., beards are good, hats are bad).

: Hebrew Israelites believe that Jesus was a black man.

: Many (not all) Hebrew Israelites believe that white people can’t be saved. Instead, they are destined to be servants for African Israelites after the Black Messiah returns.

: Hebrew Israelites believe both heaven and hell are merely “states of mind.” Neither are viewed as metaphysical realities as they are in orthodox Christianity.

: Hebrew Israelites believe you must refer to God as “Yah” and Jesus as “Yahshuah Ben Yah.”

: Hebrew Israelites believe that by spreading their message they are helping to gather the scattered Israelites who do not yet know the truth of their ancestry and heritage.

White Nationalist belief

is a type of nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a race[1] and seeks to develop and maintain a white national identity.[2][3][4] Its proponents identify with and are attached to the concept of a white nation.[5] White nationalists say they seek to ensure the survival of the white race, and the cultures of historically white states. They hold that white people should maintain their majority in majority-white countries, maintain their political and economic dominance, and that their cultures should be foremost.[4] Many white nationalists believe that miscegenation, multiculturalism, immigration of nonwhites and low birth rates among whites are threatening the white race,[6] and some believe these things are being promoted as part of an attempted white genocide.[6]

Then

In the 1st century it was not much different. People then found their significants in their heritage. What blood they had running through their veins. Their traditions passed down from generations. The Jews were especially Nationalistic based on their exclusive relationship with the God of the OT. They thought just by being Jewish they had a free pass. This lead the Jews to believe that they were superior to all other ethnic groups of the world.

Thesis Statement: At the cross racial, social and economic barriers that divide are destroyed thereby opening up paths of reconciliation between the ethnic groups of the world.

I. Formerly Alienated

Ephesians 2:11–12 NASB95

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.

(v.11) “Therefore” Paul is changing the subject matter but the new material is based on the information he gave in (v.1-10).

(v.11) “Therefore remember that formerly you” Paul continues to take them down memory lane. This is the third usage of “formerly” This tells us that Paul wants them to reflect back on a past truth to help explain a present reality. Sometimes God takes you back, so that he can take you forward. Paul wanted them to never forget who they are in Christ Jesus; he is essentially lifting up their esteem.

(v.11) “the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called the Uncircumcision by the so-called Circumcision” Meaning that they were not of any Jewish Blood. They were not part of the 12 tribes. This phrase tells us something key. By this time Jews were spread all throughout Asia Minor. We call these Jews hellenistic Jews. They were Jews ethnically, but they were the Jews that did not return to Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah and Ezra when the wall was rebuilt. Many of the Jews stayed in the lands that they were carried off too. So Gentiles and Jews would have lived together in the sense that they functioned in an integrated society. Notice Paul’s phraseology. “You were called Uncircumcision by the so-called Circumcision” in other wards those Hellenistic Jews separated themselves from the Gentiles by calling them this name of derision. The Jews referred to Gentiles not by their names, but as the “Uncircumcised” I don’t need to whip out any slang words to describe words used against any ethnic group by another group to help us understand this was the Jewish way of exercising their perceived superiority over the gentiles.

(v.11) “by the so-called Circumcision which is performed by human hands” NASB “by those who call themselves “the circumcision” NIV Paul is mocking the Jews who have Exalted themselves above Gentiles all based on the “Human Symbol of Circumcision” the Jews missed the point of “Circumcision”. It was a covenant symbol of their acceptance into a way of life. Paul helps us with this in :

Romans 2:25–29 NASB95

25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

by those who call themselves “the circumcision”

-Summary: True Circumcision is of the heart first. It is based on a person willingness to obey the commandments of God. Not on some external sign of belief. Our Believers Baptism in some ways parallels this; baptism is only effectual when a person has truly made a spiritual commitment to God.

(v.11) Paul is basically telling the Gentiles those Jews that mocked you were essentially in the same boat as you were “dead in their trespasses and sins” they were no better than you.

Ephesians 2:12 NASB95

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.

(v.11)

(v.12) “remember” this is the second usage of this. Paul keeps this running theme of “remember” Remember where you came from; now Paul list 5 strikes against these Gentile New Believers in their former walk:

Separate from Christ---without expectation/hope of a Messiah(Savior).

excluded from the commonwealth of Israel---Alienated from citizenship in Israel. They were caught at the border and sent back to Gentile lands as illegal immigrants. That word “Commonwealth” has to do with citizenship.

Strangers to the covenants of promise---There are at least three Covenant promises given to the Jews:

a. Abrahamic Promise(Covenant)---Promised his descendants would number as the sands of the sea. (People)

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Genesis 26:4 NASB95

4 “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

b. Land Promise(Covenant)---He promised the lands of Canaan to the Jews.(Land)

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Genesis 26:3 NASB95

3 “Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

c. King Promise(Davidic Covenant)---He promised a King who would have an eternal kingdom rule and that would sit on the throne of David as “The Messiah”

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2 Samuel 7:12–17 NASB95

12 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, 15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” 17 In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

-Summary: Nathan gives David a prophecy about his son Solomon who has about to be King, but then towards the end of the prophecy he starts to talk about another successor. Notice in (v.16) he says your “house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever”. Meaning that at some point there would be a final and eternal king.

-He promised three things: Land, People, and a Eternal Ruler from the tribe of Judah. These Gentiles had no such promise

4. Having no hope----They were dead in the sins without the promise of a rescuer.

5. Without God in the world----you will remember that prior to coming to Christ these gentiles worshipped gods plural. But we determined early in this series that false gods were demon’s masquerading as supernatural beings. They were following Demon’s no God.

-Summary: These Gentile where totally alienated from any hope because the revelation needed to get saved was not given to them, but to the Jews. Housed within the Jewish nations were the keys to the kingdom of God. Luke puts it best in :

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Acts 17:26–27 NASB95

26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

acts 17:

-(v.27) Like a blind man groping for the front door or for their walking cane; was the Gentile looking for God.

Transition Statement: The Gentiles were in a rough situation. Blind and groping for God who had chosen another ethnic group to display his kindness, grace and mercy too. Just when you think it is hopeless and all done God does something that even the angels in heaven could not believe.

II. Formerly Alienated Presently Integrated

II. Presently integrated

Ephesians 2:13–19 NASB95

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, so 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; 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,

(v.13) “But now” the game changer conjunction again. Paul started off with the bad news now he is about to give the good news.

(v.13) “But now in Christ” There is that “in Christ” preposition. Meaning “in the work of Christ” as part of the finished work of Christ another benefit has been revealed

(v.13) “You who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” Paul once again uses “formerly” this is his fourth usage of the term. Paul understood looking back helps us to understand present circumstances. Paul tells these believers that you have been brought near. This verb is in the “aorist” tense meaning it’s just a stated fact. God decided therefore he did it. God did this by sending is only begotten. His only begotten shed his blood, which provided that grounds for him to draw gentiles to himself. His blood provided the bridge that connected two classes of people: Jews & Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:14 NASB95

14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

(v.14) “For He Himself is our peace” some of your translation have “He is our peace” but the actually translation is “He Himself is our peace” Paul is intensifying his third person pronoun, by saying the same thing twice; He Himself. Paul is simply trying to get you to understand that “Jesus all by hisself is our peace” meaning not that he gives us peace but he is the one that caused the peace to happen.

(v.14) “Peace”: Those things that are joined together.

What did he do?

(v.14) “who made both groups into one” he grafted in one group with another. Like a surgeon who uses another person skin as a graft eventually that foreign skin becomes part of the body of the infected person. His peace(the joining together) brought two warring factions together and made the one without distinction as it pertains to salvation. Explain: Without distinction spiritual despite External Difference.

How did he do this?

(v.14) “and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall” This barrier or dividing wall has been interpreted differently.

-Two primary interpretation of this phrase:

1. The Barrier of the dividing wall; is the wall in the Jews temple that separates the Gentiles from the Jews. The Gentiles were allowed only to the outside courts. They called it the Court of the Gentiles. If they went behind the wall into the inner courts they were executed. So the interpretation goes that this wall has now been obliterated, so that the Gentiles have access to the whole temple meaning that they now have total access to God, just like the Jews.

2. The barrier was not physical but spiritual. The barrier/fence was the whole Mosiac economy. The Theocracy of Israel was built on the mosaic Law that Christ fulfilled in his life like no other. You will remember the statement that Christ made:

Matthew 5:17 NASB95

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

-You will remember the other Covenants that we talked about: The Abrahamic, The Palestinian, and the Davidic Covenant. One thing they all had in common was that they were Unilateral Covenants. Meaning the covenants was fulfilled by one person and did not require anything out of the other party. By promise God was going to bless Abraham and his seed, provided him land & send him a king.

-The Mosiac Covenant was bi-lateral this means that both parties had a part to uphold(example mortgage & marriage). God held his part up but the Jewish people did not, so God divorced them because of their disobedience for not keeping their part of the covenant. Listen to Jeremiah talked about his people:

Jeremiah 3:6–10 NASB95

6 Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 “I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 “And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 “Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 “Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord.

jeremiah

-Summary: Notice that God is talking about both the 10 tribes of Israel in the 2 tribes of Judah as playing the Harlot and cheating on him with other Gods. In this passage God is contemplating Divorce, but what is clear is that Israel as a Nation broke their end of the bi-lateral covenant (We might say they foreclosed)

Matthew 5:17 NASB95

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

-In his grace and mercy God sent his son in human flesh to be the other party in the covenant. The Father fulfilled his part, and the Son stood in our place and fulfilled our part. In other words “the son paid off the balance of our unpaid mortgage to God” The dividing wall was the unfulfilled part of the covenant which God could not just walk away from that was hostile to us. You cannot have peace with man until you have peace with God. Jesus death made a way for reconciliation with both God & Man.

What did Jesus do??

-In his grace and mercy God sent his son in human flesh to be the other party in the covenant. The Father fulfilled his part, and the Son stood in our place and fulfilled our part. The dividing wall was the unfulfilled part of the covenant which God could not just walk away from.

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Jeremiah 3:6–10 NASB95

Summary: Notice that God is talking about both the 10 tribes of Israel in the 2 tribes of Judah as playing the Harlot and cheating on him with other Gods. In this passage is contemplating Divorce, but what is clear is that Israel as a Nation broke their end of the bi-lateral covenant.

Ephesians 2:15 NASB95

15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

(v.15) “by abolishing in His flesh the enmity”

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1.Enmity-Hostility or hatred for someone or something

-On the cross Jesus obliterated the Hostility which came from the OT Law:

(v.15) “which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances” meaning that the unfulfilled part of the covenant was hostile to us because it required our life(the soul that sins shall surely die). The ordinances or commands constantly screamed: You shall love the lord your God(failed), you shall love you neighbor(failed), You shall not have any idols before me(failed), You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain(failed), Remember the Sabbath day(failed), Honor your father and Mother(failed), You shall not murder(failed), you shall not commit adultery(failed), You shall not steal(failed), you shall not bear false witness(failed), you shall not covet(failed).... That’s just 10 of them. There are more. All of these Law became hostile in they render us guilty, which required a Holy God to Judge.

-But God acted when we sent his son:

-In his grace and mercy God sent his son in human flesh to be the other party in the covenant. The Father fulfilled his part, and the Son stood in our place and fulfilled our part. In other words “the son paid off the balance of our unpaid mortgage to God” The dividing wall was the unfulfilled part of the covenant which God could not just walk away from that was hostile to us and separated us from reconciliation with our fellowman. You cannot have peace with man until you have peace with God. Jesus death made a way for reconciliation with both God & Man.

(v.15) “so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace” You see one of the objectives of the Cross. One of the objectives besides peace with God, it was also to bring peace with man(integration) Notice the text “so that he Himself might make the two into one” His goal was to bring reconciliation between the two classes of people: Jews & Gentiles. No longer Jews & Gentiles. Just one “new man at peace with God” no superiority based on ethnicity.

Galatians 3:28 NASB95

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:16 NASB95

16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

eph 2:1

(v.16) Through the Lord’s body and sacrifice he broke down all racial barriers and created one new man. Meaning as it pertains to salvation your race is irrelevant. You have no basis for pride: Your color doesn’t matter, your tribe doesn’t matter, your hood doesn’t matter, the history of your nation does not matter. The only thing that matters is “Are you one with him”

Sidenote: Isn’t it interesting that most of the world’s conflicts are along ethnic lines. One ethnic group believes they are right or want to control another ethnic group through power and control. Satan is crafty. He will make you believe that you are special or superior just because of your ethnic makeup, but God is here to tell you. Your circumcision means nothing to me. I am only concerned about one thing. “Have you accepted the free gift of eternal life found in my Son?”

Ephesians 2:17 NASB95

17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;

(v.17) This was for the Jew and the Gentile right here. When he said “He preached”—the greek word for preach in this text is----Good news, or glad tidings, which is the Gospel. This should read “Having Come he preach the Gospel of peace to the Gentile and to the Jew.” Now that is staggering because this statement did two things:

It Exalted the Gentile who were thought to be second class by some of the Jews

It humbled the Jew who thought they were better because of being chosen by God as a nation

-Notice the text says he preached good news to both. That means “both of yall need salvation” there will not be an ethnic salvation meaning you are saved based on your ethnicity. All ethnic groups must come through the cross.

Ephesians 2:18–19 NASB95

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,

eph 2:18

(v.18) “for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father” Look at Paul’s trinitarian language here. Through Him(Jesus) we(Jew & Gentile) have our access(to open a way of access) It was used of those who secured for one the privilege of an interview with a sovereign(King). Based on His(death) by the power of the indwelling Spirit they have gain for us access to the Father!!!

Look where we came from:

(v.19) “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God’s household” In our past we were considered strangers and aliens without the knowledge of God grouping to find God worshipping our desires, but God has broke down the wall between us and the promises only afforded to the Jewish nation. He took us from the gutter and made us “Citizens of his kingdom” if that was not enough He also made us “Children in his Household”

III. Formerly Alienated, Presently Integrated & Finally participating

III. Finally participating

Ephesians 2:20–22 NASB95

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 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.

(v.20) God is taking this new man which is two classes of people combined into one Church and using us as the bricks laid on top of the apostles, and the prophets, and Christ Jesus. You will see that it mentioned prophets these are the prophets of the OT. That means that the OT is not Jewish history it is our history. All of the stories, promises, and expectation spoken to the Jews then are all our as NT believers.

What is he doing with this new man?

(v.21) He is fitting us together as part of his greater edifice which is a holy temple unto the Lord. A beautiful bride. Our lives are part of a greater testimony we are called living stones or rocks that God has fitted in the structure of his temple. The Ephesians were used to a physical temple with beautiful pillars, and gold but they never thought they would actually be the temple itself. God is not looking for a building he is looking for a living stones. This is his body, the Bride, The Church.

Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic who was paralyzed in a diving accident as a teenager, talks about her wedding day. She says, “I felt awkward as my girlfriends strained to shift my paralyzed body into a cumbersome wedding gown. No amount of corseting and binding my body gave me a perfect shape. The dress just didn’t fit well. Then, as I was wheeling into the church, I glanced down and noticed that I’d accidentally run over the hem of my dress, leaving a greasy tire mark. My paralyzed hands couldn’t hold the bouquet of daisies that lay off-center on my lap. And my chair, though decorated for the wedding, was still a big, clunky gray machine with belts, gears, and ball bearings. I certainly didn’t feel like the picture-perfect bride in a bridal magazine. I inched my chair closer to the last pew to catch a glimpse of Ken in front. There he was, standing tall and stately in his formal attire. I saw him looking for me, craning his neck to look up the aisle. My face flushed, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to be with him. I had seen my beloved. The love in Ken’s face had washed away all my feelings of unworthiness. I was his pure and perfect bride. How easy it is for us to think that we’re utterly unlovely — especially to someone as lovely as Christ. But he loves us with the bright eyes of a Bridegroom’s love and cannot wait for the day we are united with him forever.”

And we, unattractive, frightened, paralyzed and imperfect, yet wild with hope, come to the wedding feast of the Lamb. We feel inadequate and unworthy, yet our eyes are fixed on Christ. We are overwhelmed with emotion as we know that we are loved and accepted just as we are, and that the wedding will bring about a transformation. The blood and water that flowed from his side has released us from our bondage, healed our brokenness and cleansed us from our sin. We become the Bride of Christ, not just in theory or potentially, but in reality. And there, together with him and all the redeemed, we will taste the new wine of the kingdom....