“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 both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Ephesians 2:13-16).
Peace Through the Blood of Christ
The sacrifice of Jesus breaks down all divides of race, ethnicity, and nationality. The Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 shows us where human unity without God will lead. Human unity without God leads away from Him. Our collective proclivity towards godlessness provoked God to divide humanity into nations by imposing languages. But by the cross, God seeks to unify all human beings under the banner of Jesus. Old distinctions like “Jew and Gentile” no longer mean anything. Among Christians, there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, but Christ is all and in all. We are brought near by the blood of Christ.
Reconciled by the Blood of Christ
Of particular interest to Paul was the artificial divide created by circumcision. Paul says in Acts 17:26-28 that God made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth. We are all children of God, created in His image, and we all depend on Him for life. Circumcision and dietary restrictions peculiar to the Law of Moses further deepened the artificial divide between Jew and Gentile. Sadly, the divide created friction or enmity. But Jesus made peace by fulfilling the Law of Moses. With the death of Jesus, the Old Law passed away, thus removing what divided us. We are reconciled by the blood of Christ.
One Body and One Spirit
The gospel is, at its core, a message of peace. The gospel of Jesus forges peace between human beings by eliminating what divides us—nationality, race, ethnicity, family, and culture—and bringing us all into a single body, the body of Christ. And the gospel gives us peace because our sin makes us God’s enemies. God achieves this unity in Christ by giving us His Holy Spirit. Everyone who believes in Jesus, repents, and is baptized receives the gift of the Holy Spirit as promised in Acts 2. Because all Christians receive the same Spirit, He unites us into a single body.
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