Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth

and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision (which is done in the body by human hands) Whenever you come to a phrase or word like therefore, you have to find out what it is there for. So what you do is go back and see what the author was just talking about, because that will help give a better context to what he is about to say next. So, you go back to a verse and see what it says. Youll find this For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them And sometimes the first that is right before the passage will be enough, and sometimes it wont. In this case, while v. 10 is good, it doesnt completely answer the question. If you read Chapter 2 starting at verse one and on you see that Paul is explaining what God has done in Christ, and how he has saved us because of his mercy and love. So, by saying therefore, he is essentially saying, Because of Gods love and mercy you are who you are, so remember this And he proceeds to remind them of what they were. He reminds the Gentiles that they were just that, Gentilesand therefore outside of the people of God. remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Then he elaborates on their condition before Christ. And whenever you read something like this, you want you read it a few times and really let it speak to you. Too many times we gloss over these verses in order to get to the really big ones. But these verses are just as important and profound. There is so much being said here, so just read it through a couple of times and let the Word of God speak. And as we read it, first we always want to keep in mind that Paul was speaking of the Gentiles of his time, and in his world. So, if you want to know what type of world they lived in, you can do a quick study of the Greco-Roman world. Read a few commentaries on it. Check out some of the ancient Greek philosophy. All this will help in getting a better understanding of the text and then make a bridge to today and our world. He is calling them to remember exactly what their life was like before Without Christ-something we sometimes become numb to, but it is really tragic Excluded from citizenship-not a part of a Godly heritage/family- no history with God and no relationship with him, and no promise from him. Without hope and without God in the world12 11

Once far away and now brought near

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 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 access to the Father by one Spirit. This is the meat of this passage, and definitely warrants a lot of attention. There is so much to draw out from this passage. So, the first time we read it we try to keep in mind that Paul is talking to Jews and Gentiles. And we know that that relationship was very contentious. Very fractured. There was a lot of hostility between the two. Then the second time we go through this, we try and focus on some of the key terms in the passage. We find words like Peace Hostility Reconcile And the prevailing theme=making two people one In this passage, these words just jump out at you. And you try and see if you can flesh out some of it, and find some nuggets of divine wisdom. Peace a) The Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, was one of the defining aspects of the empire, and is characterized by the absence of fighting and civil wars b) Peace was also central to Jewish theology and heritage. Shalom is Peace, and one Jewish Rabbi describes Shalom as, The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are

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satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be The Dividing Wall of Hostility-This is a powerful image here, and when you read up on some commentaries you will find a couple different takes on what it means. But first, Ill see if the text itself will tell me what this means. Because, if you read the commentaries, youll see that there is no consensus. Some will say its talking about the wall in the temple that acted as a barrier the Gentiles couldnt cross, some will say its the law. The text seems to say its the law, because thats what Paul says the Christ destroyed/put to death. So you have to ask the question, what about the law caused hostility? It distinguished the Jews from the Gentiles, and therefore pitted them against one another. The Reconciliation-Which is the point of this whole passage. God has, through Christ, brought reconciliation. But even more than that, he didnt just heal what was there. He created something new. It says he made a new humanity. Making a point to tell them, remember what Christ has done, and why he has done it. How can you we apply that to us today? The biggest thing to take away from the text is how God has eliminated any distinctions in how we relate to him, and how we relate to one another. The challenge is to live like that. And the text itself flows something like this. 1. 2. 3. 4. Who we were What God has done Why God has done it What that means for us now

Today we are dealing with trying to blend people together who come from different 1. 2. 3. 4. socio-economic backgrounds age demo-graphics education levels ethnic/cultural backgrounds

5. etc So we have to understand that no matter where we fall in any of these categories, it does not make us any more or less privileged to the presence of God. We are all in Christ and now defined by Christ. Our identity and existence is bound up in Him, so we must set aside those things that set us against one another, the things that define the old humanity we used to be a part of, and live according to the new humanity.