New Covenant Blessings

Ephesians 2:11-22 - “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. 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 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

In writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul knew that his audience was primarily Gentiles. While the church in Ephesus also included Jewish Christians, the majority were Gentiles. Paul is writing in this passage to initially remind the Gentiles of their former reality as people not set apart for God, but set apart from God. There was a clear social and religious barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles. Not only were the Jewish people God's chosen people who enjoyed the blessings of the Old Covenant, but the Gentiles were outside that covenant and totally separate from the promises of God. When we live alienated from God, we live without hope. Being alienated from God in the case of the Gentiles was because of the Old Covenant. Being alienated from God under the New Covenant simply means living in rebellion to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thereby displaying that your faith is not in Him.

But Christ came, and with Him came the New Covenant that removed the barrier between Jews and Gentiles. Now Christ, who is our peace, unites us as one people and children of God. We all belong to God's eternal kingdom when we are in Christ, regardless of our earthly demographics. The hostility that once existed between Jews and Gentiles was most easily seen in the actual physical barrier in the Temple keeping Gentiles from moving inward from the outer court into the more sacred and holy areas within the inner courts designed only for Jews. Not only was that physical barrier removed, allowing Jews and Gentiles to worship God together as the Church, but also the barrier between all of man, Jew and Gentile alike, and God was removed. When Jesus finished His work on the cross, the veil was torn that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. It was torn by the divine work of God from top to bottom to signify that the barrier between man and God was removed. We, through faith in Jesus Christ, now have access to God the Father by His Spirit. This is true for Jew, Gentile, and all who place their faith in Jesus Christ. There is truly power in the blood of the Lamb!

We are all now one Church, the body of Christ, that exists to honor and glorify Him. We are one, united fully in Christ. The Church is built by Christ being the cornerstone, the apostles and prophets intially proclaiming the Gospel truth and planting the original churches, and now by us today continuing to share the Gospel truth of Christ crucified for all mankind and resurrected into new life, which is our hope. There is unity in the body of Christ unlike unity in any manmade institution. Politicians today speak of unity and a desire to unify various people groups. But true unity only ever exists in the Church of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 3:28, Paul tells us that there is neither Jew nor Greek, nor male and female in Christ. Some political figures, such as James Talarico from Texas, masquerade as servants of Christ and use that verse today to normalize gender dysphoria and sexual sin. This verse does not imply that we can change our race or gender in the name of Christ. It simply explains that in Christ we are one no matter what our earthly background is. No matter our race, gender, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, or ethnicity, we are one in Christ. Our earthly differences still exist, but our heavenly unity supersedes them all as we live as devoted followers of Jesus Christ.