Ephesians Study
Chapter 2
Amplified Bible:
16 And [He designed] to reconcile to God both [Jew and Gentile, united] in a single body by means of His cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end.
17 And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off and [peace] to those who were near.
18 For it is through Him that we both [whether far off or near] now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].
Killing the mutual enmity: These are strong words. When we build walls between groups, it is usually due to enmity…differences. We can allow the enmity to kill us, or we can accept what Christ has done to bring down the walls and kill the enmity.
This is a huge idea. Strong words for a huge idea. Paul’s words are strong because he understands how God feels about the enmity between His children. This says a lot to you and me. He calls it a feud. Somewhere along the way, this feud began because all the children had lost their identity in God. They no longer recognized themselves as His children and they did not acknowledge any others as His. What happens? Walls!
Let me give you an example of walls. I was thirteen and was with a group of young people collecting money for disaster relief. We were out with adult supervision to do this. We were in downtown Nashville at the Municipal Auditorium. As I asked people for donations (that took courage), I had a man come hard-charging up to me. He was so angry. He said, “Young lady, are you saved?” I said respectfully, “Yes sir, I am.” That took him off guard. He stuffed a witnessing brochure into my hand and said, “Read this! It will tell you where young ladies who stand on street corners are going.”
After saying these words, he stormed away.
That was the second time in two years that a christian had judged me as not going to heaven because I did not belong to their “club.” I am glad my innocence did not let me get the full impact of what he was saying. It shows how ugly and hurtful the walls can be. It really is a wonder to me that I did not give up! It seems like I was always on the wrong side. Like when the lady told me that I could not go to heaven because I was not a member of her church. Today, we would call it spiritual abuse. We did not have that word then.
He came…two words that changed everything. Thank you, dear Jesus, for coming. He knew that we did not know what we were doing to each other with this “wall” thinking. He knew this measuring was missing the point. This thinking and believing keeps us separated from the Father, too. In as much as you have done it to the least, you have done it to Him. He came into all the walls and hatred. He came. He allowed this ugliness to crucify Him. The shame they dumped on me, He handled through the cross. Praise God!
Access by one spirit to the Father—Cambridge Commentary: “by one Spirit] Lit. and better, in one Spirit; surrounded, animated, penetrated, by the Spirit. This is undoubtedly the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete (advocate, comforter), so largely in view in this Epistle.”
What amazes me about this is the thought that until the enmity was broken down, there was no approaching God in the way that we now have. Again, this is huge. The spirit of enmity and hate keeps people away from God. See the Father of the prodigal again…He longs for restoration. His heart is in the party given to the broken who rejoice in being welcomed back home in oneness/redemption.
No comments:
Post a Comment