Ephesians - Lesson 16

So I'll stop again and explain what I think he means. So notice he explicitly mentions the word law here. By law, I think he's referring to what I've called the Torah, the books of Moses, but particularly those commandments in Exodus 20 throughout the book of Deuteronomy.

So when I say law, when Paul says law here, I think he simply means the Mosaic covenant. The Mosaic covenant was a mark of God's people at a particular time in salvation history. It was a mark that these people whom God has chosen, who identify with Abraham and receive the mark of circumcision, who are headed toward a land, here's a law that marks them off so that they can identify with me, their God, with whom they have made a covenant or with whom I've made a covenant.

And they practice certain things like sacrifices to express their faith and love for this God. And they do certain things like avoid certain prohibitions and they do other things that manifest their loyalty to the one and true God of Israel as outlined and described in the law of Moses, in the Mosaic covenant. Paul says Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, notice the time change.

When the Messiah shows up, the time changes so that God's marking off his people, not by means of Torah observance, but by means of union with Messiah. And when Messiah comes and dies on the cross, he's putting an end to the hostility between Jews and Gentiles created by the law by means of abolishing the law of commandments expressed in the ordinances. He does not mean Jesus came and just ripped up the law.

As I said in earlier lectures, Jesus was not a Christian. He was a Jew. He's doing Jewish things.

He's going to the synagogue because he's a Jew. He's being invited to read scrolls because he had the reputation of being a teacher. He's in the temple at a very young age doing Socratic method in terms of learning about the law, asking questions and answering questions.

His parents are offering the appropriate sacrifices as Jews. When Jesus, for example, in the gospel of Matthew, as I said, critiques the Pharisees, it's not because they obey the law, it's because they disobey the law. And even Jesus himself says, I did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.

So when we think about what he means here by talking about abolishing the law, here's the basic point that he means. He means that when Jesus comes and dies on the cross, the law's function in salvation history as a mark of God's people has come to an end. So that means then if Jews want to continue doing aspects of the law to reveal their Jewish heritage, that's fine, but it has nothing to do as to whether or not they are part of the people of God.

But what can never happen in Paul's theology is Jews can never ask Gentiles or demand of Gentiles to practice Torah to enter into these messianic promises because both Jews and both Gentiles do so in Messiah. So when the Messiah comes, he abolished the law of commandments expressed in the ordinances, and I would say expressed as a mark of who are God's people. Now, let me say a couple other things here because there's so much that needs to be said practically.

This is not, this is not supersessionism or replacement theology where when Jesus comes to be a Jew now is replaced by being a Christian. It is a myth to suggest that there are these radically opposed religions in the first century known as Judaism over here and Christianity over here. When the apostles, for example, began to follow Jesus and they preached Jesus after the resurrection, they're still doing the kinds of things you expect Jews to do.

They're going to the temple. You also expect, for example, a Jew like Paul to go to the synagogue. He does it for evangelistic purposes, but he goes to the synagogue because he is a Jew.

You even see in the epistle of James where James, who was a Jewish follower of Christ, is critiquing these Jewish Christians for treating poor Christians in an impartial way when rich Christians enter in, this is what he says, enters into their synagogue. Synagogue, he doesn't say ekklesia. So it seems to me that when Paul talks about abolishing the law of commandments, he's not making the point that the old, evil, graceless religion of Judaism is over and this new grace-filled religion named Christianity is here.

That's not the point. In fact, I would argue that Christianity and Judaism are not mortal enemies because Jesus is a Jew, but the Christian faith flows out of Judaism and the right way for a Jew, here's Paul's point, coming in a moment, a right way for a Jew to manifest his Jewish identity is placing his faith in the Jewish Messiah. And when he places his faith in the Jewish Messiah with Gentiles, he recognizes that the way in which the law is rightly now worked out is not by these Torah observances, but by means of loyalty to King Jesus.

So when the Messiah time shows up, the law has come to an end with the ordinances. You don't need the shadow known that the real thing is here. And so he says in verse 19, he did this so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two.

So making peace. So again, just feel the weight of this point here. There are numerous texts, both in the Hebrew Bible, but also in other Jewish texts that are outside the Bible that emphasize a strict separation between Jews and Gentiles in terms of ritual purity.

I'm not making the point that there was never any interaction between Jews and Gentiles. That's false. You have examples, both in the Old Testament, as well as early Jewish texts, where there are Jews who are flourishing in Gentile societies, Jews who are serving in the military with Gentiles, Jews who are profiting and flourishing in business with Gentiles, Jews who are forming alliances with Gentile nations for their protection.

But the point that Paul is making here that they did not share this mutual unity anchored in God's revelation and Torah. But now that Christ has come, Christ has made Jews and Gentiles, created them afresh in himself into one new humanity. The ESV translates it as one new man, but he means one new humanity.

New creation. What is a piece of evidence that new creation has begun? A piece of evidence is that God has raised Jews and Gentiles from the dead to reign with Christ and he has seated us in his right hand. And a piece of evidence is that Jews and Gentiles in Christ Jesus are now sharing in, sharing in this unity while remaining distinct as Jews and Gentiles.

The evidence is that we with Jews as Gentiles are included within the family of God by means of the blood of the Jewish Messiah. We are recreated as not the same, but as one, as those who are now part of the same spiritual family in the place of the two, or say it this way, in the place of the hostility and verse 16, and he, so that he might make or rather might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. So how did God in Christ kill the hostility erected by the law between Jews and Gentiles by killing his son? The blood of Jesus Christ is the great equalizer for Jews and Gentiles.

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my sin rode away. That burden rode away because God acted to reveal this great reconciliatory plan through the blood of Jesus that brought about the greatest rescue mission of the world, and that mission both liberated Jews and Gentiles from their deadness to sin, but also brought them in reconciliation. Groups of people who were once enemies have now become family in one body through Jesus's cross.

Now the question that I have here exegetically when he says through one body, is he making a reference to Jesus's body or is he making a reference to the body of Christ so that verse 16, he might reconcile us both to God in one body, that is reconcile us into the body of Christ or reconcile us by means of one body, that is by means of the death of Jesus. The word for body here he used earlier to identify the church as the body of Christ. So I think it's fair to say he's already clearly mentioned that Jesus's blood, his flesh, his body, his death is the means by which he brought about this reconciliation.

And he's already used the word for body to talk about the church as the body of Christ. So I'm inclined to read body here in verse 16 referred to we are grafted in the body of Christ as the people of God through the flesh. He's mentioned earlier of Jesus, namely his blood as he died for us on the cross.

So we are, we are reconciled to God in one body, namely the church is what I think he's saying. So here's the question I think Paul is answering. Who are the people of God, Jews and Gentiles in Christ? The people of God are no longer defined as Jews in Torah.

And those who are not the people of God are no longer defined as Gentiles who are not in Torah. But Messianic time changes things. It doesn't replace a Jewish way of life, but it reorients the Jews thinking to realize that all the promises of God outline in Torah, outline in the prophets are realized in the Messiah.

So now here's what God demands and expects. He expects complete devotion, loyalty to faith in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. And he's made Jews and Gentiles through the blood of Christ, reconciled friends who are at peace with each other by the blood of Jesus, no longer separated because of their Jewish and Gentile ethnicities, part of the same family.

I think this is right as he continues further to describe this, this family into which Jews and Gentiles have been placed and have experienced this reconciliation. He says in verse 17, he preached peace to you who were far off, preached peace to those who were near. He's implying this language of near and far to these Jews or to these Gentiles.

Also a word here about reconciliation back on verse 16. I don't want to skip over this. He says, reconcile us both to God.

So notice this, that Jews were at war with God, Paul says, they need to be reconciled to God along with Gentiles because Jews and Gentiles were dead in their trespasses and sin. So Jesus' work is not only reconciling Jews and Gentiles to each other horizontally, it's also reconciling Jews and Gentiles to God vertically, that the wrath of God is real. It's coming on Jews and Gentiles who are not in Christ and God acted to vertically reconcile us to himself and to horizontally reconcile us to one another so that we are now part of the same family, a reconciled family.

And he preached the gospel. That's what he means here. He preached the gospel to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

Once again, I think this language of preaching the gospel and peace and far off and this drawing from Isaiah, you read Isaiah chapter 40 through 66. You have the Isaiah, the prophet promising gospel good news. There's coming a day when Yahweh is going to deliver Israel from her sins and restore Jerusalem.

And that's identified as good news. That's gospel. And Isaiah makes the statement that how blessed are the feet of those who proclaim good news.

And that good news is that Yahweh reigns in Isaiah 46. That good news is Yahweh is the deliverer who's coming to deliver and restore Zion. Zion will be happy again.

That good news is that Jews who were once far off will now be brought near. And Paul says that good news is realized right now, right here in this time by means of Jews and Gentiles being drawn being drawn near by the blood of Christ who are now at peace. And Jesus himself modeled what this looked like.

On the one hand, he came and preached primarily to Jewish people. In fact, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples, don't take the gospel to Gentiles. You have obviously an exception in that gospel.

But for the most part, the mission of Jesus in Matthew's gospel is for the house of Israel. And it's not until after the resurrection where he then tells these Jewish followers of him to take the gospel out to the Pontotah Ethne, to all the nations or to all the families of the earth. And then you see that being worked out in Acts, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

For the most part, he's preaching to to Jews, but he's also preaching to Gentiles on occasion. So that the gospel is for Jews and for Gentiles. Verse 18, he further is going to explain this work of God in Christ for Jews and Gentiles.

Why does God do it this way? Why did God do this through the blood of the Messiah? Why do we have access to God through Christ? Why do we have peace with God? Why are we reconciled? Because verse 18, through him, through Christ, we both have access in notice this one spirit to the father. There is not a Jewish Holy Spirit and a Gentile Holy Spirit. There is not a black Holy Spirit and a white Holy Spirit.

There's not a brown Holy Spirit and an Asian Holy Spirit. There's not an American Holy Spirit or a fill in the blank Holy Spirit. There's one Holy Spirit.

Why? There's one God and father of all. There's one son. There's one Messiah.

There's one Holy Spirit, one Trinitarian God who is in perfect unity with each other while not being the same in each aspect of the Trinity. They're the same in their essence, but they're different in their person. The father is not the son and the son is not the father.

And the spirit is neither of the two, but father, son and spirit three in persons, but one shared Trinitarian unity. And he manifests this massive, magnificent, glorious, beautiful salvation by bringing Jews and Gentiles who are radically different in everything about who they are, other than that they're humans. And he unifies them, makes them part of one body in Christ because he is a God of unification within his Trinitarian identity.

So we both have access in one spirit to the father. Why? Because of the son. You see the Trinity here? The son is dying.

The father is working and giving and the spirit is being poured out in the hearts of God's people. So he gives us a little inference in verse 19. So then you notice the shift of the pronoun again, talking directly to these ethnic Gentiles, you are no longer strangers.

Remember they were strangers previously. In the time of their deadness and trespasses and sins, they were aliens. In the time of their deadness and trespasses and sins, but you're no longer those things, but you are fellow citizens.

Wait a second. I'm not Jewish. My citizenship is in the United States and my residency is in Kentucky.

Oh, he's not talking about a natural citizenship here. He's talking about a supernatural one. But now in Christ Jesus, these messianic promises, these redemptive promises that God gave to ethnic Jews, I as a Gentile and all Gentiles in Christ are included within those promises.

We're included within the promises that God is going to save all of Israel. We're included in those promises that God is going to bring about a cosmic Jerusalem, a glorified Jerusalem at the end of history, that we participate in every single promise that God gave to Israel by being included within those promises in the Jewish Messiah. We are not saints here.

This as Jewish, as Gentile followers of Christ, we are not second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. And Jews aren't second-class citizens either. But in Christ Jesus, Jews and Gentiles are sharing in the same spiritual heritage.

So we're fellow citizens with the saints and we're members of the household of God. I think for the most part, when Paul thus far has talked about the church, the body of Christ, and here the household of God, he's thinking in terms, I think, of the collective as opposed to one localized assembly. I think there are implications for localized churches.

Paul believes in localized churches. But here's the point that he's making. He's not making the point that every single church will have Jew and Gentiles in them.

To put it more practically, he's not saying every church is going to be multi-ethnic. It's not what he's saying. But he is saying that every single Jew and Gentile in Christ is part of this larger, massive, multi-ethnic people from every tongue and tribe and people and nation known as the people of God who make up the universal church in Christ.

And sometimes God practically is so merciful to allow us to see this played out in localized assemblies where we have different tongues and tribes and peoples and nations manifested in those local assemblies. But his point here is that Jews and Gentiles, and particularly the Gentiles, are members with Jews of God's family. See, the problem that Paul pushes against about his ministry is this idea that Gentiles cannot become part of the people of God in Christ as Gentiles.

That's the problem in Galatians. That's what the opponents were saying, that Gentiles had to be circumcised in addition to faith in Christ, and they had to keep certain aspects of the law in addition to faith in Christ to be part of the family of Abraham. That's the issue.

It is not grace versus legalism. It's not that. And one thing Paul makes crystal clear in his writings, and he makes it clear here, is that Gentiles and Jews are sharing in the same redemptive promises while maintaining their same ethnic identities, but that they're transformed in Christ and experience a different kind of Gentile identity and Jewish identity in Christ and their fellow members of the household of God.

And they're built, here's why, because they're built, verse 20, on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Look at this. Paul did not create this.

This is not Paul going rogue. This is not Paul becoming an apostate Jew. This is Paul the apostle understanding in light of what God reveals to him on the Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and transformed his thinking, Paul now understands exactly what the prophets are saying about the moment in history when Messiah is coming through this massive cosmic work.

Saints, we serve a God who cares not only about my individual Jesus moment, but he cares about restoring everything Adam and Eve lost in the garden, including this massive cosmic disunity. And in Christ, he brings that unity, and this is everything the prophets were talking about and pointing to. It's the foundation of everything that he preached, and God revealed it to him on the Damascus road, and he thought about it and reflected upon it.

It's built not upon his own ingenuity. It's built upon the prophets and the apostles and Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, the foundation of all of this. And then verse 21, he says, "...in whom the whole structure..." That's one reason why I think when he talks about the body being reconciled to one body earlier, he's talking about likelihood the body of Christ because of how he's going to apply this to the family of God in the context of the temple.

"...in whom the whole structure," verse 21, "...being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord." Now, we want to camp there for a moment, and I'm going to calm down a little bit here, but only a little bit, and think with you for a moment about the temple. So again, Paul is using a variety of different images here to describe the people of God in Christ, assembly or church, body of Christ, and now the temple. The temple, when it was functioning appropriately, it represents God's presence with his people.

It represents Israel's political, ethnic identity. It represents that God has promised to do something for a people in a particular place, and you had certain rules and regulations that had to be followed with respect to the temple. There's a time in Israel's history in the second temple period where the temple was sacked, not destroyed, but sacked by a fellow named Antiochus Epiphanes IV, and one thing Antiochus Epiphanes IV did was he offered some abominable sacrifices on the temple and desecrated it, and he was, in fact, Daniel's abomination of desolation, and one thing the Jews did during that era is they took up arms and they fought because they were zealous for the law in order to preserve the integrity of Yahweh's name and to continue to live a Jewish way of life in compliance with the law, which Antiochus forbade, and one thing they had to do that was crucial to their identity was to purify their temple, which they do, and they celebrated this holiday known as Hanukkah, and we see Jesus in John chapter 10 going up to Jerusalem to the Feast of Dedication as a Jew to celebrate this event named Hanukkah, but he goes up in order to reinterpret the event in light of himself, saying things like he is the one who's the light of the world, he's the water of life, images that would be part of that Hanukkah celebration.

The temple was very important. It was so important as well, not only in terms of its function, but who could operate these priestly functions. You had to technically be part of a particular family line to go into these holy places and offer a sacrifice on the altar, and there was a court that was called the Court of the Gentiles that forbade Gentiles from going so far within the boundaries of the temple, and if Gentiles crossed that boundary, those boundaries, the consequence could in fact have been death.

There's an inscription, an ancient inscription that says this with respect to Gentiles and the temple, where they are forbidden from going too far beyond the temple courts lest they die. Notice what Paul says here. He doesn't say that Jews and Gentiles in Christ will worship together in the temple.

He says Jews and Gentiles in Christ, they are the temple. In other words, in Jews and Gentiles who are part of the people of God, they collectively have within them the spirit and God's very presence in them. So the good news of the gospel for us Gentiles is not that we can go to the temple and celebrate Jesus with our Jewish Christians.

The good news of the gospel is that God himself takes personal residence in our hearts with fellow Gentiles by the power of the Spirit so that Gentiles and Jews together are, notice it again, growing into a holy temple in the Lord. Now I think this is assuming collective corporate community here. You can't grow up into something if you're not with people to do that.

So the idea here is that this is a cosmic work of God in Christ, again, that is universal in its scope and is manifested by means of local assemblies living this out. But not every church will have Jews and Gentiles in it. But the point that he's making here is that Jews and Gentiles in Christ are the people of God.

They are the holy temple. Why? Verse 22, because in Christ you also, Gentiles, are being built up together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. So the Spirit of God lives and dwells in the hearts of Jews and Gentiles in Christ.