What barriers does Ephesians 2:16 suggest Christ's sacrifice has broken down? Setting the Scene Ephesians 2:16 declares Christ came “to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility.” The verse sits in a paragraph (vv. 14-18) describing how Jesus’ cross-work dismantled every wall that once kept people apart—from one another and from God. Identifying the Barriers Christ Removed • Hostility between Jew and Gentile • The “dividing wall” of the Mosaic ordinances that marked Israel off from the nations • Enmity between sinful humanity and a holy God Hostility Between Jew and Gentile • Verse 14 calls it “the dividing wall of hostility.” In the Jerusalem temple a literal stone barrier warned Gentiles to keep out; spiritually, the same hostility poisoned relationships. • Christ “made the two one” (v. 14). His crucified body became the meeting place where ethnic pride dies and a single “new man” (v. 15) is born. • Galatians 3:28 echoes the result: “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The Wall of the Law • Paul says Jesus abolished “the law of commandments and decrees” (v. 15). The ceremonial regulations that once separated Israel—food laws, sacrifices, ritual purity—reached their fulfillment at the cross. • Colossians 2:14: He “canceled the record of debt… nailing it to the cross.” The same hammer that pierced His hands shattered the legal indictment against us. Separation From God • Verse 16 shows the deeper reconciliation: both groups are brought “to God.” The cross didn’t just produce horizontal peace; it removed vertical alienation. • Romans 5:10: “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” • Colossians 1:20-22: through the blood of His cross, Christ presented us “holy and blameless.” Sin’s barrier fell when Jesus bore its penalty. How the Broken Barriers Shape Life Today • One unified family: “You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens… members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19). • Worship without distinction: every believer approaches the Father “by one Spirit” (Ephesians 2:18). • Active peacemaking: if Christ extinguished hostility, His followers refuse to resurrect it—whether ethnic, social, or personal (Romans 12:18). • Bold access to God: the curtain is torn (Matthew 27:51). We draw near with confidence (Hebrews 10:19-22), assured the barrier of sin is gone. Christ’s sacrifice demolished every wall—between ethnicities, between the law’s demands and grace, and above all between sinners and the living God. |
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