What is the meaning of Ephesians 2:16? Setting the Stage Paul has just said that Christ “is our peace” and has “made the two one” (Ephesians 2:14-15). Verse 16 shows how He did it. Reconciling Christ’s aim was “to reconcile.” • Reconciliation restores broken fellowship (2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Romans 5:10). • The initiative is entirely God’s; humanity contributes only its need. Both of Them The “both” are Jew and Gentile, the two groups that summed up the human family in Paul’s world. • Jews – once near because of covenant promises (Romans 9:4-5). • Gentiles – once far off, “without hope and without God” (Ephesians 2:12). Christ gathers each side, not by making Gentiles Jewish or Jews Gentile, but by creating a brand-new people (Galatians 3:28). To God The estrangement was chiefly vertical. • Sin alienated every person from God first (Colossians 1:21). • When vertical peace is restored, horizontal peace can flourish (1 John 1:7). In One Body Reconciliation places all believers into “one body,” the church. • This is the spiritual organism Christ heads (Ephesians 1:22-23). • “We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). • Unity is not optional; it is embedded in our new identity (Ephesians 4:4-6). Through the Cross The cross is the only bridge. • Christ fulfilled the Law’s demands and bore its curse (Colossians 2:14; Galatians 3:13). • He died once for all, so no further sacrifice is needed (Hebrews 10:12-14). • Grace, not works, secures our standing (Ephesians 2:8-9). Putting Hostility to Death “By which He extinguished their hostility.” • Hostility between people dies because the source—sinful pride—is crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6). • Hostility toward God dies because His wrath is satisfied (Romans 3:25). • Believers now relate as family, no longer strangers (Ephesians 2:19; 1 John 3:14). Living the Reality • Guard unity earnestly (Ephesians 4:3). • Welcome fellow believers as Christ welcomed you (Romans 15:7). • Display sacrificial love that mirrors the cross (John 13:34-35). summary Ephesians 2:16 teaches that Jesus reconciled Jews and Gentiles—indeed, all people—“to God in one body through the cross.” His atoning death satisfied God, formed a unified church, and killed the hostility that once separated us from Him and from each other. Unity is therefore not merely a goal; it is the accomplished gift of the cross, to be guarded and enjoyed by every believer. |
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