THE WALL WAS BROKEN DOWN BY GOD IN CHRIST ~ Biblical Justice ~ Part 4

Alienation, separation, and rejection. We have all experienced the pain of these, in some form, in our lifetimes. Today we see a disorder, especially in children, known as separation anxiety disorder. This is a disorder in which a child becomes excessively anxious when separated from parents. It seems even our dogs can experience separation anxiety disorder. (I learned this shortly after acquiring our new puppy!) When I was in prison, I was separated from those I loved. After a visit by my family one afternoon, I was waiting to be “processed” to go back up the hill after they left. (One of the hardest parts of visitation was watching your family walk out the door without you. I talk a great deal about this topic of separation in my upcoming book. Stay tuned for details!) As I was being “processed”, in an unusual moment of compassion, the guard asked me how I was doing. I told her that I was doing fine but the only thing I was having a hard time dealing with was the separation from my family. She said something I will never forget: “Well, separation is what prison is all about. It’s what makes prison…prison.”

While in prison, a friend who facilitated a class called “Separation and Divorce” asked me to speak in her class and share “my story”. At first, I balked by saying, “I know nothing about separation because I’m married.” She said, “Just pray about it. It could be any type of separation.” I went back to my cube and prayed that the Lord would open my eyes to what I might possibly say to these women. And open my eyes, He did. I did speak in her class many times; and each time I shared with the ladies, my insights into the heart of the gospel became clearer in my own heart. There is so much more I would love to share on this topic, but I will save it for the book!)

I began this blog series in Ephesians 2 with the purpose of eventually landing on the verses from 11-22. We are trying to answer the question of what we, as believers in the church, are supposed to do with the social justice movement.

Therefore, remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded 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 formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in the His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our 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 are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:11-22) (my emphasis added)

I want to look at the negative aspect of this passage before we look at the positives. God’s chosen people, the Jewish people, have known persecution from the time they were separated or set apart by God for God. We know that when Christ came to earth the Jews, for the most part, rejected Him. They separated themselves from Him. Romans 11, a fascinating chapter, outlines for us how God turned to the Gentiles offering them the gospel when the Jews rejected His Son. God had chosen to save a remnant of the Jews. Those Jews turned the world upside down for the Gospel of Christ. While a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, ultimately, God will once again turn to Israel for their salvation. We are living in the times of the Gentiles even now. With this background, we need to know that the Church was at first made up solely of converted Jews. It was the Gentiles, at that time, who were those who were separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise. Gentiles had no hope and without God in the world.

I like what Pastor John MacArthur says about this verse in the notes of his study Bible. “Gentiles (the “Uncircumcision”) experienced two types of alienation. The first was social, resulting from the animosity that had existed between Jews and Gentiles for thousands of years. Jews considered Gentiles to be outcasts, objects of derision, and reproach. The second and more significant type of alienation was spiritual, because Gentiles as a people were cut off from God in 5 different ways…” Pastor MacArthur goes on to list these five ways as seen in the passage from 11-22. He also mentions that, “While Gentiles had many gods, they did not recognize the true God because they did not want Him.” (Romans 1:18-26)

Let’s look at a few words in the Ephesians 2 passage. Separate is choris which means at a space, i.e. separately or apart from, by itself, without any person or thing (making no use of, having no association with, apart from, aloof from. Excluded is apallotrioo which means to alienate, to estrange away, or to be shut out from one’s fellowship and intimacy. Strangers are xenos is a foreigner, alien from a person or a thing, without the knowledge of, or without a share in. The barrier is phragmos which means a hedge, a fence, that which separates, prevents two from coming together, or partition. Lastly, I want to look at the word aliens as in strangers and aliens. Aliens is paroikos which is very interesting. It means in the New Testament a stranger, a foreigner, one who lives in a place without the right of citizenship. Metaphorically it is without citizenship in God’s kingdom, one who lives on earth as a stranger, a sojourner on the earth or of Christians whose home is in heaven.  

I think these very descriptive words paint a vivid picture for us of how the Jews viewed and treated the Gentiles. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. One of the key themes in the book of Ephesians is the mystery (truth that was up to that point not revealed) of the church, which is that the Gentiles were fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (See 3:6) This truth was completely hidden from Old Testament saints. All believers in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, are equal before the Lord as His children and as citizens of His eternal kingdom.

Paul begins this portion of Chapter 2 with the words therefore remember. You (Gentiles) were this: Separate, excluded, strangers and aliens. 1 Corinthians 12:2 says that Gentiles were pagans. In Ephesians 5:8, Paul tells his readers that they were formerly darkness, but now they are Light in the Lord, so they were to walk as children of Light. They were called “Uncircumcision” by the Jews. You can hear the slight sarcasm in Paul’s voice when he mentions this. In Romans 2 (which it would behoove the reader to read in its entirety), Paul slams the Jews in his indictment against them. He says there is no partiality with God and that all who judge others for not keeping the Law were condemned by God for the very same thing. He says the Jews are condemned for not being able to keep the Law themselves. Further, they were blaspheming the name of God among the Gentiles. Chapter 2 ends: For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (vs. 28) Colossians 2 elaborates. Colossians 2:9-14—For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

I will continue to look at this passage in Ephesians 2 in the next blog post, but I want to leave you with this thought: There was a barrier, a dividing wall between God and man. That barrier is the holiness of God. A great chasm exists between the holiness of God and the depravity of man. We were so far off that unless God made a way to Himself, we could never be brought near. Every person, no matter what they look like on the outside, who trusts in Christ alone for salvation, is brought into spiritual union and intimacy with God and with others who are in Christ. That union already exists. It’s reality. 2 Corinthians 5:16-17—Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Paul no longer evaluated people according to external, human, worldly standards, and neither should we as believers. Unbelievers, however, will always evaluate people in this way. Paul did not do battle in the flesh, and neither should we. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6—For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons or our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. Paul walked in the flesh, not in a spiritual sense but a physical sense. Although he was human, he did not fight spiritual battles for men’s souls using worldly wisdom. Why? Because the weapons of men are powerless to free men’s souls from the power of the evil one. Fighting a spiritual battle in the power of the flesh cannot ever successfully defeat assaults on the Gospel. The question we must ask ourselves as believers in Christ is this: For what are we fighting? Keep in mind that if our focus has moved from anything other than the purity of the Gospel, we’ve gone off track somewhere in our thinking.