Ephesians 2:17
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
The gentiles and the jews both needed Jesus to bring peace (between them and God and between each other). It wasn't just the gentiles - who were far off. The jews, who appeared to be "nearer" to God, needed Jesus as much as anyone else. The person who has attended church all their life, knows a lot about God and lives a respectable life is just as much in need of the gospel as the atheist. Their behaviour or knowledge does not make them closer to God. There is only one way to draw near to God - through Jesus.
Ephesians 2:14-16
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Gentiles and Jews, the most bitter of enemies can be reconciled - through Jesus. The deepest hostility between people can be broken down by breaking down the deeper hostility between us and God. Looking at the cross and understanding what it means suddenly changes everything about offence and forgiveness in our other relationships.
How can the law-keeping, ceremonially clean, religious Jew be reconciled to the law-breaking, unclean, sinning Gentile? How can the church-going, clean-cut, moralistic "good" person be reconciled to the church-hating, scruffy, "godless" person? Only through Jesus. It's in his flesh (v14), in himself (v15), through the cross (v16). It's now one body, one man in place of two. The old categories have been broken down. The distinctions of Jew, Gentile, Christian, Muslim, good, bad, rich, poor, generous, tight, intelligent, stupid are no longer relevant. Language, colour, culture and class don't matter. There are only two categories. With Jesus or without him. In Christ or far off. In Him, we can be reconciled to God and each other. Away from him, the divisions remain because the biggest division between us and God remains.
Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
Jesus doesn't just come and give peace as if it is some sort of mysterious substance or force. He IS our peace. His broken body has broken down the walls of hostility between us and God and between each other. We are one in Him. There is no true peace without him. Peace that surpasses understanding, peace that is not dependent on circumstances, is only found in Him.
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Remembering our pathetic state without Jesus is not the end of the story. Because Jesus shed his blood on our behalf, we are no longer far off. He has brought us near. We were distant from God through our own choice. We were also distant from God for our own safety - our sin deserving his punishment. Any attempt to work our way back to him ourselves is an insult, condemning ourselves further.
The distance has been bridged from the other side. Nearness would have resulted in our death, but because of his death we can be welcomed into his presence.
Ephesians 2:11-12
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the "uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Paul tells the gentiles to remember what a terrible position they were in without Jesus.
- social outcasts
- separated from Jesus
- alienated from God's people
- strangers to God's promises
- no hope
- without God
Why remember that? Surely that's something to forget! As soon as we forget what we were like or what we would be like without Jesus, we start taking the gospel for granted. Why are we sometimes just going through the motions, singing words without feeling them, listening to sermons but not hearing them, being informed by the bible but not transformed, praying from the head but not the heart? It probably starts by forgetting our state without Jesus.
Isn't Christianity arrogant to state that it is the only way to God? A classic example used to convince everyone that they only see part of the truth is the story of the blind men and the elephant. Each man feels a different part of the elephant and so each makes a different conclusion about what the elephant is like. The moral of the story is that if all religions would realise that we are like the blind men seeing only part of the truth, the world would be a much better place. Tim Keller does a great job of showing why that principle doesn't work logically.
But another problem is that the elephant is silent and the men just have to do their best to work out what it is. What if the elephant opened it's mouth and described itself? We are not just left in the dark to make our best estimates of what God is like. God is not silent.
Psalm 50:3a Our God approaches, and he is not silent.
He has shown us exactly what he was like in Jesus.
Hebrews 1:1-3 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
From Ephesians 2...
Once we were:
- dead in trespasses and sins v1 & v5
- following the course of the world v2
- following the prince of the power of the air v2
- living among the sons of disobediance v3
- living in the passions of our flesh v3
- carrying out the desires of the body and the mind v3
- children of wrath v3
- sepaprated from Jesus v12
- alienated from God's people v12
- strangers to God's promises v12
- no hope v12
- without God v12
- far off v13
- strangers v19
- aliens v19
now we are:
- in christ
- loved v4
- made alive v5
- saved by grace v5 & v8
- raised up with Jesus v6
- seated in the heavenly places with Jesus v6
- shown kindness v7
- not judged on our works v9
- brought near v13
- no longer hostile to God and others v14&16
- at peace v14-15
- reconciled to God v16
- reconciled to each other
- have access to the Father v18
- citizens v19
- members of the household of God v19
- being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit v22
