Ephesians 2.15-Racial Identity is Maintained in the New Humanity
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday January 16, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:15-Racial Identity is Maintained in the New Humanity
Lesson # 114
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of remembering that formerly each of you who belong to the Gentile race with respect to the human body, specifically, those who receive the designation “uncircumcision” by the those who receive the designation “circumcision” with respect to the human body performed by human hands, 12 each one of you used to be characterized as without a relationship with Christ. Each one of you used to be alienated from the nation of Israel’s citizenship. Specifically, each of you used to be strangers to the most important promise, which is the product of the covenants. Each of you used to not possess a confident expectation of blessing. Consequently, each one of you used to be without a relationship with God in the sphere of the cosmic world system. 13 However, because of your faith in and your union and identification with Christ Jesus each and every one of you as a corporate who formerly were far away have now been brought near by means of the blood belonging to this same Christ. 14 For He Himself personifies our peace. Namely, by causing both groups to be one. Specifically, by destroying the wall, which served as the barrier, that is, that which caused hostility (between the two). 15 In other words, by nullifying by means of His human nature the law composed of the commandments consisting of a written code of laws in order that He might cause the two to be created into one new humanity by means of faith in Himself at justification and union and identification with Himself through the baptism of the Spirit at justification. Thus, He caused peace to be established (between the two and God). (Lecturer’s translation)
Now, as we noted the second assertion in Ephesians 2:15 is a purpose clause, which presents the purpose of Jesus Christ nullifying the law composed of the commandments consisting of a written code of laws by means of His human nature.
It states that He did this in order that He might cause both Jewish and Gentile Christians to be created into one new humanity.
He accomplished this by means of their faith in Himself at justification and union and identification with Himself through the baptism of the Spirit at justification.
It is extremely important that the reader understand that Paul is not teaching that there is no Jewish section of the church or that the racial distinctions between the Jewish and Gentile races no longer exist.
In other words, the racial identity of both races is not abolished or done away when Paul asserts that Jesus Christ created both Jewish and Gentile Christian communities into one new humanity.
What it does mean is that Jews remain Jews and Gentile remains Gentiles with all their distinctions and differences and so there is a unity with distinctions.
The reason for this is that both Ephesians 2:11-22 and Romans 11 teach that the Gentile Christian is united to the Jewish Christian.
The Gentile Christian experiences the blessings of the New Covenant with the gift of the Spirit and forgiveness because they have been united to the Jewish Christian who received the New Covenant through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
Paul asserts in Romans 9:4-5 that the covenants, which would include the New covenant were given to the Jews and not the Gentiles and this is clear from the teaching of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Jesus taught in John 4:22 that salvation is of the Jews.
Therefore, the Gentile Christian experiences the blessings of the New covenant, which was given to Israel, as a result of the Holy Spirit uniting them with Jewish Christians at the moment of their justification through the baptism of the Spirit.
The apostle Paul in Romans 11:16 employs two metaphors to illustrate his assertion in Romans 11:2 that God has by no means rejected Israel forever and his assertion in Romans 11:11-15 that there will be a future national regeneration of Israel.
Romans 11:16 Now, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that the first portion is, as an eternal spiritual truth holy and of course, we agree it is because it is taught in the Scriptures, then the lump is, as an eternal spiritual truth also. Furthermore, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that the root is, as an eternal spiritual truth holy and of course, we agree it is because it is taught in the Scriptures, then the branches are, as an eternal spiritual truth, also. (Lecturer’s translation)
The first metaphor, the first piece of dough and the lump is taken from Numbers 15:17-21.
The first piece of dough is analogous to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were the progenitors of the nation of Israel because they accepted by faith the promises that God made to them.
The second metaphor, the root and the branches parallels the first.
The root parallels the first piece of dough in that it is analogous to the patriarchs whereas the branches are analogous to the lump in that they are analogous to the saved biological descendants of Abraham, Israel.
The first piece of dough and the root parallel each other and are analogous to the patriarchs and in particular Abraham.
The lump and the branches also parallel each other and are analogous to the saved biological descendants of Abraham through Sarah.
In Romans 11:17-24, “the branches” are connected to an “olive tree,” which in the Old Testament was a figure for the nation of Israel (See Jeremiah 11:16-17; Hosea 14:4-6).
Thus, “the branches” of the “olive tree” is a reference to born-again Jews since the latter is used in Jeremiah 11:16-17 and Hosea 14:4-6 as a figure for Israel and unbelieving Jews are broken off.
Now we know that the Jews originated from Abraham and that branches originate from the root of a tree.
Therefore, “the branches” are analogous to born-again Jews and since they come from “the root,” then aparche, “the first portion,” which parallels rhiza, “root” must refer to Abraham as well.
“The root” is a reference to Abraham is indicated by Paul’s statement in Romans 4:16 where he teaches that the patriarch is the spiritual “father” or “progenitor” of both Jews and Gentiles who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Now, the remnant of believers in Israel does not constitute the first part or the beginning of the nation of Israel and neither does Christ Himself but rather Abraham is the progenitor of Israel.
In Romans 11:17, Paul presents the protasis of a first class conditional statement.
In this protasis, he reminds his Gentile Christian readers that branches were broken off, i.e. unsaved Israelites and they as a wild olive tree have been grafted in among the branches, i.e. born-again Israelites.
He also reminds them in this protasis that they have become partakers of the rich root of the olive tree, Abraham and in particular the divine promises given to him contained in the “Abrahamic covenant.”
Romans 11:17 However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that some, which are a part of the branches were broken off but because you are a wild olive, you were grafted in among them so that you became joint-partakers of the olive tree’s root, which produces abundant oil and of course, we agree that this is a fact of history. (Lecturer’s translation)
Gentile Christians are joint-partakers with regenerate Israel of these divine blessings because they are his spiritual descendants and they are his spiritual descendants because like Abraham they exercised faith in the Lord.
Paul uses the noun agrielaios, “wild olive” in a metaphorical sense for the Gentiles in contrast to the “olive tree,” which in the Old Testament was used metaphorically of Israel (Jeremiah 11:16-17; Hosea 14:4-6).
“Were grafted in” is the second person singular aorist passive indicative form of the verb enkentrizo, which is used in a metaphorical sense of Paul’s Gentile Christian readers being united with Jewish Christians.
Now the usual procedure was to insert a shoot or slip of a cultivated tree into a wild one however, in Romans 11:24 Paul makes clear that the metaphor he is using is “contrary to nature” of grafting a wild olive branch (a Gentile) into a cultivated olive tree.
Such a procedure was unnatural and would be unfruitful, which is precisely Paul’s point with his Gentile Christian readers and he wishes to underscore the miraculous nature of their new relationship with God and other Jewish Christians.
The normal procedure was to take a shoot from an olive tree that bears good fruit and graft it onto a wild olive stock whose fruit is poor and the result is a tree with vigorous growth, which bears good olives.
However, Paul reverses the procedure and speaks of grafting a wild olive onto the stock of a good olive and then later he speaks of grafting back some of the good olive branches that have been cut out.
So a procedure of grafting a wild olive onto a good olive was not the normal process, which is why Paul reverses the normal procedure in order to humble those Gentile Christians who might become arrogant towards Jewish Christians and unsaved Jews.
He rebukes those Gentile Christians who might be arrogant towards the Jews, saved and unsaved because their spiritual heritage is from the Jews, salvation is of the Jews (John 4:23).
Now, Paul is not saying in Romans 11:17-24 that saved Gentiles are members of the nation of Israel but rather the olive tree metaphor simply illustrates the importance of Israel in relation to God’s plan of salvation.
It also demonstrates to Paul’s Gentile Christian readers that they owe much to the Jews since salvation is of the Jews.
With this passage, Paul is attempting to illustrate to his Gentile Christian readers that they owe their spiritual heritage to the nation of Israel and is not teaching that Gentiles are now members of the nation of Israel along with Jewish believers.
Rather, he is attempting to illustrate how Gentile Christians are related to Jewish Christians through Abraham, the progenitor of the Jews and all believers so as to produce unity in the churches between both groups and to prevent anti-Jewish sentiment creeping in among the Gentile believers.