One in Christ

Context

The Indicatives

Blessed be (implied, 1:3)

Who has blessed (1:3)

He chose us (1:4)

He predestined us (1:5)

He has blessed us (1:6)

We have redemption (1:7)

He lavished upon us (1:8)

Making known to us the mystery of His will (1:9)

He set forth in Christ (1:9)

We have obtained (1:11)

He put all things under His feet (1:22)

Gave Him as head over all things to the church (1:22)

You were dead (2:1)

We all once lived in the passions of our flesh and the mind (2:3)

[we] were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind (2:3)

He loved us (2:4)

[He] made us alive together with Christ (2:5)

[He] raised us up with Him (2:6)

[He] seated us with Him in the heavenly places (2:6)

We are His workmanship (2:10

God prepared beforehand (2:10)

Those are just some of the indicatives of the first chapter and a half (approx) of Ephesians. It is not until we get to verse 11 of chapter 2 that the first imperative of the epistle appears. What is the command in verse 11? Remember.

What is often observed about this epistle is that the indicatives of the gospel precede the imperatives of the gospel. Why is this an important observation? The imperatives are exhortations to respond to the indicatives. The imperatives depend on the indicatives.

But in 2:11, we come to the first command, which is to remember. We’ll spend the rest of our time tonight thinking through what Paul exhorted the Ephesians and what we are exhorted to remember. Paul exhorts the Ephesian church to remember:

What they were without Christ (11-12)

What God has done for them through Christ (13-18)

What we are now becoming in Christ (19-22)

Without Christ (11-12)

The first ten verses of chapter 2, in large part described the lost condition of man. To use a familiar theological phrase, what is clear from verses like verse 3:

Ephesians 2:3 ESV

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

man is totally depraved. But beginning in verse 11,. Paul views this truth about man from the perspective of redemptive history.

Excluded from covenant privileges

Notice in verse 12 what Paul says of the Ephesians: From birth they were excluded from covenant privileges.

Romans 9:4–5 ESV

4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

And not only were they excluded from birth, they were despised by those who were part of the covenant people of God. But the hypocrisy was thick because the Jews were spiritually uncircumcised and were therefore not true covenant children.

John 8:39–41 ESV

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” …

John 8:42–44 ESV

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The Gentiles were

separated from the Messiah

alienated from the covenant community (the common wealth of Israel)

And were strangers to to God’s covenant promise (they did not belong to the seed to whom the promises were made).

They had no hope and were without God in the world.

As one commentator noted, 2:1-10 underscores our helpless state apart from Christ and 11-22 underscores our hopeless state. Why did Paul remind the Ephesian church where they came from?

Both Jew and Gentile, all people are prone to pride. We are recipients of God’s grace, but somehow we can acknowledge this truth and still quietly believe that our place and progress in the faith is the result f our own effort.

Remember we were at one time without Christ, but also remember

What God has done (13-18)

There is a turning point here that’s similar to what we saw in verse 4.

Ephesians 2:3–5 ESV

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

We were dead but God made us alive

Ephesians 2:12–13 ESV

12 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

We were far off but now through Christ, we have been brought near.

Having described our sinful condition and explained our need as sinners, Paul underlines what Christ has done to bring us salvation.

Christ died for our sins (13)

This speaks of propitiation

This is temple and sacrifice language. People would have been familiar with this. People confessed their sins symbolically over an animal, their punishment was transferred to the animal substitute.

The blood references Jesus’ death, but this was a penal, substitutionary death.

People have been brought near. This is a passive verb. Jesus died in our place, and His death atoned for our sin. Through His sacrifice, we have been brought near to God. We were far off. This is how or on what basis people are brought near.

Christ breaks down separation (14)

Christ has made both Jew and Gentile one in Himself, having broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in the ordinances.

Why were Gentiles no longer outsiders? It had nothing to do with the Jews changing heir mind about Gentiles. Many were slow to come around to the idea that Gentiles could be thought of as the people of God. And it wasn’t because the Gentiles began to practice ritual, making themselves more acceptable to the Jews.

So the logic, that’s based on sound theology goes like this: The Jewish believer has fellowship with God not on the basis of circumcision, national identity, possession of the torah (law), making animal sacrifices, but in Christ alone. Gentile believers who have no history or experience with circumcision, the torah, sacrifices but are in Christ are true believers.

Jewish believers had longed for and have now received their inheritance through faith in Christ. Gentile believers have discovered it in the same way.

Paul emphasizes this at the beginning of verse 14 by saying Christ Himself is our peace.

Christ effects reconciliation (15-16)

Ephesians 2:15–16 ESV

15 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, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Paul’s personal experience is relevant here:

Acts 21:27–29 ESV

27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

Apparently the sign that was over the wall that marked the no entrance boundary for Gentiles read: Whoever is arrested will himself be responsible for his death, which will follow.

In the death of Jesus, Paul said, the dividing wall of hostility (v. 14) has been broken down. So now, in Christ, Jew and Gentile share the court of God. The curtain has been torn in two. The entire Mosaic system under which OT believers lived was abolished.

This all points to a crucial theological truth. People are in one of two groups: Either in Adam or in Christ. Adam sinned and his sin led to curse and death. Christ undid all of this through His redemptive work.

What about Paul’s statement regarding the law in verse 15?

Ephesians 2:15 ESV

15 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,

The Nature of the "Enmity"

In Ephesians 2:14-15, Paul speaks of Christ breaking down the "wall of separation" and "abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances."

The Mosaic Law, by its very design, served to separate Israel from the nations. The "ordinances" (circumcision, dietary laws, festivals) were the physical boundary markers of the Old Covenant.

Enmity via Legal Condemnation: Beyond social separation, the Law created enmity because it condemned all under it. Christ abolished this enmity by satisfying the Law's demands and its curse.

The Marital Analogy: Paul argues that a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. To be joined to another (Christ) while the first (the Law) is "alive" would be adultery.

Death as the Solution: Romans 7:4: "You also have died to the law through the body of Christ." The "enmity" or "wall" of Ephesians 2 is removed because the person who was bound to the Mosaic Law has legally died in Christ.

The Result: The enmity dies because the "contract" that fueled the condemnation has been terminated by the death of the believer in union with Christ.

The Abolition of the Mosaic Law

A key pillar of Progressive Covenantalism is that the Mosaic Law is a covenantal unit. Unlike the traditional "Tripartite Division" (Moral, Civil, Ceremonial), PC argues:

Holistic Termination: When Paul says Christ "abolished" the Law, he refers to the entire Mosaic Law as a legal code. It is no longer the direct authority for the believer.

Fulfilled, Not Just Deleted: Christ didn't just scrap the Law; he fulfilled its types and shadows. The "commandments" are now filtered through the Law of Christ.

The End of the "Old": The Old Covenant was intended from the start to be temporary. With the arrival of the New Covenant, the previous "ordinance" system is obsolete.

The Law as One Piece: In Romans 7:7, Paul identifies "the Law" by quoting the Tenth Commandment (thou shalt not covet). By linking the "release from the Law" (v. 6) to the Decalogue (v. 7), Paul supports the PC view that the entireMosaic code—moral and ceremonial—is the "letter" from which we are released.

Release for Service: Romans 7:6 explains how it is abolished: we are released so that we serve in the "new way of the Spirit" and not the "old way of the written code."

The End of the Era: The "abolition" in Ephesians 2:15 is the macro-historical reality of what Romans 7:1-6 describes as a micro-personal legal release.

The "One New Man"

The goal of this abolition was to create a single, unified humanity.

Neither Jew nor Gentile: PC emphasizes that the Church is not "Israel 2.0" or a "Parenthesis" in history. Instead, the Church is the New Humanity.

Christ as the Head: This "New Man" is formed "in himself" (Christ). We are not joined to Israel's national identity; both Jews and Gentiles are joined to Christ’s resurrected life.

Christ is our peace (17)

We have established that Paul was making clear that both Jew and Gentile stand on the same ground before God (condemned because of their sin) possess the same need (salvation) and the same hope (Christ’s redemptive work). There is now nothing that divides Jew and Gentile believers.

Not only is Christ our peace (v. 14), but He preached peace. He is what He preached. Does Christ continue to preach peace today? Yes, through the preaching of His word. Consider what Hebrews says:

Hebrews 2:12 ESV

12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

And what’s important here is that this verse quotes Psalm 22, and the author of Hebrews understands this to refer to the resurrection ministry of the Messiah.

Or consider Rom.

Romans 10:14 ESV

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

We cannot believe unless we hear, but why would hearing the gospel make a difference? Because hearing Christ proclaimed, we hear the voice of Jesus.

John 10:3 ESV

3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

John 10:5 ESV

5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

John 10:16 ESV

16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

It seems to me that Paul implies that through the preachers the Lord has sent, He speaks.

Christ is our access (18)

Christ is our priest, and has gained access to God on behalf on His people. This privilege is extended to the people of of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 9:11–14 ESV

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

So, gain, Paul’s exhortation is o remember:

What they were without Christ (11-12)

What God has done for them through Christ (13-18)

What they are becoming in Christ (19-22)

The replacement rule (19)

When something is put away like certain sins or our outsider status before God, it is replaced by what is antithetical to what is no more.

For example:

Ephesians 4:25 ESV

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Falsehood has been put away and replaced with speaking the truth,.

Here, our status as strangers and aliens have been put away and replaced with citizenship with the saints of the household of God.

But what of the household of God? Notice what Paul says:

Built on a solid foundation (20)

The doctrine of the apostles and prophets which is oriented to Christ. Paul emphasizes the foundational role of the apostles in the life of the church.

The Apostles and prophets are probably two different groups of people. The apostles refers to the men appointed by the Lord and the prophets could be others who were prophets in the churches.

The background to what Paul is saying about Christ being the cornerstone is probably

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

The whole church is being built on and held together in place by Christ. He is the stone on which all else depends.

Growing into a temple (21)

Paul’s description of the household of God goes deeper when he describes it as a holy temple. And unlike the temple of the OT, this temple is built on Christ in which all believers (Jew & Gentile) share in the blessings promised to God’s covenant people.

By referencing the temple, Paul is pointing back to the temple of the OT, and is making clear that that temple was always pointing forward to Christ and His people.

Built together (22)

Now Paul describes the people of God as being built by Him to be a dwelling place for the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 ESV

16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.