Ephesians 2:14-18 - Enmity Abolished & Peace Established

Introduction

[READING - Ephesians 2:13-18]

Ephesians 2:13–18 NASB95

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in 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, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

[PRAYER]

[CONTEXT] Writing to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul began the body of his letter in Ephesians 2 by expounding upon God’s amazing grace in Jesus Christ.

This was grace that raised us from the dead.

This was grace that made us alive to God.

This was grace that seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

This was grace that prepared good works for us so that we should walk in them and thereby bring glory to God.

This was grace that grafted us into the people of God—the Jewish people.

This is what Paul got at in Ephesians 2:11-13…

Ephesians 2:11–13 NASB95

11 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— 12 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Jewish pride and our own Gentile ignorance kept us separate from the grace of God, but now in Jesus we’ve been brought near (i.e., included) in God’s saving grace by the blood of Christ Jesus.

But through the cross, Jesus has not only brought us near to the grace of God, He has also brought us near to the people of God—the Jewish people.

He has made both groups into one through the sacrifice of His body on the cross.

[TS] Let’s look at why Jews and Gentiles were divided and how Jesus brought peace…

Major Ideas

#1: The Jews and Gentiles were divided by enmity (Ephesians 2:14-16).

Ephesians 2:14–15 NASB95

14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in 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,

[EXP] There is enmity between us when we are enemies. That’s what the Jews and Gentiles were—they were enemies—so they there existed enmity between them.

This enmity is called the barrier of the dividing wall.

Indeed in the Temple in Jerusalem there was a physical wall that represented this barrier. Between the inner Temple and the outer court of the Gentiles there stood a wall with a sign that basically read, “A Gentile who passes this point will be responsible for his own death.”

In fact, the Apostle Paul was accused of taking a Gentile beyond that dividing wall in Acts 21—an Ephesian named Trophimus. But even though Paul hadn’t done so, the Jews still tried to kill him and the Romans eventually took him into custody. Paul, who wrote Ephesians from prison, was actually imprisoned because of this barrier, this dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles.

But, of course, the barrier wasn’t merely a physical division; it was primarily a spiritual division.

As Paul said in Ephesians 2:15, this enmity consisted of the Law of Commandments contained in ordinances.

Living according to God’s Law is what made the Jewish people distinct from the Gentiles around them.

Because of God’s Law, Jewish dress was different. They were to wear clothing made of mixed fabrics.

Because of God’s Law, Jewish eating was different. Foods were separated into foods they could have (clean) and foods that were could not have (unclean).

Because of God’s Law, Jewish marriages were different. Jews were to only marry other Jews.

And there were many other such laws as these that all served to separate the Jewish people from the Gentile peoples.

Just as fabrics in clothing weren’t to be mixed, so God’s people weren’t to mix with Gentile people.

Just as foods were separated into clean and unclean, so God’s people were clean and everyone else was unclean.

Jews were only to marry other Jews because to marry anyone else would be to marry someone impure.

All these laws served to erect that dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile.

[APP] But today we don’t need the Law to erect divisions among us. We create our own enmity through racism, through political allegiances, through chauvinism and feminism, through our favorite sports teams, etc.

We love to divide the world into us versus them.

We love dividing walls of hostility.

This was true in Paul’s day as well. In Colossians 3:11 Paul mentioned several different groups that were divided.

He does mention Greeks and Jews, uncircumcised and circumcised, but he also mentions barbarians and Scythians, slaves and freemen. And in Galatians 3:28 he also mentions males and females erecting walls of enmity between themselves.

It wasn’t just Jewish people who separated themselves from Gentiles.

All people separate themselves from one another.

Yes, the Jews didn’t want anything to do with Gentiles, but many Gentiles didn’t want anything to do with one another.

Greeks didn’t want anything to do with uneducated groups like the Barbarians or Scythians.

Freemen didn’t want anything to do with slaves and slaves didn’t want anything to do with freemen.

And men didn’t want anything to do with women because women were supposedly inferior.

[ILLUS] I think the attitude of the heart that best reflects this division is found in the parable that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector.

You know the story: The tax collector comes and won’t draw close to God, won’t even lift His eyes up to God, but instead beats his breast saying, “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner!”

But the Pharisee draws near to God with arrogant boldness, pridefully lifts his eyes, and begins his prayer with, “Lord, I thank you that I am not like other men...”

That’s the heart attitude of the dividing wall of enmity!

Lord, I thank you that I am not like other men!

Lord, I thank you that I am better than them!

That’s the enmity between Jew and Gentile!

That’s the enmity between Greeks and barbarians, between men and women!

That’s the enmity between blacks and whites in our world today!

But Jesus has come to abolish the enmity.

[TS] This brings us to our second point this morning…

#2: Jesus is peace between Jews and Gentiles.

[EXP] Jesus made peace between Jews and Gentiles by making both groups one (Eph. 2:14-15).

Ephesians 2:14–15 NASB95

14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in 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,

He made both groups one by breaking down the barrier of the dividing wall; by abolishing the Law of Commandments contained in ordinances.

The moral law of God that tells us the difference between right and wrong still stands, but the ceremonial laws, the food laws, the clothing laws, and even the marriage laws that required Jews to only marry Jews—all those laws of cultural distinction have been abolished by Jesus.

Jesus has brought Jew and Gentile together.

In Himself, Jesus has made both Jew and Gentile into a new man—a new man called ‘the Christian’.

The reality of having been made alive together in Christ is greater than whatever cultural distinctions that used to divided us.

[EXP] Jesus made peace between Jews and Gentiles by reconciling them both to God (Ephesians 2:16).

Ephesians 2:16 NASB95

16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

Jesus reconciled both groups through His sacrifice on the cross.

By sacrificing Himself on the cross as the perfect offering for sin, Jesus reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to God—and Jews and Gentiles to one another as well.

You see, it was the laws of cultural distinction that separated Jews and Gentiles, but it was the moral laws that separated all men and God.

Under the moral law of God, all men (Jew and Gentile alike) were equally condemned. We all fall short of the glory of God.

But Jesus paid sin’s price for all men (Jew and Gentile alike), so that all could be reconciled to God through faith in Him.

There was not only enmity between Jew and Gentile but also between God and man, but Jesus put to death all the enmity through the cross.

Colossians 3:11 NIV84

11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Romans 8:1–2 NASB95

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

[EXP] Jesus made peace between Jews and Gentiles by preaching peace to both Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:17-18).

Ephesians 2:17–18 NASB95

17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Jesus ‘proclaimed the good news of peace’ (CSB) to both Jews and Gentiles. The word for ‘preached’ or ‘proclaimed’in v. 17 is the verb form of the noun that we translate as ‘Gospel’ or ‘Good News’ in our New Testaments.

The good news that both Jews and Gentiles needed to hear was that through Jesus there was now access in one Spirit to the Father.

Jews and Gentiles have one Savior—Jesus, God the Son—

—the one who lived perfectly for us, died sacrificially in our place to save us, and rose triumphantly as proof that we who trust in Him will be saved.

Jews and Gentiles have access to God by one Spirit—God the Holy the Spirit—

—the one who fills us, comforts us, counsels us, helps us, seals us, and guarantees that we will be saved.

Jews and Gentiles have one Father—God the Father—

—the one who ordained our salvation through Jesus His Son; the one who sent His Spirit to live within us; the one who welcomes us into His family as His sons and daughters and provides for us an inheritance in Heaven that will never fade.

Through Jesus, Jews who were near and Gentiles who were far away have peace with God.

That’s what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:17, but he was quoting Isaiah 57:19. In Isaiah 57, there are two groups of people, the repentant and the unrepentant.

For the repentant, whether they be near or far, there is peace with God. God says, “I will heal him.”

For the unrepentant, however, there only remains a storm of God’s wrath. God says to them, “There is no peace.”

Now, if you were a Jewish person reading Isaiah 57, you might of thought of ‘the far’ as being those Jews who were exiled away from the Promised Land and ‘the near’ as being those Jews who still lived in the Promised Land.

But inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul said, “No, ‘the near’ are the Jewish people and the ‘the far’ are the Gentiles, and both only find peace with God through the cross of Jesus Christ.

[ILLUS] Many years ago a publication reported that, since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than eight percent of the time. Of the approximately 3,500 years of recorded history, only about 286 have been peaceful. But even more shocking is that during that period of recorded history, more than 8,000 peace treaties have been signed.

Now, I have no idea if those numbers are exactly correct, but there is no doubt that peace is a stranger in our world. For all our talk of peace and signing of peace treaties, we never seem to get peace.

And this should not surprise us because without Jesus there is no peace.

Without Jesus there is no peace with God.

Without Jesus there is no peace with one another.

[APP] Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When He was born, the angels sang, “Peace on earth!”

He calls us to be peacemakers as we follow Him.

[TS]…

Conclusion

Another word for peace is reconciliation—the bringing together of two opposing sides—this bringing together, this reconciliation only comes in Jesus.

There is reconciliation in who He is.

There is reconciliation in what He has done for us on the cross.

And there is reconciliation in no one else.

There is no reconciliation, no peace between men apart from Jesus.

There is no peace with God apart from Jesus.

It doesn’t matter if you’re Jew or Greek, slave or free, black or white, male or female, young or old…

…reconciliation—peace—only comes in Jesus.