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Ephesians 2:11-18
As we noted the last time we were together, Pauls general letter contains many references to Jews and
Gentiles. Now, the distinction between Jew and Gentile is eliminated in the Body of Christ; yet Paul
continues to differentiate them at times why?
Well, as we learned last time, the Jews and the Gentiles had huge issues with each other. They were biased
against one another; they despised one another; they excluded one another; in fact, they actively hated one
another. There was a deep seated enmity between Jews and Gentiles, which can be traced all the way back
to Israels inception as a nation. Yet, as both Jew and Gentile responded to the call of the gospel, they
become brethren in Christ.
What we see in Pauls letters, including this one, is that Paul is purposing to show both Jew and Gentile that
their former manner of life is past, which includes even their national identity. Paul reveals that what God
has done for both Jew and Gentile in Christ puts them on the same footing; and more than that, it joins
them together, so that now, all who believe are included as Gods own special people (Titus 2:14).
Just prior to the section of Pauls general letter that we will look at today, Paul had laid out for his readers
their common experience in coming to Christ. We see this in the first part of chapter 2.
Even the past experiences of the Jew and Gentile, before coming to Christ, had commonality: they were
both dead in trespasses and sins; they had both walked according to the course of this world; they had both
conducted themselves according to the lusts of their flesh and their minds; they were all children of wrath
(Eph 2:1-3).
But what had God done for them, in Christ? He made them alive together in Christ; and He raised them up
together in Christ; that is, God exalted them; and He seated them together in Christ; they are enthroned in
heaven above, in Christ (Eph 2:5-6). By His grace, God saved them, as they believed into His Christ. By
faith, believers step out of time, into eternity, with Christ. Theirs is a complete salvation.
Notice that what Paul has laid out in this section shows the Jews and the Gentiles their equality in Christ.
They had the same experience in the past; they received the same Life from Christ, Life Everlasting; and
they were in the same position with Him, in heaven. And their future destiny is the same; to reflect the
exceeding riches of Gods gracious salvation of them both, forever.
But Paul wants his readers to know that they are more than equals, in Christ. In the next section of his
letter, Paul will show that both Jew and Gentile are not just equal, but that they are one in Christ. The
emphasis now moves from equality to unity.
Lets go ahead and read the next section together. We will read through verse 22, but we will only be
discussing through verse 18 today.
[Read Ephesians 11-22]
Can you see Pauls emphasis on unity, in this part of his letter? Now, as you look back over this passage,
which group would you say that Paul is emphasizing in this discussion of unity the Jews, or the Gentiles?
He is emphasizing the Gentiles just as Paul was emphasizing the Gentiles in the previous section,
although not as pointedly as here.

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Paul was writing to assemblies that were predominantly Gentile, most of which possessed a minority of
former Jews. As we discussed last time, in the days following the fulfillment of Pentecost, the church in
Jerusalem was composed mostly of former Jews; but as the gospel spread into the surrounding regions and
beyond, the Gentiles began to hear and receive the Good News.
This was always what the Lord had planned to reach all men with His salvation but He had to make this
abundantly clear to the early church, for the believing Jews would never, ever have thought that God
desired to include the Gentiles in His plans.
The Jews always thought of themselves as the only people of God. They were the sons of Abraham; Gods
nation; His covenant people. The Jews considered the Gentiles to be practically subhuman; they viewed
them as unworthy to receive salvation. And it would take an act of God for them to see it any other way.
So God acted. Remember how we saw last time that when Peter preached the gospel to a group of
Gentiles, they believed and received the Holy Spirit, manifesting the same sign that God had given to the
Jewish believers on Pentecost speaking in tongues.
That manifestation of the Spirit eventually convinced the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem that God had also
granted to the Gentiles repentance to Life (Acts 11:18). But did it convince them that the Gentiles were
their equals, and that they were one, in Christ? That conviction began to dawn later.
The church in Jerusalem began to recognize the equality of Jewish and Gentile believers as they considered
the issue of the false teachers. These were Jews who went into the assemblies, passing themselves off as
believers, but then teaching the Gentile believers that they must be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses
in order to be saved.
Regarding this issue, the church in Jerusalem concluded that it was no more necessary for a Gentile
believer to keep the Law and be circumcised than it was for a Jewish believer (Acts 15:7-11) and a great
stride was taken in the realm of the freedom that all believers have in Christ, and the equality of the Gentile
with the Jewish believer.
The church in Jerusalem formally acknowledged the equality of the Jewish and Gentile brethren in a letter
that was circulated among the churches that were currently having trouble with this issue.
But eventually, there is evidence that all of the assemblies struggled with this as seen by the many
references to the Jewish-Gentile issue in Pauls letters. And as mentioned before, Paul took the issue
beyond that of equality to the actual unity that Jews and Gentiles have in Christ.
As we consider how the Lord had been resolving this issue over time, it might seem as though the ones who
really needed to lay a hold of Gods thinking on things were the Jewish brethren. Certainly, they needed to
recognize that God was including the Gentiles with them in the church; they must not exclude the Gentile
believers.
But here in this letter, we see Paul is really addressing the Gentile brethren. Remember that this letter was
written about ten years after that letter was sent from the church in Jerusalem. The church as a whole was
predominantly Gentile now. Pauls readers are mostly Gentile.
The Jews needed to allow the Gentiles enter in, but Pauls point is that the Gentiles must recognize that it
was their privilege to do just that. They must enter in; it was up to them to recognize and act upon the
equality and the unity that they had with their Jewish brethren in Christ.

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In this passage, the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use a brilliant metaphor for this new-found unity that the
Jews and the Gentiles have in Christ. The metaphor that Paul begins with is of the current temple in
Jerusalem Herods temple an unauthorized version of the temple for which God had given the pattern to
David, for his son Solomon to build.
Solomons temple was a permanent version of the tabernacle, for which God had given the pattern to
Moses. Paul makes five allusions to the temple throughout verses 13-18. And in the balance of the
passage, through verse 22, Paul will continue with his metaphor concerning the temple of God, showing
forth the united believers themselves to be a holy temple in the Lord (Eph 2:19-21) or as Peter would
later write, living stones, being built up a spiritual house (1 Pet 2:5) in the Lord.
But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Well start back in verse 11.
v. 11-12 Paul begins, Therefore remember. He is directing this to the Gentiles. What are the Gentiles to
remember? If we look at what Paul writes next, we can see that he is saying they are to remember their
past; they are to remember their condition, from which Christ has delivered them.
But Paul has just brought up their past in the previous passage (Eph 2:1-3). So why is he bringing it up
again? Before, Paul was reminding them of their individual past, as sinners; but here, Paul is reminding
them of their collective past, as Gentiles. And Paul is contrasting them to the Jews, as a collective.
Now, why does Paul find it necessary to bring up their past? Shouldnt they just forget whats past? Some
things from the past are useful to remember. Here Paul is reminding the Gentiles of just where they were in
the past, from which Christ has delivered them so that they will keep in mind that it is past; that this is no
longer where they stand, with God.
Notice how Paul emphasizes the flesh in verse 11. They were once Gentiles in the flesh; here Paul is
alluding to their physical birth, as sons of Adam. The term Gentiles in the Greek is ta ethne, which means
the nations. Every Gentile is born of a nation other than the nation of Israel the nation that God made
for Himself.
But Paul points out that they were once Gentiles in the flesh that is to say, they are no longer Gentiles in
the flesh. How can this be? Because they are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rm 8:9). Being a
Gentile is a thing of the past, as a Christ One.
And Paul says that they were called the Uncircumcision. Who called them that? The Jews whom Paul
names here as the Circumcision. The Jews were the ones who used these two terms, to refer to themselves
and the Gentiles. The two opposing terms aptly reflected the enmity that existed between the Jews and the
Gentiles.
Even on the single point of circumcision, this enmity can be seen. The Jews viewed circumcision as a
demonstration that they were the covenant people of God, while the inferior, uncircumcised Gentiles were
excluded. Conversely, the Gentiles regarded circumcision as a barbaric act of mutilation of a bunch of
uncivilized, religious zealots.
Notice the particular way in which Paul refers to Jews they were called the Circumcision by themselves,
for they were proud of it but what words does Paul add to the Circumcision? Made in the flesh by
hands.

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Again, Paul is emphasizing the flesh. Here he is referring to a work of the flesh in this case,
circumcision. What is Pauls point? That circumcision, apart from its significance, its true meaning, is just
a work of the flesh; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rm 8:8).
The LORD had given Abraham circumcision as a sign of the covenant He made with him the covenant for
Life Everlasting through Christ. Circumcision is the cutting away of the foreskin of the male reproductive
organ, which produces the seed that brings forth life.
The cutting away of the flesh signified that the flesh body must be crucified with Christ by faith in the
working of God in Christ, in order for the Life of God to issue forth a glorified body.
Did it mean that to the adherents of Judaism? No; it was just a ceremonial work, an external rite taken in
their flesh, which they believed marked them as the people of God, and distinguished them from those
uncircumcised Gentiles. But those Jews who had believed into Christ now understood that it was the
meaning of circumcision that was significant, for that pointed one to Christ.
Both the believing Jew and the believing Gentile would eventually come to realize that circumcision of the
flesh was irrelevant (Gal 6:15); it was the circumcision of the heart that mattered (Rm 2:29), through
believing into Christ to receive His righteousness, His Life. So circumcision and uncircumcision was
also a thing of the past.
What Paul lists after that in verse 12 shows the truly hopeless situation of the Gentiles; they were without
Christ; as Gentiles in the flesh, they had no knowledge of the Christ until the gospel was preached to
them. Then Paul goes on to detail the Gentile situation of being without Christ.
The Gentiles were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel estranged from the nation; outside of it. And
the Gentiles were also strangers from the covenants of promise. The Gentiles were the nations the
nations other than Israel, which was the nation God made for Himself. Having made Israel for Himself,
God bestowed upon Israel certain privileges, which the Gentiles had no part of.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul details some of these privileges. Turn to Romans chapter 9. Paul is
expressing his grief over his countrymen according to the flesh - those Jews who had rejected their Christ.
Here Paul lists many of the privileges with which the LORD had blessed Israel.
[Romans 9:4-5]
Who are Israelites. The name Israel means prince with God. This reflects Israels position of
privilege above all the other nations, a position that the remnant of Israel will fulfill in the Kingdom Age.
To whom pertain the adoption. God called Israel His firstborn son (Ex 4:22). They will truly be Gods
adopted sons when they receive His Christ; then they will be the head of all the nations.
The glory refers to the presence of God dwelling in the midst of Israel as seen in the shekinah, a visible
symbol of Gods presence, as seen in the pillar of fire and smoke, in the tabernacle and in the temple. Israel
could see that God was with them.
The covenants, or testaments in the Greek, alludes to the tablets of testimony on which God wrote the ten
commandments, a revelation to Israel of the righteous requirement of God.
The giving of the Law refers to the ceremonial Law with its sacrifices, which pictured Christ to Israel.

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The service of God is another aspect of the ceremonial Law the tabernacle service, and the priesthood,
which also pictured Christ to Israel.
The promises refer to those made by the LORD to the nation Israel as revealed in His eternal covenant, with
its unfolding revelation to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.
The fathers speaks specifically of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the fathers of the nation, with whom God
covenanted, and to whom God revealed His plans for the nation.
And finally, Israel had the ultimate privilege of bringing the Christ into the world, according to the flesh.
Israel was truly a nation blessed by God. And the Gentiles had none of the privileges that Israel had.
Why did God give one nation all these blessings, and withhold them from the other nations? Because the
other nations had estranged themselves from God at Babel. They rebelled against God, and chose to
make a name for themselves instead of honoring His name.
God could not give the nations what they refused to receive from Him; so instead, God made a nation for
Himself, a nation that He intended to be a witness to Him, to all the other nations.
But instead, that nation, Israel, viewed their privileges as a testimony to the favor of God upon them, above
all the other nations; the blessings became a source of spiritual pride for Israel.
Nonetheless, for the Jew who truly was seeking God, these privileges would serve to lead him to his
Messiah, Jesus.
[Return to Ephesians]
The Gentiles had none of the privileges of the nation of Israel. They had no specific revelation from God.
They knew nothing of the promise made in the covenant which God unfolded to the fathers of the nation
Israel the promise of the Coming Christ.
The Gentiles were truly without Christ, as so without hope hope of Life everlasting. And without Christ,
they were without God. Their course through this world was charted without direction, without purpose,
without meaning yet always, always drifting toward everlasting destruction.
But for these Gentile believers, that was all in their past.
v. 13 Far off was a common term of the day used by the Jews to describe the Gentiles. They described
the Gentiles as far off, while the Jews themselves were near. This is an allusion to their supposed
proximity to God.
The Jews maintained that the presence of God still dwelt in their temple in Jerusalem, even though their
own Scriptures reveal that Ezekiel saw a vision of the glory of God departing from the temple in his day
because of the apostasy of the nation (Eze 9-11). Nonetheless, the Jews in Jerusalem saw themselves as
near to their temple and therefore near to their God; while the Gentiles were far off far, far off.
Paul borrows these terms familiar to those in his day to describe the new position of the Gentiles who have
placed their faith in Christ: You Gentiles, who were once far off from God, having placed your faith in
Christ, have now been brought near and how was this made so? By the blood of Christ.

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The mention of the shed blood makes it clear that Paul is thinking of the death of Jesus in terms of Him
being the perfect sacrifice for sin. And where were sacrifices for sin offered to God, in that day? In the
temple in Jerusalem.
You can see that Paul is using terms which would bring to the mind of his readers a picture of the temple.
Remember that Paul would have used the OT Scriptures to teach the new assemblies about the Lord; and
the tabernacle and Solomons temple would have been particularly good for instruction, as they picture the
person and work of Christ in His first coming to the earth, as the Savior.
In both structures, essentially the same extraordinary picture can be seen. For the sake of continuity, we
must limit our consideration of them here to what pertains to our passage.
The pattern for both, given by the LORD, outlined a sanctuary with an outer court. Anyone was permitted to
go into the outer court through the single entrance. Only the priests were permitted to go through the door
into the sanctuary, and only into the Holy Place, where they ministered before the LORD for the people.
Within the Holy Place, separated by a veil, was the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God dwelt above
the mercy seat, which covered the ark of the testimony.
On just one day of the year, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest was permitted to enter into the Holy of
Holies. He did so covered with incense, bearing the blood of sacrifices for his sin and the sin of the people,
which he sprinkled on the mercy seat. This blood of sacrificed animals atoned for Israels sin that is, it
covered over their sins until the next year, when the offerings would have to be repeated.
The letter to the Hebrews makes it clear that the High Priest represented Christ, who offered Himself in our
stead; not offering the blood of animals, which merely covered sin, but offering His own blood, which took
sin away, once and for all (Heb 9:11-12, 24-26). Further, Christ is seen in the mercy seat the place where
Gods justice is satisfied concerning sin; the place where men find Gods merciful forgiveness for their sin.
Paul begins by saying that these Gentile believers are now in Christ Jesus; and in Christ, they are no longer
afar off, but now, they are near to God through His blood. But how near are they? Lets see what Paul
says.
v. 14-16 In verse 14, Paul is making a specific allusion to the current-day temple in Jerusalem, which was
not Solomons, but Herods. I mentioned earlier that Herods temple was an unauthorized version of the
temple. It was Herods idea to build it, in order to placate his Jewish subjects.
Although the sanctuary was essentially the same in structure as for Solomons temple, the Holy of Holies
was empty; the glory of the LORD had long ago departed from the temple, and the ark of the testimony and
the mercy seat had disappeared after the Babylonians took Judah into exile in 586 BC. Gods presence was
never in this temple.
One of the greatest deviations from the original pattern concerned the outer court for there was no longer
only one court, but many.
Outside the sanctuary, at the foot of some steps, was the court of the priests; and beyond that, down another
flight of steps was the court of Israel, where only Jewish men were permitted; and beyond that was the
court of women, which was as far as Jewish women were allowed to go, to worship; and then even further
out, beyond that, was the court of the Gentiles far, far off.

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The pattern that the LORD God had given to Israel for the tabernacle and Solomons temple showed that He
desired all people to be welcome to come in and worship Him. But what had men done, with Gods
pattern? They deviated from it, in accordance with the barriers they erect in their own minds, against one
another.
Priests are superior to everyone. Men are better than women. Jews are better than Gentiles. But Gods
pattern shows that He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:24, KJV). God would have that none should
perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9) all.
In Herods temple, between the temple proper and the court of the Gentiles, there was a stone wall on
which were written inscriptions in both Greek and Latin, according to Josephus.
These inscriptions stated, No one of another nation to enter within the fence and enclosure round the
temple. And whoever is caught will have himself to blame that his death ensues. Two of these
inscriptions have been recovered, verifying the historical record.
The Gentiles were prohibited from entering the temple, on pain of death; something Paul knew only too
well, as the false charge for which he was currently imprisoned was for taking a Gentile into the temple
(Acts 21:28).
This is the middle wall of separation to which Paul refers in verse 14; the wall that separated Jew from
Gentile; the wall that let the Jews in, but kept the Gentiles out. Paul is indicating that this wall has been
demolished in Christ; in Christ, there is no longer any separation between Jew and Gentile.
The Gentiles, who had been far off from God, have now been brought near because they are in Christ
they are as near as the Jews, who are in Christ. Theyre both so near that they can be reconciled to one
another. So in place of the enmity that existed between Jew and Gentile is now Christ, who is their peace;
He is their means of reconciliation.
But was Paul referring to the wall in a literal sense was the wall of separation in Herods temple in
Jerusalem actually torn down? Of course not. Paul is speaking metaphorically here, and the statement that
follows in verse 15 shows what this wall of separation is actually representing.
Paul says that Christ has abolished in His flesh the enmity the law of commandments in ordinances. The
word abolish means a complete cessation. Paul is pointing to some law as the source of the enmity
between Jew and Gentile the wall of separation between them and he is saying that Christ abolished this
law in His flesh.
Now it is clear that Paul would be referring here to the Law of Moses, but is he referring to the Law as a
whole, or a particular aspect of the Law? The key is in the way Paul qualifies the word law, and in its
allusion to being the source of separation and enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles.
Paul doesnt just say the Law; he says the Law of commandments in ordinances. Ordinances in this
context refers to the external precepts of the Law of Moses, pointing to the ceremonial Law the
priesthood, the temple service, and the sacrifices. The ceremonial Law is what really separated Israel from
all the other nations. In fact, God designed the ceremonial Law to keep Israel separated as a nation.

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But where God intended the Law to simply keep Israel in, to preserve them as a nation (Gal 3:23), Israel
made additions to the ceremonial Law, converting it into a means of keeping others out; the temple wall is
an example of this, as are the Jews ritual purifications. In this way, religion changed Gods means of
inclusion into mans means of exclusion, and changed mere differences into enmity.
How exactly did Christ cause this enmity to completely cease? Because in His flesh, Christ lived the
perfect life of obedience to the will of His Father; and then, in His death, He fulfilled that which was
pictured in the ceremonial Law.
Every aspect of the temple service the priests, the sacrifices, the temple itself pointed to Christ as the
perfect sacrifice for sin; and once His work of redemption was finished, the ceremonial Law was fulfilled,
rendering it obsolete (Heb 8:13). This means that the cause of separation and enmity between Jew and
Gentile has been eliminated by Jesus; He made peace for them, through the blood of His cross (Col 2:20).
It is through the death of Christ that we see the enmity between Jew and Gentile eliminated; but it is in the
resurrection of Christ that we really see their new unity.
When a man believes into Christ, he is baptized into Christs death. He dies out of that old creation in
Adam in which he was once Jew or Gentile. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, the man can now walk in the newness of life in his new life in Christ. In Christ, the man is a
new creation; he is neither Jew nor Gentile, but a Christ One a son of God, in a body of glory.
In Adam, all men were born either a Jew or a Gentile; but believers have been born again, born of the
Spirit, of incorruptible seed, the Seed Christ (1 Pet 1:23). They partake of the Life that He brought out of
death; in fact, they are members of His Body (Eph 5:30).
The Body of Christ is the one new man that Christ has made from the two, He being the Head of that Body.
Both Jew and Gentile are now part of the one Body the same Body Christs; and just as the parts of a
body must work together for the benefit of the whole, the members of Christs Body serve one another
through love (Gal 5:13). The oneness of the Life we share with Christ, in submission to Him as our Head,
is what gives us peace and unity with our fellow believers.
So we see that the enmity between the Jew and the Gentile has been abolished through Christ; but in verse
16, Paul brings out a far more essential reconciliation that Christs work effects. Not only have the
believing Jew and Gentile been reconciled to one another; they have both been reconciled to God.
The whole creation in Adam is at enmity with God, due to the sin (Rm 5:12). As believers, our old man,
Adam, was crucified with Christ, freeing us from the sin (Rm 6:6-7). Sin is the source of our enmity with
God, and separation from Him.
We have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son (Rm 5:10), so that now we have peace with
God. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him
(2 Cor 5:21). In Christ we have been made righteous, so that we can be holy and without blame before
God, in love (Eph 1:4).
With Christ having removed the barrier of sin, both Jew and Gentile alike are now free to draw near to God.
But how near? Paul continues.

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v. 17-18 Paul again refers to those who were afar off. Who is that? The Gentiles. And those who were
near? The Jews. Whether they were afar off, or they were near, they were still separated from God by
their sin, until they heard and responded to the good news of Christ.
Notice how Paul says that He came and preached peace speaking of Christ. Through His Spirit, Christ
directs the members of His Body on earth to share the gospel with those who had not yet heard such as
He had directed Paul.
Finally, Paul makes it emphatically clear that it is through Christ that both Jew and Gentile have access to
the Father by one Spirit. The word for access comes from a Greek verb,
prosago, which means to bring near.
A related noun, prosagogeus, refers to a court official who was responsible for bringing a person into the
presence of the king. It is Christ who has opened up the way to the Father for us, and He has given us His
Spirit, who brings us directly into His presence.
Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. The writer to the Hebrews was showing the Jews how Jesus fulfilled the
ceremonial Law; it is He who was represented in the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, entering into
the Holy of Holies.
[Hebrews 10:19-23]
v. 19 the Holies the Holy of Holies
v. 20-22 our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience the inner man his thoughts. Our bodies washed
with pure water the outer man his deeds. The idea is that in thought and in deed, we have become
righteous, in Christ.
v. 23 He who has begun a good work in you will complete it in the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6).
Jesus is that new and living way into the presence of the Father; He is the only way. The veil spoken of
in verse 20 refers to the woven veil which hung between the Holy of Holies, where Gods presence dwelt,
and the Holy Place, which was as far as the priests were permitted to go. The veil spoke of separation, for
God is holy; He is separate from all that is not holy.
The writer to the Hebrews shows that the veil represented Christs flesh, which was broken, or rent, in His
death on the cross. Christs death opened up the way into the presence of God; there is no longer any
separation.
And in Christ, we have been made of kingdom of priests (Rev 1:6), so that now, we can freely enter into the
presence of the Father. We do so here and now through the Spirit of Christ, who dwells within us the one
and the same Spirit, dwelling in each and every one of us who believe.
It is Christs Spirit who guarantees to us those bodies of glory, that we possess even now, by faith, in which
there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ
Jesus (Gal 3:28). And one is as near, indeed.
Next week: finish Ephesians chapter 2. Read 1 Pet 2:1-10, Psalm 118.