Ephesians Chapter 2: Words of Encouragement
Dec 9th, 2009 | By admin | Category: Ephesians, Verse by Verse --Studies led by Br. Frank Shallieu (Click on Book name)The “middle wall of partition,” the barrier between Jew and Gentile, was figuratively eliminated through Christ. God’s exclusive dealing with Israel ended in AD 36. From then on, there has been no more barrier, for all are one in Christ. Stated another way, the spiritual “middle wall of partition” was broken down in AD 36, when Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, was begotten by the Holy Spirit.
From one standpoint, Gentile Christians were proselytes to the new religion of Christ, which had originated among the Jews. In the Ephesian class were Jews according to the flesh who had accepted Christ. However, there was a “barrier” tendency—the attitude that something was different between a Gentile Christian and a Jewish Christian. The sensitivity to this imagined difference had to be eliminated. The faith structure of both had to be based on Scripture. Paul spoke strongly with statements such as “The wall is broken down” and “There is no male or female, Jew or Greek … in the body of Christ” (Gal. 3:28 paraphrase). Paul could speak boldly because he was sure he was right from a scriptural standpoint.
