Ephesians 2.11-18 (3)
Pray Psalm 23.1, 2.
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
Sing Psalm 23.1, 2.
(The Gift of Love: Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire)
Because the LORD my Shepherd is I shall not want, for I am His!
He makes me lie in pastures green, He leads by waters cool, serene.
Read Ephesians 2.11-18; meditate on verse 14.
Meditate on the word “peace”. Besides green pastures and still waters, how many other ways can you envision this term?
Preparation
1. What did Jesus break down?
2. What has been the effect of that?
Meditation
Jesus’ incarnation highlighted one of the great areas of human pain existing at that time, the animosity between Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles—the Romans—hated the Jews and subjugated them. The Jews hated the Gentiles both for that and because they mistakenly understood that Gentiles were always under the condemnation of God. Jesus became a lightning rod for this hostility, and this was part of the reason both factions sought to kill Him.
The “middle wall of separation” that existed between them was the religious laws of Israel and the traditions that accumulated around these. Recall that Paul was first arrested because someone claimed he had brought Gentiles into the sacred court of the temple (Acts 21.27-29). The Romans despised and mocked these practices, and the Jews cherished them as defining their preferred status with God.
Jesus brought peace between these warring factions by fulfilling the Law and abolishing those statutes that related to the religious life of the people, specifically, the sacrifices and all the holy places and offices associated with that (Heb. 7-10). Now, in Jesus, no obstruction existed for the two to become one in the peace He has made within Himself.
Jesus is always our peace. When we are troubled, we resort to Him in prayer so that He will lead us into His peace. When people are at odds, their love for Jesus can renew them in His peace. Christians and their local churches can be a powerful source of peace in their communities and throughout the world, because of the Presence of Jesus with us and in the message of His Kingdom. He is the Prince of Peace within that realm, and we who know Him bear His peace into this world of many factions and much hatred.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
From the very beginning God has been bringing two entities together into one.
“And Adam said:
‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman, because she is taken out of man.’
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2.23, 24).
And of course, this was God speaking prophetically because, as yet, there had not been such a thing as a mother and father; nor the ubiquitous mother and father-in-law.
This was the first wall that was broken down—two becoming one.
In Peter’s day, there was the opening up of a new thought on food consumption; but more importantly the wall being torn down between people perceived as clean and unclean. “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” And then Peter, in his meeting with Cornelius, the centurion of the Italian Regiment, took to heart what God had said about all foods now being clean, and said to him, “But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” Then Peter went on with his lovely exhortation, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10.15, 28, 34, 35).
And then glory be! “The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those who were of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also” (Acts 10.44, 45). Another wall torn down—two entities becoming one.
God, of course, is the Supreme example of multiple parts being One.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One!” (Deut. 6.4).
And all the parts that make up each personality are conjoined in worship of the One God:
“You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul, and
with all your strength” (Deut. 6.5).
“For He Himself is our peace,
Who has made both one, and
has broken down the middle wall
of separation…” (Eph. 2.14).
As at Jericho, when the trumpets blared, and the people shouted with a great shout,
“the wall fell down flat” (Josh. 6.20).
One within Himself,
one with Him by salvation,
one in Him with others;
one because the walls of separation have fallen flat—
oneness only through Him—that brings “Peace” (Eph. 2.14).
Reflection
1. When do you most experience the peace Jesus brings us? Why is that?
2. What evidence do you see in your church that the peace of Jesus is at work?
3. We who believe in Jesus and know His peace are called to be peacemakers. With whom will you share the peace of Jesus today? How?
The passion of the Savior made peace between the circumcision and the uncircumcision. For the enmity, which was between them like a wall and divided the circumcision from the uncircumcision and the uncircumcision from the circumcision, was abolished by the Savior. Ambrosiaster (fl. 366-384), Epistle to the Ephesians 2.14.1
Pray Psalm 23.3-6.
Thank the Lord for all the many ways you experience His peace and for the eternal peace with Him which is yet to come.
Sing Psalm 23.3-6.
(The Gift of Love: Thought I May Speak with Bravest Fire)
My soul He quickens and will bless; He leads in paths of righteousness.
Though I may walk in death’s dark vale, I shall not fear – He will not fail!
The LORD is ever by my side; His rod and staff with me abide.
A table rich for me He spreads; with oil my LORD anoints my head.
Goodness and mercy, full and free, shall ever after follow me,
and in the house of God, my LORD, shall I abide forevermore!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Our book, To Know Him, can help in understanding the glory of God and how we may know it. Learn more, hear an excerpt, and order your copy by clicking here.
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we are immersed in the first of 14 studies on “grace economics”. This week our Read Moore podcast begins a tour of the exaltation of Christ and His work in the here and now from our book, What in Heaven Is Jesus Doing on Earth? In our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert, the saint presses on in his journey to reach The Promised Land of the Saints. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
