PT-2 "Peace with God and His People" (Eph. 2:14-17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/6/2019 8:26 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  PT-2 “Peace with God and His People”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 2:14-17

 

            Message of the verses:  “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;”

 

            We ended our last SD with a story from John MacArthur about how a baby stopped a battle during WW II.  There was peace in the battle field for a few moments but Jesus Christ has made peace for us through the blood of His Cross (Col. 1:20).  The peace that He made for us is not a temporary peace, but a permanent peace.  Jesus made peace for both Jews and Gentiles as He made them into one body in Him.  The Jews are those who are “near” and the Gentiles are those who were “far off.”  He made them “into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.” 

 

            Here is the rub and that is that Jewish believers in many cases since the church era began do not want to be a part of a group that is comprised of mostly Gentiles even though they are all one in Christ.  The fact that since 70 A. D. since the Jewish temple was destroyed that religious Judaism has been destroyed because there is not temple to make sacrifices in.  John MacArthur adds that “all the genealogical records on which priestly descent was based” was also destroyed.  In the case of the Gentiles who many times worshiped idols is also gone because they too are in Christ with all of the rest of the believers who are also “in Christ.”    So for all of those who are “in Christ” the only identity that really matters is their identity in Him.  All believers are one in Christ and that is the way that God wanted things to operate inside the church.  Paul describes the church as a “body” and when you think about a human physical body all the parts of it must work well together for the human body to function correctly, the same as the church, but this is not really the case in our world today, and probably never has been.

 

            John MacArthur writes “The barrier of the dividing wall’ alludes to the separation of the Court of the Gentiles from the rest of the Temple.  Between that court and the Court of the Israelites was a sign that read, ‘No Gentile may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure.  Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.’”  There were actually guards there to prevent Gentiles to enter, and yet in the book of Acts when Paul came from his third missionary journey to worship at the temple he was arrested because someone said that he brought a Gentile into the court of the Israelites.  This would have truly been impossible as stated that there were guards there to prevent this from happening and death was the penalty. 

 

            In our next SD we will look at verses which tell us that originally God had separated Jews from Gentiles.

 

Answer from yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:2).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “To whose house did Peter go after being released from prison?

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

1/6/2019 8:47 PM