"Salvation, An Awesome Work of God" (Ephesians 2:14-16)

In our passage, apostle Paul mentions "the barrier" of a division or separation that exists between humanity and God. We must understand, that as long as this barrier remains, there's no possibility of fellowship to exist between humanity and God! That's a huge problem! This barrier or "the dividing wall" is mentioned in verse 14 of our passage. It refers to a wall in the temple in Jerusalem that separated the court of the Gentiles from areas accessible only to Jews. Paul uses it as a picture to describe the spiritual barrier that separates God and humanity and which prohibits humanity's access into the presence of God. The Jewish people could go beyond the dividing wall, only because of their God ordained system of sacrifices that foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who would make peace and abolish the barrier. This is what Paul teaches with these words, "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 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" (v 14-15). It was through the death of Jesus that He abolished the Jewish system of sacrifices, which uniquely separated Jews from Gentiles. The phrase "one new man" describes something totally unlike what it was before! It speaks of being different in both kind and quality! Spiritually, a new person in Christ is no longer Jew or Gentile, only Christian! How great is that? According to God, the church (one new man), is considered a new creation where Jews and Gentiles are made one in Christ. The Bible categorizes people today as either Jews, Gentiles, or Christ followers (1 Corinthians 10:32). How's that for dealing with racism? Only God has the answer to racism! In Christ, the barrier that exists between races has been abolished! Your move. Be encouraged!