Woodcut engraving of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Ephesians
Lesson Five
The Wall Was Between People
Ephesians 2:11–22
Ephesians 2
The Same Story Twice
Us and God · 2:1–10
Us and each other · 2:11–22
The bad news
dead
without God
The turn
But God
But now
What Christ did
alive with Christ
one new man
Who that makes us
his handiwork
a dwelling for God
But now
Peace · Ephesians 2:14–17
Greek
eirēnē
εἰρήνη
the absence of war
Hebrew
shalom
שָׁלוֹם
peace · friendship · happiness · well-being · prosperity · health · luck · kindness · salvation
The temple warning inscription from Jerusalem, Istanbul Archaeology Museums
The Dividing Wall · Ephesians 2:14
“No foreigner is to enter within the forecourt and the balustrade around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his subsequent death.”
Temple warning inscription · Jerusalem
Istanbul Archaeology Museums · photo CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Leviticus 20:26 · Genesis 12:3
The Law Set Israel Apart
Apart from the nations
“I have set you apart from the nations to be my own”
Leviticus 20:26
For the nations
“all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”
Genesis 12:3
Ephesians 2:15
One New Man
Jew
one new man
Gentile
created, the verb of 2:10
Ephesians 2:12 · 2:19–22
No Longer Foreigners
Then · 2:12
Now · 2:19–22
excluded from citizenship
fellow citizens
foreigners to the covenants
no longer foreigners
without God in the world
a dwelling in which God lives
Isaiah 28:16 · Ephesians 2:20–21
The Cornerstone
A wall of stones laid off one red cornerstone at the bottom left: a blue foundation row labeled apostles and prophets, courses above joined together, and the top course still rising
Christ Jesus
Apostles and prophets
Joined together
Rises
Ephesians 2:5–6 · 2:19–22
Together With
With Christ · 2:5–6
With each other · 2:19–22
made alive with
fellow citizens
raised with
joined together
seated with
built together
The wall was between people.