Ephesians 2:11–22
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Sunday we focused on the section in yellow. Verse 13 is the beginning of the transition (marked by "but now") from who they were to who they are now and why. Remember to pay attention to the major conjunctions of a text. This will help you track the logical flow of the argument.
His use of "near" and "far" and "peace" are likely loose allusions to Isaiah 57:19. The broader context of this text refers to the future unification of Israel with all the peoples of the earth, which Paul clearly understood as a prophecy of what Jesus would accomplish through the church in this new kingdom era. This could only be accomplished in Christ and by his blood.
"In Christ" is one of Paul's favorite phrases to describe the state of the believer. This is a good phrase to highlight if you're a highlighting person. According to my count he uses this phrase 13x in Ephesians and more if you include the "in him" phrases which refer to Jesus. Clearly this is a significant phrase for Paul, but what does it mean? I like this definition from Frank Thielman in his commentary on Ephesians "they live within the sphere of existence that Christ defines."1 For Paul, the life of the believer exists wholly and completely identified with Jesus. He defines our very existence. He is our source of life, our truth about life, our guide through life. He is everything. Our life is centered on Christ.
Notably verse 14 shifts to the first person "we, our" instead of second person "you (pl)". This along with many other aspects of verses 14-18 lead many to suggest that Paul is here quoting from a well known tradition in their culture or perhaps an early Christian hymn.
Since Paul is already drawing on Isaiah for the "near" and "far" language he is likely also drawing Isaiah for the "peace" in v. 14. Peace in Hebrew, "shalom", refers to much more than simply the cessation of hostility but the positive aspects of peace as well: prosperity, success, welfare, state of health, friendliness, salvation, and deliverance.
The wall reference is perplexing. He could be referring to the "wall" or the curtain in the Jerusalem temple that separated the Jewish courtyard from the Gentile courtyard. Or he could be referencing a broader theology that Jesus breaks down the wall between heaven and earth and so uniting them. But remember he is writing to primarily Gentile believers in Ephesus, who have likely never visited nor are very familiar with the temple in Jerusalem. So it seems best not to make too much of this and to take this as a general reference to the Mosaic Law as a general wall, which it's obvious function is to separate. He will elaborate on in this further in v. 15.
The Jewish practices and lifestyle demanded by the Torah were the distinguishing factors of Jews living in Gentile cities. The dietary laws forbade them from eating in Gentile homes and participating in Gentile festivals. Their Sabbath laws demanded they do no work from Friday evening to Saturday evening. These practices along with their regular festivals and morals clearly delineated them from the rest of the world. For them to be united into one community these restrictions had to be removed, which Paul strongly states Jesus did. Paul is redundant in his phrasing "the law of commandments expressed in ordinances" to express the full fulfillment of the whole Law. There is much discussion about this topic at large which I will not get into here, but taken within all of what Paul and the NT authors say about the Mosaic Law it seems clear they viewed the Mosaic Law as no longer binding on the Christian church. Paul's point here is that this was a necessary step to kill the hostility and for the Jews and Gentiles to be united into "one new man".
In the broader context of this text this serves as a major part of the theology that provided the foundation for the unification of the Jews and Gentiles in the church.
Reference: Thielman, Frank. Ephesians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.