The passage here deals with alienation and reconciliation. We are first of all alienated from God our Creator because of the fall; we are also alienated from one another, our fellow human beings.
The Apostle here highlighted that Christ has reconciled us to God through the cross; He also reconciled us to one another by breaking down the wall of hostility between various races, bringing peace, and creating a new society, united in Him. In particular, in Paul’s situation, the hostility between Jews and Gentiles was rather severe. The Jews had a great contempt for the Gentiles, considering them ‘unclean’. In Christ Jesus, He had made both groups one by breaking down the wall of hostility and effected reconciliation, peace and unity.
To the Jews, the Gentiles were alienated from the nation of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise God made with Israel. In this sense, the Gentiles were without hope and without God in this world. Socially, and religiously, they were separated from the Jews. The temple wall that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the temple proper was a symbol of the enmity between the Gentiles and the Jews.
The Gentiles who were far away from God had been brought near. They were separated from the people of God but now, in Christ, they have become citizens of heaven and members of God’s family. More than that, in Christ, Jews, Gentiles and all who are His people are together built into the temple of God. In this temple, Christ is the cornerstone and the apostles are the foundation. God dwells in them not only as individuals but also as a community.
God chose Israel through a covenant with Abraham by circumcision, a physical sign for the Jews to be God’s people. God’s intention was to reach the world through Israel. Israel failed to fulfil this calling although she was given the Mosaic covenant with the Law to guide her to keep the covenant and to lead the rest of the world to respond to God. Consequently, the Gentiles remained outside God’s covenant and law. The Jews considered the Gentiles as those outside God’s plan of salvation for His people.
But the Jews, in seeking to be justified by keeping the Law through works, failed to recognise that salvation comes by grace through faith in God and His plan of salvation through His Son. Salvation comes to us through the cross; those in the Old Testament context looked forward to the cross for salvation whilst those in the New Testament look backward to the cross for salvation. In both contexts, it is still by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrificial,. substitutional death on the cross. Through the cross, salvation comes to Jews and Gentiles alike. Reconciliation of the Jews and Gentiles also comes about through the cross and the new covenant God gives with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Law of God is now written, not on stones, but on the hearts of people who are born again and ‘recreated’ by God.
Paul said that Jesus set aside in His flesh the law with its commands in reconciling the Gentiles and the Jews to God through the cross? What did he mean? Paul was referring probably to the ceremonial law of the Jews which constituted a serious barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus set this aside because in the cross He fulfilled all the types and shadows of the Old Testament ceremonial system. Jesus did not abolish the moral law as a standard of behaviour (this is still relevant to Christians today). Note how Jesus often highlighted the importance of the ten commandmenets. But He did abolish the law as a way of salvation. We cannot obey the law perfectly however hard we try. This separates us from God and from each other. Jesus, however, perfectly obeyed the law in His life and bore the consequences of our disobedience by taking upon Himself the “curse of the law” at the cross in order to free us from it.
What is rather tragic is that it is the divisiveness in the church, both then and today. The church sees more barriers set up: racism, nationalism, class divides, personal animosities fueled by pride, prejudice, jealousy and even an artificial differentiation between pastors and laity. We must realize that this is offensive to God. How can we set up barriers when Christ has demolished them? In Christ, through love, understanding and prayer these barriers can be overcome.
A divided church of God also hinders the world from believing in Christ and the gospel. The church is no longer a visual model and demonstration of the good news of reconciliation and love. We are not saying that the church has to be perfect; but we are certainly saying that the church cannot preach the gospel effectively when she is tolerating racial and social barriers within the church, behaving as if nothing is amiss in God’s eyes.