In this message we come to Eph. 2:16-19, where we see that the Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled to God in one Body and that now we, the believers, are fellow-citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.
Ephesians 2:16 says, “And might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, slaying the enmity by it.” The word “both” refers to the Jews and the Gentiles. Not only the uncircumcised Gentiles but also the circumcised Jews needed reconciliation to God through the redemption of Christ accomplished on His cross.
Verse 16 says that the Jews and the Gentiles have been reconciled in one Body. This one Body, the church (Eph. 1:22-23), is the one new man in the previous verse. It was in this Body that both the Jews and the Gentiles were reconciled to God through the cross. We, the believers, both Jews and Gentiles, were reconciled not only for the Body of Christ, but also in the Body of Christ. What a revelation here! We were reconciled to God; we were saved in the Body of Christ.
We usually regard reconciliation as an individual matter; we do not often think of corporate reconciliation. However, the proper and genuine reconciliation is in the one Body. The Body is the instrument, the means, by which we were reconciled to God. According to Col. 3:15, we have even been called in the one Body.
This corporate concept pervades the New Testament. Our concept, however, is that we were reconciled to God as individuals. But in the eyes of God we have been called in one Body and reconciled to Him in the Body. The exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt is a clear picture of this. In Egypt the children of Israel were, in a sense, far off from God. After they were brought out of Egypt and passed through the Red Sea together, at Mount Sinai they were reconciled to God as one congregation, not as individuals. That was a type of our being reconciled to God in the one Body. We today need to have this corporate concept. Do not think that you have been saved individually. On the contrary, we were saved all together and reconciled to God in one Body.
Originally, we were without God, far away from God. But, through the cross with the blood of Christ, we have been brought back to God in the one Body. As long as we are in the Body, we are one with God. But if we are outside the Body, we are separated from Him.
Our reconciliation to God in the one Body was accomplished through the cross. The cross of Christ, on the one hand, has slain the enmity caused by the ordinances which were given because of the flesh, and, on the other hand, has redeemed us with the blood of Christ shed upon it. It was through this cross that both Jews and Gentiles were reconciled in one Body to God.
Verse 17 says, “And coming, He preached the gospel of peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near.” This refers to the coming of Christ as the Spirit to preach the gospel of peace, which He has accomplished through His cross. Those who were far off are the uncircumcised Gentiles who were separated by the flesh. Those who were near are the circumcised Jews who were brought near by God’s choosing.
The very Christ who died on the cross to slay the ordinances in order to create the new man, and shed His blood in order to reconcile us to God, came to us as the Spirit to preach the gospel of peace. This means that Christ has come as the life-giving Spirit, even as the preaching Spirit. Both those who were far off and those who were near needed to hear these good tidings of peace.
The preaching of the gospel is merely the objective fact; it is not the experience. Hence, after receiving this preaching, we need the experience, which is the access to the Father in the one Spirit. This access is constituted of Christ’s cross and His blood (Heb. 10:19).
Both Jewish and Gentile believers have access to the Father through Christ — the very Christ who abolished the law of the commandments in ordinances, broke down the middle wall of partition, slew the enmity to reconcile the Gentiles to the Jews, and shed His blood for redeeming both to God.
As verse 18 points out, our access unto the Father is in the one Spirit. If we have the cross without the Spirit, we have the fact without the experience. Hence, the Spirit is crucial. Firstly, both the Jewish and Gentile believers were reconciled in one Body to God (v. 16). That was a positional matter. Then we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father. This is experiential.
This access in one Spirit is unto the Father. Positionally we were reconciled to God; experientially we have access unto the Father. To be reconciled to God is to be saved; to have access unto the Father is to enjoy God, who, as the source of life, has regenerated us to be His sons.
In the one Body we have been reconciled to God through the cross. This is a fact. Now we may have access unto the Father and contact Him directly. This is an experience. We have been reconciled to God positionally for salvation, and we have access unto the Father experientially for enjoyment. It is significant that these verses do not say that we are reconciled to the Father and have access to God. No, having been reconciled to God once for all, we now have access to the Father for a continual enjoyment.
In verse 18 the Trinity of the Godhead is implied. Through God the Son who is the Accomplisher, the means, and in God the Spirit who is the Executor, the application, we have access to God the Father who is the Originator, the source of our enjoyment.
In verses 15 and 16 the Apostle Paul mentions the one new man before the Body. What is the reason for this? In order to answer this question we need to consider 2:14-16 again. As we come to these verses, we should not come with our natural concepts, religious understanding, or doctrinal preoccupations, all of which make us dull and insensitive in understanding the Word. Because the aspect of the church as the Body is not as high as that of the new man, we may think that the Body should be mentioned first. But how could there be the Body if there were not first a man? Firstly we speak about a man and then about the body of the man. The creation of the new man was primary, and the producing of the Body was secondary. Therefore, Paul firstly said that Christ’s death on the cross abolished in His flesh the ordinances in order to create in Himself the one new man. By doing this, the Body was produced. As soon as the man was created, the Body came into being. In this regard the word “and” at the beginning of verse 16 is significant; it connects the thought of reconciliation in the one Body with that of the creation of the one new man. When Christ created the two, the Jews and the Gentiles, into one new man, He reconciled them in one Body to God. For this reason, Paul mentioned the new man before the Body.
Remember, Christ did not reconcile individuals. He reconciled two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles, in one Body. If He had merely reconciled individual sinners, He would not have needed to reconcile them in the Body. But in order to reconcile two collective peoples, He had to do so in the Body.
The Jews and the Gentiles once were separated, but on the cross Christ broke down the wall of separation and created them into one entity, the one new man. But what about their relationship to God? In order for them to be reconciled to God, there was the need of a body as the instrument. When Christ created the two into one new man, He simultaneously reconciled them to God in one Body. When they were created into the new man, it was possible for them to be reconciled to God in one Body. Hence, the one Body was the means through which they were reconciled to God. Therefore, in verses 15 and 16 the one new man is mentioned before the Body.
After being reconciled to God, there was still the need for the Jews and the Gentiles to have access unto the Father for enjoyment. This access is not merely in the Body, but also in the Spirit. To be in the Body is a fact, but to be in the Spirit is an experience. Although we are in the Body, we may not be in the Spirit. Instead, we may be in our wandering thoughts. As you sit in a meeting, for example, you may travel around the world in your mind. This illustrates the fact that we need to be experientially in the Spirit.
When we are in the Spirit, we enjoy the Father. We may have God in fact by being in the Body, but if we would enjoy the Father in experience, we must be in the Spirit. Once we were far off from God, but we have been reconciled to Him positionally. Now there is no separation, no partition, between us and God. However, if we are not in the Spirit, we do not have the enjoyment of this fact. Hence, in order to enjoy experientially what we possess positionally, we need to be in the Spirit.
Now we come to verse 19: “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow-citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.” This verse covers two aspects of the church: the kingdom, indicated by the term “fellow-citizens,” and the family of God, indicated by the phrase “the household of God.”
Verse 19 says that we, the Gentiles, are no longer strangers and sojourners. The word “you” in this verse refers to the Gentile believers. Strangers are aliens, and sojourners are foreigners sojourning among the Israelites without the right of citizenship. Both refer to the Gentiles.
Now that we are no longer strangers and sojourners, we are fellow-citizens of the saints. The term “fellow-citizens” indicates the kingdom of God. All the believers, both Jewish and Gentile, are citizens of God’s kingdom, which is a sphere wherein God exercises His authority. As long as anyone is a believer, he is a citizen of the kingdom of God. This citizenship involves rights and responsibilities. We enjoy the rights of the kingdom, and we bear the responsibilities of the kingdom. These two things always go together. For example, as citizens of the United States, we enjoy certain rights, but we must also fulfill our responsibility to pay taxes.
Verse 19 reveals that we are also “members of the household of God.” This phrase indicates the house of God. Both the Jewish and Gentile believers are members of God’s house. God’s house is a matter of life and enjoyment; all believers were born of God into His house to enjoy His riches. God’s kingdom is a matter of rights and responsibility; all believers who were born into the house of God have the civil rights of and bear responsibility in the kingdom of God. In such a short verse two profound matters are covered: the kingdom of God with its rights and responsibilities and the house of God with its enjoyment of the Father’s life and riches.
Verse 19 speaks of the saints, the house of God, and the kingdom of God. The saints are individuals, but the house of God is corporate and results in the kingdom of God. If there were no house, there could be no kingdom. Firstly we are saints, individuals. Then, corporately, we are the house of God resulting in the kingdom of God. Therefore, we have both the individual aspect of the Christian life and the corporate aspect in the house of God and the kingdom of God.
In verse 19 why does the Apostle Paul refer to the kingdom of God before the house of God? Paul’s thought here concerns our former status as strangers and sojourners. Strangers and sojourners are related to a kingdom, not to a household. Those who are aliens in this country are not aliens in relation to a family, but in relation to the nation. Because strangers and sojourners are aliens to kingdoms, not to families, Paul mentions the kingdom first. In this verse Paul’s main concept is that of citizenship in God’s kingdom. The kingdom, however, is composed of families. For this reason, Paul also mentions the household of God, that is, the family of God.
In verse 19 there is the thought of intimacy, seen in the term fellow- citizens. As unsaved Gentiles, we once were far off from God and the commonwealth of Israel, but now we have an intimate relationship with the saints. We are fellow-citizens of the saints and members of God’s household. Among the citizens of the United States, there is a certain intimacy. But this intimacy cannot compare with that among members of a family. The Jews and the Gentiles are not only citizens of the same kingdom, but also folks of the same family. We need to regard the saints in an intimate way as our folks. Being members of the family of God must not only be our doctrine, but also our experience. In the universe God has just one household, one family. No matter what our background may be, as believers we all are members of God’s unique universal family, and all the saints are our folks. Do not take this matter lightly, but consider it seriously as an important aspect of the church. What an intimate relationship we have in the household of God!
