“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that through Your death, burial and resurrection, You have brought to You, everyone who was far off. You have reconciled us to You so that we could be members of Your household. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
Let us continue to dwell on this matter that the gift of His Holy Spirit was given to all who were far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.
Acts 2:38-40 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (40) And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
Yesterday, we considered the over-arching plan of God to reconcile man and creation to Him. Let us now consider this passage in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, to know the details of how the Lord God made this possible.
Ephesians 2:13-22 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. We the Gentiles were far off. We were brought into fellowship with God through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. How did He make this possible?
(14) For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, (15) having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
He became our peace or Jesus has brought reconciliation between Jew and Gentile and He has also brought reconciliation between all of humanity with God. How was this reconciliation accomplished?
What stood between us and God was the law of commandments and ordinances. This was the handwriting that God gave Moses. We had all fallen short of the righteous requirements of the Law. Jesus took this handwriting away by nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Jesus could do this work on the cross because He came in the flesh and fulfilled the righteousness of the Law in His flesh. Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
He thus took our sin on Himself on the cross and He has made us righteous before God. II Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
We now pick up the thread in the book of Ephesians.
(16) and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. This statement becomes clear to us. The difference between Jew and Gentile has been taken away and we both have common access to God, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Since the middle wall was removed, He has brought us, who were far off, close to Him. (17) And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
Having removed what stood in the way of our reconciliation with one another and with God, through the cross, He has given us an ongoing life of reconciliation through the gift of His Holy Spirit (18) For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Jew and Gentile, with God, have now become the household of God. (19) Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
The prophets (OT) and the Apostles (NT) are now the common foundation for both Jews and Gentiles. We are all being built together by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. (20) having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, (21) in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, (22) in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Apostle Paul saw this as His calling, which was to bring people who were far off, which were the Gentiles, to fellowship with the Jews and to God.
Ephesians 3:5-8 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: (6) that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, (7) of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. (8) To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
We, Gentiles, who were far off, have now been brought near to God by the work of Jesus on the cross and by the gift of His Holy Spirit.