The Wall of Separation

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation between us, 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, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” Eph. 2:14-16.

The middle wall of separation between Israel and the Gentiles was the law contained in ordinances. The Gentiles were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, since God saw that the weakness of the flesh hindered people from attaining righteousness. So He sent His Son to condemn sin in the flesh. But when sin was condemned, of course the law—which was given on account of sinful flesh—also had to be abolished. Stephen says that they (the Jews) betrayed and murdered the Just One, and that they received the law by the direction of angels but did not keep it. Acts 7:52-53.

So the flesh is where the enmity dwells. Those who killed the Lord of glory considered themselves to be far superior to the Gentiles because they had received the law and the covenants. But Christ broke down the flesh in His own body and thereby made the law unnecessary and placed the Jews—who boasted about having received the law—on the same level as the Gentiles who had no law. Then He sent His Spirit as a testimony that sin in the flesh had been destroyed. So both Jews and Gentiles, in the same Spirit, could overcome what the law was unable to give victory over. He opened a new and living way for us through the veil, that is His flesh.

However, no one must believe that Christ opened the way so that we could avoid walking on it. No, by obedience to the Spirit—or in other words, by obedience to the faith—we must break our way through our own flesh in order to come to the Father, who is perfection. It is the same for both Jews and Greeks. This is why Paul was appointed to bring about obedience to the faith among the Gentiles for His name’s sake. Rom. 1:5. God is only honored by obedience to the faith. As we press forward in this life, our faith grows—we go from faith to faith. And then we not only honor God once, we continually honor Him. And if we honor God, He will glorify us, so that we go forward from glory to glory.

God broke down the enmity between the Jews and Gentiles through the body of Christ. But when two Gentiles—even two so-called Christian Gentiles—live in enmity, that shows very clearly that the breaking down of the flesh through the Spirit, in the body of Christ and in the fellowship of His sufferings, has not taken place. Unity in the same body and in the common suffering in the flesh, toward the same goal—the Father—is only attained through the cross, where the mutual enmity, with its numerous factions and walls of separation, is broken down.

Instead of there being enmity in the body, a church grows forth in that very same body, through the cross, where everyone has the same mind, as far as they’ve progressed. It is a church filled with the knowledge of God, because all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge come into the body of Christ through obedience. It is a church whose stewardship has been a mystery hidden in God from the beginning of time (Eph. 3:9), but which has now been revealed, so that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

Have we shared in Christ’s work of breaking down the flesh to such a degree that we have tasted some of this fellowship in the Spirit and this wisdom?

Or do you think that the work of breaking down that took place in Christ’s body was done so that you could avoid it? This is what all enemies of the cross of Christ teach, being ignorant of the word of truth because of the very same enmity.

But from us—as many as are partaking in the breaking down of this enmity—there will always be songs of praise for the everlasting riches of His grace in the sufferings, comfort in the midst of sorrow, and refreshment in the midst of weariness.