No Barrier
Ephesians 2:11–22
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one. Ephesians 2:14

Not only is fellowship with the Father restored, but fellowship between estranged human beings also—if they are in Christ. Jesus’s death for sin opened the way to God for all who will come to God by him. And since the greater barrier (between God and man) is down, there is no need for the lesser barriers (between individuals). In fact, they inevitably fall with the large one.

The reason is that the veil between ourselves and God drops only for those who are in Christ. And if we are in Christ, then there can never be a barrier between us and others who are also in Christ; otherwise Christ would be divided. If we are in him, we are in the same place. We are members of the one body, and peace has been restored between all who are members of it.

Consider two points.

First, if you are in Christ, then in God’s sight you are one with every other believer—whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, bond or free—regardless of any distinction whatever. Therefore, you must act like that. You may not see eye to eye with every other Christian on everything. But you must not break with them! You must realize that regardless of your differences of opinion, the unity that you have with them is greater than the unity you will ever have with anyone else in the world, even if the unbeliever is of the same class, race, nationality, sex (or whatever) as you are. Your duty is to live in harmony with these brothers and sisters in Christ, and to let the world know that you are members of one spiritual family. That in itself should be a large portion of your witness.

Second, if you are not yet “in Christ,” you should learn that your most basic problem is to be found in your personal relationship to Jesus Christ. There is an objective side to Christ’s work. It is described as his “making peace” between men and “reconcil[ing] both . . . to God in one body through the cross” (vv. 15, 16). It is what Jesus did on Calvary by his death. But there is a subjective side as well. It is the part in which we are joined to him by faith as we hear and respond to the gospel. This is why verse 17 speaks of preaching: “He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.”

So the final question is this: Are you in him? If not, you remain divided from countless other human beings and, what is much worse, from God himself. If you come to him, he will remove the barrier and make you a part of that new humanity that he is uniting in himself.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.