Conclusions on Former Gentiles

You, a former gentile who believes in Messiah, are no longer foreign to the covenants God made with Israel. You used to be alienated from Israel, now you’re not. No longer an alien/foreigner, but a first-class member of God’s people.

The other week, we critically dissected the first part of Ephesians 2, where Paul makes this claim of gentiles-as-first class citizens, in God’s kingdom, no longer foreigners to Israel and the covenants God made with his people; now part of the commonwealth of Israel.

Enjoy your first class seat!

Since then, we’ve had a lot of vehement debate.

The initial post generated a 15 responses as folks interpreted Paul’s letter in light of their own theologies.

A week later as we discussed this in more detail, wondering just exactly what Paul meant by this mutation:

Initial state:

• Apart from God
• Alienated from Israel
• Strangers to the covenants God made with Israel

New state:

• Brought near to God through Messiah
• Joined to the commonwealth of Israel
• Partakers of God’s covenants with Israel

Beware the mutant gentiles!  

That means gentiles have been brought near to God through Messiah, are no longer aliens to Israel, and are no longer strangers to the covenants God made with Israel.

That's some pretty deep theology there.

We finally looked at the last half of Ephesians 2. Sweet goodness, did you guys have a lot to say on this! As of this writing, we’ve have 49 comments of debate discussing this last bit where Paul tells us a mystery: this metamorphosis has come because Messiah broke down the wall dividing Jew and gentile. By abolishing the Torah on the cross.

Yeah, about that last part. As much as some Christians want that to be true, it just doesn’t pan out, as we’ll shortly see.

Let’s get out our scalpel and finish this sucker! Here is the last bit of Ephesians 2: it’s nice and short, but contains some real doozies!

He is our peace, who made both one.

He broke down the middle wall, the enmity in his flesh, the law of the commands in ordinances having done away, that the two he might create in himself into one new man, making peace, to reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity in it.

He came and proclaimed good news – peace to you – both far off and near, because through him we have the access – we both – in one Spirit unto the Father.

Then, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens of the house of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yeshua Messiah himself being chief corner-[stone], in whom all the building fitly framed together increases to an holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom also you are built together, for a home of God in the Spirit.

-Paul, in his letter to Ephesus

Whew. Let’s dissect this and see what comes out.

He is our peace, who made both one.

Who’s he talking about when he says “both”? Because we’ve studied this thing in context, we know he’s talking about Israel and the gentiles.

Ok, so to paraphrase, here’s conclusion #1: “Messiah is our peace who made Israel and the gentiles as one.”

Paul explains this a bit:

He broke down the middle wall, the enmity in his flesh, the law of the commands in ordinances having done away, that the two he might create in himself into one new man, making peace, to reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity in it.

He broke down the wall that divided us. Ok, good good good. Don’t know what the enmity in his flesh is. Skipping… He did away with the enmity, which is the Torah, slaying it on the cross. Good good…erhm, wait, WHAT?! 

Many Christians interpret this verse in this way: “Jesus Christ slew the Torah on the cross.”

Slew. To slay. That means, “destroy with violence”.

=

Is that how you interpret this, dear blog reader?

Here Paul just finished saying how gentiles are no longer foreigners to Israel and the covenants (including the Mosaic covenant!). But then Paul supposedly says, “Oh, and Messiah destroyed the covenants by slaying them on the cross.”

Folks, it ain’t addin’ up! </southern drawl>

Joking aside, there’s a deeply-rooted flaw with such an interpretation. If Paul is saying what some wish him to be saying, then Paul is contrary to Messiah, contrary to the prophets, contrary to the Psalms, contrary to pretty much all of Scripture. If Paul is saying, “Jesus violently destroyed and abolished the Torah on the cross”, then Paul’s writings would have the need to be violently ripped from the New Testament!

Fortunately, Paul is not saying that.

Fortunately, Paul is in alignment with Messiah.

And we don’t have to perform any airy spiritual acrobatics to interpret in such a way that Messiand and Paul are not at odds with each other.

After discussing this verse with you fine blog readers and hearing your own interpretations, my own interpretation comes to this, conclusion #2:

As Israel was kept separate from the nations through Torah, hostility abounded. Messiah destroyed the hostility-wall.

Simple.

And no Scriptural acrobatics required.

So Messiah destroyed the hostility between Jew and gentile, Israel and the nations. Ok, how exactly is that accomplished? Since Torah is still here (as Messiah said, “until heaven and earth pass away”), how is it that there’s no hostility between Jew and gentile?

Well, truth be told, there is still hostility. I sense it even on this blog, in the comments. I sense it in the religion of Messianic Judaism.

But if we are walking perfectly with Messiah, that hostility would not exist. And this is Paul’s next point:

He came and proclaimed good news – peace to you – both far off and near, because through him we have the access – we both – in one Spirit unto the Father.

This hostility is broken down because we both have equal access to God through Messiah. If I could paraphrase, I’d say, “Messiah brought good news to both Israel and the gentiles: through Him, both have access to God.”

Makes sense.

And Paul ties it all together – why was he talking about “former gentiles” before? How does this fit?

Therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens of the house of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yeshua Messiah himself being chief corner-[stone], in whom all the building framed together increases to an holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom also you are built together, for a home of God in the Spirit.

Gentiles are no longer strangers to the things of God: Israel or the covenants with Israel. Instead, you’re fellow-citizens with Israel. You’re built on Messiah, the prophets, the apostles. You’re the Temple. 

Conclusion 

To summarize and paraphrase, this is what Ephesians 2 is all about:

You gentiles used to follow the ways of the world, sinning without remorse. Rebels against God. You were dead. You were separate from Israel. A complete foreigner to all of the covenants God made with His people Israel --no Torah, no God, no life!

But God loved all humanity; he saved us by giving Messiah. He did it to show how great He is. It's all Him, we sure didn't warrant it!

Now even gentiles can be set right with God.

In doing this, Messiah became that shalom that makes Jew and gentile as one.

Because of the Torah, there was hostility between Israel and the gentiles. But He destroyed this hostility by bringing peace to both Jew and gentile, giving both of us access to God.

Because of that, you gentiles are fellow citizens with Israel in God’s house, you each have become a Temple to house God’s Spirit, a Temple built on the prophets and the apostles, with Messiah himself as the bedrock.

-My summarized, simplified interpretation of Ephesians 2

After weeks of Scriptural study and having heard the opinions and interpretations of you fine blog readers, this is the conclusion I’ve drawn.

One thing I was hoping this study would do is give us a better idea of how Torah applies to gentiles, and whether gentiles become Jews.

It’s shed a little light, I think:

• Gentiles do not magically change lineage to become Jews. Gentiles are still non-Jews, the nations.
• Gentiles are no longer foreigners to the any of God’s covenants, including the Torah.
• Gentiles are fellow citizens of the commonwealth of Israel

Does that mean Torah applies to gentiles?

If you are not a foreigner, but a fellow citizen of the commonwealth of Israel, Torah applies to even the gentiles who were once far off but now are near.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? If God wants even the previously-unclean gentiles to be clean, wouldn’t He apply the same standard of cleanliness to both Jew and gentile?

He told Israel how to be holy in a day-to-day life using very practical and concise commandments about what’s right and what’s wrong. Christian blog reader, you may be surprised to know these day-to-day instructions exist in the first half of your Bible.

There exists but one standard of right and wrong for God’s people, whether native born Israelites or you former gentiles who are fellow citizens, joined to the commonwealth of Israel, no longer foreigners to God’s covenants with Israel. That standard is Torah, embodied by Messiah who showed us how to live. Messiah made Jew and gentile as equals before God not by destroying the Torah, but by giving both Jews and gentiles access to God through himself.