Ephesians: Life in God's Diverse FamilySample

“For He is our peace.” Now typically, when this text is read, we think that peace is like there’s peaceful circumstances. Look, family. This is so important. There’s not going to be total peace in circumstances until the new heaven and new earth. Our world is not yet redeemed. But the peace that Paul is talking about in this passage is the peace that we get with God. It’s the other side of reconciliation. Because we’re friends with God, we have the peace of God. It means that God no longer holds our sins against us. They have been thrown into the sea of God’s forgotten memory. They’ve been nailed to the cross. They’ve been erased. They have been forgotten. God becomes a spiritual amnesiac. 

It’s totally forgotten. Why? Because it’s in the blood and you have peace with God and then horizontally peace with your brothers, peace with your sisters who don’t look like you, don’t think like you, who don’t act like you, but who are part of this beautifully diverse family. That’s a mosaic that displays the face of the one who is grace.

“For He is our peace.” “He made both groups one.” Who are the groups? For Jewish people, there were two groups of humanity, Jews and Gentiles. For Romans and Greeks the groups of humanity were Romans and Greeks and barbarians. Barbarian was a negative slang for people who were not Greek or Roman. And so we have this ethnic tension here, but notice what Paul says. “For He is our peace who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.”

Paul is saying that on the cross, Jesus presents a new way to be human. He presents a way that says, “I am your peace.” Peace is not something we have to work for. Peace with each other is a gift that God gives us. He’s saying, “I have given you a gift that keeps on giving. Why don’t you live in it? Why don’t you receive it?” As a matter of fact, in the words of the great theologian, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Give it away, give it away, give it away now.” God gave us peace to give it away, give it away, give it away now. This peace breaks down the hostility.

Here’s the question: are you and I willing to access that peace? It’s available to us. This peace put hostility to death.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:7 "blessed are the peacemaker". For through Him, we both have access in one spirit to the Father. Jesus uses the Aramaic word Abba for Father, and it means near my heart. Abba has no favorites, whether you’re black or white or Asian, Latino, male, female, rich, poor, middle-class. Abba has no favorites. You know why? Because we are in Christ. Therefore, we treat each other like we are in Christ.

This new race of grace is characterized by peace. We experience ethnic unity as the church becomes peacemakers in the world.

Respond

Share a time in your life when Jesus was your peacemaker.

Write a brief prayer for someone you know who needs the peace that comes through accepting Jesus.

Prayer 

Father God, show me where and how to be a peacemaker today!