PEACE: Daily Reading Plan #5
Ephesians 2:11-18
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Jesus is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), and He explicitly preached peace (John 14:27; Matthew 5:9). Notice, too, Paul's reminder that Jesus "came" to earth. He had eternally existed prior to coming to earth (John 1:1–3), yet came to offer peace to all people, Jews and Gentiles. He offered peace both to the "distant" Gentiles, as well as to the "nearby" Jewish nation. Through the apostles and early believers, Jesus offered peace to those in Israel as well as to those "far off" in realms well beyond the Promised Land (Acts 1:8).
God has always been concerned for people beyond just the nation of Israel. Examples from Jonah (God's concern for Nineveh), Daniel (the Babylonians), and Jesus Himself reveal that God's love extends to all who believe in Him. Thanks to the cross of Christ, all people have the same access to God. This message was to be spread to all nations or people groups (Matthew 28:19–20), something already taking place during Paul's ministry to Ephesus and beyond.
Reflection Questions
- What do these verses reveal about peace?
- What are you called to do as a result of recognizing that Jesus brought us peace with God and with others?
