NOTES for Eph 2:19-22

The apostle Paul writes these words to a church made up mostly of former Gentiles, that is, of those who, even in the religious moments of their lives, turned not to the one God, but to a multitude of different gods, trying to extract benefit for themselves, placing themselves and their interests above the divine will. All this inevitably alienated them from the God whom Israel honored, and in relation to Israel and its God they were strangers, aliens, ungodly people.

Their turning to Christ radically changes the situation: by being united through faith with the One who, as the Son of Man, belongs to the people of Israel, and, as the Son of God, fully shares in the life of the one God, they cease to be aliens estranged from Israel on the one hand, and on the other hand acquire the most important attribute of holiness: belonging to God.

Do we understand that the same changes enter our own lives when the Good News reaches us and we respond to it with our hearts?

Apostle Paul refers constantly in his messages to the subject of Christian universalism. The serious and profound division of men in those, to whom the inheritance of the faith of the chosen people belongs, and those who are foreign to it, is overcome by Christ's death for all people. The apostle says further that a particular revelation of the Christlike secret, given to the apostles and the prophets by the Holy Spirit came true, so that the possibility of entering the Church, of entering into an alliance with God be opened to heathen. Today, those of the "heathen", that is not Israeli coming to Church, form the absolute majority in it, and that is why the understanding of the greatness of this gift dulled.

The differences which appeared between people in history are surmounted in the Church, and everything is made, according to the word of the apostle, "no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God". Therefore, these differences have in themselves a very relative importance. However the relationships between people surrounding us in the world are arranged such a way that the divisions of people in historically formed groups exist eternally and have imperishable value.

We acknowledge and understand our personality in a large measure by identifying oneself with a defined typical group of people. It was always like that, from ancient primitive tribes to complex and many-sided modern societies. In fact, the apostle proposes another way of self-identification to Christians: to be fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.

Apostle Paul writes these words to a church, composed mainly of former heathen, that is those who in religious moments of their life addressed the multitude of various gods, but only not the Only God, longing to make profit for themselves, putting their interests and themselves higher than the Divine will. All this inevitably alienated them from the God, Whom Israel adored, and in relation to Israel and its God they were foreigners, strangers, evildoers.

Their conversion to Christ changes the situation radically: being united by faith to the One Who, as Son of Man belongs to the people of Israeli, and as Son of God - completely takes part in the life of the Only God, they stop on one hand to be strangers, foreigners to Israel, but, on the other hand, they inherit the most important attribute of holiness - membership in God.

Do we understand that these same changes take place in our life, when we are caught up by the Good News, and we respond to it by heart?

Continuing the discussion of salvation and of the new people of God, Paul pays special attention to its spiritual connection with the former people of God, the Jewish people. Strictly speaking, for the apostle there are not two different peoples: after all, God conceived and created only one people of his own, and the coming of Christ changed nothing in this intention. It only expanded the boundaries of the people of God, including in it those who without Christ would never have become part of it (vv. 11-13). But the expansion was not purely mechanical. It presupposed a new quality not only in the recent Gentile converts who were joining the people, but also in the Jews themselves. The issue is above all the complete cleansing from sin that is possible only by the blood of Christ. The blood of those cleansing sacrifices that had been offered among the people of God from ancient times could not completely free either an individual person or the whole people from the power of sin, cleansing them only partially. Now, with the Savior's coming into the world, the blood he shed on the cross, his death, and his resurrection make it possible for everyone to be cleansed completely, so that sin no longer has any power over the one who has been cleansed (v. 13).

But the matter is not only cleansing, though complete deliverance from sin is a necessary condition for abiding in the Kingdom. The matter is also a new quality of spiritual life, of those relationships that bind the faithful with God, with Christ, and with one another. Paul, of course, does not speak by chance about the cross that "kills hostility" between two formerly divided parts of humanity (v. 16). For it was precisely the Savior's death on the cross and his resurrection that opened the road into the Kingdom for everyone seeking it. Earlier, when speaking about the Torah, teachers and mentors spoke of commandments and of how, by observing them, one could attain righteousness and become a living Torah. The apostle calls this the "law of commandments" (v. 15), though no one ever dared say that he had achieved the goal set by it. Now there has appeared the One who himself became the example of the living Torah, fulfilling what earlier teachers could only speak of as a beautiful but unattainable ideal (v. 15; the corresponding Greek word can mean not only "teaching," but also "example" or "model").

The new quality of spiritual life revealed by the Savior abolishes the barrier that formerly stood as an insurmountable wall between the people of God and the rest of humanity. Now the life of the Kingdom, having entered the world through Christ and in Christ, has become available to everyone who seeks it. The breath of the Kingdom that comes from the Father is now equally available both to the Jews who have accepted the good news and to the Gentiles who have turned to Christ (vv. 17-18), so that now both groups can not only live one life of the Kingdom, but also build it together, taking part in the fulfillment of God's plans connected with it (vv. 19-22).