Remember

The Greatness and Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:12–22)

12 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 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, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

In Ephesians 2:12–22, Paul presents the Gospel not as a mere religious idea but as a divine act that reshapes reality itself. He writes to a mixed audience — Gentiles and Jews — who once stood on opposite sides of a deep historical and spiritual divide. The Gentiles, he says, were once “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” This is not simply a description of lostness; it is a portrait of spiritual exile. Humanity stood outside the covenant family, separated from God and from one another. The greatness of the Gospel begins precisely here — in God’s willingness to enter into this hopeless distance and close it through Christ.

Paul’s next phrase explodes with divine reversal: “But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” The truth of the Gospel rests on this cosmic movement — not humanity ascending to God through effort or law, but God descending to humanity in mercy. The blood of Christ, symbolizing His sacrificial death, is not just an act of forgiveness but an act of unification. It is through that self-giving love that the dividing wall between peoples, between heaven and earth, collapses.

Paul continues: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition.” This “wall” was both literal — like the barrier in the Jerusalem Temple that separated Gentiles from Jews — and metaphorical, representing sin, pride, and estrangement. Christ does not negotiate peace; He is peace. He abolishes the system of hostility that kept humanity fractured. In doing so, He forms what Paul calls “one new man,” a new humanity no longer defined by tribal, ethnic, or ritual boundaries but by shared life in Christ. This is not mere reconciliation; it is recreation.

The Gospel’s greatness lies in this creative power. Where human effort produces division, the grace of God produces unity. The Gospel does not merely patch up broken relationships — it births an entirely new kind of community, one that mirrors God’s own character. Through Christ, we are “no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God.” The Church, in this sense, is not a social club or a moral association; it is the visible reality of a restored cosmos. In it, heaven’s architecture becomes visible on earth.

Paul ends with architectural imagery: believers are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” The cornerstone determines the structure’s alignment and stability. Likewise, Christ determines the shape and direction of the new humanity. Every believer is a “living stone,” joined together into a dwelling place for God’s Spirit. The Gospel, then, is not only about saving individuals from sin but about constructing a temple — a living, breathing sanctuary — where God dwells among His people.

In summary

The greatness and truth of the Gospel in Ephesians 2:12–22 lie in its total scope: it redeems, reconciles, and rebuilds. It addresses the human condition of alienation and answers it with divine nearness. It shatters hostility and creates peace. It transforms strangers into family and rebuilds humanity into God’s temple. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not an abstract doctrine; it is the unveiling of a new creation, where God and humanity dwell together again.

That is the essence of Christian hope — not escape from the world, but its renewal through the life of Christ.