But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace… (Ephesians 2:13–14)
The believer’s walk is marked with constant collision with the flesh, the world, and the devil. We still live in a fallen world with its fallen system around us. For this reason, we find ourselves oftentimes distracted, confused, and defeated. Eventually, our joy ceases to manifest. We become numb to the degree that we no longer desire the things of God and yet we take pleasures from the things of the world. Our appetite for the sweetness of Christ grows weaker and our affections for the bitter waters of the world become stronger.
We may constrain ourselves to the commands of Scriptures. We may subject our bodies to godly discipline. We may read how-to books and follow them. But when all is said and done, if it is not the proper fuel when it comes to walking with God, we’ll just end up burnt-out and joyless. As a Christian, we need a better prime mover by which we can be compelled to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1).”
What must be the Christian’s constant fuel to be able to enjoy his walk with Christ? David had a prayer written in Psalm 51:12:
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. (Psalms 51:12)
A deeper appreciation of Christ will grow in us if we are always reminded of the salvation that God has wrought in us through Him. The joy that salvation produces is always there. The problem is man’s appreciation of it becomes lesser as he indulges himself to the things of the world that is why he loses his joy. This is why David said, “restore TO ME the joy of Your salvation”. Like David, we can only be truly joyful if we are constantly amazed by God’s work of salvation as revealed in the gospel. Ask yourself the question,
When was the last time that I stand amazed in the grace of God?
In this post, we will have a closer look to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust that the Spirit of God will shine upon our hearts the light of the gospel and will restore to us the joy of God’s salvation. May the Spirit create in us a special love for Christ and His word as we get a deeper understanding of the gospel.
The Gospel is the Gospel of Peace because we were once God’s Enemies.
Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh — who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands — that at that time you were 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. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11–13)
Paul told the churches in Ephesus to remember their past state. It may sound off if you are used to hearing expressions such as “don’t think negatively”, “you attract what you think”. When Paul told them to remember who they were, he is essentially telling them to remember their sinful state and what they lack apart from Christ. It is not a call to think negatively or to be sin-conscious. We remember who we were not to condemn ourselves but to appreciate more the glory of the gospel. As the stars shine the brightest on a pitch-black canvas of the night sky, so is the gospel shines the most at the recognition of our past sinful state.
Now, Paul listed what the Ephesians lacked apart from Christ:
- Without Christ;
- Aliens (foreigners) from the commonwealth of Israel;
- Strangers from the covenants of promise;
- Having no hope; and
- Without God in the world.
God is the God of Israel. The ethnic Israel is the object upon which God bestows His blessings. They are His chosen nation (Deut. 14:2) and for this reason to them “pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises (Romans 9:4)”. Such blessings were not originally given to the Gentiles (other nations). Now, we are Gentiles as well. In the past, we were without Christ and the ultimate effect of this is being without God in the world.
Essentially, without Christ we have no reconciliation with God. In other words, we have no peace with Him. Having no peace with God means we were His enemies. Why is that? We have to go back to what the essence of sin is. To sin is to “fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)” which means to not glorify Him. We have to remember that sinning is more than just committing a silly mistake. It is a willful rebellion against God. Whenever we sin, we are committing a cosmic treason, a rebellion against the Divine. For this reason, our being becomes sinful in nature. We are sinners not because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. Because of our sinfulness we “were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Eph. 2:3)”. We were once an object of God’s wrath and God is wrathful towards His enemies. This is the bad news that only the gospel can solve.
The Gospel is the Gospel of Peace because Christ Himself is our Peace.
After telling the Ephesians to remember their past state, Paul goes on and makes an important transition:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)
Just like the Ephesians, we were once far off not only because we are not a part of Israel but because we were literally without Christ and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Remember that the problem is being separated from God so the solution must be a reconciliation.
The gospel message tells us that we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. That’s the good news there! It is not our own blood that was shed to atone for our sins. It is the precious blood of the Lamb of God that was shed on the cross for the remission of our sins. We know for sure that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), but we have to be reminded that His blood also made us reconciled to God, thus making peace with Him.
For He Himself [Christ] is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, (Ephesians 2:14)
Christ Himself is our peace with God by His blood. How does it happen? At the cross, Jesus became guilty by imputation. The Prophet Isaiah wrote,
And the LORD has laid on Him [Christ] the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
Jesus knew no sin and He has no sin of His own (2 Cor. 5:21) but because our sins were laid or imputed on Him, He became guilty by imputation. In fact, the Father Himself “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21)”. Christ became sin for us and for this reason He became the object of God’s wrath. We have to remember that God is not only love, He is also just. His justice demands that the guilty be punished that is why the punishment that we deserve fell upon Christ. Christ became the propitiation, that is, a sacrifice that removes wrath. The Father’s wrath was completely satisfied through the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how He reconciled the sinners to the Holy God thus making peace with Him. Isaiah wrote,
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, (Isaiah 53:5)
Man can never be right or be at peace with God by his own works. It takes the sacrifice of the sinless, perfect Son of God to reconcile man to God. We can conclude now:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…(Romans 5:1)
The Gospel of Peace produces double reconciliation
1. Jews and Gentiles reconciled with one another
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, (Ephesians 2:14–15)
Remember that the Gentiles are not part of Israel and thus have no part in the blessings which are for Israel. But Jesus made both (Jews & Gentiles) one by breaking down the middle wall of separation. Now, therefore, the Gentiles are “no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19)”. We are now one new man in Christ. We are the new creation in Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
2. Jews & Gentiles both reconciled to God
…and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:16–18)
The means of God to reconcile us to Himself is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The cross is where the Lord atoned for the sins of many, absorbing God’s wrath thus satisfying His justice. Now, peace is being proclaimed to those who were afar off (Gentiles) and to those who are near (Jews). As the new creation in Christ, we now have access by the Spirit of God to the Father.
The greatest problem of man is not his empty bank account, not his failing body, not his relationships, not his lack of job, and not his slow temporal success. Such things will be addressed by God if and only if He wills it. But the greatest problem of man is being without Christ and without God in the world or in other words, having no peace with God. The gospel is the only message that tells men how to be reconciled to God.
The gospel of peace produces joy and comfort in the heart of the believer. Joy, because being reconciled to God, knowing that we were once His enemies, is the ultimate gift one can have. This is also our motivation to know Christ more — His person and His works. The gospel drives us to love Him and His words. The gospel compels us to joyfully pursue Him and to desire Him above all else. The joy that we have from Him enables us to easily abandon all the pleasures in the world. Comfort, because though we are Christians and under the covenant of God’s grace, we are not exempted from this life’s struggles and problems. In fact, Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33). But the gospel of peace brings comfort in our hearts and reminds us that we are pilgrims in this world and we ought to have our eyes be stamped with eternity so that we will constantly hold on to the hope that is in Christ — the hope that one day we will finally be with God in heaven.
