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same spirit and in the same water; yet Peter could pass through the barrier and Cornelius
must remain outside. It was the cause of much enmity. Paul's imprisonment was
humanly speaking due to the fact that the Jews charged him with bringing into the holy
place a Gentile--glorious prophecy, unconsciously made, of the result of his prison
ministry. The reader will have noticed that we have included the word "enmity" in
verse 14. The A.V. and the R.V., J.N.D. and Rotherham agree in keeping the word to
verse 15. The Diaglott reads, "And having removed the enmity, the middle wall of
partition". This places the word enmity first. Strictly the order of the original is:--
"And the middle wall of the partition having broken up the enmity in the flesh of
Himself the law of the commandment in ordinances having put out of working order."
The rendering we prefer makes the division of the sentence come after the word
enmity. The A.V., R.V., and others put the stop before. He is our peace, for He
destroyed the cause of enmity. That cause was the dispensational distinction between
Jew and Gentile, the emblem of which was the middle wall in the temple. The Jews may
make an uproar in the sacred building, they may exhibit all the enmity of their nature
against the chosen vessel of the Lord, but in Him there is unity and there is peace.
Let us remember that we are exhorted to teach this unity. Let us remember also that
enmity is a seed that grows only in the flesh--"the works of the flesh are. . . . enmities,
quarrels, jealousies, resentment, altercations, factions, sects". The multifarious enmities
of the flesh do not make for peace, and they certainly have not been made by the Lord.
While owning the whole family of faith, let us cleave to the Lord, endeavouring to keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of THE PEACE.