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work translated `made' being poieo. This cannot be taken universally, for Eph. 2: 10
says `we are His workmanship' (poem poiema); He `made' peace and He `made' both
one (Eph. 2: 14, 15). Yet the Apostle does not use poieo when he says `made nigh' and
we shall be wise to observe the difference implied. The word used in the phrase
`made nigh' is the Greek verb ginomai a word related to birth, generation, etc., and so in
line with the living union with the Kinsman-Redeemer that seems to be the dominant
feature of this verse of Ephesians. The nature of this nearness is further indicated by the
terms employed in the verses that follow. `Made nigh' is followed by peace, made one,
middle wall of partition, enmity, reconcile, access, and these terms when examined make
it very clear that the distance that is here cancelled was one that lay at the root of Gentile
disability. To this we must devote our attention in succeeding articles.
No.48.
The Audience Chamber
(2: 11 - 19-).
Gentiles, Aliens and Strangers
(2: 11, 12).
pp. 21 - 26
Just as Eph. 2: 1-10 is related to time past (Eph. 2: 2, 3), so the present section is
related to time past (Eph. 2: 11), the two sections being related thus:
A | DOCTRINE |
a | 1-3. TIME PAST. Walk. World and flesh.
b | 4. But God. Mercy. Love.
c | 5-10. Made Alive together.
Raised
together.
Made to sit together.
A | DISPENSATION |
a | 11, 12. TIME PAST. Gentiles. flesh. world.
b | 13-18. But now. Nigh. One.
c | 19-22. Citizens
together.
Fitly framed together.
Builded
together.
In the doctrinal section of Eph. 2: we have such terms as `dead', `trespass', `sin',
`disobedience', `wrath', `make alive', `save', `faith' and `walk'. These are consistently
employed because the subject is the original state of the believer in relation to sin and
death. None of these terms is used in the dispensational section now before us, for the
viewpoint here is not that of sin and death, but of distance and nearness, of being Gentiles
and aliens, of being far off and made nigh, of a middle wall, of ordinances, in fact of the
dispensational disability of being a Gentile, irrespective of individual character. In the
doctrinal survey, the flesh and the world are used as they are related to the walk and the
lusts of the unregenerate. In the dispensational section the flesh and the world are used as
they are related to the enmity that was aroused between the circumcision and
uncircumcision. Salvation issues in a new creation; the revelation of the Mystery leads
to the creation of a `new man'. If these differences are realized, then the reader from