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The fact that the Gentiles who believed had received "the blessing of Abraham" in the
form of the promised "spirit" (Gal. 3: 14), and that they possessed the gifts associated
with Pentecost (I Cor. 14: 21), was intended to provoke Israel to wake up to the fact that
their unique position was going. The whole point of the olive tree in Rom. 11: lies in the
purpose with which the wild olive was graft in, namely to provoke the flagging tree
(Israel) to jealousy. Gentile nations are not in view in Rom. 11:, for such cannot be
addressed as "brethren", neither do they stand "by faith".
When we return to the epistle to the Ephesians we shall see that in the unity there
revealed, the Jew as a Jew, and the Gentile as a Gentile, disappear, the one Body being a
newly created new man. In that company, there can be no member graft "contrary to
nature", no member is "natural", no member is "wild", it is a unity so unique that a
term seems to have been coined to express it, which we will see presently. During the
Acts of the Apostles, a "middle wall" divided the Jewish believer from the Gentile, but
this was broken down, its enmity "slain" and a "new man" created. This theme occupies
Eph. 2: 11-19, and is of sufficient importance to demand careful study.
We will give the structure of the passage, which is as follows:
Eph. 2: 11 - 19-.
The new man.
D | O1 | 11, 12. IN TIME PAST.
P1 |
n | 11. Gentiles IN THE FLESH.
o | 12. Without Christ.
Distance
p | 12. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.
p | 12. Strangers from the covenants of the promise.
o | 12. Without hope.
n | 12. Godless IN THE WORLD.
O2 | 13, 14. BUT NOW.
P2 |
q1 | 14. He is our PEACE.
r1 | "The BOTH" made one.
s1 | 14. Middle wall broken.
Peace
t | 15. Enmity in flesh.
s1 | 15. Decrees abolished.
r1 | 15. "The TWAIN" created one new man.
q1 | 16. So making PEACE.
q2 | 16. Reconciled to GOD.
r2 | 16. "The BOTH" in one body.
s2 | 16. Through the cross.
Reconciliation
t | 16, 17. Enmity slain. Peace.
s2 | 18. Through Him.
r2 | 18. "The BOTH" in one spirit.
q2 | 18. Access to the FATHER.
O3 | 19. NO LONGER.
P3 | 19. Strangers and foreigners.
The structure reveals a threefold subdivision of the subject matter, which is related to
three time periods.