ESOCS Devotional 18 May 2026 – All Humanity United In Christ
MEMORY VERSE: “For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.” Ephesians 2:14 NLTr the Lord God is the Eternal Rock.” Isaiah 26:4 NLT
TEXT: EPHESIANS 2:11-22
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— 12 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 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, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
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One most misinterpreted passage in the Old Testament Bible by the Jews was Genesis 17:7. The Jews had thought in error, that these promises of God to Abraham excluded all others, but for Jews alone. It also made them to regard the Gentiles as ungodly, and not deserving of God’s goodness and love. On this note, and up until the ultimate blood sacrifice on the cross, a wall of partition was built in the temple to limit the movement of the Gentiles, (Acts 21:28).
In verses 14 and 15 of our text, Jesus is our peace. He is the medium through which cultural peace is established between Jews and Gentiles. Through His blood and ministry of reconciliation, all humanity have been reconciled unto God and to one another, through the cross, (Galatians 3:26-29; Colossians 1:22, 3:11). Recall that, because of sin, the Gentiles were spiritually separated from God. They were without hope in a world bedevilled by sin and Satan, (John 10:15, 16; Acts 2:39). However, through the grace of God that was manifested by the sacrificial blood of Jesus, they now have the opportunity to come near. But obedience to the gospel is the key. Paul now reminds the Ephesians, and indeed, people of all nations, that they are now in a covenant relationship with their Creator – the Lord God of Israel.
Suffice it here to conclude by stating the obvious. Because the Gentiles were without a covenant relationship with God, they had nothing upon which to base their hope. They therefore had no hope of a deliverer that would salvage them from sin (1 Thessalonians 4:13). All glory to Jesus, who, through His blood, has reconciled us to God, and united the entire human race in Christ for the hope of eternal life.
Reflections
- Without sanctification through the blood, the whole world lies without hope. Do you think otherwise?
Prayer
- Lord Jesus, thank you for your ultimate sacrifice on the cross.
Further Reading: Jeremiah 13:1-14; Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 21:1-14
ESOCS Devotional 18 May 2026
