Change of status for the gentile believers • Kernbeisser

All believers are “equal in Christ”. What is taken for granted today was not in the beginning. There were clear differences within the community. Some were Jews, others non-Jews. There were differences in understanding and ancestry between the two. This was not clear at the beginning. In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul emphasized what we received “in Christ” and expands this in the second chapter from the personal situation to the church and the understanding of the church. There is a stunning new feature.

People belong to groups. Some belong to the Jewish people, just like Jesus and the apostles. Others, however, come from the “other nations”. The religious self-image of the Jews was great. Their influence in the community was shaped accordingly. That God should now have something to do directly with believers from the nations (according to the apostle Paul’s proclamation) was understandable, but the consequences for the church still had to be clarified. This clarification did not take place abruptly, but through a process of development. Today, this is far behind us. Let’s try to transport ourselves back to the time of Paul. This will help us to grasp the meaning of the letter to the Ephesians.

The letter to the Ephesians is one of the later letters. What Paul writes here was not automatically known for a long time. What we can read through quickly in the New Testament was written over a long period of time. Paul reveals and explains and writes what he recognizes. It took decades to go from being a furious persecutor of the Jesus sect (Acts 9:1) to an “aged Paul” (Phlm 1:8-9). During his life, he repeatedly received revelations. These came directly from Jesus Christ (Gal 1:11-12).

That’s why there are always new things to read. The letters of St. Paul are not to be regarded as a one-pot dish. The letters develop with the apostle. In this sense, the apostle writes several times about “mysteries”. These are not unknown, but are currently being unveiled. Secrets are information that was previously unknown. But they are made known through Paul. These are milestones on the path to understanding. Paul clarifies and tells new things.

The principle is therefore that Paul does not conceal something, but makes it known. This also happens in Ephesians. The apostle writes directly about mysteries in several chapters (Eph 1:9; Eph 3:3-4; Eph 5:32; Eph 6:19). However, he does not explicitly talk about a secret in chapter 2, from which one cannot conclude that “it was therefore not secret”. Paul was taught by Christ and makes some things known that are to be regarded as “new”.

Such an announcement is also made in Ephesians 2.

Various groups in the community

The starting point for the letter to the Ephesians concerns a dispute within the church. There were two groups of believers there: Jews and non-Jews. These groups were not the same. There are repeated clashes.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not be held again under a yoke of slavery. Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. But I testify again to every man who is circumcised that he is bound to keep the whole law.”
Galatians 5:1-3

From such remarks, one can deduce that some Jewish believers considered it necessary to establish the same requirements in the community as they once did for Israel. Paul denies this and repeatedly speaks out, as in the aforementioned passage from Galatians. It is as if there is a dichotomy in the community that points to lineage and effort for commandments and prohibitions from the Torah.

Such a dichotomy is unfortunate. Attempts were made to escape from the disputes by demanding a decision by the apostles in Jerusalem. This is the famous Apostles’ Council spoken about in Acts 15. At this time, therefore, the twelve apostles still seem to have a significant decision-making power, even for Paul’s churches. However, this council will not be repeated and remains a one-off event.

The Council of the Apostles

Just think of the Council of the Apostles, which we read about in Acts 15:

“And some came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you have been circumcised according to the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. So when a dispute arose and there was no small exchange of words between them and Paul and Barnabas, they ordered Paul and Barnabas and some others of them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem because of this dispute.”
Acts 15:1-2

This was about the question of circumcision. Of course, that was just one feature, a common denominator for many other questions. Because of disputes about this, a delegation was sent to Jerusalem in Acts 15 to receive instructions from the twelve apostles. Note that this is well before the time when the letter to the Ephesians was written.

What became clear at the Apostles’ Council was the expectation of some that the Gentile believers in the church would be required to comply with the law.

“But some of those of the sect of the Pharisees who believed stood up and said, ‘They must be circumcised and commanded to keep the law of Moses. But the apostles and the elders gathered together to consider this matter.”
Acts 15:5-6

Peter then stands up and states that the foundations are God’s action and faith. This is what Peter says after his experience with Cornelius (Acts 10) and the debate about it in the Jerusalem church (Acts 11). He said this in the full knowledge that the church in Jerusalem consisted of “zealots for the law” (Acts 21:20). The church in Jerusalem therefore has an understanding of how the requirements of the law were lived out, and the difference to the gentile believers is now clarified. Peter said:

“Now therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus we shall be saved in the same way as they.”
Acts 15:10-11

So the following is worth noting in the Jerusalem church: There were zealots of the law (!) who nevertheless put the grace of the Lord Jesus first. The law was therefore not the key to salvation, but they obeyed it anyway. For the believers in the nations of the Pauline churches, something other than the law now came.

“Therefore I judge that those who turn to God from among the nations should not be troubled, but should write to them to abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has from ancient times in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
Acts 15:19-21

This is a remarkable statement in many respects. The non-Jews in the community did not have to be circumcised, but were nevertheless given some instructions on how to follow them. Peter refers to the Torah, in which, according to tradition, several universal commandments of God applied to people. They became known as the Noachide commandments. A special union was later established for the Jews. For the remaining nations, however, the 7 rules of the Noachide commandments should continue to apply, which Peter summarizes here as 4 rules as follows:

Abstinence from defilement of the idols
Abstention from fornication
Abstinence from asphyxiation (do not eat meat from animals that died from asphyxiation)
Abstaining from blood (not eating meat with the blood).

These instructions are first formulated after the Flood, i.e. before Israel came into being as a nation and before the law was given on Mount Sinai. The end point is here:

“Only the flesh with his soul, his blood, shall you not eat.”
Gen 9,4

By then, according to rabbinic tradition, 6 further commandments were already in force. This brings the total number of bids to 7. There is much more to say about this, but it is significant that Peter announces these commandments as a guideline for the Pauline churches. It is significant that he refers directly to Moses and to the synagogues.

Two things become clear at this council:

There is a relief for the believers from the gentiles who do not have to keep the whole law.
Nevertheless, there is clearly a difference in which Paul asks the twelve apostles for guidance.

This situation, which was undoubtedly justified, applied at the time. Although the difference between Jews and non-Jews in the Pauline congregations was mitigated, there were still differences and requirements. In Ephesians, however, this situation is fundamentally changed. So Paul makes a clarification many years later, for which he does not travel to Jerusalem.

The idea of being “in Christ”

Jews and gentiles are both part of the church if they follow the message of grace as proclaimed by Paul. The Jewish believers had a little more “religious weight”, it seems. Although this was organized, for example at the Apostles’ Council, it was not the same as Paul’s statement in Ephesians that we are all blessed “in Christ”. Although this was known (1 Corinthians 1:2), what was less clear was the effect it would have.

On the one hand, Paul writes in Galatians:

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. But if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Gal 3:27-29

Here it is presented in such a way that the believers had “put on Christ”, in that they are all “one in Christ Jesus”. This regulates the relationships with each other as a contrast to society. There are differences in society, but it’s different in the community. In a figurative sense, all are “Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”. This includes everyone in the same promises, here with a reference to Abraham and as heirs. This both speaks of the result of older ideas.

The further development

It gets exciting in Ephesians, where these early ideas are once again emphasized and explained differently. The letter to the Ephesians is about the blessing that all have “in Christ”. This is not an inheritance from ancient times, but something that arose anew after the resurrection. It is no longer just a question of being “one in Christ Jesus”, which describes our relationship with one another. Rather, it is about a different reality, namely the one that originated “in Christ”.

The expression “in Christ” in Ephesians first of all has nothing to do with the church. Chapter 1 describes how we are blessed in Christ. It is the place of blessing that is linked to Christ and is considered a “spiritual reality” in essence. It is an assumed position based on the proclamation. It applies to us, even if we cannot see this position. Let us take this position “in Christ” as an opportunity for further reflection. It is the beginning of new connections that will also have an impact on the community.

In Ephesians, on the other hand, Paul writes something about a goal:

“For the administration of the fullness of times: to bring all things together under one head in Christ, the things that are in the heavens and the things that are on earth in him.”
Eph 1:10

The God who created heaven and earth unites everything under one head “in Christ” in an “administration of the fullness of time”, namely everything in the heavens and everything on earth. This meaning of “in Christ” has now been extended very widely. It is no longer just about interpersonal behavior within the community, but about bringing the whole world together.

Two groups in Ephesians 2

Paul hinted at this envisaged unity in Christ for the whole world in Ephesians 1:10 and then mentioned it again in Ephesians 1:23: “The church is the completion of him who fills all in all. The second chapter continues immediately. It is not about “everyone” in general, but more specifically about the believers. He calls them “you who were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1).

It is important to pay attention to this in the text:

“You too … (Eph 2:1)
we also … (Eph 2:3)
together …” (Eph 2:5)

Tip: Do you have a concordant New Testament? In it, these three terms are printed with the letters spaced apart. It is intended to indicate that different groups are mentioned in the text.

Here you can see two groups. Paul addresses “you”, but then speaks of “we too” as if this were a different group and then explains that something is now happening “together”. You might now think that in Ephesians 2:1 he is addressing “you”, namely a specific congregation. Then that would be a local reference. However, it has already been pointed out that the letter to the Ephesians was not written to the church in Ephesus, but was conceived as a circular letter. From this it seems obvious that he was addressing various communities in general. There is no local reference.

Der Epheserbrief war nicht an eine einzige Gemeinde gerichtet

But what does Paul mean by “we too”? Does he mean himself and his direct employees? Or would that be an attempt at interpretation without direct proof? The inconspicuous details in the text deserve further attention.

Who is meant by “you” is not directly recognizable from the previous text, but rather from the following text. So the apostle writes a few verses further on:

“Therefore remember that you of the Gentiles were once called uncircumcised according to the flesh by the so-called ‘circumcision’ (which is made in the flesh with hands), that at that time you were separated from Christ, strangers to the citizenship of Israel and sojourners from the covenant promises, that you had no expectation and were without God in the world.”
Eph 2:11-12

It is all too easy to conclude that this speaks of nations in general and of “unbelievers”. But this is not the case. These people from the nations were “strangers to the citizenship of Israel” in terms of their descent. However, they were not detached from Israel, but were “guests of the covenant promises”. This suggests that they were somehow docked with Israel’s expectation. The emphasis is on “somehow”, because the docking did not correspond to any messianic promise. In other words, the situation for the gentile believers had not yet been fully clarified. I therefore consider this description to be a temporary solution. These were expressions that people in the communities understood. The text speaks here of believers. Paul is addressing the churches in particular, so it makes sense to speak here of national believers in the church.

These believers from the nations were blessed in Christ, but God’s work in history was mainly for Israel. God was not specifically concerned with the nations (Acts 14:16). The nations had no special reference to God. But Israel had such a connection. The nations, on the other hand, were “in the world without God”. Now that some had become believers and were at home in the Pauline churches, they learned that they were blessed in Christ. That in itself was new. However, they were not yet fully integrated in the understanding of the church, but were “guests of the covenant promises”.

This does not refer to a messianic promise, because there is no such thing in Paul’s preaching. It is about believers who have never had a direct relationship with God themselves. The ideas about a messianic kingdom were passed on by the twelve apostles. It was different with Paul. As the Apostles’ Council proved, the gentile believers were not yet independent of Israel. But Paul changes that here. That’s why he writes “you”, “we too” and “together”. This refers to the believers in the nation and the Jewish believers who were now to come together.

The stunning message

Paul changes the status of believers from the nations. That is the theme in Ephesians 2. He makes them full members of the family of God:

“Therefore you are no longer guests and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the family of God.”
Eph 2:19

This is the stunning message of Ephesians, which has never been formulated so clearly in any previous letter. Something has changed fundamentally. Paul is not returning to a messianic understanding, but is explaining something new. The fact that he now simply speaks of “you” and “we” in the second chapter and only explicitly names the groups later seems logical. Questions about status were obviously alive in the communities. That is why Paul could assume this in his letter. This makes it easy to get started. For us, however, who live 2000 years later, the connections are not quite so easy to recognize. We need to read the whole chapter to appreciate these expressions in context.

Now the foundation has been laid for further reflections on Ephesians 2.