Christ broke down the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles by abolishing the law of the commandments in ordinances. When He was crucified on the cross, all the ordinances were nailed there. The law spoken of in 2:15 is not the law of the moral commandments, but the law of the ritual commandments, such as the ordinances of circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, and eating certain foods.
Ordinances are the forms or ways of living and worship. Every people has its own way of living. We need to be careful not to make our way of living or worship an ordinance. At the same time, we should not regard what others do as ordinances. If we all practice this, there will be no problems.
The Lord’s recovery is spreading worldwide. In the various countries where the recovery is growing—for example, in Japan, Korea, and Indonesia—there are ways of living different from ours. Certainly the Lord’s recovery cannot require the Japanese, Koreans, and Indonesians to have the same way of living. Our way of living greatly affects our way of meeting. For example, in Korea it is easy to have morning watch extremely early, even at 5:30. However, if this practice is imposed on Americans, it will cause serious difficulties.
The various ways of living are seen in the instruments used for eating. The Americans and Europeans use a knife and fork, the Chinese use chop sticks, and the Indonesians use their fingers. Who can say which way is best? Because this is a very delicate matter, we need to take care of the feelings of others. If you visit Indonesia or Taiwan, you should follow the custom of the people there. Likewise those from Indonesia and Taiwan should do the same when they visit the West. If we want to eliminate ordinances, this must be our practice.
Due to the improvements in transportation and communication, the people of the world are becoming intermingled more and more. This is under the sovereignty of the Lord so that He can have the new man, the proper church life which includes all different peoples. Therefore, concerning our way of life, we all must learn not to impose requirements on others and not to have any ordinances.
The differences among the peoples began at Babel. In God’s economy in the church life we must overcome Babel. Our very language can become an ordinance. When we stay for a long period of time in another country or even live there, we should, if possible, learn the language of the people there and not insist on our native tongue.
As the redeemed and recovered ones, those who have been transferred into Christ and into the church life, we must learn to hate the differences that divide the peoples. The worldly people regard cultural differences as a mark of prestige. But in Christ we have all lost this prestige. Now our only prestige is Christ and the genuine oneness. We should not have a prestige unique to our locality or meeting hall. We all need to exercise ourselves to go along with others. As long as a certain practice does not involve idolatry or immorality, there is nothing wrong with it. Do not hold on to your prestige. If we are willing to let go of our cultural pride, it will be possible for the Lord to have the proper church life.
The breaking down of the middle wall of partition is for the new man, the commonwealth of God, the household of God, and the building of God’s dwelling place. If we keep our differences, it will be impossible to have the church life in these four aspects. Christianity is filled with the divisive differences among the various peoples. For this reason, it is impossible for Christians outside the recovery to have the church life. For the sake of the church life, all the differences must be under our feet.
Ephesians 2:15 says that Christ abolished “in His flesh” the law of commandments in ordinances. Because mankind became flesh (Gen. 6:3) and was thus kept from God and His purpose, God ordained His chosen people to be circumcised from the flesh. This ordinance was given because of man’s flesh. It was in the flesh that Christ was crucified. When he was crucified, His flesh, which was typified by the separating veil in the temple, was rent (Heb. 10:20). By breaking down the middle wall of partition on the cross, Christ has made peace.
We have seen that, according to the Bible, the basic ordinances are those regarding circumcision, the Sabbath, and diet. But even these ordinances, which were ordained by God, have been abolished. If the basic ordinances have been abolished, how much more should the minor ones be abolished also. We should not keep any ordinances, and we should not create new ones. By the Lord’s grace, we must learn to be flexible and to drop all differences for the sake of the church life. No matter where we may go, we must learn to be the same as others. Then we shall enjoy the church life as the new man, the commonwealth of God, the household of God, and the dwelling place of God.