Before we consider the matter of putting off the old man and putting on the new man, the church (4:22-24), we need to see that the abolishing of the ordinances for the creation of the new man is part of the gospel. Not many Christians realize that this matter must be proclaimed as part of the gospel. Speaking of Christ, 2:17 says, “He preached the gospel of peace.” This indicates that what is covered by Paul in 2:12-22 is related to the gospel.
According to verse 12, we once were apart from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope, and without God in the world. But in Christ Jesus we have become near in the blood of Christ (v. 13). The context proves that we have been brought near to one another. The Gentiles were far off from the Jews, and the Jews were far off from the Gentiles. But on the cross Christ broke down the middle wall of partition between them. Therefore, now in the blood of Christ the Jews and the Gentiles are made near to one another. It is true that the blood has brought us to God. But in verse 13 Paul is not saying that we are brought near to God; he is saying that we are brought near to one another. This is part of the gospel.
Verse 14 says that Christ is our peace. The peace here is not that between us and God, but that between us and other believers. In particular, it is the peace between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers. Christ, our peace, has made the Jews and the Gentiles one, having broken down the middle wall of partition that separated them. In His flesh He abolished the enmity, the law of commandments in ordinances, in order to create the two in Himself into one new man (vv. 14-15). In this way He made peace between the Gentiles and the Jews.
In verse 16 Paul goes on to say, “And might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, slaying the enmity by it.” Christ reconciled the Jews and the Gentiles to God in one Body. This indicates that reconciliation is a corporate matter.
Verse 17 continues, “And coming, He preached the gospel of peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near.” The subject of this verse is Christ. On the day we heard the gospel, Christ came as the Spirit to preach to us the good news of the peace which He had accomplished on the cross.
In verses 18 through 22 we see that we now have access unto the Father, that we are fellow-citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, that the whole building is growing together into a holy temple in the Lord, and that we also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit. All these verses indicate that the abolishing of the ordinances for the producing of the church is part of the gospel.
Many of us can testify that without the church life our human life has no meaning. Although we have been saved and regenerated to become children of God, our daily life is meaningless without the church. Can you be satisfied simply with eating, sleeping, working, spending some time to pray and read the Bible, and then sometimes telling others about Christ? From my experience I can testify that if I do not have the church life, I have no desire to live. This indicates that even though we may be saved, we are lacking something vital if we do not have the church life in a practical way. The whole gospel, the perfect and ultimate gospel, must include the church life. Most Christians, however, do not have a complete gospel because they do not see that the gospel includes the abolishing of the ordinances for the creation of the new man. Today we in the Lord’s recovery must preach not a partial gospel, but one that is complete, a whole gospel.
Many Christians preach only the first aspect of the gospel, redemption by the blood of Christ. Some also preach the second aspect, the matter of being saved by Christ’s life (Rom. 5:10). Another aspect of the gospel is the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. In Ephesians 3:8 Paul said that grace had been given to him “to preach to the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel.” The final aspect of the gospel is what we have seen in Ephesians 2— the abolishing of the ordinances for the creation of the one new man, the church. Redemption, life, and the enjoyment of the riches of Christ are all for the church. Thus, the ultimate goal of the gospel is the church, the new man. We praise the Lord for showing us that, according to the book of Ephesians, the gospel includes the creation of the new man.