In 2:11 and 12 Paul reminds us of our situation when we were apart from Christ. We were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, we were strangers from the covenants of the promise, we had no hope, and we were without God in the world. We had no goal and no God. But one day we were called by God, and we answered His call by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. When we did this, the Triune God came into us. No matter where we may go, even if we try to run from the Lord or to stop believing in Him, He will always be with us. How wonderful that we have become involved with Christ! However, even when it does not seem so wonderful in our experience, we cannot get away from Him. We may try to leave Him, but He will never leave us.
As saved ones, we are in Christ. He is our sphere and our source. Now in Christ Jesus we who once were far off from God and from one another have become near in the blood of Christ. As verse 14 says, the very Christ who is our peace has made us one and has broken down the middle wall of partition. He has reconciled us to God in one Body, and He has come to preach to us the gospel of peace (vv. 16-17). The result is that we are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow-citizens of the saints and members of the household of God (v. 19).
Although Christ is our sphere, our source, and our peace and although He has abolished the ordinances, many Christians still hold to certain ordinances. In their practice, they care more for ordinances than for Christ. Many Christians neglect Christ and pay attention to the very ordinances He abolished on the cross. What a pitiful situation!
Now we are in Christ. He should be the unique foundation upon which we are built. In 2:20 Paul speaks of the foundation of the apostles and prophets. This refers to the Christ in whom the apostles believed and whom they ministered to others. The foundation of Moses was the law, and the foundation of the prophets was prophecy. But the only foundation of the apostles and prophets is Christ. In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul said, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The foundation in Ephesians 2 is not related to any kind of ordinances; it is Christ Himself. The foundation of Judaism is composed of the Sabbath, circumcision, and the dietary regulations. But when the apostles came forth to minister, the unique foundation laid by them was the living Christ.
The church is built on Christ, not on ordinances or regulations. Today, however, all the denominations have another foundation besides Christ. For example, the Baptist denomination has immersion as a foundation along with Christ. It seems that underneath Christ as the foundation the denominations have something other than Christ as their basic foundation. The church has been divided by the different ordinances used as foundations.
May the Lord open our eyes to see how dreadful it is to cling to ordinances. We may claim to see the church, and we may declare that we are meeting as the local church. But if we still insist on particular practices, those practices will become ordinances. Spontaneously, the ground of oneness will be damaged or even lost. Instead of meeting on the ground of oneness, we shall meet on the ground of our ordinances. If a certain ordinance becomes our ground, we cease to be the church and become a sect. Whenever we insist on a particular practice, we lose the unique ground of oneness. This is why we should not insist on things such as pray-reading or calling on the name of the Lord, even though we may receive great benefit from them.
There are only a few things we must oppose. These include idolatry, immorality, divisiveness, and the denial of Christ’s deity. In the church absolutely no ground can be given to idols. Idolatry is an insult to God. Likewise, the church cannot tolerate immorality, which damages the humanity created by God for His purpose. Furthermore, a factious, sectarian person must be rejected if he does not cease from his divisiveness after being warned. Fourthly, we cannot receive into the church anyone who refuses to recognize the deity of Christ, who denies that Christ is God incarnate. These things are leaven which must be purged out of the church life. But apart from these four things, we are not told in the New Testament to reject believers for any other reason. According to Romans 14:1, as long as a person has the faith, we must receive him, even if he is weak. Nowhere in the New Testament are we instructed to reject someone if he does not believe in immersion. Neither are we told not to receive those sisters who do not wear head coverings. Believers should not be rejected over things such as the size of cup used at the Lord’s table or over the practice of foot-washing. Apart from the four things we have mentioned, there is no legality in the church life. We must receive all the saints and have nothing to do with ordinances.
The Christ who is our peace, our source, and our sphere must be our unique foundation. There must not be any other kind of foundation in addition to Christ. We need to check with ourselves concerning this. Do we have any foundation in addition to Christ? If we do not have any ordinances, then Christ will truly be our only foundation.