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You asked

how does the concept of breaking down barriers relate to other new testament teachings on unity?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Ephesians 2:14-16

For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby.

This letter, traditionally attributed to Paul, was written to Christians in Ephesus, a significant city in Asia Minor, likely in the mid-1st century CE. In this section, the author reminds Gentile believers how they have been brought into God's family, emphasizing that past divisions no longer stand.

What barriers, whether visible or invisible, do we notice in our own communities or hearts that might need to be addressed?

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Read alongside it

  • Galatians 3:28

    Declares that social and ethnic distinctions are transcended in Christ.

  • John 17:20-23

    Jesus prays for the unity of his followers, mirroring the idea of oneness.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

    Uses the metaphor of one body with many parts to illustrate unity amidst diversity.

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