You asked

what current social practices or beliefs function as 'ordinances' that maintain separation rather than foster unity?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

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 the apostle Paul, was written to Christian communities in Ephesus and the wider region of Asia Minor around the first century CE. In this section, Paul is reminding these early believers, made up of both Jews and non-Jews, of the radical unity and peace they now share through Jesus.

What divisions in our current societies feel like insurmountable 'walls of partition,' and how might we begin to dismantle them?

Then — the setting

Paul wrote to communities in a Roman world where Jewish identity was strongly defined by adherence to the Mosaic Law, including dietary laws, circumcision, and Sabbath observance. These 'ordinances' (commands or decrees) were not merely religious but also social markers that physically and culturally separated Jews from Gentiles. The temple itself had a literal 'middle wall of partition' (soreg) with inscriptions warning Gentiles not to pass into the inner courts on pain of death, symbolizing this profound religious and social divide. For Paul, Jesus' death on the cross had a cosmic and social effect, overcoming this entrenched hostility.

Across the Testaments

This passage is in the New Testament and speaks of Jesus fulfilling and transcending aspects of the Old Testament Law. The Old Testament established the Mosaic Law as a covenant unique to Israel, distinguishing them from other nations and providing a framework for their relationship with God. While this created a distinct identity, prophets like Isaiah (e.g., Isaiah 2:2-4, 49:6) also envisioned a future where Israel would be a 'light to the nations' and people from all backgrounds would worship God. Ephesians claims that Jesus is the means by which this universal inclusion and unity, hinted at in the Old Testament, is now inaugurated, breaking down the very 'ordinances' that once served to define separate identities and roles for Jew and Gentile.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Galatians 3:28
This passage similarly declares a new unity in Christ, transcending traditional social distinctions.
Isaiah 2:2-4
An Old Testament prophecy envisioning a future time when all nations will come together seeking peace.
Colossians 3:11
This letter echoes Ephesians by emphasizing that in Christ, traditional social and ethnic markers no longer define identity.

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