You asked

what practical steps might we take to embody this 'one new humanity' in divided communities today?

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 humanity from the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby.”

This letter, likely written by Paul while imprisoned in the 1st century, addresses believers in Ephesus (modern-day Turkey). In this section, Paul explains how Jesus' work on the cross has brought together Jews and Gentiles, once separated by religious law and cultural barriers, into a single, unified community.

What specific divisions in our communities today might this 'new humanity' concept challenge us to overcome?

Then — the setting

Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians from prison, likely in Rome, sometime in the early 60s CE. His audience was primarily Gentile believers, with some Jewish converts, living in the bustling Roman province of Asia. The 'middle wall of partition' historically refers to the literal wall in the Jerusalem Temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts reserved for Jews, effectively symbolizing the religious and social division between Jewish people and Gentiles. This division was a deeply entrenched aspect of Jewish identity and religious practice, marking who was 'in' and who was 'out' from God's covenant people.

Across the Testaments

In the Old Testament, God chose Israel as a distinct people, giving them laws and covenants that set them apart from other nations (e.g., Exodus 19:5-6). While there were provisions for foreigners to join the community, the primary emphasis was on Israel's unique identity. Here in Ephesians, a New Testament text, Paul reinterprets this. He argues that through Christ's death, the exclusivity of the Old Covenant has been superseded. The New Testament reframes the idea of 'God's people' to include all who believe in Jesus, regardless of their ethnic or legal background, dissolving the ancient Jew/Gentile barrier and creating a new, universal community.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Galatians 3:28
This verse states that in Christ, traditional social distinctions like Jew/Gentile, slave/free, male/female are overcome.
Colossians 3:11
Paul reiterates that in Christ, there is no distinction based on ethnicity, status, or origin.
John 17:20-23
Jesus prays for the unity of his followers, reflecting a desire for reconciliation and shared purpose.

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