thinking bible.

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what specific cultural or social divisions in ephesus might paul have been addressing with this call to 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, making peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby.

Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Ephesus, a major Roman city known for its diverse population and the influential temple of Artemis. In this section, he's explaining how Jesus' work brings together groups that were historically separated, particularly Jews and non-Jews.

What divisions in our current communities feel like 'walls of partition,' and how might they be addressed?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Galatians 3:28

    This verse speaks to unity and equality 'in Christ,' transcending social distinctions.

  • Colossians 3:11

    Here, Paul also emphasizes that in Christ, traditional distinctions like ethnicity or status are no longer primary.

  • Acts 19:23-41

    This passage describes the intense cultural and religious divisions in Ephesus, particularly around the cult of Artemis, illustrating the city's complex social fabric.

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