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what was the purpose of the actual temple wall paul referenced, and why was it so significant?

PlainDeeperStudy

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

Ephesians 2:14

“For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition,”

Paul, writing from prison to the diverse Christian communities in Ephesus (a major Roman city in Asia Minor, around 60-62 CE), is explaining how Jesus' work brings together people who were once separated.

What divisions in our world today might we be called to recognize and break down?

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Read alongside it

  • Acts 21:28-29

    Describes the accusation against Paul for bringing Gentiles past the sacred boundary into the temple.

  • Galatians 3:28

    Paul's broader theological statement about unity and the dissolution of distinctions in Christ.

  • Hebrews 10:19-20

    Refers to a new access to God through Christ, symbolized by the tearing of the temple curtain.

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