You asked

what was the specific 'dividing wall' paul referred to, both literally and figuratively, in his time?

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 wrote this letter to the Christians in Ephesus, a major city in Asia Minor, likely while he was imprisoned. He's explaining how Jesus' work brings together people who were once separated, particularly Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles), into a single new community.

What divisions in your own life or community might Jesus' peace call you to address?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Acts 15:1-21
Describes the Jerusalem Council's debate over whether Gentile converts needed to follow Jewish law, highlighting early Christian tensions.
Galatians 3:28
Echoes the theme of unity in Christ, transcending social and ethnic distinctions.
Colossians 3:11
Reiterates that in Christ, traditional societal distinctions no longer define identity.

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