New Fellowship

KEY VERSE: “Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” —Ephesians 2:19

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 2:11-22

THE BASIC PROPOSITION in this portion of Ephesians is the “mystery” that Paul spoke of to the Early Church. (Eph. 3:9; 6:19) He calls the Gentiles “fellowheirs” with the Jews. (Eph. 3:6) Paul describes the enmity that had existed between Jews and Gentiles as a ‘middle wall of partition between them’. By abolishing the Law of commandments through the cross, Jesus Christ made a common ground upon which both Jews and Gentiles could come into fellowship with God. There is no middle wall, to those who are in Christ Jesus. But the enmity still exists for those who are not in Christ. Our Lord “came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.” (Eph. 2:17) Both Jews and Gentiles needed peace.

To grasp the beauty of the word ‘peace’ used in verses 14,15, and 17, we should know the full meaning of the word; it means more than tranquillity and quietness—it also means reconciliation. Through Christ we are reconciled to God. “He is our peace.” Weymouth puts it nicely in Colossians 1:19,20: “It was the Father’s gracious will that the whole of the divine perfections should dwell in him [Jesus]. And God purposed through him to reconcile the universe to himself, making peace through his [Christ’s] blood.”

God’s method for the calling of his people during the Gospel Age is still a program of selection—of choosing, not a nation, but individuals who, by proving faithful, become united to form a “holy nation” which later will be used for the blessing of all the families of the earth. (I Pet. 2:9) These individuals are reached through the dissemination of the Gospel—the “word of reconciliation.” Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”—Rom. 1:16

But Jesus explained that no one could come to him unless drawn by the Father (John 6:44), and that those who were drawn by the Father he would receive. (vs. 37) Just how the Heavenly Father exercises his drawing power toward individuals whom he would bring to Christ during this Gospel Age is quite beyond our comprehension. Solomon wrote: “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” (Eccles. 11:5,6) This is an important lesson for us who have been made ministers of reconciliation. Our chief responsibility is to disseminate the “word of reconciliation,” to plant and water the seed of truth, but it is God who giveth the increase.

During the present Gospel Age only a comparatively few are reached by the ministry of reconciliation. God permits us, as the ambassadors of Christ, to have a share in this ministry that we might, through faithfulness to it, prove our worthiness of sharing in the future great work of carrying the message of reconciliation to the whole world of mankind. Only by faithfulness in the little things of today can we have a hope of sharing in the larger work of tomorrow.

And although the results of our sacrificial efforts are at the present time small, it is nevertheless a privilege to participate as co-workers with the Lord. And, thank God, this it is not merely that those who are called of God and blessed in this age might be saved. But it is also that through them, deliverance from sin and death might be brought to the whole world of mankind! It is for this manifestation of the sons of God that all humanity, steeped in sin and dying, are unknowingly waiting. (Rom. 8:19) Let us appreciate more and more each day the grand part we have in God’s ministry of reconciliation.

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