THE CHURCH AND THE MYSTERY OF RECONCILIATION Since the church, in its essence, is an enjoyment of abiding "In Christ", to enjoy His life working in us and obtain the knowledge of His divine mysteries on the level of practical living experience, then this life has two dimensions, one horizontal and the other vertical. On the vertical level, one enjoys the risen life in Christ, so we may sit with Him in the heavens and practice our union with God. On the horizontal level, one gets closer to the One Head, and the veil between the Jews and the Gentiles are destroyed, and between all nations, so we all may feel our membership to one another. These two dimensions are fulfilled through our abiding "in Christ". The more we are united with the Father in His Son, the more we are united with each other. 1. The resurrection and the mystery of reconciliation with God Eph. 2: 1 – 10 2. The mystery of reconciliation of all humanity Eph. 2: 11 – 22 1. The Resurrection and the mystery of reconciliation St. Augustine relates that the cross is made of two pieces of wood, one horizontal and the other vertical. The vertical one represents the reconciliation of man with God and His heavenly creatures. The horizontal one represents man's reconciliation with his brother. This cross, with its complete work, is achieved in the church, as St. Paul declared in this chapter. He clarified the resurrection of the believer from his death and his rising to the heavens to sit in the bosom of the Father, and His wide heart to embrace everyone as members in the one body. "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." ( Eph 2:1 – 5) To reveal the power of the grace and the reconciliation, which was accomplished between man and God, he, first, showed the condition of death, which we have reached, the captivity of Satan, and the extent of deterioration, which we have experienced in our bodies to fulfill all lusts. Then, he revealed God's rich mercy stemming from His love, so He offered us life by the death on the cross and granted us salvation through His grace. We notice the following: First: What was mentioned in this chapter corresponds to what was written in the Gospel of St. Luke chapter 15 about the prodigal son, as D. M. Stanley said. Ephesians 2 Luke 15 v. 4. “…God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” v. 20. "…But when he was still a great way off, he saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." v. 1. …You who were dead in trespasses…” v. 24. “For this my son was dead and is made alive…” v. 13. “But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off…” v. 13 “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country…” v. 19. “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners…” v. 22 “But the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe and put it on him…” v. 16. ”and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross…” v. 28 “but he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.” Second: This chapter is full of contrast between man's severe weakness and the great effect of God's work and His amazing power. The first reaches death (Eph. 2:1) and the latter raises him from the dead. (Eph. 2:5) The first is lowered to the lusts of the flesh (Eph. 2:3) and the latter raises him to the heavens. (v6) The first flees to be estranged from God and from man his brother (Eph. 2:12) and the latter restores him to become a member of the household of God (Eph. 2:19) and become one with his brother. (Eph. 2:14) Third: He started his talk by the effect of sin, which slays our human nature and destroys the image of God inside us. Father Dortheos, from Gazza, said: “Through sin, we destroy His image inside us, and we become under death, as St. Paul wrote: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1) God created us in His image. He is so compassionate toward His creation and became like one of us and accepted death instead of us, to guide us and restore us to life, which we have lost.” The father has presented us this interpretation when he was interpreting the praise of the resurrection, which St. Gregory has put. Fourth: Through sin, we fell to the level of losing life, by forsaking God, the source of life and by accepting the captivity to Satan, by obeying Satan and rejecting God. St. Paul called Satan, "the prince of the power of the air". And he called us "children of wrath". The air is considered as a dwelling place for the devils. St. Paul wanted to confirm the victory of Christ on him by saying, "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17) Since the devils dwell in the air, then the Lord will conquer them in their place and will carry us to this same place as children of the inheritance instead of being children of wrath. Here we note that the Jews, as well as many of the Gentiles, used to think that Satan and all his armies had a kingdom in three places: in the water, in the wilderness and in the air. Choosing these places was based on the impossibility of man settling on these places and having peace. In the sea, one feels scared of drowning, and in the wilderness, one is scared of drought and wild animals, and the air means the soul departing the flesh, through death to hold on in the air. In the eyes of the Jews, these places were targets for the devil, but the Lord Jesus has declared His victory over him in these places. In the water, He was baptized conquering the devil under His feet, granting the believers victory, through baptism. Thus, renouncing the devil is a clear cut in the rite of baptism. St. Tertillian the scholar said: “In the church, under the leadership of the bishop, we renounce the devil and all his armies. As for the wilderness, the Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil and He won him and angels came to minister to Him57. ] As for the air, the Lord Jesus was raised up on the cross in the air to declare the defeat of Satan and his kingdom.” Fifth: St. Paul declared how sin degraded man to the level of death and crime, led man to the death of the soul which is more bitter than the death of the body, besides it is counted a crime that man falls into with his own free will, yet he wanted to encourage the hearers by declaring the role of Satan "the prince of the power of the air" as an instigator. St. John Chrysostom said: “You notice the gentleness of St. Paul, how he encourages the hearers at all occasions and does not burden them. In spite of reaching the worst level of evil (being dead in trespasses), he does not want them to be swallowed with too much sorrow (for people are ashamed when their evil deeds are exposed), so he clarified that there is another partner in the crime, a strong partner, who is Satan so they wont think that all they commit is from their own mind58.” Hence, St. Paul wanted to put the responsibility on Satan together with us, as a cruel enemy who provokes human race, but he did not enter our lives against our will but because of our disobedience to God, for he says, "…the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience." (Eph. 2:2) Though the enemy is a partner with us, yet we are responsible for all of our behavior and for the work of the enemy in us. Satan finds a place in "the sons of disobedience", but not in "the sons of obedience", where the Holy Spirit is manifested in them. Sixth: St. Paul clarified that the Jew and the gentile are both equal, for both of them were under the dominion of sin. He said, "in which you once walked", then he said, "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." (Eph. 2:3) He is telling them that you conducted yourselves in the lusts of the flesh, but we also, fell under the dominion of sin and were considered as sons of disobedience, therefore, we cannot brag that we are better than you. (Rom. 3: 9-10) Everyone was considered as "children of wrath". St. Befnotius said that you were in your old father's house that is Satan, who pulled you to the lowest levels. But you have to look upward to your new Father's house, that is, to the Heavenly Jerusalem, for he says: “Let us go out from our old father's house, for by nature, we were sons of disobedience, and guide our outlook toward the heavenly matters59.” By nature, we were children of wrath, therefore, we have to get out of this nature, the nature of the old man and put on the new man (in the baptismal font). Thus, we get out of the house of our old father, to whom we have submitted in bondage of slavery, to the house of our new Holy Father. Seventh: The reason of our disobedience and death is not "the flesh", but "the desires of the flesh and of the mind". The flesh is holy made by the Holy God, however, when it deviates from its goal and forsakes its submission, it has conflicting desires and opposing thoughts to the work of the Holy Spirit. The flesh is not evil in itself, for "the Word became flesh…" (John 1:14), but it was defiled when it became an instrument of evil working for the lusts; however, if it is sanctified, it becomes an instrument of righteousness working for the kingdom of God. “We can present our bodies living sacrifices for God (Rom. 12:1), if we no longer follow the desires of the flesh and our mind (Eph. 2:3), but we walk in the Spirit and do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16) “Father Dorotheos from Ghazza 60 Hence, St. Paul reveals the reasons of the spiritual death, which are the lust of the flesh and the desires of the mind. (Eph. 2:3). But this does not relieve us from responsibility, for the carnal man, when submitting to the lusts of the flesh, the mind and the soul become carnal too, for man represents one unit. When man is carnal, he walks according to the lusts of the flesh, and when he is spiritual, he walks according to the spirit. The former, the soul submits to the flesh against its will, and the latter, the flesh submits to the soul against the will of the flesh. Father Serabion said: “The carnal sins work in fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, and these stir the mind to accept their desires against his will61.” Eighth: After addressing what the Jews and the Gentiles have reached because of their disobedience, St. Paul confirmed the surpassing love of God and His compassion toward man especially after the fall, for he said, "God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us" (Eph. 2: 4). He emphasized the richness in God's mercy, repeating that expression five times in this epistle. St. John Chrysostom said: “God, is not only merciful, but He is rich in mercy, as it is written in another place, ‘…Turn to me according to the multitude of your tender mercies.’ (Ps. 69: 16) Also, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, and according to Your tender mercies blot out my transgression." (Ps. 51:1)” 62 Ninth: He clarified this mercy in a practical way by saying, "…He made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2: 5, 6) St. Paul strongly emphasizes the fellowship with Christ ! "Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." (Eph. 2:5) Here, he mentions Christ and this matter is worth our faith, for since the first fruit is alive, we likewise are the same. The Father made Him alive and made us alive too. This was mentioned about the Incarnate Christ. Here we notice "…the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe…" (Eph. 1:19) He made them alive, those who were dead and children of wrath. Look at the hope of His call. (Eph. 1:18) "And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2: 6) “Can you see the glory of His inheritance? It is obvious that He raised us up with Him. Truly, up till now, no one has risen except the Head who raises us up with Him. When Jacob bowed to Joseph, it is written that his wife also bowed to him (Gen. 37: 9,10). In the same manner, it is mentioned that He made us sit together". When the Head sits, the body sits too, that is why this part is added, ‘in Christ Jesus.’” St. John Chrysostom 63 “Through the body, which He has taken, which is the deposit of our salvation, He made us sit together in the heavenly places.” “He is the foundation of all, and the Head of the church. (Eph. 5:23), in Him our carnal nature deserved to sit on the Heavenly throne. The body was honored, for it had a part in Christ who is God. Moreover, the nature of all human beings was honored for it had a part in the body. We dwell in Him by Him taking our physical nature.” St. Ambrose 64 We enjoy the resurrection of Christ and His sitting in the heavenly places, as the first fruit, through the resurrection of the soul from the death of sin and enjoying the deposit of the heavenly life. The resurrection of the spirit, which we have gained in the risen Christ Jesus is greater than the resurrection of the body. For the resurrection of the body is achieved without our will. When the Lord Jesus told Lazarus, "…Lazarus, come out" (John 11:43), immediately, he obeyed and was raised. This was repeated when the Lord Jesus raised ‘Jairus' daughter and the daughter of the widow of Nain. When St. Peter prayed to God, he raised Tabitha by the name of Christ. (Acts 9:40) “-In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor. 15:52) However, the raising of the spirit is achieved by our faith in the risen Christ and being steadfast in Him until the end. This is not achieved automatically but by our free will. Listen to the rebuke of our Lord Jesus, "…How often I wanted to gather your children…. But you were not willing!" (Matt. 23:37) This requires the submission of our human will to God's good will toward us. St. John Chrysostom said: “Influencing the will is harder than influencing the nature.”65 Tenth: St. John Chrysostom said: “Lest anyone thinks that the resurrection of Christ and His sitting in the heavenly places are matters which concern only the Lord Jesus, St. Paul confirmed their effectiveness in the human race throughout all the ages, by saying, ‘That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.’" (Eph. 2: 7 –9) "He might show", this Greek word does not mean only "to show", but "to prove." The resurrection of Christ and His sitting in the heavenly places is a definite proof of His rich surpassing grace, so that believers may enjoy the kindness of the Father by abiding in Christ Jesus. Christ became the Head who presents proofs of what the believers enjoy by uniting with Him. Here we find that our salvation is achieved through our faith as a free gift of grace or a divine gift, and not because of our worthiness. “‘For by grace you have been saved.’ Notice that He descended to you, lest you brag because of the blessings He grants you. Even the faith is not from our own, for if Christ has not come and called us, how could we have believed? The work of faith is not from our own, but it is a gift of God. Probably, you would say, ‘Is faith enough for our salvation?’ No… Know that by grace, you will be saved, so you may feel that you are indebted to God. If we attribute our good deeds to God, then our reward due to our humility is much greater than our reward due to the deeds themselves. If grace does not wait for our response, then it would have abundantly poured on every soul. But because grace is conditional on our response, then it dwells in some and forsakes others, for God first demands that we choose Him.” St. John Chrysostom 66 “Do not feel proud, lest you lose everything you have received.” St. Augustine 67 Then, our reconciliation with the Father is achieved through the rich divine grace, which is poured out by the cross of our Lord Jesus, so it changed our status from being in a state of enmity to a state of adoption. He raised us up from spiritual death to a risen life and from the earthly state to sitting in the heavenly places. This is like renewal to the creation, which was more costly than the first creation, for the first creation required only the utterance of God, but the new creation required the crucifixion of the Son through the blood of His cross. Thus, St. Paul continued his words declaring the surpassing work of God by saying: "For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2: 10) “Notice the words he used. He refers to the new birth, which is truly a re-creation. We came to existence out of nothing. When the old man was living, we were dead, but truly now, we are a new creation. This new creation is much better than the old one, for in the former, we just existed, but in the latter, we obtained what is better, which is ‘…created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’ (Eph. 2:10): Not only to start but we should walk in them, for we need good deeds to remain with us and accompany us until our departure. If we have to travel to a royal city and we crossed most of the way but before approaching our destination, we sat and became lazy. What have we gained? Nothing. The hope of our calling is "good deeds", or else we do not benefit. He does not rejoice that we achieved only one deed, but He wants us to achieve all deeds. We have to use our five senses in the appropriate time, thus we have to attain many virtues.” St. John Chrysostom 68 2. The secret of the reconciliation of the human race: We have mentioned that the cross is complete with its vertical and horizontal dimensions, without any separation. By reconciling man with heaven, man forsook his sins, through God's free grace and the risen life, and man loved his brother, regardless of his origin! That is why St. Paul, after talking about our reconciliation with God, he tackled the subject of our reconciliation with the entire human race. Since the veil, which obstructed man from heaven, was destroyed, then the wall between the Jews and the Gentiles has to be destroyed too. St. Paul started his talk by saying how the Gentiles were strangers from Israel and God by saying: "Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." (Eph. 2: 11,12) This is the picture of the Gentiles before accepting faith. Notice the following: First: The Gentiles were uncircumcised, that is they do not carry the sign of the covenant with God, which God demanded from Abraham and his sons. (Gen. 17: 9 –14) They had no covenant, but the Jews had taken the covenant, but unfortunately, this covenant was in the flesh without any deep inner impact. He said, "…made in the flesh by hands," (Eph. 2:11), that is, it does not carry any inner direction nor it does differentiate them from the Gentiles. He clarified this point in his epistle to the Romans: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God." (Rom. 2:28,29) After he described the work of God's surpassing grace in everyone, he said: "For we are His workmanship in Christ ". There is no more pride for the Jews about the circumcision, for it is made in the flesh "by hands". What a great difference between "God's work" and "what the human hand does"! Everyone received new circumcision, not made by hands in the flesh, but as St. Paul said, "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." (Col. 2: 11,12) Thus, there is no way to compare the symbolic circumcision of the flesh and the new circumcision in the baptismal font. Second: The Gentiles were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel", that is they did not carry the citizenship of Israel, hence they were strangers from the divine citizenship, which made them lose the hope, for they did not receive the divine Law nor enjoyed the prophecies of the prophets which pointed to the coming of the Messiah the Savior of the world. St. John Chrysostom said: ‘St. Paul did not say that they were isolated but said they were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, that is, they have no part in this commonwealth. This is a touchy expression, for it means that they were outside this commonwealth, not as strangers but due to negligence, therefore, they fell and did not deserve the covenants.’69 Third: "…without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12). This expression does not mean that they were atheists or denied the existence of God, but they did not have the knowledge of God, as he said in another place, "…Like the Gentiles who do not know God." (1 Thess. 4:5) As they come closer to Christ and accept faith, their image has completely changed and their position in regards to God and the Jews has changed, for he said: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace." (Eph. 2: 13-15) In the Old Testament, the Jews were close to God, not only through the circumcision but also through offering sacrifices, as Moses the prophet said, when he sprinkled the blood over the people: "And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.'" (Ex. 24:8) However in the New Testement humans became close to God in a covenant of brotherhood through the sacrifice of Christ. Christ, sacrificing Himself a sacrifice of love, joined us together in a bound of unity with Him, and broke down the middle wall of separation, which the Jews have erected around the temple so that no stranger may cross it. This represented the enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles, and the complete separation between both of them, not only by not crossing to the Jewish temple, but the isolation of the Jews from the life of the Gentiles, and separating themselves from all directions of life so they may not get defiled with their abominations. Josephus tells us that this middle wall was three inches high, separating the outer court of the temple from the inner court. There were signs threatening by death every stranger who crosses it70. In the excavations which Ganneau and C. Clermont did in Jerusalem in the year 1871, there was written one of these warnings, saying: "No stranger is allowed to enter the fenced area around the temple, and whoever does will be condemned to death." This middle wall created two directions for the Gentiles, for some admired their purity from the pagan defilement, so they accepted the Jewish regulations, and others considered that being fanatic, so they were filled with bitterness against the Jews and despised them. He did not abolish the middle wall so that the Gentiles and the Jews enter the temple of Jerusalem, but He abolished the enmity by His blood, so that all may become members in His Body, "…To create in Himself one new man from the two…" (Eph. 2: 15) Probably, this refers to the Eucharist, where all may participate in one Body, so all have continual renewal and harmony until "The one renewed church" is declared. The believing human race meets in the Eucharist to find a true place to abide in Christ. St. Paul emphasized this reconciliation which has been accomplished in the cross in more than one place, for he said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3: 28) "And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." (Col. 1:20) “He is our peace who made the two into one.” What does he mean by "made the two into one"? This doesn’t mean that He raised us to their mean place, but that He raised them and us to what is higher; nevertheless the blessing for us is greater, for they had the promise and were closer than us. However, we had no promise and we were more far than them, that is why he said, "…The Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy…" (Rom. 15:9). Truly the promise was given to the Jews, however, they did not deserve it. He did not give us a promise; however, being strangers and having nothing in common with them, still we became one, not by uniting with them, but by being united with them in the One. This is an illustration: suppose that there are two statues: one made from silver and the other made from lead, and both were melted and they became gold, thus, the two became one. In other words, let's pretend there are two persons: a slave and a son by adoption, and both of them sinned against the father, so one became an unworthy son for all the inheritance, and the other became a vagabond who does not know a father. Both became heirs and true sons. Both were raised to the same honor and the two became one, one came from far and the other from a shorter distance. But the slave became more courteous than what he was earlier before he had sinned. He continued his speech by saying: "… has broken down the middle wall of separation." He interpreted the middle wall of separation by saying, "…Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances…" Truly, some say that he means the wall, which the Jews have put against the Greeks, for he never allowed the Jew to mingle with the Greek. However, the meaning is different, for he said, "…in His flesh the enmity…" (Eph. 2:15), the middle wall as an obstacle between all of us and God on the same level. As the prophet said, "But your iniquities have separated you from God..." (Is. 59: 2), this enmity which was between God and the Jews and the Gentiles was a middle wall. This wall was not broken when the Law was founded but on the contrary got stronger. St. Paul said, "Because the law brings about wrath…" (Rom. 4:15) He does not put the blame on the law but rather on our iniquities; he says here, "…the middle wall…" (Eph. 2:14), for through our disobedience, the enmity started. The law was like a wall made for our protection, that is why, it is called "wall" to enclose what is inside. Listen to what the prophet said, "…He built a tower in its midst…" (Is. 5:2) “In any case, the law became a middle wall not for their peace but to isolate them from God, and the middle wall became a division. To explain this, he continued: ‘Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances...’ How did this happen? By His crucifixion on the cross, He abolished the enmity, not only through that, but also by keeping the commandments.” St. John Chrysostom 71 "…So as to create in Himself one new man from the two..." (Eph. 2:15) Notice that the Gentile did not become a Jew, but both of them became a new creation. He used the word "create" and not "change" to manifest the power of His work. "…So as to create in Himself one new man from the two…" (Eph. 2:15), that is by Himself. So He did not assign this job to someone else, but He Himself accomplished it. He dissolved both of them and made one glorious one. He held the Jews with one hand and the Gentiles with the other, and He was in the middle, so He mingled the two together. All the conflict between them was removed and He reformed them from above from fire and water, and not by water and dust. "…One new man from the two, thus making peace..." (Eph. 2:15) making peace with both of them with God, and with each other. "…In one body…" (Eph. 2:16), that is in His body, for He is the one who endured the dued punishment. "…Through the cross thereby putting to death the enmity." (Eph. 2:16) No words are stronger than these, for St. Paul said that His death has mortified the enmity through His suffering. He did not say that He "abolished" the enmity, but rather he "mortified" it, so it does not rise again. “As long as we are abiding in the body of Christ and are united with Him, then the enmity remains dead.” St. John Chysostom 72 Since the Lord has paid the price of the reconciliation in His sacrificed Body, then this reconciliation is a rejoicing reconciliation for everyone. St. Paul said, "And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near." (Eph. 2: 17) St. John Chrysostom said: "Christ did not send this joyful news through others, but He Himself came. He did not send an angel nor an arch angel to fulfill this mission, but it required His coming.”73 He came by Himself to preach to everyone, the far and the near, not by words of peace but by an act of peace. Isaiah the prophet saw this good news through the prophecy, so he said, "…Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near," says the Lord, "And I will heal him." (Is. 57:19) The cross in the body of Christ has accomplished the reconciliation between the two parties, but the Father and the Holy Spirit have their positive role in this act. St. Paul said, "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." (Eph. 2: 18) This is a strong statement relating to the trinity, where St. Paul declares that through the incarnation of the Son, the human race approached the Father through the work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the reconciliation is getting closer to the Father, through the Incarnate Son in the Holy Spirit. The Gentiles enjoyed the work of the Trinity that is why they became no more strangers but became one with the Jews and the household of God. He said: "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Eph. 2: 19) The Gentiles and the Jews were strange children, whom the Lord has embraced in His body by His Holy Spirit to become two sons to the Father "…members of the household of God". After accepting faith, the Gentiles had the same rights as the Jews, for they entered in the building of the universal church whose foundation is the apostles and the prophets and the Lord Jesus the Cornerstone. In other words the Jewish nation no more monopolize the prophets of the Old Testement, the apostles of the New Testament or Christ Himself. St. Paul said, "Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2: 20-22) The Jews and the Gentiles established one spiritual building. Its foundation is the apostles, the prophets and the Lord Jesus the cornerstone, in whom all the prophecies of the Old Testament and the ministry of the New Testament are fulfilled. In reality, Jerusalem is "…The tabernacle of God with men…" (Rev. 21:3). St. John saw the names of the twelve apostles written on its foundation (Rev. 21:14), and the names of the twelve tribes on its doors. (Rev. 21:12) In more than one place, St. Augustine explained the role of the Lord Jesus Christ as the cornerstone who binds the Jews with the Gentiles in one building, as two walls with two different directions mingled together. He said: “It happened in the day of His birth that the Jewish shepherds saw Him, while in the day of Epiphany, the Gentile wise men worshiped Him. Truly, He was born as a cornerstone for both. St. Paul said, ‘That He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.’ (Eph. 2:16) What is the cornerstone, but tying two walls with different directions, as if they are exchanging kisses! The circumcised are with the uncircumcised, that is, the Jews with the Gentiles. They carried common animosity, and they are isolated from one another. The Jews worshiped the One True God, while the Gentiles worshiped many false gods. The Jews were close to God while the Gentiles were far. He led both groups to Himself, that is He reconciled them both with God in the one body, as he said, ‘…through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.’ (Eph. 2:16)” 74 “Calling the Lord Jesus the chief cornerstone and the Head of the church, hence, the church becomes the cornerstone, which included both the Jews and the Gentiles.” St. Augustine 75 “What is the purpose of this building? The purpose is that God may dwell in that temple. Each one of you is a temple, and all of you together make a temple. God dwells in you, being the body of Christ and a spiritual temple. He did not use the word that implies that we went to God, but rather that God Himself brings us to Himself. We did not go to Him by ourselves, but He Himself brought us close to Him. The Lord Jesus said, ‘No one comes to the Father except through Me.’, also, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ (John 14:6) ” St. John Chrysostom 76
Welcome