Servings Per Verse: Unknown
ESV
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
*ETS:
Jesus has planted peace in our hearts and lives. In our hearts we have peace with God and in our lives we have peace with others. He has removed racial prejudice and hostility to bring peace where there was none. His work on the cross has changed our lives completely. We are now part of a family without racial tensions and barriers. The Jew / Gentile war is over. All races may now lay claim to being God's children because of Jesus' work on the cross.
*DTFTD:
According to the record of the Old Testament, God called the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be his chosen people. God also ordered his chosen people not to intermarry with other people groups. Why? We will limit our answer to two reasons: 1. The first reason Jews did not intermarry with Gentiles was religious. God wanted to have a people that would provide a testimony of his continuing work in the world. The world would know that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was not like any other god. Intermarriage would have allowed other races to bring other gods into the family and eventually the distinction of deity would have become blurred, if not totally erased (Dt. 7:3-4); 2. The second reason Jews did not intermarry with Gentiles is prophetic. God promised Abrahan a seed (a Son), who would change the world. The promised Son would be a blessing to all nations. The prophecy spoke of Christ (Galatians 3:29). God would be very protective of the genealogy through which Christ would come into the world. The list of names in the genealogy of Christ points to people who had faith in Jehovah and believed the prophecy of a coming Son (Matthew 1:1-17). When Jesus came into our world, assuming the title Son of God, there was no question as to the deity in the title. Jesus was the Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We should also remember that Jesus' title, "Christ," was a direct reference to his being the promised coming Son, he was and is the Messiah - The Anointed One. After the coming of Christ the racial barrier was broken down. The separation of Jew and Gentile served no purpose. Christ is the promised Son who has fulfilled the prophecies to prove his identity, and because he has paid the price of sin on the cross, all are invited into the inter-racial family of God (Galatians 3:27-28). Christians are privileged to have brothers and sisters all over the world. Our family lives in many cultures, speaks many languages, and has one common bond - a relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Christian family is filled with love and excited about the fact that our Father is continuing to adopt unique people into our fellowship.
*EDS:
The Christian family is huge! It is comprised of people from many nations. The family is continuing to expand. Pray for our brothers and sisters on mission telling the story of Christ to the world.
INGREDIENTS: The Christ has come and a family of faith is being brought together because of his finished work on the cross of Calvary. Word Study: Jesus is our "peace (our bond of unity and harmony) " Amplified Translation.
*ESV- English Standard Version; ETS- Essence of the Text in a Sentence; DTFTD- Devotional Thought For The Day; EDS- Essence of the Devotional in a Sentence.
