Philippians 3

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Philippians 3:1

The Gentiles

Ephesians 2:11. Here a new section starts. Paul looks back. He did that also in Ephesians 2:1. There it merely was about our personal past in order to demonstrate in the next verses which personal blessings we possess in Christ. From Ephesians 2:11 it is about our collective past and subsequently we see which blessings we together have in Christ. Both cases regard the time of our life on earth. That is a difference with chapter 1. There the issue is the counsels of God from before the foundation of the world, so out of time and apart from the earth.

In the previous Ephesians 2:1-10 you’ve seen what God has personally worked in us, after our desperate situation has been presented. In Ephesians 2:11-22 you will see what God has done to us collectively, after our desperate situation also has been presented first. With ‘collectively’ I mean all believers from the Jews and the Gentiles together, for that is the point here.

The unity created between Jew and Gentile is a wonder of God’s grace. Paul demonstrates how great this wonder is by making a comparison between what the Gentiles once were and what they now have become. Most of the readers of this letter, then and also now, consist of those who once belonged to the Gentiles. They are being stimulated to remember how desperate their situation was in the past, that they will be more aware of what their situation is now.

To illustrate their once desperate situation, he compares it with that of Israel. It is important to bear in mind that in this comparison the issue is the former position in the flesh of both Gentile and Jew. Paul puts down seven aspects of the position of the Gentile. They are, as it were, sledgehammer blows. Every blow makes the Gentile sink deeper in his miserable situation.

The first blow: they were “the Gentiles in the flesh”. The expression ‘in the flesh’ indicates that their whole life was controlled by satisfying their lusts. In Romans 7 it is put at follows: “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were [aroused] by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death” (Romans 7:5). God had given His law to Israel that in obeying the law they should enjoy life in fellowship with God.

The second blow: the Jew looked down on the Gentile with contempt and scolded them for “Uncircumcision” (cf. 1 Samuel 14:6; 1 Samuel 17:26; 36). As noticed, it is about a comparison regarding their outward position. That’s why Israel is called here “the so-called “Circumcision””. It is only about the outward form, which is emphasized by the addition “[which is] performed in the flesh by human hands”.

Ephesians 2:12. The third blow: the Gentiles once were “separate from Christ”. Christ, that means the Messiah to Israel, was not promised to the Gentiles; He was promised to Israel alone. When He came on earth, He came for ‘the children’ of Israel, not for ‘the dogs’, the Gentiles (cf. Mark 7:24-30).

The fourth blow: the Gentiles were not categorized under the civil rights of Israel. Therefore they lacked many privileges that were included in this commonwealth. You can think of all kinds of social and religious privileges, as well as the statutes and rights that God gave to His people. In this way their life was so much organized that they could live at the highest level, in health, peace and safety (Deuteronomy 4:8).

The fifth blow: as “strangers” the Gentiles had no part in “the covenants of promise”. God had made various covenants with Israel since Abraham (Genesis 15:17-21; Leviticus 26:42; Psalms 89:3-4). They had one collective promise: the coming of the Messiah, Who would fulfill what God had promised in the covenants.

The sixth blow: “no hope”. The situation becomes more and more hopeless. You might hope that after all that is said previously, a change would come for good. But there is no prospect of that either. There is no ground to expect something good of the future.

Finally the seventh, the biggest blow: “without God in the world”. The Gentiles had all turned their backs on God (Romans 1:20-21). That’s why “in generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go in their own ways” (Acts 14:16). They were left totally to themselves, without any connection to God. From among all the nations God had chosen Israel. Through this nation He revealed Himself to all other nations.

Now what is meant by this comparison? Before I explain that, I first want to tell you what is not meant. The comparison is in no way meant to prove that the Gentiles have now certainly become partakers of the blessings of Israel. A big misconception is the explanation that in these verses it should be said that the Gentile has been drawn near because he should have become Jew. That cannot be the right explanation, as also in the Old Testament there was the possibility to become a Jewish member, a so-called proselyte.

Furthermore, God also had blessings in store for the Gentiles in the Old Testament. But we have to consider the following. In the first place the blessings mentioned in the Old Testament for the nations are not given to those nations themselves, but to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and later to Israel. In the second place we see that the nations can only receive blessings by the means of Israel. When in future Israel will be God’s people again, all nations will also join in this restoration. This will happen when the Lord Jesus has established the millennial kingdom of peace.

Ephesians 2:13. But what in fact is made clear to us in Ephesians 2? That there is blessing for the nations apart from Israel! Ephesians 2:13, where we now are, explains that further. The Gentiles were in two aspects of view far off from God. First, by being apart from Israel – this you have just seen. But second, they were also far off from God from a spiritual point of view. However, also the Jews were from the spiritual point of view far off from God.

Where both of them stood far off from God, both Jew and Gentile had to be brought near to God and that “by the blood of Christ”. The Gentile certainly doesn’t become a Jew and even fewer a Jew becomes a Gentile. Both are being brought in a totally new position and that is “in Christ Jesus”. It is not spoken anymore here of ‘Gentiles in the flesh’ and neither of ‘Israel in the flesh’. Together they are a new unity, of which is mentioned that they both have been made one (Ephesians 2:14), and that they were created “into one new man” (Ephesians 2:15) and that they were reconciled “both in one body” to God (Ephesians 2:16).

Jews and Gentiles are taken from their natural environment and are placed in a whole new unity: the church. To the Gentile as well as to the Jew, that is a great transformation. Formerly in a double point of view so far off; now, ‘through the blood of Christ’, so near to God, even been brought to His heart.

“The blood of Christ” draws our attention to the offering of Christ. Through His blood we are reconciled with God. On that basis God has taken away every obstacle to allow us to come into His presence and to bless us with all spiritual blessing. About the value of Christ’s blood, we never run out of thoughts.

Now read Ephesians 2:11-13 again.

Reflection: How did the difference in position between Jew and Gentile disappear?

Philippians 3:2

The Gentiles

Now read Ephesians 2:11-13 again.

Reflection: How did the difference in position between Jew and Gentile disappear?

Philippians 3:3

The Gentiles

Now read Ephesians 2:11-13 again.

Reflection: How did the difference in position between Jew and Gentile disappear?

Philippians 3:4

Christ Is Our Peace

In the previous verse you have seen that we ‘have come near’ and that ‘in Christ’ and on the basis of His blood. Therefore it is possible that we can come into God’s presence. However, if there were nothing else, it could mean that the church was no more than an improvement of Judaism. For the Jew the door to God was closed, for the church it is open.

As great as this privilege is, yet this does not say everything about what the church has more than Israel. The church doesn’t consist of an arbitrary number of Christians that now have the privilege to be in the presence of God. That privilege doesn’t necessarily mean that the distinction between Jews and Gentiles is removed. And one of the unique characteristics of the church is that now this distinction has indeed disappeared. That is what these verses will make clear.

Ephesians 2:14. The disappearance of this distinction is the result of what Christ has accomplished through His death on the cross. “He Himself is our peace”, with the emphasis on His Being. He has worked peace between God and man and – and this is where the emphasis is – between Jew and Gentile. This is something completely new.

In the Old Testament the separation between Jew and Gentile was made by God Himself. There He gave the law as “the barrier of the dividing wall” or “the middle wall of separation”. The law was a kind of fence. Within that fence God stood in connection with His people Israel, a relation that was laid down in many commandments and ordinances. That fence functioned also as a division between Israel and the surrounding nations that did not have this law.

By indicating this formal separation between Jew and Gentile not all has been said yet. In principle it could have been that they, as it were, had cordial contact with each other over the fence. That is not the case. Apart from a distinction in position there was also enmity. This enmity was also the result of the “Law of commandments [contained] in ordinances”.

The Gentile was separated from that, in which the Jew boasted (Romans 2:23). The Gentiles did not want to have anything to do with God. They had their own gods and subjected themselves to the rules they established themselves. In the Old Testament the Jew was appealed to tolerate the idolaters by no means.

In this situation – that regards both the position of both and the hostile spirit they had toward each other – a radical change has happened. First the law as the middle wall of separation has been broken down or dissolved, disempowered.

Ephesians 2:15. Also the law as an expression of God’s will has been abolished or suspended. Both the breaking down and the abolishing happened through what Christ did “in His flesh”. The expression ‘in His flesh’ refers to His body which He surrendered in death on the cross. The law was brought to a definite ending for everyone who has been brought near, not only Jew, but also Gentile.

Also the believer who was originally a Jew had to understand that the law has been brought to a definite ending for him. The same law that kept the Gentile at a distance from God, also kept the Jew at a distance from God. He had broken the law after all! That brought him under the curse. If the Jew wanted to have peace then also for him the law had to be abolished.

Yet it is neither the breaking down of the middle wall of separation between Jew and Gentile that makes the church that special. It was necessary but not sufficient. The most significant character of the church is not that Jew and Gentile now freely have contact with each other. Then the fence would have been built up again, only a little further so that the Gentiles would be within the fence. The difference between Jew and Gentile would have been removed by uplifting the Gentile to the level of the Jew. It would be totally unthinkable to let the Jew, after breaking down the wall, descend to the level of the Gentile.

None of these possibilities reflects how God has formed the church. After the breaking down (negative) something new (positive) is manifesting itself and that is “one new man” and “one body”. To this which is new, Jew and Gentile are brought together.

First, something about the new man: Christ is in a most intimate way connected with the new man. He has created him “in Himself”. The word ‘create’ indicates that it is about something that hasn’t ever existed before, but that is produced by Christ. He did not do that as with the first creation in Genesis 1, by speaking a word of power: ‘Let there be peace!’ No, with His work on the cross He was “establishing peace” between Jew and Gentile.

Jew and Gentile as one new man, introduces a new being, with totally new features. Shortly said, the new man is this: Christ as He lives and becomes visible in every believer. To present the new man it is only possible with all believers, as each of them shows another aspect. For every believer personally it is applicable that He is in Christ and therefore a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Ephesians 2:16. How lofty it might be what we see in the new man, everything hasn’t been said yet about the nearness in which the church has been brought to God. After the unity in essence, that is seen in the new man, follows the greatest unity that is possible: “one body”. One body is not a number of people that make the new man, while each of them shows a different aspect of that one new man. One body goes a step further. It means that those people together form an inseparable unity. They are united with each other as the members of a body are united with each other.

This also is totally new. In the picture of the one body it is expressed most clearly how totally new the position is for both Jew and Gentile. The old position is definitely history.

Another picture can make this clearer. In John 10 the Lord Jesus speaks of the sheep He brings out of the sheepfold (John 10:3-4). Those are the Jewish sheep, believers from the Jews. He also talks about “other sheep, which are not of this fold” (John 10:16a). Those are the believers from the Gentiles. Then He proceeds: “I must bring them also, … and they will become one flock [sheep from Jews and sheep from Gentiles] [with] one shepherd” (John 10:16b).

The Gentiles are not brought to the fold of the Jews. Jew and Gentile are neither brought to a new fold, so to speak, within a new system with new rules. No, they are being formed to a new flock, under one Shepherd.

Now back to our chapter. Jew and Gentile can be together in one body as reconciled with God in His presence. This is also the result of what the Lord Jesus did on the cross. Should there be a way to create a situation of harmony between God and “them both”, then it was only through reconciliation. Reconciliation is needed where there is enmity.

On the cross Christ was “made … sin” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). There, in Christ, everything was judged by God and everything was taken away that cannot exist before Him, so that He could bring us near to Him. The cross also means the end of the old feud that existed between Jew and Gentile, for through the cross “the enmity” was put to death. This is how the cross works reconciliation between God and men and between men and men.

Now read Ephesians 2:14-16 again.

Reflection: What did God do in Christ to bring us near?

Philippians 3:5

Christ Is Our Peace

This also is totally new. In the picture of the one body it is expressed most clearly how totally new the position is for both Jew and Gentile. The old position is definitely history.

Now read Ephesians 2:14-16 again.

Reflection: What did God do in Christ to bring us near?

Philippians 3:6

Christ Is Our Peace

This also is totally new. In the picture of the one body it is expressed most clearly how totally new the position is for both Jew and Gentile. The old position is definitely history.

Now read Ephesians 2:14-16 again.

Reflection: What did God do in Christ to bring us near?

Philippians 3:7

Our Access to the Father

Ephesians 2:17. For the third time in this chapter peace is spoken about. The first time is in Ephesians 2:14. There is the Person of Christ Himself peace. Then in Ephesians 2:15, where peace is the result of the work of Christ on the cross. Here in Ephesians 2:17 it is about the preaching of peace. Also this preaching is ascribed to Christ.

Yet “and He came” cannot refer to His life on earth. Then He indeed preached peace to His own, “those who were near” (John 14:27; John 20:19-21), but never to Gentiles, “you who were far away”. He did not come to earth for the latter (cf. Matthew 10:5-6). Now, however, the Lord Jesus has, as you have seen in the previous verse, brought reconciliation through the cross, followed by His return to heaven. From there He preached this peace to everyone, through His apostles and disciples.

What His representatives are doing on earth in preaching His peace to Jew and Gentile – as there is no distinction anymore – is His work. Here you see again the unity there is between Christ in heaven and His own on earth. Through this that peace has also come to us, and you and I have also become partakers of it.

Ephesians 2:18. After all previous magnificent results of the work of Christ, we now come to the highlight of our spiritual privileges: our access to the Father. You can be perfectly happy and at home with Him, without desiring anything else. This access is for “both”, Jew and Gentile, “through Him”, that is Christ. He has opened the way through the cross. He has made it possible that you can come to the Father, without any inward hesitation and without any outward mediation of others apart from yourself. You personally can go directly to the Father.

He, Who enables you to do this, Who gives you the power to do this, is “one Spirit”. For the fourth time we find the word ‘one’ (see also the Ephesians 2:14-16). Each previous unity is worked by this one Spirit. Every distinction is gone. The Spirit does not give a different access to the Jew than to the Gentile. There always is free access to the Father for every ‘son’. God is not hidden anymore behind a veil as when He dwelled among Israel in the tabernacle and in the temple.

The relationship with God is not being ruled anymore by law, but by liberty. Every restriction of that liberty by introducing again something of the law, means an obstacle of the free access. That is a shortage to the child of God, but a greater shortage still to the Father Who loves to have His children near Him.

It is not so much of what you do with Him. Surely, you can praise Him, you can also ask Him things. But the greatest desire He has is that you are with Him; that He sees that you search for Him because of Who He is: the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are with Him as somebody who is made one with the Lord Jesus. To be with the Father is actually enjoying all what the Lord Jesus is to the Father and to be aware that that relationship also is yours, for you are united with Him. Then you can only worship.

Ephesians 2:19. From this great privilege yet other privileges follow. The words “so then” indicate that. Where you live and where you are at home, you are not a stranger and alien. On earth we still are indeed ‘strangers and foreigners’ (1 Peter 2:11), but with the Father we are at home, together with other “fellow citizens with the saints”. Not citizens of an earthly land with the same nationality, but of a heavenly land (cf. Philippians 3:20) where all dwell who have the ‘nationality’ of heaven.

Besides the relation with each other, we may live near to God and be “God’s household”. It is His house, a house that is characterized by fellowship with Him and with each other. As said it is God’s house, the house where He dwells. That is the step to the last verses of this chapter. There you see how this house is built.

Ephesians 2:20. It is a good thing to notice that until now the church has continuously been brought before us in the picture of a body. Now Paul is going to use another picture for the church and that is that of a house. That is necessary, because herewith things can be made clear that have to do with building. In this way you can view the church in the Bible as a building that is built by God, but also as a building that is built by men. Because the latter here is not the subject, I will pay attention to it. Here it is about the building of the house by God. In Matthew 16 you find the same thought. There the Lord Jesus says that He will build His church (Matthew 16:18).

The building of the church by God and the Lord Jesus takes place on “the foundation of the apostles and prophets”. You could say that they are the foundation in two respects. They are themselves the foundation, the first stones of the building, on which other “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5) are built. Next to that they have shown by their teachings how the building has to go.

It is clear that the prophets, who together with the apostles are the foundation, cannot be the prophets from the Old Testament. From Ephesians 3 it is clear that it is about something that was unknown in the past (Ephesians 3:5). Also the order – first ‘apostles’ are mentioned and after that the ‘prophets’– makes it clear that it is about prophets of the New Testament.

But the foundation of this house is not the most important. The whole house, including the foundation, rests on the cornerstone, “Christ Jesus Himself”. The whole house draws its value from Him. The character of the cornerstone confirms the character of the building.

Ephesians 2:21. This character is expressed in “in Whom”. From Him, in connection to Him, “the whole building” is “being fitted together”. The whole is being fitted together and built in the right way, without any chance of cracks. In Him this building is growing by a continuous addition of new, living stones. This growing, or building, continues until the last stone is added and the building is finished. That is the moment when the Lord Jesus comes to take the church to Him. In the view of the building, the church will perfectly serve the purpose to which she is grown and that is “into a holy temple in the Lord”.

In the Old Testament the temple is the place where God dwelt and where also the priests dwelt. When the Lord Jesus in John 14 says of the Father’s house “in My Father’s house are many dwelling places” (John 14:2a), He seems to be referring to the temple. In the house of the Father we eternally will live with the Father and the Son and we will worship Them.

Ephesians 2:22. Yet God will not wait until the building is finished. That’s why the last verse speaks of the church as a building, a place where God already dwells now. This building is being made up of all believers who live now on earth. That is a building of which stones disappear, which happens when a believer dies, but to which also stones are added, which happens when somebody converts.

It is a great joy to God to have a house on earth in which He can dwell, through His Spirit. To this purpose the original Gentile Ephesians (“you also”) were also being built. To this end, you and I, who didn’t have any part in anything, or right to anything, are being built. What a grace!

Now read Ephesians 2:17-22 again.