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ADULT BIBLE STUDY
HORIZONTAL ATONEMENT: THE CROSS AND THE CHURCH
In Ephesians 2:11–22, Paul sees the cross of Christ as making a dramatic difference, destroying all barriers, enclosures and walls that would have otherwise made those that have embraced the one true God feel shut out, alienated, and separated.
Vertically, the Cross dissolves alienation, reconciling humans with God. Horizontally, it reconciles people with each other. The Cross removes enmity and brings peace between Jews and Gentiles, making them “one new humanity” (Eph. 2:15, NIV). Together they become a new temple, “a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22, ESV).
In Christ and through His cross, Gentile believers had been brought near to all from which they were separated—God, hope, and their Jewish brothers and sisters. Here is the powerfully good news implied by Paul’s description: that the cross of Christ can heal the wide rift between Jews and Gentiles means that all of our feuds and divisions can be resolved there. This good news invites us to consider the divisions that exist in our own lives and in the church and to ponder the power of the Cross to supersede them.
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