BREAKING DOWN THE DIVIDING WALL
Charles and Sarah Faupel
We have written previously
regarding the importance of being guided by the Holy Spirit in contrast to adherence
to a set of moral principles. (See “Law of the Spirit—Higher than the Moral Law”). This is a
matter of great consequence that has important ramifications that extend far
beyond the personal lifestyle of the individual believer. In this brief article, we address the
importance of the absolute Headship of Christ (in the form of the Holy Spirit) as
it pertains to the relationship between Christ and His body, and between
members of the body of Christ.
Paul states in Ephesians:
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, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through
the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
(Ephesians 2:13-16; NKJV).
These
verses point to two important and related themes that we explore in this
article. First, the
law is enmity between Christ and His body; and second, the law is enmity between members of the body of Christ.
The Law is Enmity between Christ and His Body
Those of us who have grown up
in the organized church have been subjected to the law. No matter how much the preacher preaches
“grace,” or the theological tradition attached to the denomination (or NON-denomination)
of which we have been a part, the church as an institutional structure can only
survive by imposing external expectations on its members: LAW and the traditions
of men. These expectations may have to
do with paying a tithe. Possibly there
are expectations for social outreach or supporting certain causes. There are, of course, those traditions that
have long moral codes (written or unwritten) specifying do’s
and don’ts for their members. These more
fundamentalist churches practice what is commonly called “legalism.” But legalism in the broadest sense affects
all church bodies from the most liberal to the most conservative, from the most
“free” worship churches to those with highest liturgical forms of worship. All of these bodies practice a form of
legalism insofar as they impose any expectation on their members beyond simply
being faithful to the witness of the Spirit within them. They impose these expectations, by way of doctrines,
creeds, regulations, books of order and Sunday morning pulpit pounding, so as
to insure the smooth functioning of the organization that it calls the
“church.” (See the article “Bureaucrachurch” on this website.)
While we appreciate the felt
need for “order” in the body of Christ, the problem is that such order that is
imposed from without does not equate to, nor does it facilitate spiritual unity
in any way. It is an externally imposed
order that demands conformity if one is to be in good standing with the
religious organization in question. This
sort of order results in—or at least potentially results in—conformity on the
part of adherents that is motivated by obligation, or even worse, by fear and
intimidation. It also has the effect of
elevating certain individuals—especially the paid clergy but others as well—to
a position of dominance and control over laity so as to enforce this
“order.” The result has been a highly
sophisticated organizational system with well developed doctrines and creeds,
polished worship productions and an increasingly well-educated clergy class
which assumes a position of headship in local congregations that was never
intended by Jesus when He established His ecclesia. These paid (or unpaid) clergy are looked to
as the spiritual heads of their flocks, as parishioners become ever more
passive and dependent upon the leadership of these false heads. We use the term “false heads” very
deliberately, because they are usurping the Headship of Christ when they
function in the capacity of directing the spiritual life of a local body of
believers. It is not that all pastors
and lay leaders intentionally want to
control their flocks through fear and intimidation. Many pastors are most benign and seek input
and counsel from their parishioners.
Indeed, many will tell you that they truly desire that their churches be
Spirit-led. And many erroneously believe
that because they allow for extended times of worship, or give room for an
occasional word of prophecy from someone in the congregation, their church is a Spirit-led church. May we humbly suggest that just because a
pastor or leader “allows” for a more free expression of worship or prophecy or
anything else, this does not mean that Jesus Christ is truly the head of such a
body. At the
end of the day, because of the unique position that pastors hold in the organizational
system that is called “the church,” they are ultimately expected to function in
a capacity that God intends for the Holy Spirit alone. This is
a topic that deserves much more attention than we are able to give here, but
must be reserved for another time.
Can we see and hear the
radical message that Paul is sending forth in this portion of his letter to the
Ephesian believers? Christ Himself has
broken down the middle wall of separation and has abolished in His very own
flesh the enmity that divides believers from one another and from God Himself. No longer is there a necessity for a priest
class, set apart through human ordinances, to mediate and interpret the Word of
the Lord to a passive flock of listeners.
The middle wall of separation has been broken down and Christ Himself
has abolished the enmity that would require such an Aaronic priestly class (clergy)
to mediate between God and man. (see endnote)[i]
So what is this “enmity” that Christ has abolished? Paul
states unequivocally that it is the law itself! This is not the only place, of course, that
scripture makes it clear that the law is of no more effect to those who are in
Christ Jesus:
·
Jesus Himself
said that He is the fulfillment of
the law (Matthew 5:17).
·
Paul elsewhere
states that Christ is the end of the law
(Romans 10:4). The Greek word for “end”
here is telos, meaning completion, or
culmination of. That is to say, the
purpose of the law has been completed in Christ!
·
Paul strongly
avers that Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law. This is the theme of the
entire book of Galatians, but see especially Galatians 3:13.
·
Elsewhere Paul
pronounces that we who are in Christ are dead
to the law (Romans 6-8).
We, with Paul, recognize that
the law had a very positive purpose—that being a tutor to bring us to Christ,
that we might be justified by faith. But
now that faith has come, Paul says, we are no longer under the tutor of the law
(Galatians 3: 23-25). This is no small matter
with Paul. It is nothing less than a declaration of the very costly freedom which
Christ purchased for us by way of the cross, breaking our slave chains to
become full status heirs as sons of the Most High. The fact of our death to the
law, or the breaking of this bondage, is absolutely central to our union with
Christ. Let us look once again at Paul’s
word to the Ephesian Christians quoted above:
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…
Can we see the revolutionary,
paradigm-shattering truth exploding forth in this statement? Christ Himself is our peace! No longer adherence to the law. No more doctrinal statements to which we must
assent. No more finding fulfillment by
seeking acceptance through conformity to church rules or expectations, whatever
form those may take. Christ Himself is our peace! And He has become our peace by breaking down
the wall of separation through abolishing in His flesh the enmity—the law.
Can we not see that it is the law itself which has now become the
wall of man’s separation from God?
Indeed, the law was given so that mankind would be confronted with his
separation from God (Romans 7:7). But if
the law is effective in confronting us with our separation from God, it is
totally powerless to overcome that separation.
Allegiance to the law—in whatever
form that the law takes—can only further alienate us from God. Christ, and Him crucified, abolishes that
wall of separation. Our allegiance now
can be only to Christ and Him alone.
So what does this mean, in
practical terms? Does it mean that we
are to lead lifestyles that are disapproved of by the religious establishment,
just because we have the freedom to do so? Does it mean that we suddenly refuse to engage
in social outreach programs, just because we are no longer under the dictates
or expectations of man-made religious systems?
Does it mean that we reject all doctrine, just because our denomination
would impose it upon us? The answer to
all of these questions is that, while we might
do ALL of these things, it is not “just because….” Furthermore, the answer to each and every one
of these questions, and a hundred more questions that might arise in our daily
walking out of our journey with Christ, is that we freely and wholeheartedly respond with allegiance to the Anointing
of Jesus Christ in us and to Him alone. He
has now broken down the dividing wall and because of this we can have communion
with Him. When He left this earth, He
promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to teach them (and
us) all things (John 14:26). The Holy
Spirit (not the law, and not clergy who would interpret the law) is now our
teacher, as He (the Holy Spirit—God Himself!) abides in us and teaches us all
things (I John 2:27).
So it is that, by the
abolition of the enmity between God and man—which is the law itself—through the work
of the cross, the dividing wall has been torn down and our union with God has
been made complete. This is a spiritual
truth from which we cannot retreat in the face of every force of hell that is being
brought to bear against the sons of God; even (and especially) through the Babylonish church system that would seek to “Judaize” the
sons, in an effort to bring them in submission to the circumcision (law) rather
than the cross (through obedience to the Spirit) today, so they may somehow
avoid persecution and boast in their flesh.
This effort by the religious systems of today to seduce the people of
God to keep the traditions of men—in whatever form that may take—is no less an
attempt to “bewitch” the saints in our day than was that of the Judaizers in the churches of Galatia almost two millennia
ago (Galatians 6:12-13). Such efforts
are an enemy of the cross.
The Law is Enmity between Members of the Body of
Christ
Let us look closely at the
words of Paul to the Ephesians once again:
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, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through
the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
(Ephesians 2:13-16; NKJV).
As regards the enmity between
members of the body of Christ, Paul is speaking here specifically of the
relationship between the recently converted Ephesian Gentiles and his own
people, the Jews. There had always been
great enmity between the Jews and the neighboring Gentiles, or “barbarians,” as
they were called by the Jews. This
enmity existed both because of the sense of elitism that the Jews carried with
them toward other peoples because of their understanding of being specially
called out by God from among the nations; and also, because of the great
persecution the Jews experienced at the hands of these “barbarians,” especially
in and around the time that Paul would have been writing. The enmity was intense. But Paul was declaring that now, in Christ
Jesus, these so-called barbarians who were once so alienated from God have now
been brought near to Him. This was
radical enough, though his Jewish brothers and sisters may have been able to
eventually come around to accepting such a thought. But Paul goes even further. He makes the claim that these barbarians are
now one people with his people! They
have been joined together into one new man!
Oh, the thought of it must have made the Jews see red!
From our vantage point, some
2000 years later, this thought might not be so radical. It has been preached from our pulpits for
hundreds of years, and we have no problem whatsoever understanding Jewish
people who have been brought near by the blood of Christ as our brothers and
sisters. Indeed, we celebrate their
coming into the Kingdom of God as joint heirs with us. But may we suggest that we have seen only
part of the radical message that Paul is bringing when we open our arms to those
whom we now call “Messianic Jews” as part of the body of Christ (and vice versa
of course; when Messianic Jews open their arms to Gentile Christians). Paul’s radical message cuts much more deeply
than this.
Paul goes on to say that
Christ has abolished in his flesh the enmity that existed between Jew and
Gentile. And what was this enmity? Paul tells us: it is “the law of commandments contained in
the ordinances…” The law is the
enmity! Yes, the law itself is the
dividing wall between Jew and Gentile.
But, dear brother and sister, this dividing wall does not create enmity
merely between Jew and Gentile. We put
forth to you today, that the law is the dividing wall between believers
everywhere.
Have you ever wondered why
there are 40,000+ Christian denominations throughout the world today? Do you suppose, as some do, that this is
because each denomination has grasped a little piece of the truth and that,
together, we have the whole truth? And
further that this somehow pleases God? If
you have ever experienced even a local church split—much less a church split
that has resulted in the formation of yet another denomination—you cannot, with
an easy conscience, entertain the notion that such pleases God. Denominationalism represents nothing less
than the dividing of the body of Christ.
It is a modern-day picture of the tearing asunder of that which God has
joined together. It is the embodiment of
the dividing wall between members of the body of Christ.
When we examine the cause of
this splintering of the body of Christ into so many factions—if we have eyes to
see—we understand that the culprit is nothing other than the law. Ask any leader of a faction within a
denomination his or her grievance against the parent body and they will tell
you of doctrinal error in the parent body or perhaps of moral laxness in what it
condones or does not condemn. The
“doctrinal errors” are many and varied.
It may be over water baptism, and in whose name we baptize. It may be over speaking in tongues. Some fellowships are split over the doctrine of
the manifestation of the sons of God.
More recently, mainline churches have been witnessing whole
congregations leaving the denominations because of their stand on homosexuality
or other moral issues. At the root of
all of this division is the cursed law.
Some readers are probably
responding, “Does not Paul admonish Timothy and Titus to closely guard sound
doctrine? He surely does! Let’s examine
just what Paul says regarding sound doctrine:
knowing this: that the law is not made
for a righteous person, but for the
lawless and insubordinate, for the
ungodly and for sinners, for the
unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for
manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for
perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my
trust. (1 Timothy 1:9-11)
Paul begins this exhortation
by boldly stating that the law is not made for a righteous person, “but for the
lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and
profane…” etc. Earlier in this chapter,
Paul urges Timothy not to give heed to “fables and endless genealogies, which
cause disputes rather than godly edification in faith.” These, Paul says, have strayed from the
commandment of love, opting instead to engage in idle talk, “desiring to be
teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say, nor the things they
affirm” (1 Timothy 1:7). The “sound
doctrine” to which Paul was referring was that which edified and increased
faith (v. 4). What the teachers of the
law were doing was distracting from the gospel of love and faith in Christ to
focus on issues that divide. Teachers of the law—even well-intentioned
teachers—are still doing the same thing throughout the Babylonish
church system today. Paul’s
admonition to “sound doctrine” has nothing to do with our holding to a certain
set of beliefs as correct doctrine so as to insulate us against “false
teaching.” This is not what Paul is
saying at all! In point of fact, Paul, in Galatians, rails against those of the
circumcision for causing such division. Those who practice such are those whom
Paul accuses of “desiring to be teachers of the law.”
Now let us look for a moment
at Paul’s exhortation to Titus regarding sound doctrine. Here, Paul is warning Titus of “those of the
circumcision” coming in to discredit the Gentile believers, bringing division
even to households because of their desire to make them conform to their
teaching. Prefacing this exhortation,
Paul declares, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those
who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and
conscience are defiled” (Titus 1:15).
Paul goes on in Chapter 2 to teach things which are of sound
doctrine—that men be sober, reverent, sound in faith,
etc. Paul is speaking here of issues of character and faith that are nurtured by
“sound doctrine” which Paul has spent his very life preaching—the doctrine of
Christ and Him crucified. Nothing
else! Anything added to this “doctrine” is
law, and it only divides.
God is Calling Out a People
The law, in
whatever form it takes, divides the body of Christ. Does this then mean that people should stay
within their denominations, even when they are grieved by what they see being
taught and taking place within those bodies?
Let us be very clear here. The
parent denomination itself was born out of a divisive spirit. Despite whatever spiritual vocabulary and
rhetoric it would use to mask it, denominational bodies are themselves
purveyors of the law. This is why Christ
Himself, through John the Revelator speaks boldly, “Come out of her, my people,
lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Revelation
18:4). Paul also exhorts:
And what agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For you are the
temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will
dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall
be My people.” Therefore “Come out
from among them and be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and
you shall be My sons and daughters,” says the Lord
Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:16-18).
God is calling out a people
in our day. This is not a call to form
another denomination, or even another local congregation, over doctrinal
differences. Oh no! That would be to simply replace one old
wineskin with a wineskin that is even more cracked. What God is doing NOW, is calling forth a “virgin”
people, untainted with the harlotry of a system of religion that seeks to make
men and women of the circumcision (bound to a set of creeds, doctrines and laws);
a people freed by the Spirit of Life, living by way of the cross that
obliterated the handwriting of requirements and free to embrace a radical
obedience to the Law of the Spirit: to
love as He loved; to be moved with compassion as He was moved with compassion; to
lay down their life for their friends (and enemies) as He laid down His life.
If you have embraced this
call, you are most certainly in a two-fold process. You are being set apart from the old religious
systems, for there is no fellowship between law and spirit. At the same time, God is forming a deep
spiritual bond and unity with others who are also responding to the law of the
spirit within. This precious union with
others is forged in the crucible of much tribulation as the Lord takes you
through your own wilderness in which you are purged of the self-life that would
seek to justify itself through its own righteousness. (This is discussed at length in the article “The Wilderness” which can be found on this website.)
As the Lord begins to connect you with others who have responded to this
call, there will almost surely be a multitude of “doctrinal,” ethical,
political, social, and other matters on which you disagree, but these
differences do not affect the unity that you experience because you are bound
together with these members of the true ecclesia
of God by the very Spirit of God to which we have sworn allegiance.
Praise God, He …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, and that He
might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting
to death the enmity!