for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:22
2 Samuel 7:6-8
6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel.
Ephesians 2:13-22
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.
17 So Christ came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Background
The letter to the church at Ephesus brings us language of the household, the more private, intimate sphere that traditionally included biological family and servants, and that's still mostly about biological family and others we interact with daily outside of school or workplace. Social scientists sometimes refer to these are first spaces or places.
The broad sweep of Ephesians includes third spaces and places—the more commercial, more political public areas where we venture as citizens. Work and school typically are considered second spaces or places.
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The author of Ephesians says "law" in the same way the Apostle Paul does. Here, law (ordinances, etc.) isn't the Ten Words or Commandments. As it is for Paul most of the time, this is ceremonial law, sacrificial law, circumcision, keeping kosher—ritual practices that divided Jews from gentiles or non-Jews.
Vocabulary
This passage is full of gloriously evocative and reassuring language, particularly related to the Holy Spirit. Baptism changes us from being isolated, solitary, atomized individuals as it (literally) incorporates us into the organic, interconnected, interrelated One Body of Christ—not as an undifferentiated blob, but with unique gifts, talents, perspectives, experiences, and contributions. Although the Holy Spirit always has had free reign, we now possess the indwelling Spirit that enables us to live and act as the presence of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ as we restore the fullness of heaven on earth.
The Message riffs to make this wonderfully clear:
Ephesians 2
16 Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. 17 Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. 18 Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.
19 That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone.
God is building a home. God's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. 20 God used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now God's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. 21 We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, 22 all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
For the Day of Pentecost I quoted the first stanza of a hymn by Paul Gerhardt:
O enter, Lord, thy temple,
Be Thou my spirit's guest,
Who gavest me, the earth-born,
A second birth more blest.
Thou in the Godhead, Lord,
Though here to dwell Thou deignest,
For ever equal reignest,
Art equally adored.
Paul Gerhardt, 1653; translated by Catherine Winkworth
Tune: Zeuch ein zu deinen Toren
Scripture: Acts 2:17
since the time I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt,
but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
In all the places wherein I have walked,
spake I a word saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
2 Samuel 7:6-7
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