Weekly Pursuit – Week 4 of October
Verses:
Eph. 2:15 “Abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace.”
Excerpts:
Christ broke down the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles by abolishing the law of the commandments in ordinances. When He was crucified on the cross, all the ordinances were nailed there. The law spoken of in 2:15 is not the law of the moral commandments, but the law of the ritual commandments, such as the ordinances of circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, and eating certain foods.
Ordinances are the forms or ways of living and worship. Every people has its own way of living. We need to be careful not to make our way of living or worship an ordinance. At the same time, we should not regard what others do as ordinances. If we all practice this, there will be no problems.
As the redeemed and recovered ones, those who have been transferred into Christ and into the church life, we must learn to hate the differences that divide the peoples. The worldly people regard cultural differences as a mark of prestige. But in Christ we have all lost this prestige. Now our only prestige is Christ and the genuine oneness. We should not have a prestige unique to our locality or meeting hall. We all need to exercise ourselves to go along with others. As long as a certain practice does not involve idolatry or immorality, there is nothing wrong with it. Do not hold on to your prestige. If we are willing to let go of our cultural pride, it will be possible for the Lord to have the proper church life. (Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 23)