Accordance Bible Software Blog Comments

joseph

joseph — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:56:34 -0400

Well according to scripture the Pharisee's were the problem of this Divided wall not just within the temple but just about everywhere within isreal. There man made ordinances and them mis interpreting Gods Law by them according to matthew 5 but also sense they were overtime so self-righteous and thought so High of themselves they were trying to keep themselves pure at all costs. There is no where in the law that says to hate the enemy but overtime the Pharisee's taught Hate even the though the Law says to love your neighbor even the enemy. but God did use His chosen as an instrument of punishment but also allowed them to protect and establish the physical Kingdom that God promised them. but when they strayed from God, He used,Persia, Assyrian,Greece,Babylon and then finally Rome to punish His people to lead them to repentance. we have to remember that mankinds love is conditional which allowed such things to be taking place.It was not until the fullness of time occured on the cross is when things changed the course of History for all whom believe on the name of our Lord. on the cross in His blood was those ordinances that were man made that caused division but also in order to accomplish Gods will He needed to Give us His love which is unconditional and then He established a different Kingdom that is not of this World so there is no reason for Physical War to protect nor to establish. God brought a sword and He said He did not come to bring peace to the world but He never brought a physical sword for He was that sword "the word in flesh" sorry for the scattered message

Robert

Robert — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:11:31 -0500

Paul is in prison (Ephesians 4:1) because the Jews accused Paul of taking Trophimus the Ephesian into the temple area (Acts 21:29). This started off the whole process of Paul going to Rome as a prisoner. "The dividing wall" of the temple was very significant to the Ephesians, and Trophimus who was not invited to have peace with God or with the Jews under that system.

Richard

Richard — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:05:13 -0500

That Jesus broke down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile is evident. My question is why was there an actual wall dividing them in the first place? Conccidering Isaiah 56:4-7

⁴For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

⁵Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

⁶Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

⁷Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

Would not this wallof partition that existed in Jesus day made Isaiah 56:4-7 impossible?

Bill

Bill — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:24:47 -0400

Actually I am thriulled to say that Jesus most certainly did come to confront the power of the law, which is mainly to condem.

Sheldon Cole

Sheldon Cole — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:19:12 -0400

The dividing wall is NOT God's Law. God never gave a commandment to separate Jew from "Believing" gentile as was happening in Ephesians. The word Paul used for "barrier" was the greek Phragmos which means a fence put around something to protect it (at least that's the way it is used in the Septuigant to translate Hebrew words conveying that concept). The wall or barrier was the "fence" the religious leaders put around the commandment of not defiling themselves like the "pagan" gentiles.

In order to avoid breaking this commandment altogether, they erected a fence around the Perfect Law of God, effectively alienating their new gentile brothers. However by avoiding all gentiles (even those who are of the faith), they "made void with their tradition" the plethora of commandments to not treat the "strangers sojourning among them" with hostility. Therefore, Jesus stripped away the authority (abolished) those man-made commandments contained in ordinances.The greek word Paul used for abolished is Katargeo meaning: "to deprive of force, influence, power." I wouldn't dare say that Jesus was sent by God to remove the the authority, influence, or power of His Law.

The Law of God was not the problem; never is the problem; how dare we say that it's the instrument of hostility when God says that His Law is "for our good always and for our survival - Deut 6:24.

The barriers or fences proclaimed in ordinances in order to avoid defiling themselves that these men put in place was the instrument of hostility. For it prohibited fellowship and true worship as one new man. The commandment to be separate from the worls is still in place (for ALL of God's people - Jew and Gentile), however, man-made commandments were being used to separate God's people from those gentiles "who are no longer of the world." To say that God's purity laws were in the way of unity is a false dilemma. It assumes that Jesus' goal was to bring Jew and pagan gentile together. Jesus' goal is revealed in His prayer in John 17 "I don't ask on behalf of these alone (jewish disciples) but for those (gentiles) who BELIEVE in me through their word." Jesus is asking on our behalf that we be sanctified together from the world. Sanctified by His word or commandments.

Something else was in the way of "true" unity between believers. Therefore, the man-made commandments had to be stripped of their authority by our Messiah in order for believing Jew and and believing Gentile to be one as God intended all along.

Brett

Brett — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:06:30 -0400

Great reflection. I guess I should move the PhotoGuide up on my wishlist : ) Thanks

Robb

Robb — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:52:11 -0400

I think you're both right, in a sense. The dividing wall was the Law, and a concrete (no pun intended) representation of the Law was the dividing wall in the temple. Paul probably was referring to that wall and how it stood for the division between Jew and Gentile in the law. When you think about it, Paul was a master in using imagery and symbolism to make a powerful point for his readers about something abstract, like the law.

David Lang

David Lang — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:05:44 -0400

Luke, I don't see verse 15 as clearly identifying the "dividing wall" with the "law" per se. Rather, I see the whole sentence as listing a series of ways Christ made peace using three separate and parallel participial phrases. Add to that the fact that the following context uses extensive temple imagery (see verses 17-22), and identifying the "dividing wall" with an actual feature of the Herodian temple certainly seems plausible.

As far removed as Ephesus was from Jerusalem, it was nevertheless a cosmopolitan port city with a sizable Jewish community. I don't think it's naive to believe that Ephesian Gentiles would have been aware that they were not permitted to enter the temple in Jerusalem.

Luke

Luke — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:00:05 -0400

Well, neat feature, but wrong text ;-) The "dividing wall" that Paul mentions is the Law, as explained and alluded to in the context (see next verse). To expect Gentile Christians in Asia Minor, over 600 miles away from Jerusalem, to know anything about this historical "dividing wall" is a bit naive. The wall was certainly there, as Josephus and archaeology make clear, but most of the Ephesians probably had no idea it was.