Jesus is our Peace/Piece

Have you ever wondered if you belong or fit in? I have. The answer is “YES!”

“So don’t forget that you were not born as Jews and were uncircumcised (circumcision itself is just a work of man’s hands); 

“you had none of the Jewish covenants and laws; you were foreigners to Israel’s incredible heritage; you were without the covenants and prophetic promises of the Messiah, the promised hope, and without God. Ephesians 2:11-12 The Passion Translation 

The separation between Jews and gentiles is the only distinction between people groups God makes.  Those who are with or without covenant; with or without hope; with or without relationship with Himself.

Verse 13 reads “Yet look at you now! Everything is new! Although you were once distant and far away from God, now you have been brought delightfully close to him through the sacred blood of Jesus—you have actually been united to Christ!”

God never desired for anyone to live outside of covenant relationship with Him. He had a plan for redemption. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus we are brought into unity with Him. We belong in covenant with God!

Verse 14 begins with the sentence” Our reconciling “Peace” is Jesus!” 

Have you ever noticed how often in scripture one word has many applications? Or with the change of one letter a dimension you have never seen before becomes clear?

Read the sentence this way: “Our reconciling “piece” is Jesus!” He is the link, the bridge, the one who stands in the gap.  We are reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus. His blood connects us to salvation, healing and deliverance. 

Verse 14 continues: “He has made Jew and non-Jew one in Christ. By dying as our sacrifice, he has broken down every wall of prejudice that separated us and has now made us equal through our union with Christ.” 

Verse 15. “Ethnic hatred has been dissolved by the crucifixion of his precious body on the cross. The legal code that stood condemning every one of us has now been repealed by his command. His triune essence has made peace between us by starting over—forming one new race of humanity, Jews and non-Jews fused together in himself!”

‬As a verb, piece can mean to assemble something from individual parts. Jesus is assembling His church from individual parts. We are being assembled, pieced together, unified with other believers through the blood of Jesus, who is our reconciling peace.

A few verses later, Ephesians 2:21 says it this way: “This entire building is under construction and is continually growing under his supervision until it rises up completed as the holy temple of the Lord himself.”

Without Jesus as the cornerstone, nothing could be built that would last. He is the peace and the piece between us and Father; making us one with Him and each other.

To become one with someone means to be unselfishly attached to them. The Hebrew word for “attached to” means “to follow hard after”. It is active, intentional relational pursuit. 

As we receive communion, we are, individually and collectively, becoming the holy temple of the Lord himself through the blood of Jesus and the power of Holy Spirit living in us.