Ephesians 2:15,16 - Might create in Himself one new man

2:15

The Law was set aside in Christ’s flesh. This happened because Christ fulfilled the Law. The Jews saw the rules and regulations of the Law as a means of separating them from the Gentiles, and were an obstacle to Gentiles becoming Jews. In Christ these barriers were done away with. This does not mean the moral requirements of the Law were set aside, the teaching of Christ and the rest of the New Testament make this clear. The purpose in this was “to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace.” Elsewhere Paul says that we are a new creation. If we are holding on to the old then we cannot grasp hold of the new. Equally, if we feel we are still dragged down by the old, we need to realise that in Christ the old has gone, the new has come.

2:16

In this verse we see how the reconciliation works. First, both needed to be reconciled to God. If I think the main problem is that you need to be reconciled to me, then I am badly mistaken. We both need to be reconciled to God. The starting point has to be our being reconciled to God, and this is achieved through the cross. And it is this reconciliation that puts to death our hostility. For in Christ there are no grounds whatsoever for hostility between you and me.