An Overview of Ephesians
By Joe Guagliardo
Ephesians 2:11-22
“There is Love”
August 5, 2023
We’ve all heard “The Wedding Song” at some point in our lives. You’ve either been to a wedding, and it’s been played, or, like me, a person who was a teenager in the 1960s, you heard it on the radio.
The song goes like this:
“He is now to be among you
At the calling of your hearts.
Rest assured, this troubadour is acting on His part.
The union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name
There is love
There is love
Well, a man shall leave his mother
And a woman leave her home
They shall travel on to where the two shall be as one.
As it was in the beginning, is now until the end.
Woman draws her life from man and gives it back again.
(And) There is love
There is love
Well then, what’s to be the reason for becoming man and wife
Is it love that brings you here, or love that brings you life.
For if loving is the answer, then who’s the giving for.
Do you believe in something that you’ve never seen before
There is love
(Oh) There’s love
(Hum)
(Oh) The marriage of your spirits here has caused him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in his name
There is love
(Ah) There’s love.”
What many people don’t know is the story behind the song.
“This hymn for weddings was written by American singer-songwriter Noel Paul Stookey (b 1937) – who is better known as Paul from 60’s folk-trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. The song was written as a gift for the wedding of fellow band member Peter Yarrow, which took place in a Roman Catholic Church in Minnesota, USA in 1969.”
(https://www.godsongs.net/2019/08/the-wedding-song-there-is-love-together-as-one.html)
Another name for the song is actually contained in the last line of the lyrics:
“There is love.”
I find it interesting that the writer (Paul Stuckey) talks about a man and a woman coming together in marriage in the song. In the first verse and chorus, he says:
“For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name
There is love.”
As a man who has been married for over 49 years, I find this statement to be true. But, the song also reminded me of the verses from today’s Ephesian devotion. Especially:
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one.”
God brings together a man and woman in marriage.
He also brought together two groups of believers: the Jews and Gentiles.
As Paul says:
“But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Let’s take a few moments and look at today’s verses from Ephesians.
“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.’
Ephesians 2:11-22
These passages are about the Gentiles who were lost because they were part of the uncircumcised. They were not Jews. But the coming of Jesus, His death for our sins and resurrection, changed everything.
Through His sacrifice, the two groups, Gentiles and Jews, were brought together as one. Circumcision was a law that no longer needed to be adhered to. Now, because of God’s Grace (His undeserved love) and our faith in what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross, Gentiles and Jews were joined as one.
“He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
Jesus came and preached to both the Gentiles and the Jews. Jesus is the connection the world had been anticipating.
“He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
Because of His (Jesus’) sacrifice, Gentiles, like the Jews, had access to God the Father through His Holy Spirit.
Paul reiterates himself in several different ways. For him, this is a critical point to understand. The Gentiles, as well as the Jews, are now saved through Jesus Christ.
Paul says that like a cornerstone that supports a building. Christ is our cornerstone.
“In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.’
God sent His Son Jesus to be a living sacrifice. That sacrifice joined all people together. God lives within us through our faith in Jesus through His Holy Spirit.
Now we are not only members of the same kingdom (both Jew and Gentile alike) but also members of the same family. God’s family.
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