The Jerusalem council granted to the Gentiles full inclusion in the people of God without them having to petition for Jewish citizenship. Thus the Gentiles were indeed grafted in among "the good olive tree" of Israel (Romans 11:24 ).
God did not make a new olive tree.
Thus we see that it was this singular act of the Jerusalem Council that symbolized the breaking down of the dividing wall of Jewish legal or national exclusion that was made out of the law not the law itself.
"The enmity" was a enmity between the nations--between Israel who possessed the Torah and the Non-Israelite who wanted the Torah which enmity was symbolized by the "dividing wall." The dividing wall was not to keep the Jews away from the Gentiles, but to keep the Gentiles away from full participation in the divine covenant. Faith in the covenant promises and its blessings was testified to by a obedience that signified one as a full partner in the covenant relationship. This understanding is the reason that the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem required of the Gentiles they be circumcised. This it was felt, fulfilled the legal requirement that recognized a non Jew into the covenant of the nation of Israel in the legal and civil sense.
The covenant is not a legal document in the civil sense as thought by the Jewish Christians but a document of a spiritual citizenship that mandates only that one's heart be circumcised and testified to by a corresponding behavior. The dividing wall then cannot be the law for it was not the law that kept Gentiles outside of the Divine covenant relationship symbolized by it's observance, but the legalistic interpretation of the law by the Jews that kept Gentiles from it's observance as it was not necessary to become a legal or "certified" Jew or a "citizen" of the Jewish nation to enjoy the promises of "the world to come" or to be "saved."
The tearing down of "the dividing wall" never meant that the law itself was torn down as seen from the edict of the Jerusalem Council resulting from the testimony of Paul himself.
It was those particular perversion of the Jewish ordinances that obscured the law by the accumulation of regulations and countless traditions. Paul in Galatians attacks not the law, but the understanding of the law as an exclusive document of Jewish election by acknowledging that he is entrusted with the very same gospel to the Gentiles that Peter has to the Jews . In doing this Paul is not rebuking the Jewish believer for their loyalty and submission to the law, but for failing to understand that the Gentiles in Christ have equal access to the kingdom as Gentiles without becoming "legal" Jews. The "dividing wall" the "middle wall of partition" is then symbolic of the artificial separation that existed between Jews and Gentiles prior to the gospel.
God established his covenant with Abraham and his progeny in general and his Seed in particular. The Gentiles became a part of the covenant relationship and joint heirs of the promise by the very same act of Abraham - he believed. This had nothing to do with any work or performance by Abraham, i.e. circumcision, only that he believed in the promise of God.
Israel 's disbelief in the promise made the covenant of non-effect (of which circumcision was a sign) which they break because of unbelief resulting in disobedience. Consequently their circumcision was made Uncircumcision. The re-establishment of the covenant relationship of Israel is based on repentance.
Not so for the Gentiles, for they did not have the law
that they should repent or be returned to.
Israel's re-establishment into the covenant relationship is based solely by the same act of Abraham by which they are once again grafted back into the good olive tree, become Abraham's seed by faith.
The "ordinances" of Ephesians 2:14 does not specifically refer to the so-called "ceremonial" law or any law given by God. The word for "ordinances" in the text is "dogma" (1378) a law (civil, ceremonial or ecclesiastical): -decree, ordinance. (6)
It is from the Greek language that the English language borrows the word "dogma" to mean:
"1. a: something held as an established opinion, especially: a definite authoritative tenet. b: a code of such tenets <pedagogical> c: a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds." (7) |
This meaning of "dogma" is derived from it's original meaning and usage in Greek. "Dogma" is never used for "ordinance" when referring to the Law in Leviticus or the Law of the sanctuary in the New Testament or any ordinance given by God. "Dogma" is variously translated "decree" (Luke 2:1)" decrees" (Acts 16:14 ; 17:7), and "ordinances" (Ephesians 2:15 , Colossians 2:14 ). In the five instances where it is used in the New Testament it invariably refers to the dictates and legislation of men, never is it used as a description to the Law of God or any part of the Law of God.
This is proven moreover by the fact that "dogma" is never used in the LXX in reference to the law or Torah. What is even more of an astounding fact is that, "dogma" is not used or mentioned in the canonical books of the LXX at all! Therefore if one is to understand the meaning and use of the word "dogma" translated "ordinances" in Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:15 , the Greek literature of the Christian period must be consulted, not the so-called ceremonial law.
It is inconceivable that out of the many words and references in the LXX that refer to the Law or any part of it, that Paul would use a foreign term for the law not understood by Bible readers in his day Jew or Gentile.
"To determine the meaning of a word exclusively by theological assumptions, rather than by linguistic or contextual evidences, is against the canons of Biblical hermeneutics." (8) |
Instances in the New Testament where the word translated as "ordinances" [dogma] is used.
1378 dogma {dog'-mah} from the base of 1380; TDNT - 2:230,178; n n AV - decree 3, ordinance 2; 5 1) doctrine, decree, ordinance 1a) of public decrees 1b) of the Roman Senate 1c) of rulers 2) the rules and requirements of the law of Moses; carrying a suggestion of severity and of threatened judgment 3) of certain decrees of the apostles relative to right living |
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Lu 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree <1378> from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. |
Ac 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees <1378> for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem . |
Ac 17:7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees <1378> of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. |
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances <1378>; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; |
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances <1378> that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; |
If we will be faithful to the grammar of the texts "ta dogmata" translated "ordinances both in Colossians and Ephesians is never used as a reference to the Torah anywhere in the Greek Scriptures. In Eph.2:15 "The law of commandments in ordinances" parallels "the middle wall of partition" that served to separate the "aliens" and those who "were far off" from "the commonwealth of Israel " and "the covenants of promise." Where in the Torah do we find anything that mandates this "middle wall of partition" segregating the worship, the prayers, the sacrifices and the offerings of the nations from that of Israel in the temple services?
The partition wall which Jewish pride had erected, shut even the disciples from sympathy with the heathen world. But these barriers were to be broken down." DA 400 "The spirit which built up the partition wall between Jew and Gentile is still active...Christ and His mission have been misrepresented." DA 403 The Soreq, the partition wall of the temple court resulted from a misrepresentation of the Torah and was based upon "the law of commandments in ordinances." This is for Paul a direct reference to the legal regulations and decrees that became subscribed within the halachic traditions, commandments and customs of pharisaic Judaism, not the Torah. "Christ began to break down the partition wall between Jew and Gentile...setting at nought the Pharisaic customs of the Jews." AA 19 "The opinion is held by many that God placed a separating wall between the Hebrews and the outside world... But God did not design that His people should build up a wall of partition between themselves and their fellow men." PP 368 "The restrictions which God had given... were so perverted as to build up a wall of partition between the Israelites and all other peoples, thus shutting from others the very blessings which God had commissioned Israel to give to the world." PP 708 "The Jews had erected a partition wall between themselves and every other people, but this was not after the direction of the Lord." ST October 9, 1886 "He [God] did not intend that they should build up a wall of partition between themselves and the rest of mankind." YI March 4, 1897 |
What did the "wall of partition" represent?
It represented Jewish pride, Pharisaic customs, the perversion of God's law that had became incorporated or adopted into the cultic laws and halachic traditions of Biblical Judaism that Christ called the "doctrines [and] commandments of men" and which Paul calls "the law of commandments in ordinances [ta dogmata].
The interpretation of these text to mean that the law or any part of the law is annulled, abolished, done away is an interpretation which Bacchiocchi in his dissertation calls a "theology of contempt", a theology and hermeneutic that was influenced by the repressive anti-Jewish policies adopted by the Roman Government in the first centuries of the Christian church and which we as Christians have never been able to fully recover from or divorce ourselves from. It has become a paradigm of bondage in our Christian thinking where we continue to modify and new model to justify a theology of differentiation against anything particularly Jewish.
This "theology of contempt" has never been openly condemned by the Christian Church since it has been adopted. On the contrary the church has used it in modified versions to negate the continuity of the Sabbath and the Torah.
What we as Christians have done is that we have applied a medieval theology to an unwarranted hermeneutic born of the Gentile Christian anti-Semitism of anything Jewish. I aver that it is not the law or any part of the law (Torah) that is at issue in Colossians or Ephesians. It impossible for us with these Bible evidences presented before us to continue to honor God by cherishing erroneous opinions.
Why would Paul say in Ro 7:12
"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good", and in 1 Tim.1:8 "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully", and again in Ro 3:1,2
"What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."?
The Torah is descriptive of the divine law of God that reflects a character that can never change. They cannot be modified, abolished, or temporarily suspended like traffic laws, neither can the penalty for their transgression. The Torah not only describes the character of God, it describes the divine character implanted within faithful human hearts through the new birth. Filled with gratitude for God's gift of salvation, we love Him who first loved us. Such love
"is the fulfillment of the law"
(Ro 13:10 ).
"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments"
( 1 Jo 5:3).
If it was better for Jesus to die than to break God's law, then we too should prefer death to disobedience. Such will be the testimony of those who will endure the soon coming global apostasy and persecution. A faithful remnant will
"keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
( Rev 14:12 )
The test of genuine faith in the Messiah of Israel (Christ) is whether our lives are drawn toward harmony with His Torah (Ro 3:31 ) . Though none are righteous, none can keep God's law perfectly, all fall short, all sin by commission or omission; when confronted with this reality we flee for refuge to Calvary where the forgiving love and grace of God that yearns for us more than the moaning groans of a she-camel full of milk robbed of her young, fills us with a grateful love which stimulates fervent commandment keeping.
This new life that we have received from Calvary is the basic reason we worship God, love Him, and want to obey Him. The Holy Ghost that dwells in us drives us to obedience like it drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
WHAT THE WALL OF PARTITION REPRESENTS
FROM THE INSPIRED TESTIMONY
The scribes and Pharisees desired to make a LOCAL AND NATIONAL benefit of the gifts of heaven, and to exclude the rest of God's family in the world. But Christ came to break down every wall of partition. He came to show that His gift of mercy and love is as unconfined as the air, the light, or the showers of rain that refresh the earth.-- Ministry of Healing, p. 25. (1905)
The opinion is held by many that God placed a separating wall between the Hebrews and the outside world; that His care and love, withdrawn to a great extent from the rest of mankind, were centered upon Israel . But God did not design that His people should build up a wall of partition between themselves and their fellow men. The heart of Infinite Love was reaching out toward all the inhabitants of the earth. Though they had rejected Him, He was constantly seeking to reveal Himself to them and make them partakers of His love and grace. His blessing was granted to the chosen people, that they might bless others. -- Patriarchs and Prophets, page 368
Through messages such as those borne by Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, as well as through oppression from heathen foes, the Israelites finally learned the lesson that true prosperity depends upon obedience to the law of God. But with many of the people, obedience was not the outflow of faith and love. Their motives were selfish. Outward service was rendered as a means of attaining to national greatness. The chosen people did not become the light of the world, but shut themselves away from the world as a safeguard against being seduced into idolatry. The restrictions which God had given, forbidding intermarriage between His people and the heathen, and prohibiting Israel from joining in the idolatrous practices of surrounding nations, were so perverted as to build up a wall of partition between the Israelites and all other peoples, thus shutting from others the very blessings which God had commissioned Israel to give to the world. --Prophets and Kings, page 708
In the temple at Jerusalem there was a partition wall separating the outer court from the inner one. Gentiles were permitted to enter the outer court, but it was only lawful for the Jews to penetrate to the inner inclosure. Had a Samaritan passed this sacred boundary, the temple would have been desecrated, and his life would have paid the penalty of its pollution. But Jesus, who was virtually the foundation and originator of the temple--the services and ceremonies of which were but a type of his great sacrifice, pointing to him as the Son of God--encircled the Gentiles with his human arm of sympathy and association, while, with his divine arm of grace and power, he brought to them the salvation which the Jews refused to accept.-- The Spirit of Prophecy Volume Two, page 149
THE WALL WAS A SYMBOL OF "LEGAL" JEWISH NATIONALISM
The influence of the gospel is to unite God's people in one great brotherhood. We have only one model to follow, and that is Christ. Worldly maxims and differences of nationalities are lost sight of in him. The love of God, sanctifying the soul, breaks down the wall of partition between the customs and practices of different individuals and nations. The great principles of Bible truth bring all into perfect harmony. The ten commandments, accepted as the one rule, the one measurement of character, unite all in the precious bonds of Christian fellowship. This was the work of the Holy Ghost when it descended upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost.-- Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, November 3, 1885
But Christ represents his people who have not lost their vital connection with God, as the light of the world. He says: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." The Jews had erected a partition wall between themselves and every other people, but this was not after the direction of the Lord. When the Lord gives light and knowledge, it is not that men may exclude themselves from others, that they may hide the light in selfishness, so the divine rays shall not come to the people through the human channel that God has appointed; but he gives light, that it may be diffused, that men may see the good works of his followers, and be led to glorify God. -- The Signs of the Times, October 9, 1886
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." A short time only remained till the wall of partition reared by the Jews to keep others from the privileges which they enjoyed, would be broken down. Christ saw, as the result of his death, the ingathering of nations, tribes, and peoples. Lost in the contemplation of the scenes of triumph called up before him, he did not immediately speak. He saw the cross, the cruel, ignominious cross, with all its attending horrors, blazing with glory. But before the harvest can be reaped, the grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die. Even so must Christ be crucified. Only by his death could the work of redemption be accomplished. -- The Signs of the Times, July 8, 1897
Christ ate with publicans and sinners, as well as with Pharisees. When He was invited to their homes, He accepted the invitation. In this He offended the scribes and Pharisees, who thought that a Jew should not thus forget the wall of partition that tradition had erected. But with God there is no sect or nationality. When thus accused, Christ answered, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He placed Himself in the very avenue where He could gain access to perishing souls, and plant in human hearts the seeds of truth, seeds that would spring up and bear fruit to the glory of God.-- The Signs of the Times, May 9, 1900
But it was not the design of God to keep his chosen people exclusively to themselves. He did not intend that they should build up a wall of partition between themselves and the rest of mankind. The banner of faith must ever be held aloft; his people are to be as the salt, to preserve the earth from moral corruption. When men thought to build a tower that would reach unto heaven, the very talents that were given them of God were perverted to a wrong purpose, to carry out plans that would be in opposition to the purposes of God. It was their design to confederate together, to separate from the world at large, and to become an independent community. But this was not God's purpose. He spoiled their plans, confusing their language so they could not understand the words or plans of one another. -- The Youth's Instructor, March 4, 1897
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FOOTNOTES: |
1 |
Flavius Josephus, War vi. 2. 4 [126]. |
2. |
Cf. Exodus 1 6:20 . |
3. |
Romans 8:12. |
4. |
Romans 7:14 |
5. |
Samuele Bacchiocchi , "The Sabbath in the New Testament" , Berrien Springs, 1985, p. 32 |
6. |
See Strongs NT Concordance for "ordinance" |
7. |
See Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary under "dogma." |
8. |
See Samuele Bacchiocchi " From Sabbath to Sunday ", Rome 1977, p.359) |
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