Shavei Tzion | Return to Zion Congregation
Haifa, Israel
As I continue to teach on Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, it becomes very clear to me that Paul’s central thought is the restoration of three types of unity. They were all part of God’s original plan, but fell into discord for various reasons. Adam and Eve’s sin was obviously the beginning of it all. However, when the last Adam, Yeshua of Nazareth, died and rose from the dead, power was revealed that did not exist before – power for the restoration of all things!
Unity of Heaven and Earth
Ephesians 1:10 says that Yeshua united/restored/healed the heavenly and the earthly in Himself, “… that all things in heaven and on earth may be united under the headship of Messiah. Our role in this ongoing process is essential, although not always easy to grasp. In Him we are yet seated in Heavenly places!
Unity Between the Nations and Israel
The peoples who were separated since the days of the Tower of Babel suddenly received hope in Abraham, through whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. We see the hope expressed in the Court of the Nations (Gentiles) in the Temple, and in the global prophecies of the Hebrew prophets.
The power of the risen Messiah gave practical realization to these expectations – reconciling Israel and the Nations to God in His body by means of His sacrificial death on the cross (Ephesians 2:15-16). This is a wonderful promise that brings many blessings to all creation; but unfortunately, due to the pride of man, it has not yet reached fulfillment.
Paul devotes three and a half chapters of Ephesians to this reasoning, but the last two thousand years show that real reconciliation is still very much a work in progress. We need to participate. We must humble ourselves and, in the spirit of the Messiah, become mediators between the Church in the nations and Israel, so that the purposes of the Messiah will triumph!
Unity between Man and Woman
The last, but very important unity is within each family in the relationship between the husband and wife.
“Let a wife respect her husband,” and “…husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:22, 28).
Miraculous union within marriages of believers might seem like a “no brainer.” But it is far from automatic. We have all seen failing marriages. The central problem is the inability to humble ourselves and allow God’s Spirit into the marriage.
Yet there is hope. There is wisdom from the Lord. And there is “spiritual armor” with which you can crush the plans of the evil one.
The devil’s machinations destroy mutual respect and the ability to cultivate holiness in our homes! God must become a more integral part of the family. Then, healing will overwhelm the homes of believers and make a divine “sensation” on the outside – giving them the strength to display the glory of the Creator and return to the days when “many joined them because they saw the glory of God in them.”
Ephesians is not fancy theoretical concepts by Paul. It’s an opportunity to receive revelation from God and bring it to life. I pray that the Lord would use each of us as agents of reconciliation and unity!
