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On the cross Christ created the new man in Himself by abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, the middle wall of partition—Eph. 2:14-15a:
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The law spoken of in 2:15 is not the law of the moral commandments but the law of ritual commandments, such as the ordinances of circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, and eating certain foods.
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Ordinances are the forms or ways of living and worship, which create enmity and division:
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On the cross Christ abolished all the regulations regarding living and worship, regulations that have divided the nations—v. 15; Col. 2:14.
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From the time of Babel, mankind has been divided by ordinances concerning the ways of living and worship; in God's economy in the church life, we must overcome Babel—Gen. 11:1-9.
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Due to man's fall there are many ordinances, many customs, habits, ways to live, and ways to worship; all these differences among peoples have divided, scattered, and confused mankind.
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One of the main elements of ordinances is language; our very language can become an ordinance:
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On the day of Pentecost the divisions caused by language were overcome, and the church as the one new man came into existence—Acts 2:1-11.
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If we can overcome the difficulty presented by language, a great part of our problem with ordinances will be solved—6:1 and footnote 1.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, He who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity.Col. 2:14 Wiping out the handwriting in ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us; and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.
Christ broke down the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles by abolishing the law of the commandments in ordinances. When He was crucified on the cross, all the ordinances were nailed there. The law spoken of in Ephesians 2:15 is not the law of the moral commandments, but the law of the ritual commandments, such as the ordinances of circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, and eating certain foods.
Ordinances are the forms or ways of living and worship. Every people has its own way of living. We need to be careful not to make our way of living or worship an ordinance. At the same time, we should not regard what others do as ordinances. If we all practice this, there will be no problems. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 202)
Today's Reading
In the various countries where the recovery is growing—for example, in Japan, Korea, and Indonesia—there are ways of living different from ours. Certainly the Lord's recovery cannot require the Japanese, Koreans, and Indonesians to have the same way of living. Our way of living greatly affects our way of meeting. For example, in Korea it is easy to have morning watch extremely early, even at 5:30. However, if this practice is imposed on Americans, it will cause serious difficulties.The Americans and Europeans use a knife and fork, the Chinese use chopsticks, and the Indonesians use their fingers. Who can say which way is best? Because this is a very delicate matter, we need to take care of the feelings of others.
Due to the improvements in transportation and communication, the people of the world are becoming intermingled more and more. This is under the sovereignty of the Lord so that He can have the new man, the proper church life which includes all different peoples. Therefore, concerning our way of life, we all must learn not to impose requirements on others and not to have any ordinances. The differences among the peoples began at Babel. In God's economy in the church life we must overcome Babel. Our very language can become an ordinance. When we stay for a long period of time in another country or even live there, we should, if possible, learn the language of the people there and not insist on our native tongue.
The primary source of the divisions among Christians throughout the centuries has been ordinances…. As a result of Babel, mankind was divided into nations, into a number of different peoples. Between these nations, these peoples, there are many differences. Not only are there differences in a general way between the Jews and the Gentiles, but there are also differences among the various nationalities….These differences have created divisions, and divisions are related to ordinances.
One of the main elements of ordinances is language. As we all know, the division of the peoples at Babel was related to differences of language. Hence, a primary element of ordinances is language. If we can overcome the difficulty presented by language, a great part of our problem with ordinances will be solved.
On the day of Pentecost God Himself did something very significant concerning language. Peoples of different languages were saved and brought into oneness. On that day the divisions caused by language were overcome, and the church as the one new man came into existence. For the church to be the new man means that the church is a new mankind, a new humanity, a new human race. The old humanity God had created for Himself had become divided by ordinances. But on the day of Pentecost the church came into being as the new man, the new humanity. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 202-203, 713-714)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 216