Big Story Pt. 3 | Week 8 | Ephesians 2:14–18

Yesterday we stood at the ground floor: all of us were dead, and God made us alive by the same grace. Today, Paul turns that vertical reality horizontal. If the same mercy saved every one of us, what does that mean for how we relate to each other?

His answer is one of the most powerful images in the New Testament: a wall coming down.

In this episode, Lisa unpacks Ephesians 2:14–18, where Paul tells a mixed Jewish-and-Gentile church in Ephesus that Christ has already demolished the barrier between them — not just spiritually, but structurally. The hostility is gone. The fences are already down. What remains is for us to stop rebuilding them.

In this episode:

• The historical backdrop: what it meant to be "near" or "far" in the ancient world
• The literal dividing wall in the Jerusalem temple — and why Paul knew it personally
• Why peace in Ephesians means reconciliation, not just the absence of conflict
• What it looks like to live as if a wall Christ already tore down is still standing

Scripture: Ephesians 2:14–18

Reflection questions:

• Think of a Christian whose culture, politics, worship style, or theology makes you want to keep your distance. What fence are you maintaining that Christ already dismantled?
• Where is the Spirit inviting you to stop treating a fellow believer like an outsider?
• What would change this week if you started from the assumption that Christ has already made peace between you — whether you feel it or not?

Hear the message for this week's devotional on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristFellowshipMcKinney

Get the written devotional at: https://cfhome.org/EGD

If you are in the North Dallas area and would like to join us for services each week, you can find all the information at https://cfhome.org.