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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
Introduction
As mentioned in the foregoing chapter, the theme of ethnic reconciliation has been given a prominent position in the author's argument in Ephesians 2.14–18. Jews and Gentiles are reconciled through the peace-making ministry of Christ. The social distance between Jews and Gentiles has been rendered redundant because of Christ's undisguised inclusivism. The two human groups can both have access (in principle) to the Father God in/with a common spirit, i.e., on the basis of pax Christi.
Israel redefined: the Gentiles are fellow-citizens with the ‘holy ones’
We want to examine in the present chapter some of the vital implications of the reconciling work of Christ for the Gentiles and, not least, for their relation to the ‘holy ones’. My contention is that the implications above can be best explained by the hypothesis that the author of Ephesians conceives of the new identity of the Gentiles as having a close connection to the people of God, just as he consistently conceives of the Gentiles' past in relation to Israel and Israel's God-given grace. I shall be arguing that the author's aim is to articulate a particular vision of an inclusive community in which the Gentiles who previously had no place among the people of God could be located within the same domain. I shall be arguing that this ideal community, which is marked by its undisguised inclusivism, underscores the author's arduous effort to surmount a humankind that has hitherto been marked by divisions.
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