Ephesians 2:15 says that Christ ended the division between Jewish and non-Jewish believers by setting aside the law of commandments that separated them, so that he could form one new people out of both groups and bring about peace. The verse is part of a letter traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul, written to churches in and around Ephesus, a mostly Gentile (non-Jewish) audience who had once been outside the promises given to Israel.
Having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace…
Ephesians 2:15 (WEB)
What Ephesians 2:15 Means
The verse begins with the claim that Christ “abolished” something in his flesh, meaning in his body and through his death. What he set aside was “the hostility,” the hatred and barrier between the two groups. Paul then names the cause of that barrier: the law of commandments, the detailed set of Jewish rules about worship, food, purity and festivals, which marked Israel off from the nations. Paul does not say the law was evil. He says its role as a wall between peoples has been brought to an end.
The purpose clause follows: Christ did this “that he might create in himself one new man of the two.” The word “new” points to something genuinely fresh, a people shaped by Christ rather than a Gentile group attached to an old Jewish structure. The closing phrase, “making peace,” shows that this new unity is the goal. The verse explains how peace was made, but it does not promise that every relationship between believers will feel easy. It describes what God has already done in Christ and the identity that results from it.
The Context of Ephesians 2:15
Ephesians is a letter that moves from describing what God has done for believers to explaining how that reality should shape the life of the church. Chapter 2 opens with a stark picture of the readers’ former condition: dead in sins, following the course of this world, and by nature children of wrath. Verses 11 and 12 then shift to ethnic identity, reminding the Gentile readers that they were once “separate from Christ,” excluded from Israel’s covenants and without hope. Verse 13 turns the story with the word “But now.”
Verses 14 through 18 form the center of the passage. Verse 14 says Christ “is our peace” and “broke down the middle wall of partition,” a likely image of the barrier in the Jerusalem temple that kept Gentiles out of the inner courts. Verse 16 repeats the theme of reconciliation through the cross, and verse 18 concludes with access to the Father through one Spirit for both groups. Read this way, Ephesians 2:15 is not an abstract statement about law. It is the explanation for why Jews and Gentiles now stand together before God.
Key Phrases in Ephesians 2:15
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
(WEB)
Paul makes a parallel claim that in Christ the old categories of Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female no longer define a person’s standing before God. It helps show that the unity of Ephesians 2:15 was a central conviction of Paul’s teaching across his letters.
Romans 5:1
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…
(WEB)
This verse ties peace to justification by faith and to our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It reinforces the link Ephesians 2:15 makes between peace and the work of Christ.
A Short Prayer From Ephesians 2:15
Lord, thank you that you did not leave us divided and far off. You came to make peace, and you took down the walls that kept people apart. Help me to see the people around me as brothers and sisters in Christ, and to set aside the pride and suspicion that keep me from them. Shape us into one new people who reflect your peace in our homes, our churches, and our neighborhoods.
Where I have built barriers out of fear, habit, or judgment, show me them and give me the courage to take them down. Let your peace guide how I speak and how I listen today. Amen.
